9 Books Just As Good As Everyone Says

Some books get recommended so often that it’s hard not to wonder if they’re actually worth reading. After reading plenty of popular books, I can confidently say these eight books live up to the hype. Whether you’re looking for the best book club books, unforgettable historical fiction, Reese’s Book Club picks, or modern classics, these are books that truly deserve their popularity.  You might want to add some of these to your books to read before you die list.

Best Books That Are Worth The Hype

The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischvili

The Eighth Life is a breathtaking family saga that follows multiple generations through war, revolution, love, and political upheaval across the twentieth century. Beginning in Georgia and stretching across Europe and Russia, the novel follows one remarkable family as history shapes every generation. Richly detailed characters, unforgettable relationships, and sweeping historical events make this an incredibly immersive experience. It is a beautifully written novel that completely draws you into its world. Also read, 19 Multigenerational Family Dramas You’re Going to Love


At the start of the twentieth century, on the edge of the Russian Empire, a family prospers. It owes its success to a delicious chocolate recipe, passed down the generations with great solemnity and caution. A caution which is justified: this is a recipe for ecstasy that carries a very bitter aftertaste …

Stasia learns it from her Georgian father and takes it north, following her new husband, Simon, to his posting at the centre of the Russian Revolution in St Petersburg. Stasia’s is only the first in a symphony of grand but all too often doomed romances that swirl from sweet to sour in this epic tale of the red century.

Tumbling down the years, and across vast expanses of longing and loss, generation after generation of this compelling family hears echoes and sees reflections. Great characters and greater relationships come and go and come again; the world shakes, and shakes some more, and the reader rejoices to have found at last one of those glorious old books in which you can live and learn, be lost and found, and make indelible new friends.

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Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

Ordinary Grace is a beautifully written coming-of-age novel that follows thirteen-year-old Frank Drum during one unforgettable summer in 1961. When tragedy strikes his family, Frank is forced to confront loss, faith, and the difficult truths about the people around him. It is both heartbreaking and hopeful, with characters you’ll never forget. This unforgettable novel is perfect for readers who love emotional literary fiction.


New Bremen, Minnesota, 1961. The Twins were playing their debut season, ice-cold root beers were selling out at the soda counter of Halderson’s Drugstore, and Hot Stuff comic books were a mainstay on every barbershop magazine rack. It was a time of innocence and hope for a country with a new, young president. But for thirteen-year-old Frank Drum it was a grim summer in which death visited frequently and assumed many forms. Accident. Nature. Suicide. Murder.

Frank begins the season preoccupied with the concerns of any teenage boy, but when tragedy unexpectedly strikes his family—which includes his Methodist minister father; his passionate, artistic mother; Juilliard-bound older sister; and wise-beyond-his-years kid brother—he finds himself thrust into an adult world full of secrets, lies, adultery, and betrayal, suddenly called upon to demonstrate a maturity and gumption beyond his years.

Told from Frank’s perspective forty years after that fateful summer, Ordinary Grace is a brilliantly moving account of a boy standing at the door of his young manhood, trying to understand a world that seems to be falling apart around him. It is an unforgettable novel about discovering the terrible price of wisdom and the enduring grace of God.

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The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett

The Road to Tender Hearts is a warm, funny, and deeply touching road-trip novel about second chances, family, and finding hope later in life. After discovering that his first love is single again, sixty-three-year-old PJ sets off on a cross-country journey with his daughter, two orphaned children, and an extraordinary cat. Along the way, they learn about forgiveness, healing, and what truly matters. It is filled with quirky characters, heartfelt moments, and plenty of humor. This uplifting novel is impossible not to fall in love with. Also read, 9 Audiobooks That Actually Work for a Road Trip With Older Parents + Teen Girls


A darkly comic and warm-hearted novel about an old man on a cross-country mission to reunite with his high school crush—bringing together his adult daughter, two orphaned kids, and a cat who can predict death—from the beloved author of Rabbit Cake and Unlikely Animals

At sixty-three years old, million-dollar lottery winner PJ Halliday would be the luckiest man in Pondville, Massachusetts, if it weren’t for the tragedies of his life: the sudden death of his eldest daughter and the way his marriage fell apart after that. Since then, PJ spends both his money and his time at the bar, and he probably doesn’t have much time left—he’s had three heart attacks already.

But when PJ reads an obituary of his old romantic rival, he realizes his high school sweetheart, Michelle Cobb, is finally single again. Filled with a new enthusiasm for life, PJ decides he’s going to drive across the country to the Tender Hearts Retirement Community in Arizona to win Michelle back.

