Next on your to-do list: you should read these books

| Senior Editor

I’ve never been one for New Year’s resolutions, but I made one this year: to read more. Finding time for pleasure reading in college—when you already have textbook readings, extracurriculars and essays—can be a challenge, to say the least. Reading can feel like another box to tick off your to-do list when you’d rather be watching Netflix anyway.

But here’s the thing. I was a voracious reader as a child, and I was sad to realize that my reading habit had died off sometime in middle or high school. Unfortunately, I’m someone who needs external motivation to reach my goals sometimes. To give myself the bump I need, I’ve set a goal on Goodreads to read 50 books by the end of the year. And I’m happy to say I got a good head start: I’ve already read 13 books in 2019.

Here are a few of my favorites that I think you might enjoy as well:

“Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine”, by Gail Honeyman

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I went into this novel with no expectations, having decided to read it only after learning that Reese Witherspoon’s production company has plans to make it into a movie. The titular character, Eleanor, had a complex and troubling childhood. Because of her past, Eleanor struggles with social skills and lives a carefully planned-out life in Glasgow, fueled by weekly phone calls with Mummy and vodka-soaked weekends. This balance is disrupted by a chance encounter with co-worker Raymond, who teaches her life can be more than just OK.


“The Favorite Sister”, by Jessica Knoll

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“The Favorite Sister” has been on my to-read list for months, and I finally had the chance to indulge myself over break. The reader finds out early in the book that Brett, a body-positive, LGBTQIA* advocate reality star, was murdered. The novel goes back through the final year of Brett’s life, interspersed with moments from a present-day interview done by her older sister, Kelly, and anecdotes from her ex-best friend, Stephanie. “The Favorite Sister” has wholly unlikable characters, but that’s the point. It’s worth reading for the interesting commentary about reality TV and what it means to be famous.


“Clock Dance”, by Anne Tyler

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Anne Tyler’s books tend to follow ordinary people who have out of the ordinary—but not extraordinary—things happen to them. “Clock Dance” is no exception. It follows Willa Drake, a woman whose post-retirement life is thrown into upheaval when she moves across the country after receiving a call that her son’s ex-girlfriend has been shot and needs extra help. Tyler handles Willa so tenderly, and the reader can’t help but reflect upon her life, filled with moments both sweet and sad.


“Becoming”, by Michelle Obama

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I know, I know. This book has been on every to-read list for months. I was of the “I’ll skip and just read excerpts online to get the gist” camp, but then decided to pick it up after my mom got a copy from our local library. While many of the anecdotes in this book will be familiar to those who’ve read about the Obamas previously, Michelle Obama is either an excellent writer, had an excellent editor, or both. Before her husband ever stepped foot in the White House, Obama had already achieved so much. From her humble beginnings growing up on the southside of Chicago with a disabled father, Obama became a twice-Ivy League educated lawyer who worked her way into hospital administration. How wild is that?

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