Hall of Fame Reading List

The current favorites (also a living document, curated by whatever mood I'm in when updating.)

By Grace Smith

Published August 19, 2024

If you'd like to support Words Like Silver financially (which allows me to devote more time to its development), you can shop my picks directly on Bookshop, a platform that supports independent booksellers. Not all books I reference are available there—most are—so alternatively, you can shop at a local favorite, Barnes & Noble, or support your local library. I just ask that you don't buy these from Amazon. (Thank you.)

Books stacked in one half of a carry-on suitcase.

This list is definitely non-exhaustive, but covers a few different types of reads: books that were formative, five-star experiences, and books I reread regularly for comfort. You can sort of split this list into escapism and brain food (although in each category, there is and can be overlap.) There are the books that are most entertaining to me, the books that have made me think, the books that feel most like myself and my taste—all different. I pride myself on reading widely across literary vs. commercial, old vs. new, writers I agree vs. disagree with, etc,. so like to think I'm pretty open-minded. Any book has a chance to make the hall of fame.

If a book makes me cry or significantly changes me, it may make it to this list. Plus, don't discount the role of the right book at the right time. I've highlighted titles I've gotten around to reviewing, and hope to eventually tackle all of them (and/or transfer them over from the old site.)

I hope you'll find a new read to love.

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A

The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
Midnight at the Electric by Jodi Lynn Anderson
Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson
The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh

B

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
How to Disappear: Notes on Invisibility in an Age of Transparency by Akiko Busch

C

Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson
Gallagher Girls by Ally Carter (series)
A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro (series)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (series)

D

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

F

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick (series)

G

anything by Louise Glück

J

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

K

After the North Pole by Erling Kagge
Small Damages by Beth Kephart
This Is the Story of You by Beth Kephart
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

L

The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity by Daniel Z. Lieberman and Michael E. Long

M

Fingerprints of You by Kristen-Paige Madonia
Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta
Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead (series)
Cinder by Marissa Meyer (series)
Famous in a Small Town by Emma Mills
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Hateship, Friendship, Loveship, Courtship, Marriage by Alice Munro
You're Not Listening: What You're Missing and Why It Matters by Kate Murphy

N

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

O

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
The Long Goodbye by Meghan O'Rourke
anything by Mary Oliver (like
Upstream: Essays)

P

Even in Paradise by Chelsey Philpot

R

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

S

Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain
Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger
The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider
The Memory Illusion by Dr. Julia Shaw
I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Mountain Sounds by Grace Smith (had to)
This Unfinished World: And Other Stories by Amber Sparks
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (audio only)
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

T

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui

W

The Wren Hunt by Mary Watson
Labor of Love: The Invention of Dating by Moira Weigel
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Y

Places No One Knows by Brenna Yovanoff

Some Favorite Writers—

Mary Oliver; Maggie Stiefvater; Louise Glück; Anne Carson; Jandy Nelson; Melina Marchetta; Jodi Lynn Anderson; etc,.

If I Had to Pick the First Novels You Should Read from Here—

But, of course, if you're a snob about young adult fiction, I might pick differently. Just novels, also; I also have my favorite poetry or nonfiction picks.

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson
and my own, obviously, should it ever enter the land of the living—

If I Had to Pick the First Nonfiction Reads—

The most transformative, or the most articulate for my thoughts and life philosophy. Probably a decent mix of purpose, connection, awe, nature, etc,. but I really got stuck on which one to pick for number three.

You're Not Listening: What You're Missing and Why It Matters by Kate Murphy
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman