Things that Make Me Instantly Want to Read a Book

Above: accurate representation of my to-read list


I do try to be selective about which books I add to my to-read list, but there are certain things which make me instantly want to read a book. Here are some of them:

1. Books about books

I need to read The Book Thief, How to Find Love in a Bookshop, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, and so many more.

2. Old friends reuniting

I loved A Wedding In December, and I have The Fifth Letter on my to-read list. In a similar vein, I would recommend Amsterdam, and I want to get my hands on It's Always the Husband.

3. Locked room mysteries



I would recommend The Moonstone and Fantasy in Death. I also want to read The Strings of Murder and Cover Her Face.

4. Books where the characters are locked in during an investigation

I highly recommend And Then There Were None and Murder on the Orient Express, and my to-read list includes The Woman in Cabin 10 and Icy Silence.

5. Memory loss

My favourites include The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, Before I Go to Sleep, and Elizabeth Is Missing. I'm also looking forward to reading The Housekeeper and the Professor.

6. Strong female protagonists



I love the In Death series by J.D. Robb, the Kim Stone series by Angela Marsons, and Kill the Father (to be the first in a series featuring Columba Caselli). I'm also eager to try the Natalie King series by Anne Buist, and the Millennium series by Stieg Larsson.

7. Plot twists



I highly recommend The Ice Beneath Her, I Let You Go, Before I Go to Sleep, and Gone Girl. I'm hoping for similarly jaw-dropping plot twists in Big Little Lies, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, It's Always the Husband, and The Kind Worth Killing.

8. Alternating points of view and/or timelines

I would recommend The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, I Let You Go, and The Ice Beneath Her. I want to read All the Light We Cannot See, The Secret History, and Big Little Lies.

9. Good book covers



My favourites include The Children Act, The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, The Countenance Divine, and The Road. My to-read list includes Lucky Jim, The Last Days of Leda Grey, and Everything I Never Told You.

10. Interesting retellings

I want to read The Penelopiad, The Song of Achilles, House of Names, Holmes: Volume 1, and A Study in Charlotte.


What things make you instantly want to read a book? Let me know, either in the comments below or via Twitter!