Before PJ can hit the road, tragedy strikes Pondville, leaving PJ the sudden guardian of his estranged brother’s grandchildren. Anyone else would be deterred from the planned trip, but PJ figures the orphaned kids might benefit from getting out of town. PJ also figures he can ask Sophie, his adult daughter, adrift in her 20s, to come along to babysit. And there’s one more surprise addition to the roster: Pancakes, a former nursing home therapy cat with a knack of predicting death, who recently turned up outside PJ’s home.

This could be the second chance PJ has long hoped for—a second shot at love and parenting—but does he have the strength to do both those things again? It’s very possible his heart can’t take it.

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The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni

The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell is an inspiring novel about a boy born with a rare eye condition that causes him to be bullied and misunderstood throughout his childhood. With the support of loyal friends and loving parents, Sam slowly learns to overcome prejudice and find his place in the world. The story follows him into adulthood as he reflects on the choices that shaped his life.


Sam Hill always saw the world through different eyes. Born with red pupils, he was called “Devil Boy” or Sam “Hell” by his classmates; “God’s will” is what his mother called his ocular albinism. Her words were of little comfort, but Sam persevered, buoyed by his mother’s devout faith, his father’s practical wisdom, and his two other misfit friends.

Sam believed it was God who sent Ernie Cantwell, the only African American kid in his class, to be the friend he so desperately needed. And that it was God’s idea for Mickie Kennedy to storm into Our Lady of Mercy like a tornado, uprooting every rule Sam had been taught about boys and girls.

Forty years later, Sam, a small-town eye doctor, is no longer certain anything was by design—especially not the tragedy that caused him to turn his back on his friends, his hometown, and the life he’d always known. Running from the pain, eyes closed, served little purpose. Now, as he looks back on his life, Sam embarks on a journey that will take him halfway around the world. This time, his eyes are wide open—bringing into clear view what changed him, defined him, and made him so afraid, until he can finally see what truly matters.

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The Sideways Life of Denny Voss by Holly Kennedy

The Sideways Life of Denny Voss is a heartwarming and surprisingly funny novel about a kind man with developmental delays who suddenly finds himself accused of murder. As Denny looks back on the events leading to his arrest, he uncovers painful family secrets while proving that people often underestimate him. This feel-good novel gives you both laughter and heartfelt warm


A man who is defined by his limitations sets out to fight a murder charge—and discovers unexpected truths about himself, his family, and the world at large.

On the surface, Denny Voss’s life in rural Minnesota is a quiet one. At thirty years old, he lives at home with his elderly mother and his beloved blind and deaf Saint Bernard, George. He cleans up roadkill to help pay the bills. Though his prospects are limited by a developmental delay—the result of an accident at birth—Denny has always felt that he has “a good life.”

So how did he wind up being charged with the murder of a mayoral candidate—after crashing a sled full of guns into a tree?

As Denny awaits trial, his court-appointed therapist walks him through the events of the past year. Denny’s had other scuffles with the law, the first for kidnapping a neighbor’s cantankerous goose. And then there was the time he accidentally assisted in a bank robbery. It seems like whenever Denny tries to do the right thing, chaos ensues.

Untangling the events around the murder reveals even more painful truths about his family’s past. He’s always been surrounded by people who love him, but now it’s up to Denny to set his life on a new course.

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Call of the Camino by Suzanne Redfearn

Call of the Camino is an emotional dual-timeline novel following two women whose lives become connected through the famous Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in Spain. One woman hopes to better understand the father she lost, while the other is searching for a fresh start decades earlier. As their stories unfold, the journey becomes one of healing, hope, and self-discovery. This memorable novel is perfect for readers who enjoy meaningful historical and contemporary fiction. 10 Most Memorable Audiobooks Books I’ve Listened to .


From the bestselling author of In an Instant comes a deeply moving novel following the transformative journeys of two women walking entwined paths on a legendary route across Europe a generation apart.

Reina Watkins lost her father when she was eight. Seventeen years later, she still carries that grief. When her budding journalism career takes an unexpected turn, it leads her to the ancient five-hundred-mile Camino de Santiago in Spain. Now she finds herself embarking on the same pilgrimage that her father made at her age, unaware of how profoundly it will change her.

Back in 1997, Isabelle Vidal is a teenager on the run. Fleeing from her boarding school, she heads straight for the Way of Saint James. She’s heard the Camino will provide. And so it does, in the form of a handsome young American and the promise of a new life. But it could all fall apart if her troubles catch up with her.

One woman is coming to grips with her past; the other is grasping for her future. But as each treads the same hallowed trail, it will knot their destinies together in a most miraculous way.

