Books that exceed my expectations 1 hour ago
#1
1. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Summary: A retelling of the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus, following their lives from childhood through the Trojan War. It explores love, friendship, fate, war, and the consequences of trying to escape destiny.
2. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Summary: Ryland Grace wakes up alone on a spaceship with no memory of who he is or why he is there. He eventually discovers he has been sent on a desperate mission to save Earth from an extinction-level threat.
3. Almond by Won-Pyung Sohn
Summary: Yunjae struggles to experience emotions because of a condition affecting his amygdala. After tragedy strikes his family, an unexpected friendship helps him slowly understand emotions, connection, and what it means to be human.
4. Banana Heart Summer by Merlinda Bobis
Summary: Nenita is a young girl growing up in a poor Philippine neighborhood who dreams of becoming a cook. Food and the people around her become a way for her to understand love, family, poverty, and growing up.
5. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
Summary: Theo Decker survives a terrorist attack at a museum that kills his mother. He secretly takes a famous painting from the wreckage, and it follows him through years of grief, addiction, crime, friendship, and searching for meaning.
6. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
Summary: Mitch Albom reconnects with his former college professor Morrie Schwartz after learning that Morrie is dying. Their weekly conversations become lessons about love, death, family, forgiveness, aging, and living a meaningful life.
7. The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff
Summary: A multigenerational family story following Ryan, Lillian, their daughter Georgette, and Lillian’s secret son. Addiction, family tragedy, and years of separation force them to confront their past and discover whether love can bring them back together.
Sadly, couldn’t find it.
8. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Summary: Kathy looks back on her childhood at a mysterious English boarding school and the friendships she formed with Tommy and Ruth. As they grow older, they gradually discover the disturbing truth about their existence and the future planned for them.
9. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Summary: Four college friends move to New York and build their lives together over several decades. Their friendship becomes especially important to Jude, a brilliant but deeply traumatized man whose painful past continues to affect his relationships and future.
10. Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
Summary: Natalie Heller Mills is a successful social media influencer who has built her identity around an idealized traditional lifestyle. After her carefully constructed world falls apart, she finds herself in 1855 and is forced to confront the harsh reality behind the past she romanticized.
11. No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai
Summary: Yozo Oba grows up feeling completely disconnected from other people and unable to understand how to live normally. He hides his alienation behind humor before spiraling through relationships, addiction, despair, and self-destruction.
12. Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak
Summary: Mallory Quinn takes a job caring for a five-year-old boy named Teddy. His innocent drawings begin depicting disturbing scenes that seem impossible for him to know about, leading Mallory into a mysterious and increasingly supernatural investigation.
13. Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
Summary: Keiko Furukura struggles to understand society’s expectations of her but finds comfort and purpose working at a convenience store. Pressure from family and society forces her to question what it really means to live a normal life.
14. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami
Summary: Tsukuru Tazaki was suddenly rejected by his closest friends during his youth and never learned why. Years later, he begins investigating what happened, forcing him to confront painful memories and understand how the past shaped him.
15. If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura
Summary: A terminally ill postman is offered an unusual deal by the Devil: remove something from the world and receive another day of life. As things disappear, he begins reconsidering his memories, relationships, regrets, and what makes life worth living.
16. Strange Pictures by Uketsu
Summary: A psychological mystery built around several strange drawings. Different stories and characters slowly connect as hidden clues within the illustrations reveal a much darker truth involving violence, trauma, and murder. (SuperSummary)
17. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Summary: Amir grows up in Afghanistan with his best friend Hassan, but a terrible act of betrayal destroys their friendship. Years later, Amir gets an opportunity to return to Afghanistan and confront the guilt that has followed him throughout his life.
18. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Summary: Nora Seed finds herself in a mysterious library between life and death. Each book contains a different version of her life based on choices she could have made, allowing her to discover whether another life would really make her happier.
19. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Summary: Beginning in Korea in the early 1900s, the story follows Sunja and generations of her family after a life-changing relationship forces her to leave home. Their lives unfold across Korea and Japan while dealing with discrimination, poverty, identity, family, and survival.
20. In the Country by Mia Alvar
Summary: A collection of interconnected stories about Filipinos living in the Philippines and abroad. The characters deal with migration, family, loneliness, political upheaval, identity, and the complicated meaning of home.
21. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Summary: Mariam and Laila come from very different backgrounds but are brought together by war and an abusive marriage in Afghanistan. Their friendship becomes a source of strength as they struggle to protect themselves and their families.
22. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Summary: Charlie Gordon undergoes an experimental procedure designed to dramatically increase his intelligence. As the experiment changes him, Charlie begins to understand himself, his relationships, and the consequences of the procedure. (SparkNotes)
23. The Power Above Us All by Ronaldo Soledad Vivo Jr.
Summary: A difficult-to-find work that appears to explore power, humanity, and the forces shaping people’s lives. I couldn’t find enough reliable information to give a more detailed synopsis without potentially misrepresenting the book.
Couldn’t find it sadly.
24. Stoner by John Williams
Summary: William Stoner is born into a poor Missouri farming family but discovers a love for literature and becomes a university professor. His seemingly ordinary life is shaped by career struggles, an unhappy marriage, love, disappointment, and his quiet determination to keep going.
25. Beartown by Fredrik Backman
Summary: Beartown is a small community whose hopes are built around its struggling junior hockey team. After a traumatic event involving one of the team’s young stars, the town is forced to confront loyalty, violence, friendship, reputation, and what people are willing to sacrifice for their community.
Summary: A retelling of the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus, following their lives from childhood through the Trojan War. It explores love, friendship, fate, war, and the consequences of trying to escape destiny.
Spoiler: Link
2. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Summary: Ryland Grace wakes up alone on a spaceship with no memory of who he is or why he is there. He eventually discovers he has been sent on a desperate mission to save Earth from an extinction-level threat.
Spoiler: Link
3. Almond by Won-Pyung Sohn
Summary: Yunjae struggles to experience emotions because of a condition affecting his amygdala. After tragedy strikes his family, an unexpected friendship helps him slowly understand emotions, connection, and what it means to be human.
Spoiler: Link
4. Banana Heart Summer by Merlinda Bobis
Summary: Nenita is a young girl growing up in a poor Philippine neighborhood who dreams of becoming a cook. Food and the people around her become a way for her to understand love, family, poverty, and growing up.
Spoiler: Link
5. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
Summary: Theo Decker survives a terrorist attack at a museum that kills his mother. He secretly takes a famous painting from the wreckage, and it follows him through years of grief, addiction, crime, friendship, and searching for meaning.
Spoiler: Link
6. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
Summary: Mitch Albom reconnects with his former college professor Morrie Schwartz after learning that Morrie is dying. Their weekly conversations become lessons about love, death, family, forgiveness, aging, and living a meaningful life.
Spoiler: Link
7. The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff
Summary: A multigenerational family story following Ryan, Lillian, their daughter Georgette, and Lillian’s secret son. Addiction, family tragedy, and years of separation force them to confront their past and discover whether love can bring them back together.
Sadly, couldn’t find it.
8. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Summary: Kathy looks back on her childhood at a mysterious English boarding school and the friendships she formed with Tommy and Ruth. As they grow older, they gradually discover the disturbing truth about their existence and the future planned for them.
Spoiler: Link
9. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Summary: Four college friends move to New York and build their lives together over several decades. Their friendship becomes especially important to Jude, a brilliant but deeply traumatized man whose painful past continues to affect his relationships and future.
Spoiler: Link
10. Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
Summary: Natalie Heller Mills is a successful social media influencer who has built her identity around an idealized traditional lifestyle. After her carefully constructed world falls apart, she finds herself in 1855 and is forced to confront the harsh reality behind the past she romanticized.
Spoiler: Link
11. No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai
Summary: Yozo Oba grows up feeling completely disconnected from other people and unable to understand how to live normally. He hides his alienation behind humor before spiraling through relationships, addiction, despair, and self-destruction.
Spoiler: Link
12. Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak
Summary: Mallory Quinn takes a job caring for a five-year-old boy named Teddy. His innocent drawings begin depicting disturbing scenes that seem impossible for him to know about, leading Mallory into a mysterious and increasingly supernatural investigation.
Spoiler: Link
13. Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
Summary: Keiko Furukura struggles to understand society’s expectations of her but finds comfort and purpose working at a convenience store. Pressure from family and society forces her to question what it really means to live a normal life.
Spoiler: Link
14. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami
Summary: Tsukuru Tazaki was suddenly rejected by his closest friends during his youth and never learned why. Years later, he begins investigating what happened, forcing him to confront painful memories and understand how the past shaped him.
Spoiler: Link
15. If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura
Summary: A terminally ill postman is offered an unusual deal by the Devil: remove something from the world and receive another day of life. As things disappear, he begins reconsidering his memories, relationships, regrets, and what makes life worth living.
Spoiler: Link
16. Strange Pictures by Uketsu
Summary: A psychological mystery built around several strange drawings. Different stories and characters slowly connect as hidden clues within the illustrations reveal a much darker truth involving violence, trauma, and murder. (SuperSummary)
Spoiler: Link
17. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Summary: Amir grows up in Afghanistan with his best friend Hassan, but a terrible act of betrayal destroys their friendship. Years later, Amir gets an opportunity to return to Afghanistan and confront the guilt that has followed him throughout his life.
Spoiler: Link
18. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Summary: Nora Seed finds herself in a mysterious library between life and death. Each book contains a different version of her life based on choices she could have made, allowing her to discover whether another life would really make her happier.
Spoiler: Link
19. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Summary: Beginning in Korea in the early 1900s, the story follows Sunja and generations of her family after a life-changing relationship forces her to leave home. Their lives unfold across Korea and Japan while dealing with discrimination, poverty, identity, family, and survival.
Spoiler: Link
20. In the Country by Mia Alvar
Summary: A collection of interconnected stories about Filipinos living in the Philippines and abroad. The characters deal with migration, family, loneliness, political upheaval, identity, and the complicated meaning of home.
Spoiler: Link
21. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Summary: Mariam and Laila come from very different backgrounds but are brought together by war and an abusive marriage in Afghanistan. Their friendship becomes a source of strength as they struggle to protect themselves and their families.
Spoiler: Link
22. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Summary: Charlie Gordon undergoes an experimental procedure designed to dramatically increase his intelligence. As the experiment changes him, Charlie begins to understand himself, his relationships, and the consequences of the procedure. (SparkNotes)
Spoiler: Link
23. The Power Above Us All by Ronaldo Soledad Vivo Jr.
Summary: A difficult-to-find work that appears to explore power, humanity, and the forces shaping people’s lives. I couldn’t find enough reliable information to give a more detailed synopsis without potentially misrepresenting the book.
Couldn’t find it sadly.
24. Stoner by John Williams
Summary: William Stoner is born into a poor Missouri farming family but discovers a love for literature and becomes a university professor. His seemingly ordinary life is shaped by career struggles, an unhappy marriage, love, disappointment, and his quiet determination to keep going.
Spoiler: Link
25. Beartown by Fredrik Backman
Summary: Beartown is a small community whose hopes are built around its struggling junior hockey team. After a traumatic event involving one of the team’s young stars, the town is forced to confront loyalty, violence, friendship, reputation, and what people are willing to sacrifice for their community.
Spoiler: Link
(This post was last modified: 38 minutes ago by Snickerdoodle.
Edit Reason: Revision
)
![[Image: mivrgxw.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/mivrgxw.gif)
![[+]](https://sinister.ly/images/modern/collapse_collapsed.png)
