Books we're so jealous that you get to read for the first time

Otherwise known as READ THESE BOOKS

Do you ever get FOMO from someone reading a book that you’ve already read and loved? I’m sure you’re thinking that’s not possible, but fellow book lovers, let me assure you that it is. Sometimes that feeling of never getting to read a book that you LOVED for the first time again is just overwhelmingly sad. Because that joy of finding a book that you fall head over heels with is one of the great joys of the world.

Today we wanted to share a handful of books that, if you haven’t yet read them yet, we’re SO jealous that you haven’t yet discovered the magic held inside them - and someday you’ll get to. FOMO.

Sarah’s picks

*I would totally add The Idea of You by Robinne Lee onto this list, but you all already know my deep love of that book, but if you haven’t yet discovered that magic, GET ON IT. It’s SO much better than the movie.*

The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali - I can’t believe it took me so long to read this love story set in 1950s Tehran and the political upheaval that is trying to keep Roya and Bahman apart. I felt completely transported by this novel to a time and place I knew little about, and was overwhelmed by the power of the love between our two main characters. This book had me racing through the pages while never wanting it to end. (I felt similarly about her newest book The Lion Women of Tehran.)

Shark Heart by Emily Habeck - I had no idea what I was in for when I picked up this book and had low expectations. But it was my favorite book of 2023, and I think about it constantly. Don’t let the “man turns into great white shark” turn you off. It’s really about love and marriage and losing all that we had looked forward to.

The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne - I haven’t come across a John Boyne novel that DIDN’T make me feel big feelings. And this one, I felt all kinds of things through its nearly 600 pages. Cyril, his life, his choices, they all stick with you as you watch him come into who he truly is in 1940s Ireland.

The Other Year by Rea Frey - I don’t often sob while reading books but this one had me in an absolute mess. This book is a “what if” story - what happens if, in one story line, you lose a child, and in another, you don’t? The absolute grief poured into these pages stuck with me for MONTHS.

Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone - This book just recently came out but I was lucky enough to read an early ARC of it and I am SO JEALOUS that so many of you are now discovering the beautiful, grief filled story of Lenny and Miles. I never, ever wanted this book to end and if I could wipe my memories of it, I’d gladly read it all over again for the first time. I plan to re-read this one again very soon.

I Could Live Here Forever by Hanna Halperin - Leah and Charlie have an absolutely chaotic love story, but it is love in its own way. But what we don’t see coming are the struggles they have to navigate. This is one of those books that so surprised me that I had to re-read pages to make sure what happened, did truly happen. Oh the feelings, the tears, the overwhelming sadness tinged with hope. It’s all here.

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Mia’s picks

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir - Ryland Grace is on a last-chance mission to space to save the Earth. Except he can’t remember anything and his crewmates are dead. He has to quickly figure out what to do all on his own. Or perhaps not. This book goes from WTF to LOL to Awwww and back again and I loved every second of it. Plus, when I got to *that part*, it was like nothing I had ever read before.

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah - This book sparked my love of the WWII historical fiction genre and I still think it’s one of the best. It’s 1939 in France and Vianne and her sister Isabelle are coping with the Nazi occupation in very different ways. At times beautiful and heart-wrenching, this story is one that still sticks with me, especially the very last chapter.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn - The book that set off a whole sub-genre of mystery thriller and one that set the bar so high for me. When Nick’s wife, Amy, disappears, he finds himself suspect number one, even though he swears he didn’t do anything to her and that the strange searches on his computer weren’t made by him. What is the truth? The twists and turns of this story are my absolute favorite!

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert - Vivian is a young woman who was kicked out of college and sent to live with relatives in Manhattan. There, she finds freedom, mistakes, friendship, sex, love, and what it means to look back on a life well-lived. The characters, the setting, the all-encompassing love - this story has it all and I wish I could experience the magic all over again.

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch - “Are you happy with your life?” That’s the last thing Jason hears before he’s knocked out. When he wakes up, a man he’s never met before welcomes him back, but this is not the life Jason left behind. His wife isn’t his wife, his son was never born. Jason has to figure out what’s happening and try to get back to his family. This book is so trippy and the answers Jason is looking for are mind-bending. What an adventure!

Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica - In a world where a virus has poisoned all the animals and their meat is no longer safe to eat, Marcos works at a farm that raises and slaughters humans like cattle. One day, Marcos comes into contact with a live “specimen” from the farm and begins to wonder what he, and all of humanity, have lost, and how to find it again. This book gripped me from the first page right up until the shocking ending. Though this one was dark, I think its message is a fascinating one.

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