The Books I Recommend to Friends

When a friend asks what they should read next, I try not to hand them some generic "best books ever" list. I think about the person. Some want a story to disappear into for a weekend. Some want a book that leaves them rattled. Some want something that makes the world feel bigger and less tidy than it did the day before, and others want to feel what others have felt, to walk in someone else's shoes.

I end up recommending many of the same titles, despite my best efforts. Every book here got five stars from me on Goodreads, but stars are a poor signal on their own - I've written about why rating systems are broken elsewhere. The useful question is not "is this good?" but "good for who?"

So here is a list of books I recommend, depending on what my friends are looking for.

https://www.kenreid.co.uk/blog/books-i-recommend-to-friends.html