Every season, there are those books everyone starts buzzing about: Gone Girl! The Goldfinch! Fifty Shades of Grey. They explode all over your social media feeds and populate the front tables at your local bookstore. (And eventually, they turn into movies.) So, just in time for spring, I rounded up five of some big, and most talked about books…
Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
There’s a good chance you’ve seen this book’s cover in my Instagram feed (or if you haven’t, that you will very soon). It graced the cover of last weekend’s Times Book Review, where it received paragraph after paragraph of glowing praise. The story of a marriage told first from the husband’s, then wife’s, perspectives presents two very different accounts of the same relationship. If you love inventive prose, emotionally complex characters, plots with intricate puzzle pieces — or simply reading about relationships — this one is for you. Every story has two sides. Every relationship has two perspectives.
Everybody Rise by Stephanie Clifford
Set in New York just before the 2008 recession, this debut novel (and instant bestseller) from a veteran New York Times writer has earned her the title of “a modern-day Edith Wharton.” Part social satire, part cautionary tale, Everybody Rise tells the story of Evelyn, a well-meaning but endearingly flawed protagonist who tries to make it in high society. With a tightly-wound plot and plenty of funny moments, I’m halfway through and enjoying it so far.
Purity by Jonathan Franzen
Hailed by critics as a “magnum opus,” the latest novel from the author of Freedom and The Corrections might be the most-hyped book of the season. The novel’s protagonist is Pip “Purity” Tyler, a young woman grappling with a pointless job, crippling student debt and a toxic relationship with her mom… along with plenty of sex, travel and murder. With his ambitious narratives and unmatched literary prose, Franzen has been called the finest writer of today. Like The Goldfinch in 2013, this is one of those tomes seemingly everyone will read. (Or pretend to read. Or purchase and keep telling themselves they’re going to read.)
A Window Opens by Elisabeth Egan
This debut novel from the books editor at Glamour has made appearances on countless “best of” lists and drawn comparisons to Bridget Jones’ Diary and I Don’t Know How She Does It. The book follows Alice, a mostly happily married mother of three, who is proud of her “balancing act,” until life inevitably gets in the way. People magazine hailed it as “a fresh, funny take on the age-old struggle to have it all.” The stream of glowing praise (and nearly 5-star Amazon rating!) have made it next on my list.
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
The new nonfiction offering from the author of Eat, Pray, Love is Gilbert’s first foray into “self help” territory. Drawing from her own experience, she promises an honest examination of the creative process, including how to find the “strange jewels” hidden within each of us. If it’s anywhere close to as inspiring as her TED talk on the subject, it’s sure to be wonderful. And after all, who couldn’t use a little (big) magic?
What are you reading these days? Are there any books you’re looking forward to checking out? I’d love to hear!
