International Recommendations

The Secret History

A must-read for every "Dark Academia" fan!
Donna Tartt describes the story of six young students from a Greek course, who are forced by a murder to deal with moral concepts and their future. In a nutshell: Dark Academia vibes meet structured lies, intrigue and fears. The individual characters and their actions are well thought out, making you feel part of the circle of friends and plot. Donna Tartt's writing style is sophisticated and thus sets just the right mood for the scenery she describes. Maybe I should re-dress and take a Latin/Greek class after all....

Normal People

Once upon time, people spoke about Sally Rooney's second novel as a kind of cult hit or a hot tip for those in the literary know. After a ratings-smashing BBC adaptation (timed perfectly for the start of lockdown) and several years of impressive sales, virtually the whole world has now heard of, if not read this novel.

If you do belong to the few who have not yet got round to it, do believe the hype. Rooney has achieved something quite remarkable with this novel by writing something that expertly handles and describes the very real angst of modern life for young people in an intelligent and literary way, and in so doing has appeal to readers across a broader spectrum than perhaps any other book I can remember. It's a very modern love story told with all the tension, boredom, humour and tragedy that such things entail and a book that has established its author as one of the most important voices in the English-speaking literary world. Don't be bloody minded, just read it!

Funny Story

Read and loved! Emily Henry is the master of light reading, but she doesn't shy away from more unwieldy characters either. How something new can emerge from a completely ruined wedding and two totally shattered hearts is simply convincingly described. The right book for in-between times when you want to think about the good things in life.

The Guest

Alex is a guest in other people's homes and lives - she invites herself in, takes what she can get and then disappears. Through Alex, the reader of Cline's new book takes on the role of a spectator, observing wealthy people's lives on Long Island from the outside looking in. Cline does a great job in conveying the uncanny feeling of long, hot summer days spent at your leisure, but there is more to it: something rotten lurking underneath the surface of all that decadence, a profound sense of unhappiness and aimlessness. We never reach the end of that already fading summer, though - "The Guest" is, like the Long Island vacationers, completely sealed off in its own world. Alex has no existence beyond this space, her thoughts and actions are not explicable by her past and remain inexplicable all along. This might be the real mystery at the heart of Cline's rich novel (in any sense of the word).

Somewhere Beyond the Sea

Wouldn't you like to be here?'
We've all been waiting so bad for this sequel!
Finally TJ Klune invites readers back to Mr. Parnassus Orphanage for magical Children at Masyas Island and offers a welcome reunion with the beloved Characters.
It'll definitely make you happy! Klune continues to spin the heart-warming tale and this book is just as beautiful to read and as captivating as the first volume!
Who wouldn't love to be part of this magical family?

James

Everett's new novel arrives so highly accoladed that the expectations are through the roof, which can be a disadvantage. Having never really read Twain, I kind of feel like "James" isn't for me and I disagree with other critics proclaiming that this retelling is fully enjoyable on its own. You might not have any troubles following the plot, but you will miss some of the more subtle hints and literary tricks. Having said that, I still had a great time reading it - Everett is a terrific storyteller, and he smoothly jumps between humour and the darker themes. Compared to his other novels that tend to be rather cynical in tone, with this one he really leans into a warmer, more human and ultimately life-affirming direction. For me, "James" works as a heartfelt adventure story that effortlessly tackles some very important topics (and I could not shake off Moon River for weeks).

Dinosaur Therapy

If themes like depression, (social) anxiety and overthinking don?t affect you, they will definitely be affecting someone close to you. These short 3-4 panel comics from Instagram (@dinosandcomics) deal with these topics with humor and tact.
And CUTENESS!

The Midnight Library

This book is all about regrets. Do you also sometimes catch yourself thinking: "I wish I had done that differently"? Nora thinks that about almost every decision she's ever made. So after a suicide attempt, she finds herself in a space between life and death; in her case: the Midnight Library. There she can pick any book containing an alternative life.
Though sometimes a little too cheesy and conventional for my taste this book made me consider my own life choices and whether it really would be a good idea to make changes - even if I could!
No matter which of Matt Haig's books takes your fancy, you'll always be taken on an emotional journey full of original ideas and valuable life advice.

Twisted Love

First things first: Please note, that the relationship in this book is kind of toxic and shouldn't be seen as a normal relationship narrative. This book contains trigger warnings, one can find in the book itself.
So Tik Tok made me buy it and I wasn't disappointed. Twisted Love is one of those books, you can't stop reading. Drama, secrets, hot main characters... To be honest best friend's sister - one could say enemies - to lovers is that kind of plot Ana Huang writes best. And damn, the main love interests background history is way to sad and cruel to be not romanticized. A romance of a lifetime.

Wildfire

Wildfire is definitely one of my personal highlights of the year.
After we flew over the ice with the protagonists in "Icebreaker" and were able to follow their fast-paced love story, we now get to go to summer camp with the shy Russ and the extroverted Rory. There they both spend their summer as counselors to take a break from Maple Hills and their personal demons. It's just silly that they both spent a night together shortly before, which didn't exactly end positively. ..

Wildfire is full of humor and emotion, but also angst, as the protagonists try to abide by the "no staff fraternising" rule while supporting each other in dealing with their daddy issues. Rory and Russ' interactions with each other are just sweet, and the secondary characters at camp, as well as those we know from Maple Hills, add an enormous feel-good factor. Even if wildfire is not the expected sports romance, the story is definitely worthwhile because it gets by without any third act drama and contains very little miscommunication.
All in all, wildfire is a sugary sweet, humorous love story, perfect for fall.

Nexus

Nexus falls in line with Harari's previous books: well-researched, immensely informative, and thought-provoking. In the age of AI, does accessible information necessarily contain the truth? An important contribution in our times of rapid transition.

Intermezzo

While Normal People is still my top Rooney, this one is now firmly in second place - a brilliant portrayal of brotherhood, loneliness and grief, a must read!

The Life Impossible

Life affirming and somewhat magical, a tale of new beginnings, grief and guilt, friendship and wonder - HE DOES IT SO WELL!

Baumgartner

This book is an engaging meditation on the twilight of our lives, how we confront our past, our future and our end, which might come sooner as expected. Reading it made me feel connected to Baumgartner and the author himself!

Talking at Night

I can´t even begin to describe how much I loved these characters. This is a stunning, emotional novel and I absolutely loved it!
And it might fill a Rooney shaped hole in your reading life ;-)

The Burnout

Kinsella once more delivers the perfect mix of quirky, touching and relatable. Read this book now before you do have one more day of being overworked and under appreciated.

The Rachel Incident

This is a brilliant coming of age story that captures all the highs and lows friendship, dumb choices, ill-conceived romances, massive insecurity masked by over-confidence and alcohol. I raced through the never-ending drama of being in your twenties!
This is one for you if you love Dolly Alderton and Sally Rooney.

A Novel Love Story

She did it again, once more I could read a truly original romance with a blend of magical realism: Poston is my Rachel Flowers!

Tom Lake

A Midwestern cherry farm in 2020, a family saga, the memories of a season at a summer-stock theatre full of love, loss and self-discovery... this book contains multitudes of family dynamics and lore, and all of them are wonderful - much recommended!

Happiness Falls

I loved being inside the mind of a 20-something-year old daughter who is over-analyzing everything leading up to and following her father's disappearance. This novel explores the themes of family dynamics, non speaking autism and the Korean-American experience in such interesting ways - highly recommended!

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