The desire to immerse oneself in the written word is a basic human instinct for most of us; and, as a thread on Twitter showed us this week, the desire to rediscover a love of reading with brilliant books is a common one.

TV writer Caroline Framke tweeted, “I want to remember how much I love reading in 2019”, and called for her followers to share the books “So good it made you greedy to finish it all at once.”

Trying to remember how much I love reading in 2019, please tell me about a book (preferably fiction, doesn’t matter how new/old) that was so good it made you greedy to finish it all at once

— Caroline Darya Framke (@carolineframke) December 26, 2018

My suggestions would be many, but a stand out isThe Widow, by Fiona Barton. It was so good, exciting, complex and fascinating, that it was the longest discussion we had about a book at book club, ever. (As opposed to a quick chat and then talking about ourselves.)

The Widowwas actually recommended to us by an author you may have heard of – Stephen King – who regularly suggests excellent reads. So far, he hasn’t missed the mark on any of them.

That’s the way most of us read books, though, isn’t it? On a recommendation by someone we trust.

After her first tweet, Caroline Framke also explained she had just read Celeste Ng’sEverything I Never Told You, which ‘destroyed’ her, and was the motivation for her tweet for more books to inhale.

(This post brought to you by Celeste Ng’s Everything I Never Told You, which just DESTROYED me after I inhaled it in a single night)

— Caroline Darya Framke (@carolineframke) December 26, 2018

So, what did Framke’s followers suggest for her? The tweet was liked 9000 times, and received 3500 comments – and Framke was so overwhelmed by the responses, she complied a Google Doc called ‘Books to Get Lost in 2k19’, divided into categories.

How helpful is that?

Framke shared what she called the “Top Contenders”, explaining; “These, to my eye, are the books that have been suggested the most. Of course, I’m just one person scanning through literally thousands of options, so the margin for error is sizeable here, but I did my best and am excited to read them all!”

This is her list, in her words:

“Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine,” Gail Honeyman “Conversations with Friends,” Sally Rooney “Less,” Andrew Sean Greer “My Year of Rest and Relaxation,” Ottessa Moshfegh “Circe,” Madeleine Miller The Broken Earth series, N.K. Jemisin “Pachinko,” Min Jin Lee “The Golem and the Jinni,” Helene Wecker “Little Fires Everywhere” / “Everything I Never Told You,” Celeste Ng “Homegoing,” Yaa Gyasi “Station Eleven,” Emily St. John Mandel

Listen to Mamamia’s new Book Club podcast…post continues after.

Framke also compiled a list called “Ooh Yes, That One”, which featured titles such asWhere the Crawdads Singby Delia Owens,The Hate You Give(AMAZING) by Angie Thomas,A Gentleman in Moscowby Amor Towles (BRILLIANT), and the entireCrazy Rich Asianseries by Kevin Kwan (YES).

Framke’s final list was “The Old(er) Standbys”; the books which have endured in popularity and excellence. Some of the titles included,11/22/63by Stephen King (AMEN),Call Me By Your Nameby Andre Aciman, andGone GirlandSharp Objectsby Gillian Flynn (OF COURSE).

And if all of that isn’t enough for you, here’s some of the suggestions which I know from personal experience are excellent (and yes, one was even recommended by Monica Lewinsky):

I would add Half A Yellow Sun. A breathtakingly-good read.

— Karen Van Drie (@worldlibraries) December 27, 2018

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr is incredibly lovely and engrossing.

— Nickle5 (@nicklep5) December 27, 2018

1)The Perks Of Being A Wallflower 2)Catcher In the Rye

— Aditya Singh (@AdityaS13944066) December 27, 2018

I am Pilgrim. (a teeny bit gruesome in places)

— Monica Lewinsky (@MonicaLewinsky) December 27, 2018

‘A Little Life’ by Hanya Yanagihara. Beautiful, harrowing, heart breaking, but one of the best things I’ve ever read.

— Ninjacat (@Subyloo21) December 27, 2018

‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St John Mandel, ‘Beartown’ (and its follow-up) by Fredrik Backman. @ChrisBohjalian writes beautiful books but I can’t pick a favorite. Enjoy!

— Susan G ⚓️????❄️☃️ (@SusanClerke) December 27, 2018

Do you have a book you devoured? Tell us in the comments below.

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