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Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

Lonesome Dove is an epic Western adventure that follows two retired Texas Rangers on one final cattle drive across the American frontier. Along the journey, they encounter danger, friendship, heartbreak, and unforgettable characters who make the story feel incredibly real. It is widely considered one of the greatest Western novels ever written for good reason. This Pulitzer Prize-winning classic is an absolute must-read. 27 Best Long Books Over 500 Pages that Are Worth Your Time


A love story, an adventure, and an epic of the frontier, Larry McMurtry’s Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, Lonesome Dove, the third book in the Lonesome Dove tetralogy, is the grandest novel ever written about the last defiant wilderness of America.

Journey to the dusty little Texas town of Lonesome Dove and meet an unforgettable assortment of heroes and outlaws, whores and ladies, Indians and settlers. Richly authentic, beautifully written, always dramatic, Lonesome Dove is a book to make us laugh, weep, dream, and remember.

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Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

Mad Mabel is a twist-filled mystery that follows eighty-one-year-old Elsie Fitzpatrick, whose quiet life begins to unravel when a curious young girl starts asking questions about her past. As long-buried secrets come to light, the novel cleverly moves between different timelines to reveal the truth. You will love the unexpected twists, dark humor, and memorable characters. Also read 7 Psychological Thrillers I Finished in a Day as a Slow Reader



From Sally Hepworth, the New York Times bestselling author of The Soulmate and The Good Sister, comes a twist-filled, darkly funny mystery about the two kinds of people no one ever expects to be murderers: little girls and old ladies.

Meet Mad Mabel.

Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick is eighty-one years old. She’s lived on her idyllic street, Kenny Lane, for sixty years–longer than anyone else. Aside from being a curmudgeon who minds everyone else’s business, few would suspect that Elsie has a past that she has worked exceedingly hard at concealing. Because when it comes to murder, no one ever suspects little girls or old ladies. And Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick, once a little girl and now an old lady, has a strange history of people in her life coming to a foul end.

When a new little girl (talkative, curious, nosy) moves into the neighborhood and stops at nothing to befriend Elsie, her carefully-constructed life threatens to come crashing down as the secrets in Elsie’s past start coming to light. Who was “Mad Mabel” fifty years ago? Who is Elsie Fitzpatrick today? And if the past has a habit of repeating itself, who has the most to lose?

Told with Sally Hepworth’s twists, humor, charm, and heart, MAD MABEL is novel that weaves past and present together–through the power of justice and redemption, and all the way to its stunning conclusion.

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The River Is Waiting by Wally Lamb

The River Is Waiting is a deeply emotional novel about guilt, redemption, and the long road toward forgiveness. After one tragic mistake destroys his family and lands him in prison, Corby must learn to survive behind bars while searching for hope and healing. Along the way, unexpected friendships remind him that compassion can exist even in the darkest places. It is a powerful, thought-provoking story filled with heartbreak and humanity.


Corby Ledbetter is struggling. New fatherhood, the loss of his job, and a growing secret addiction have thrown his marriage to his beloved Emily into a tailspin. And that’s before he causes the tragedy that tears the family apart.

Sentenced to prison, Corby struggles to survive life on the inside, where he bears witness to frightful acts of brutality but also experiences small acts of kindness and elemental kinship with a prison librarian who sees his light and some of his fellow offenders, including a tender-hearted cellmate and a troubled teen desperate for a role model. Buoyed by them and by his mother’s enduring faith in him, Corby begins to transcend the boundaries of his confinement, sustained by his hope that mercy and reconciliation might still be possible. Can his crimes ever be forgiven by those he loves?

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The Names by Florence Knapp

The Names is an original and emotionally rich novel that explores how one small decision can completely change the course of a family’s life. When Cora hesitates over what to name her newborn son, the story unfolds across three different versions of the future, each shaped by that single choice. Through these alternate lives, the novel explores love, family, domestic abuse, healing, and hope. It is one of those books you just can’t put down once you begin.



In the wake of a catastrophic storm, Cora sets off with her nine-year-old daughter, Maia, to register her son’s birth. Her husband, Gordon, respected in the community but a controlling presence at home, intends for her to follow a long-standing family tradition and name the baby after him. But when faced with the decision, Cora hesitates…

Spanning thirty-five years, what follows are three alternate and alternating versions of their lives, shaped by Cora’s last-minute choice of name. In richly layered prose, The Names explores the painful ripple effects of domestic abuse, the messy ties of family, and the possibilities of autonomy and healing.

Through a prism of what-ifs, Florence Knapp invites us to consider the “one . . . precious life” we are given. Full of hope, this is the story of three names, three versions of a life, and the infinite possibilities that a single decision can spark. It is the story of one family and love’s endless capacity to endure, no matter what fate has in store.

The book’s brilliantly imaginative structure, propulsive storytelling, and emotional power are certain to make The Names a modern classic.

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