I Read 50 Books this Year. Here are the 5 I Couldn’t Put Down

5 gripping and interesting fiction novels that will help you increase the number of books you can read per year.

If you’re looking to get back into reading or increase the number of books you read per year, having a list of books you can’t put down is crucial. I’m sure all of us have gone through the painful experience of being stuck in a book we just don’t gel with, which then hinders us from moving on to other books we might enjoy. Using your library and finding books you enjoy is the best way to be able to read more.

Since I read so much, I’ve been through my fair share of terrible and wonderful books. I tend to stick to mostly fiction books in the thriller, mystery, historical, fantasy, and horror genres as I find those to be the most interesting and engrossing stories. I’m proud that I’ve been able to influence many of my friends to read more books using this methodology — suggesting books that you just can’t put down.

I thought I’d share the wealth with all of you on Medium, too! Here are 5 books out of the 50 that I’ve read so far this year that kept me turning pages until the end.

1. Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
2. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
3. 11/22/63 by Stephen King
4. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
5. Penance by Kanae Minato

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

355 pages 4.2 rating on Goodreads

Last year, I probably had 5 different people suggest that I read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Since I’m a library gal, I had to wait literally 15 weeks to get that book. I thought I’d pick up some other Taylor Jenkins Reid (TJR) books in the meantime.

After breezing through Malibu Rising (which is also really good), Daisy Jones & The Six fell into my Libby audiobook shelf. I proceeded to listen to it in 3 days, I simply couldn’t put it down. While I know audiobooks aren’t for everyone, I thought listening to this book was a great way to read it because it’s told Documentary-style with many different voices.

The book is about a band in the 70s and all of their relationships, performances, and the creation of their music. There’s drama, love, heartbreak, beautiful lyrics, and of course — sex, drugs, and rock & roll. I felt like the band was real the entire book (apparently TJR loosely based the book off of Steve Nicks and Fleetwood Mac), as TJR paints such a vivid picture of the scene, the characters, and their interactions. This is one of those books I love so much that I hope it is never turned into a movie because I want to preserve the version in my head.

It starts out a little slow but stick with it, I promise.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

378 pages 4.38 rating on Goodreads

The Song of Achilles is a truly beautiful love story set in Greek mythology, centered around the Battle of Troy. I actually cried a bit in the end, and even though I easily cry during movies or Sarah Mclachlan SPCA commercials — it takes a lot for a book to make me cry.

The imagery and dialogue is so so beautiful. I wish I could describe it with another adjective but it’s a beautiful masterpiece of a book. You’ll understand that when you read it. You experience the love and pain between the two main characters as if it’s your own love and pain. My heart grew a few sizes bigger reading this book.

I loved all of the Greek mythology woven throughout as well. This is a book you can learn from and enjoy the story of at the same time.

11/22/63 by Stephen King

849 pages 4.32 rating on Goodreads

This book is very long, but oh my the character development and the relationships and the 60s references are worth every turn of the 800-something pages. It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read.

The book’s plot is technically about time travel — the main character goes back in time to try to save JFK. What you read is about so much more than that, though. Stephen King does his typical spot-on job of using unique descriptions and metaphors that grip you from page to page. I also don’t throw this around lightly, but it ends perfectly in a way that leaves you feeling satisfied while still wanting to live in the world he created a little bit longer.

Quick side note: a lot of other books screw up time travel mechanics in a way that ruins the book for the reader. Stephen King gets around this with a hilarious quip from one of the characters in the beginning of the book. The character says he knows nothing about how the “thing” is supposed to work — the thing being what triggers time travel, and I’m leaving this intentionally vague so that I don’t spoil it for you — but to marvel in it’s magic all the same. This line helps you remember that this is fiction and to not get caught up in the details. Time travel isn’t really the point of the book, anyway.

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

369 pages 4.10 rating on Goodreads

Even if you’ve already seen the incredible Scorsese movie, I highly recommend reading this book. By knowing the ending already, I enjoyed the book even more as I could watch the story unravel and catch all the little details. Plus, the ending still gutted me like I didn’t know what was coming.

If you haven’t seen the movie, Shutter Island is hard to describe because it’s not just one plot, it’s many layers of a plot. On the surface, though, it’s about a U.S. Marshall investigating the disappearance of a mental patient from a hospital on a secluded island.

Dennis Lehane is a genius storyteller and just like the other books on the list, you feel like you are there alongside the characters the entire read. He weaves imagery in a similar sense to King, where he manages to find the perfect way to “show not tell” what the characters are experiencing. This was one of those books I stayed up reading later than I should because I kept telling myself ‘just one more chapter.’

If you love Shutter Island, pick up Mystic River next. In a similar fashion, it doesn’t matter if you’ve seen the movie already because the book will give you a completely new perspective on the same story.

Penance by Kanae Minato

240 pages 3.85 rating on Goodreads

For such a short novel, Kanae Minato packs a lot of emotion into this book. It’s robbery in my opinion that the Goodreads rating is so low. Despite the rating, I highly recommend reading Penance.

Penance was my foray into the “Japanese horror” genre, which has provided a glorious rabbit hole of more incredible books. The genre sounds scarier than it is. Wikipedia describes Japanese horror as such:

“…derived from popular culture in Japan, generally noted for its unique thematic and conventional treatment of the horror genre differing from the traditional Western representation of horror.[1] Japanese horror tends to focus on psychological horror, tension building (suspense), and supernatural horror…”

Aka if you’re in the U.S. like me, Japanese horror contains murder-mystery-psychological-thriller novels that are set in Japan. These books aren’t comprised of gore and monsters like what we consider to be horror.

Penance is about a murder that took place years ago, but is told from 5 different perspectives. You’ll feel the need to continue turning from page to page as you learn unravel more details from each character. I loved the way the author cut to the core of each character in their chapter — you really learn to understand each of their motivations and actions. Like all good page-turners, there’s a pretty great twist at the end.

Trigger warning: there is mention of sexual assault and the murder victim is very young.

If you do end up liking this book, I highly recommend that you read The Devotion of Suspect X next. This book is also considered Japanese horror but it’s the first in a series, so you’ll have plenty more to read from there. I gave Penance the slight edge because I enjoyed it more overall, however The Devotion of Suspect X’s twist ending took my breath away. It was so intelligent and nuanced that I could not see it coming. You know who the murderer is right away in The Devotion of Suspect X, making the twist that much sweeter.

Want more book recommendations? Connect with me on Goodreads to see my updates in real time.

Need help reading more books? Here’s my advice on how to read more per year:

Need help getting a library card? I explain how to get a library card from your couch here:

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Thanks to James White for the idea for this article