Books - April 11, 2022

BTD Community List of Book Recommendations

2022 book reccomendations

I have always been an avid reader. From the time I was a little girl, I’ve just loved picking up a book and getting lost in it. When I was younger, fiction books were my jam, but now that I’m an adult, I find myself gravitating toward non-fiction books.

At the beginning of this year, I set a goal for myself to read three books a month for the entire year. So far, I’ve actually exceeded my goal for the first three months and read four books each month. You can see what I read in January and February (March is coming soon!).

Since I’m always on the hunt for more great books to dive into, I thought it might be fun to crowdsource some book ideas for you guys on Instagram. HOLY COW did y’all deliver.

I’m seriously blown away at all of the amazing recommendations you provided — both fiction and non-fiction. I decided to put dedicate an entire post to your list that I can update regularly as I get new suggestions or read more books myself.

But if you’re like me and looking for a book you know is good, hopefully, this list will serve as a great resource. Happy reading!

FICTION BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

As I mentioned, I typically stick with non-fiction books that revolve around faith, parenting, or business (just the season of life I’m in!), but some of these books look so good. I’ve always been a sucker for a good thriller/mystery book. Oh, and Redeeming Love is one I read not too long ago for the first time and it was also really incredible.

THRILLER/MYSTERY

Verity by Colleen Hoover

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

His & Hers by Alice Feeney

Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano

The Maid by Nita Prose

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris

The Lion’s Den

The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine

The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson

Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

A Painted House by John Grisham

Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger

CONTEMPORARY

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

Normal People by Sally Rooney

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

FANTASY

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

ROMANCE

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

Beach Read by Emily Henry

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman

Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

American Royal (trilogy) by Katharine McGee

Dancing on Broken Glass by KA Hancock

One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle

Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

Before We Were Strangers: A Love Story by Renée Carlino

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

The Idea of You by Robinne Lee

HISTORICAL

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

San Miguel by T.C. Boyle

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Daisy Jones & The Six by Jennifer Beals

A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The Wine Maker’s Daughter (a short story) by Vanessa Perry

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

A Fire Sparkling by Julianne MacLean

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

NON-FICTION BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

Gosh, y’all. SO MANY good books here. I’ve read (or listened) to a lot of these and highly recommend. I think books are such a great way to educate yourself on a topic and hear from people who are more experienced or seasoned than you. I’ll definitely be adding to this list!

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss

PSYCHOLOGY

Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers by Robert M. Sapolsky

The Brain: The Story of You by David Eagleman

David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell

Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker

The Soul of Shame by Curt Thompson

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker

Think Again by Adam Grant

12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gettlieb

Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

SELP HELP

The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter

Living Fully by Mallory Ervin

That Sounds Fun

Essentialism by Greg McKeown

The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi

Indistractable by Nir Eyal

The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown

Fair Play by Eve Rodsky

How to Do the Work by Dr. Nicole LePera

Atomic Habit by James Clear

WRITING

Dryer’s English by Benjamin Dreyer

FAMILY

Let Them Be Kids by Jessica Smartt

Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham Jr.

M is for Mama by Abbie Halberstadt

HISTORY

The Warmth of Other Sons by Isabel Wilkerson

Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe

Girls of Atomic City by Denise Kiernan

Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe

The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer

Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams

The Almost Nearly Perfect People by Michael Booth

Becoming Mrs. Lewish by Patti Callahan

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett Graffiti

The Serve: How the World Became Modern

MONEY

The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel

Know Yourself Know Your Money by Rachel Cruze

Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki

Millionaire Teacher by Andrew Hallam

Profit First by Mike Michalowicz

MEMOIR

Becoming Elisabeth Elliot by Ellen Vaughn

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park

Dreams and Visions by Tom Doyle

Open by Andre Agassi

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

The Choice: Embrace the Possible by Dr. Edith Eva Eger

Raising a Rare Girl by Heather Lanier

The Only Road North by Erik Mirandette

Boys in the Boy by Daniel James Brown

Dispatches from Pluto by Richard Grant

Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley C. Ford

The Cobbler by Steve Madden Memoir

My Life in France by Julia Child

From the Corner of the Oval by Beck Doreystein

Kind is the New Classy by Candace Cameron Bure

FAITH

The Attentive Life: Discerning God’s Presence in All Things by Leighton Ford

Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman

A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken

Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God by Brian Zahnd

Unorthodox by Deborah Feldman

Praying Life by Paul E. Miller

Beautiful Outlaw by John Eldredge

The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel

The Genius of One by Greg Holder

Waymaker by Ann Voskamp

Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges

12 Faithful Women by Melissa Kruger

The Light Within Me by Ainsley Earhardt

Habits of the Household by Justin Whitmel Earley

Evidence Not Seen by Darlene Deibler Rose

1,000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp

God Does His Best Work With Empty

The Burden is Light by Eugenia Price

Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy by Mark Vroegop

Gently and Lowly by Dane Ortlund

SPIRITUAL

The Four Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz