7 Books To Get You Back Into Reading This Year

“What better way to get back into reading than by learning which books famous authors are obsessed with? I love this anthology from writer and book podcaster Pandora Sykes because it’s so low stakes. You can read random chapters here and there and find endless inspiration for what to pick up next. Authors include Ann Patchett, Dolly Alderton, Lisa Taddeo, and many more.” –Margo Ghertner, Skimm Reads Editor

It’s rare to find an easy reading book that’s also a wealth of information, but this one beats the odds. Set at a residential high school for the Deaf, it alternates viewpoints between February, the school’s hearing headmistress; Charlie, a new transfer student who’s surprised by what it feels like to learn alongside other Deaf people; and Austin, a popular kid whose family is well-known among the local Deaf community. Insight into American Sign Language and Deaf civil rights is folded into an absorbing story of young love, rebellion, and all that it means to be growing up and figuring things out. –Jana Pollack, Skimm Reads Editor

“Lisa Taddeo’s groundbreaking debut dives into the sex lives of three real women: a wife and mother in Indiana who embarks on an affair with her high school sweetheart; a teenager in a relationship with her married teacher; and a successful business owner exploring new sexual dynamics with her husband. This is an astonishing feat of journalism — Taddeo immersed herself in her subjects’ lives for almost a decade in order to write it. But the pacing, character development, and storytelling is reminiscent of the most compulsively readable fiction. Everyone I know who has read this book — from shameless literary snobs who read two books a week to people who haven’t read in months — is obsessed with it.” –Caroline Goldstein, Skimm Reads Editor

I’m a huge fan of Curtis Sittenfeld (and have been ever since “Prep”), but I still resisted this updated retelling of “Pride and Prejudice.” After all, I thought, I already know the story — won’t I be bored? Spoiler: I wasn’t. This fresh take on the classic is funny, fast-paced, and so very real. The characters, while moving through a familiar tale, feel like women I would be friends with. Here’s my ultimate testament to the book’s readability: It was the only novel I brought to the hospital when I was induced to give birth to my son, because I knew it could hold my attention. And it did. –Jana Pollack

“After a reading slump, I usually want something fast-paced and deeply engrossing that will combat my aimless scrolling. “The Fortunes of Jaded Women” checked all the boxes. It’s a multi-generational saga-turned-comedy that follows a “cursed” family of women, The Duongs. When Mai, the matriarch, seeks advice from a psychic, she’s told that the family will experience a wedding, a funeral, and the birth of a son in the upcoming year. Drama ensues. The book is just shy of 275 pages and each chapter provides the storyline of a different woman in the family — and the cliffhangers from one chapter to the next had me itching to keep reading.” –Margo Ghertner

“Before the dark academia aesthetic, there was Donna Tartt. “The Secret History,” Tartt’s first novel, follows a coterie of students at a small liberal arts college in New England. They fall under the thrall of their classics professor, who ultimately leads them down a twisted, murdery path. I read this in high school and I still think about it on a regular basis, and it led me to some of literature’s darker, most delicious genres — it’s the quintessential campus novel, a literary detective story, a sharp thriller, and a stylish coming-of-age story. In other words, it’s got elements from some of the most compelling genres, expertly executed by a master of the craft.” –Caroline Goldstein

“I came across this book while in a reading rut this summer — and ended up finishing it within 24 hours.  It follows Marnie, a late 20-something who’s trying to figure out who she is after a recent heartbreak. To make things even more confusing, she’s starting to fall for someone else (who happens to be already taken). Vulnerable and hilarious, “Crushing” understands the everyday dilemmas that are oh-so-real — like trying to find a hobby, being in love with someone who’s keeping you on the bench, and staining a Reformation dress you were planning to return. Prepare to feel seen.” –Abby Drozd, Commerce Editor