Every Book I’ve Read During Quarantine

I love to read. For me, reading is an escape, a way to immerse myself in the words and stories of others. Reading is a way for me to learn, to question and ultimately to grow. I get really attached to my books and their characters and often cry when I’m finished. And while quarantine has been tough, one of the bright spots is that I’ve been more intentional about carving out time to read. Or escape. Nothing like 3 months in a 500 square foot apartment to make you crave an outlet amiright? Kidding, kidding! Sort of 😉

When it comes to books, I enjoy a variety of genres and appreciate both reading for fun and reading for guidance, growth and education. I typically go between memoirs, personal growth, fiction, drama and espionage.

Since early March, I’ve read 12 full books (which was my goal for the year, so *snaps for me*) and they’ve been quite a mix! Sharing a bit about each one and my takeaways below.

Maybe You Should Talk To Someone by Lorri Gottlieb

I started reading this one just before COVID hit NYC and finished it during the beginning of quarantine. This is essentially Gottlieb’s memoir, and tells the story of her life through the lens of her identity as a therapist. And while the book is about Gottlieb, it’s also about her clients, her own experience in therapy, her therapist, her experience as a therapist and ultimately how we understand, stand under, and define ourselves. I love how she uses her client’s experiences to reflect on her own, which in turn helped me work through my own experiences. Reading the book was almost like therapy in and of itself (which by now, hopefully you know that I love). Honestly, this was one of my favorite books ever and it’s one that I 100% plan on reading again. 

Carry on, Warrior by Glennon Doyle

Let me start by saying that I love Glennon. She is a bright light that isn’t afraid to talk about the darkness and she has this magical way with words that makes me feel seen. That being said, I’m relatively new to her and followed her on social and listened to her on podcasts before reading any of her books. Earlier this year, after listening to Glennon on the podcast circuit discussing Untamed, I immediately ordered it. But instead of starting it right away, I decided to backtrack and begin my Glennon journey by reading all of her books in the order that they were written. I admit, when I started the first one I was like ughhh shoot. Am I going to be able to read this when I already know how it ends!? The answer is yes. Even though I know Glennon now, I was still able to learn and grow along with Glennon then. Her first memoir is a deep dive into the very real struggle of self like and self love, of figuring out who you are and how you fit and meeting yourself where you’re at. I loved it, though at times it was a little too rosey for me. Which brings me to Love Warrior…

Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle

Glennon’s second memoir rocked my socks off. The beginning is tough. The words are hard, the emotions are hard, the processing you go though as a reader is hard. But, as Glennon says, “we can do hard things”, and this book sure as hell proves it. It’s brutal but beautiful, frustrating and encouraging. I sort of felt like this one chewed me up and spit me out emotionally and I was so grateful for that. That being said, I can see how this might not be for everyone. It’s super raw and unfiltered, which is exactly why I loved it but if you don’t love those things, you probably won’t like this. When I closed the cover, it felt like a closing chapter in my own journey because I learned so much about myself as a result.

The Lies That Bind by Emily Giffin

I snagged this one on pre-order (as I always do with Giffin’s books) and hadn’t gotten around to reading it until, well, the global pandemic hit. Giffin is a wonderful storyteller – she creates real, flawed and emotionally complex characters and always dives right in to complicated relationship dynamics. I love that despite the many plot twists, her books typically end exactly how I want them to – on a high note. This one is no exception, but the twists and turns are a bit more involved. At its core, the book is about love and truth, the heart wrenching decisions we make, and the ones we don’t. It takes place in NYC during 9/11, and while I wasn’t living in the city at that point, the imagery of the city combined with the emotional memories of that time really hit home. I cried quite a bit.

