One of the occupational hazards of being an English professor (or grad student) is losing the ability or the interest in pleasure reading. We have so much to read as part of our jobs, not just novels and poems or plays, but criticism, essays, memos, emails . . . the act of reading becomes all about work. I have always loved to read, but a while back, I realized that I wasn’t doing it much anymore, only on planes or breaks from school. From then on, I decided to make it a point to read “for fun” every day, even if only for a few minutes before I go to sleep. I’m frequently asked for book recommendations, so a few years ago, I thought I’d start to keep a list. Titles below are books I have read or listened to for fun since January 1, 2023. In other words, none of the books below were read for a class or for research (though they may find their way to a syllabus or a bibliography at some point). Asterisks for my most favorite. Links, if I’ve added them, are Amazon affiliate.
The Death of Mrs. Westaway (Ruth Ware)
The Woman in Cabin 10 (Ruth Ware)
The Turn of the Key (Ruth Ware)
Autopsy (Patricia Cornwell)
Crossbones Yard (Kate Rhodes)
Good For a Girl (Lauren Fleshman)