With all of us stuck in quarantine, there's no better way to escape the stressors of this difficult time than getting lost in a good book. Whether its riveting, heart-racing thrillers, memorable memoirs, or incredible stories, spending a few hours reading seems to melt away any anxiety I may be experiencing at that time. This unexpected time shut in is a bit of a blessing in disguise as it's provided so much extra distraction-free time to dive into my ever-growing list of tomes I've been compiling since the past year. With a mix of old titles and new, here are some lovely books to explore during your days in.
A wonderfully written jaw-dropping thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat, The Woman in the Window feels very Hitchcoakian with a tense beat that keeps you excited till the very end. This story centers around Anna Fox, an agoraphobic who is bound to her beautiful New York City home. Without the option of venturing beyond her front door, she fills her days watching old mystery films and drinking a little too much. Her only thread to the outside word is peeking into her neighbors homes through the windows. Now a little spying is not a crime until she witnesses the murder of the woman across the street. But the real question is, did this heinous crime actually happen? This murder becomes the very incident that begins her painful unraveling but with classic thrillers constantly on loop, a detrimental diet of alcohol and an intense case of paranoia, what did Anna actually see that night?
2. The Silent Patient | Alex Michaelides
There's always a story behind a murder, but what happen's when the killer isn't saying a word?
Alicia Berenson has a seemingly perfect life, a fabulous career (famous painter), married to a successful (fashion designer) man and residing in a dreamy property in one of London's most prime neighborhoods. With such a picture-esque existence, the calm waters are soon to become muddy, or rather bloody. One late evening, Alicia's husband returns home after a fashion shoot and welcomes his arrival by shooting him 5-times in the face. She falls into a stark silence immediately after, never speaking a word of the crime or its motive. Her refusal to speak of this horrific crime draws the curiosity of the both the public and experts alike which leaves her hid away for protection. Alicia is kept in a forensic unit in a secure London facility where a criminal psychotherapsit finally gets the long-awaited opportunity to speak to her. Will his effort get her talking and finally reveal the gritty details to this gruesome mystery?
3. Pretty Things | Janelle Brown
A juicy thriller for the modern age, this story details the intertwined lives of two women who are complete opposites of one another and are brought together by one epic scam. Nina, a grifter, holds a useless fancy liberal arts degree and turns to a life of crime with her boyfriend by her side. Her expert con artist skills are handed down from her mother and leads her down a risky path of stealing from the rich in L.A. to survive. However, her on-the-run criminal lifestyle comes to halt when her mother becomes ill. In an effort to help her, she devises a grand scam, her most dangerous yet, even if it means putting her own life on the line.
Unlike Nina, Vanessa is the picture of privilege, an heiress-turned-Instagram Influencer, her seemingly ideal and envious lifestyle is portrayed perfectly on the digital platform. Behind the fancy facade, Vanessa is anything but picture-perfect and is suffering her own personal tragedy. She escapes to her family's luxe mountain estate, an extravagant mansion which holds a dark set of secrets of its own, some of which involve both Vanessa and Nina's unknown past. It's here that begins the intermingling of their stories and with so many brilliant twists and details, you'll be left wondering who was the real con artist.
4. Rules of Civility | Amor Towles
As a NYC girl, I love a beautiful story set in my incredible city. Much like a moving film set in New York City, the city itself becomes a character in this book. Rules of Civility follows the story of Kate Kontent, a young woman in post-Depression era New York who finds her simple city life suddenly upgraded in every sense. Weaving in and out of a glamorous social culture of the elite in this era while remaining authentic to her true self, this vividly descriptive and stunningly written journey grabs the reader and has you falling in and out of love with the complex characters in her life.
5. A Gentleman in Moscow | Amor Towles
A densely detailed and wonderfully woven story of a Count who is sentenced to house arrest for the remainder of his life in one of the grandest hotels in 1922 Russia. Nestled across the street from the Kremlin, Metropol, the hotel where Count Alexander Rostov has taken residence in its attic room becomes the setting of the various interesting encounters within its walls. There Rostov learns the lessons of existence and purpose from the bold characters around the lofty hotel while witnessing the dramatic developments of the state just outside his window - a lovely transporting novel you won't want to end.