These Ghosts Are Family by Maisy Card

Wowza, what a read! Elsa and I started this one together and I could not put it down. I talked about it in this post so I won’t go into too much more depth here. I do want to add that the structure of the book is very unique – it’s written from multiple perspectives and in different formats and dialects, too. In that sense it can be challenging to follow at times, but when I felt that way I simply slowed down so I could really process the story. It was not an easy read in many ways – format and subject matter wise – but that’s a big reason why I highly recommend it. It was different, challenging and extremely thought provoking.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

My friend Lindsae recommended this to me and I’m so glad she did! It’s a multi-generational family story told from different perspectives that spans multiple decades, from the 1940s to the 1990s. The Vanishing Half tells the story of twin sisters, Stella and Desiree, who are raised in a small, southern community solely inhabited by Black people who strive to marry lighter Black people. The twins end up going different ways and ultimately choose to live in different worlds as adults – one lives her life as a Black woman and one passes as a white woman. Bennett addresses the complexities and history of passing, familial and societal expectations, and how one person’s decisions have the power to impact generations. The book fostered a lot of discussions in our home, not just about racism but about choices and identity. Though the book is fiction, I really appreciated the historical context, the unexpected plot twists and the psychological depth.

The Mothers by Brit Bennett

I loved Bennett’s writing so much that I immediately downloaded her first book and plowed through that, too. The Mothers is an emotionally challenging and complicated read, telling the story of love, secrets and the lasting impact of our decisions. The story – and the characters – truly come alive on the page and I loved that I thought about them long after I closed the cover. I really wish I read both of Bennett’s books in a book group setting because they were a lot to process, in a good way.

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

Jojo Moyes is another one of my favorite authors! This one is a historical fiction novel about packhorse librarians in rural Kentucky during the Depression. Their goal: to deliver books to people who don’t have them and ultimately bring knowledge, stories and truth to the mountain people of Kentucky. The women do this, doggedly, despite the massive resistance – and even violence – against them. I connected deeply to the two main characters and, despite this book being fiction, underlined quite a bit. What do you do when society seems to be working against you? How can you be heard – especially as a woman – when you’re expected to stay silent? A compelling story about friendship, love and personal strength that felt timely, despite taking place decades ago.

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

I heard about this book from just about everyone and loved that it’s set in present day NYC and Philly. The story is about Emira, a young Black babysitter, her well-intentioned but entitled white employer, Alix, and their incredibly complex relationship. For me, the story feels timely, relevant and at times, even uncomfortable! Reid is a gifted storyteller and I appreciated that she directly and indirectly made me pause, ask myself some tough questions and address my own privilege and biases. This might be one of my favorite books and one I think everyone should read.

The Other Woman, The New Girl and The Order by Daniel Silva

Hi my name is Nora and I LOVE espionage novels. Mass market paperback fiction is my jam especially anything and everything by Daniel Silva. I live for his primary character, Israeli spy Gabriel Allon, and have read the entire Allon series all the way through more than once. Lucky for me, I was behind on his recent releases so I spent the last 2.5 weeks playing catch up. I literally don’t know how to explain the plot of any of these books without giving something away so I’ll just say that I love how Silva’s books, though fictional, focus on international relations and complicated political and religious dynamics. Seriously I cannot recommend the series enough! Truth be told after reading The Other Woman I plowed through The New Girl (the next book in the series) AND The Order, his latest book that just came out! A quick note about The Order – it was BANANAS. Like all of Silva’s books, it’s a work of fiction but it’s based on fact. This one centers on some fascinating theories about the origins of Judaism and Christianity. I know, you didn’t think I was going to go there did you? Crazy cool stuff.

WHEW! So what’s next? I’m working my way through White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo with my book club and Untamed by Glennon Doyle. I like to read Untamed it when I can really think about it, underline, write in the margins and journal 🙂 I also started reading It Starts With An Egg to mix up my genres and educate myself about my body and the fertility process. No, fertility is not on our radar right now, which is why I think it’s the perfect time to read the book! The less pressure, the better 🙂

I may keep updating this post as I go, so stay tuned and please don’t hesitate to share any and all recs. I’d love to hear about what you’ve been reading!

Please note the products below have affiliate links – please use them for reference only (the “peek inside” feature on Amazon is helpful) and when you’re ready to buy, head over to one of these Black owned bookstores!

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