Whether you’re looking for a new read for yourself or trying to find a gift for someone, check out my favs listed below!

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I have always been a reader by nature. Growing up, my mom made sure I was surrounded by books and I was reading before I was five years old. My dad also read at least a book a week. My influence for reading was strong. So much so that I graduated college with a bachelor’s degree in English literature.

Research now shows that we should read to our kids daily to encourage literacy and language development. Furthermore, seeing you reading a book will make them more inclined to also read because it’s learned behavior (monkey see, monkey do).

We’ve read to Viv basically since she was born. She loves to read and has recently expressed to us she can’t wait to learn how to read by herself. Because I believe reading should come at all ages, I’m also including a section of my favorite toddler/children’s books.

If you are not a bookworm, don’t worry. The books I’m including in these recommendations are not difficult reads. You don’t need a degree to understand or read them. They’re for anyone and everyone!

To make things a little more organized so you aren’t scrolling for days, I have broken my recommendations down into a few categories.

My Personal All-Time Favs:

• The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Untamed by Glennon Doyle
• Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
• The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
• Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
• Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis
• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• Harry Potter series

Gifts for Mom Friends:

• Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
• Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist
• Period Power by Maisie Hill
• Whiskey in a Teacup by Reese Witherspoon
• Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed

Thriller Novels for Women:

• The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
• Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
• The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes
• The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
• Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

Memoirs + Tell-All’s:

• The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gaines
• The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
• Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
• Wild by Cheryl Strayed
• Between Two Worlds by Zainab Salbi
• The Wolf of Wall Street by Jordan Belfort

Personal Development Recs:

• Atomic Habits by James Clear
• Failing Forward by John C. Maxwell
• The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
• The One Thing by Gary Keller
• Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo
• High Performance Habits by Brendon Burchard
• The Power of One More by Ed Mylett

Recommendations for Men:

• The Martian by Andy Weir
• The Boys from Biloxi by John Grisham
• The Shining by Steven King
• Tupac Shakur: The Authorized Biography
• Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins
• What If? by Randall Munroe
• Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki

Recommendations for Young Kids:

• Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne
• Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag
• Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
• Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
• The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
• Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola
• Berenstain Bears by Stan & Jan Berenstain (any of them–Viv loves these!)
• I Spy by Jean Marzollo (any of them)
• Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
• Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
• Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Recommendations for Babies + Toddlers (Viv’s Favs):

• The Pout Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen
• Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault 
• Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
• Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr.
• Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
• Where’s Spot? by Eric Hill 
• A Little Emotional by Chris Eliopoulos
• We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen
• Corduroy by Don Freeman
• The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
• Goodnight, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann

There you have it. Just a few of my personal favorites (or my toddler’s or husband’s!) from a few different genres. This is in no way a complete list of my favorites. If I tried to include everything, I would be here for days and so would you. This is a summary and favorite list of some that I think are great for just about anyone.

If you ever want to talk books or need a specific recommendation for someone in your life, or for yourself, I would love to be a part of that conversation! You can find me on Instagram @minnesotamillennialmom and send me a DM or drop me an email to minnesotamillennialmom@gmail.com and I’ll gladly get back to you as soon as possible!