6. Save Me The Plums | Ruth Reichl
One of the most buzzed about memoirs of 2019, my book list would not be complete without Ruth Reichl's exciting memoir, Save Me the Plums. This exciting memoir details Reichl's incredible journey from food critic to editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine and how she transformed the once sleepy magazine into a contemporary and innovative publication. It's a fascinating peek inside the golden age of magazine making with plenty of charm, captivating storytelling and of course, delectable recipes.
2. The Silent Patient | Alex Michaelides
There's always a story behind a murder, but what happen's when the killer isn't saying a word?
Alicia Berenson has a seemingly perfect life, a fabulous career (famous painter), married to a successful (fashion designer) man and residing in a dreamy property in one of London's most prime neighborhoods. With such a picture-esque existence, the calm waters are soon to become muddy, or rather bloody. One late evening, Alicia's husband returns home after a fashion shoot and welcomes his arrival by shooting him 5-times in the face. She falls into a stark silence immediately after, never speaking a word of the crime or its motive. Her refusal to speak of this horrific crime draws the curiosity of the both the public and experts alike which leaves her hid away for protection. Alicia is kept in a forensic unit in a secure London facility where a criminal psychotherapsit finally gets the long-awaited opportunity to speak to her. Will his effort get her talking and finally reveal the gritty details to this gruesome mystery?
3. Pretty Things | Janelle Brown
A juicy thriller for the modern age, this story details the intertwined lives of two women who are complete opposites of one another and are brought together by one epic scam. Nina, a grifter, holds a useless fancy liberal arts degree and turns to a life of crime with her boyfriend by her side. Her expert con artist skills are handed down from her mother and leads her down a risky path of stealing from the rich in L.A. to survive. However, her on-the-run criminal lifestyle comes to halt when her mother becomes ill. In an effort to help her, she devises a grand scam, her most dangerous yet, even if it means putting her own life on the line.
Unlike Nina, Vanessa is the picture of privilege, an heiress-turned-Instagram Influencer, her seemingly ideal and envious lifestyle is portrayed perfectly on the digital platform. Behind the fancy facade, Vanessa is anything but picture-perfect and is suffering her own personal tragedy. She escapes to her family's luxe mountain estate, an extravagant mansion which holds a dark set of secrets of its own, some of which involve both Vanessa and Nina's unknown past. It's here that begins the intermingling of their stories and with so many brilliant twists and details, you'll be left wondering who was the real con artist.
4. Rules of Civility | Amor Towles
As a NYC girl, I love a beautiful story set in my incredible city. Much like a moving film set in New York City, the city itself becomes a character in this book. Rules of Civility follows the story of Kate Kontent, a young woman in post-Depression era New York who finds her simple city life suddenly upgraded in every sense. Weaving in and out of a glamorous social culture of the elite in this era while remaining authentic to her true self, this vividly descriptive and stunningly written journey grabs the reader and has you falling in and out of love with the complex characters in her life.
5. A Gentleman in Moscow | Amor Towles
A densely detailed and wonderfully woven story of a Count who is sentenced to house arrest for the remainder of his life in one of the grandest hotels in 1922 Russia. Nestled across the street from the Kremlin, Metropol, the hotel where Count Alexander Rostov has taken residence in its attic room becomes the setting of the various interesting encounters within its walls. There Rostov learns the lessons of existence and purpose from the bold characters around the lofty hotel while witnessing the dramatic developments of the state just outside his window - a lovely transporting novel you won't want to end.
6. Save Me The Plums | Ruth Reichl
One of the most buzzed about memoirs of 2019, my book list would not be complete without Ruth Reichl's exciting memoir, Save Me the Plums. This exciting memoir details Reichl's incredible journey from food critic to editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine and how she transformed the once sleepy magazine into a contemporary and innovative publication. It's a fascinating peek inside the golden age of magazine making with plenty of charm, captivating storytelling and of course, delectable recipes.
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