8 Thought-Provoking Books to Add to January's TBR

Westover's memoir is a simple story — she tracks how she moved on from her family's survivalist, anti-establishment lifestyle to ultimately earn a doctorate from Trinity College. But, my goodness, will it keep you guessing at every page. Westover's captivating storytelling makes it so that you have to keep reminding yourself you're reading a memoir, and the triumphant end is more than inspiring. Read here.

This one I've yet to tackle simply because anyone that reads it reports buckets of tears back. The story follows four college friends on their journey to fame in New York City, all tied together by their devotion to Jude. It's a novel about addiction, love, friendship and found family that is, apparently, devastating. Read here.

This one continues to top the must-read lists for a reason. Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini shares a story of friendship against the fraught history of Afghanistan from the 1960s to post-9/11. Wealthy Amir and his half-brother, Hassan, who also serves as Amir's father's servant, endure challenges to their relationship throughout the years as their country experiences tragedy around them. Read here.

You know the story of Huckleberry Finn — everybody does. It's a classic. What we don't know as well is the story from Jim's point of view, and that's what Percival Everett has delivered in what's being called one of the best books of 2024. Jim James and Huck head off on their down-river journey, but with new insight. Read here.

"My Dark Vanessa" gets, well, dark. At the center of this fictional yet all-too-real novel is Vanessa then and now, starting with the beginnings of her relationship with her English professor as a teenager and jumping back to the present as she reckons with the circumstances surrounding the affair. The story isn't black and white by any means, and Russell's depiction of grooming, while uncomfortable at times, leaves you satisfyingly conflicted. Read here.

This title is provocative — and it's supposed to be. This memoir by the former Nickelodeon star (you've heard of a little something called "iCarly," I assume?) is a no-holds-barred take on her childhood growing up as a child actor with an overzealous and capitalistic mother. But McCurdy also shares her road to recovery in a story that shares the work it takes to find your way back to yourself. Read here. (Pro tip: This one's great on audio.)

This one is sneaky good. On its surface, "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" is a novel of two friends who make video games together, to great success. But the deeper story within is about the importance of human connection, the unfairness of life and how friendship — no matter how many hiccups it goes through — can help us survive it all. Read here.

Chanel Miller is "Emily Doe" no more. Miller may have published her memoir in 2019, but its relevance holds up today. In 2015, Miller was sexually assaulted by Brock Turner on the campus of Stanford University in a case that put a stark spotlight on how we treat victims of SA in the United States. Miller broke her silence — and, more impactfully, her anonymity — to tell a story of survival and the power our words and voices hold. Read here.