My [Current] Favorite Fiction Books

contactbeccasbooks
May 28, 2020
4 min read

Updated: Jul 4, 2020

When you launch a book blog, one of the first topics you should probably cover is your favorite books. The problem with that is that I'm a person who can't make a static list (sorry).

This post covers my current adult fiction favorites, and later I'll spill what I read with a flashlight after bedtime as a kid, what non-fiction I pick up when I want to learn, and my guilty pleasure genre — young adult books.

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Gods of Jade and Shadow is a recent favorite of mine. Set in Mexico during the Jazz Age, it follows the story of Casiopea Tun as she escapes her oppressive family to help a Mayan god of death kick his usurper brother to the curb. It's a fantasy book with one foot planted in real life and the other in the lands of legends and ancient religions. While the protagonist is a young woman, this is definitely an adult fantasy book as it takes on some tough topics like the true cost of immortality and the death of the world's oldest cultures.

Not only did I enjoy Gods of Jade and Shadow (ask my friends, I can't shut up about it), Moreno-Garcia has an extensive back catalog of novels to explore. The out-of-print (but still available used or in libraries) Certain Dark Things is a unique vampire story that takes a look at an alternate version of Mexico City and the impact of colonialism. Her publisher tied Signal to Noise to the popularity of Netflix's Stranger Things, and while it involves school kids messing with higher powers the similarities end there (in a good way). I look forward to reading her other novels and short stories soon. I'm also chomping at the bit to read her June 2020 release Mexican Gothic.

The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden

The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden is made up of The Bear and the Nightingale, The Girl in the Tower, and The Winter of the Witch. Vasilisa (or Vasya) lives in the wilds of medieval Russia with her family. Her world is changing, with priests and their sermons disrupting the world of Russian folklore and the creatures that keep it in balance, like stove guardians. When the Russian god of winter and death, Morozko, takes notice of her and her unique ability to see the spirits and demons, she's thrust into the conflict between church and tradition. As the series progresses, the scope grows from her village, to the king, to the fate of all Russia.

Putting this series next to Gods of Jade and Shadow is really pointing out how much I like brooding male protagonists, huh?

Salt Houses by Hala Alyan

As a white girl from the Midwest, my education didn't include much outside of the United States and Europe. The Middle East was pretty much just labeled as a big mess and left at that. When Salt Houses won the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, I jumped in the hold line at the library. This book opened my eyes to not just the history of Palestine and Israel, but the real effect it has on the Palestinian diaspora. While the book dealt with painful issues and the life of refugees, the family dynamic in the story reminded you that even the worst things can be a bit better with the right people around you.

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

When a lot of modern readers name their favorite classic romance, Pride and Prejudice gets tossed around a lot. While I appreciate the offerings of Jane Austen, my classic romance of choice is North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. When I studied abroad in the U.K. (shout-out to Harlaxton College!), North and South was assigned reading in our British Studies course. I don't remember a lot about other books we read, but the tale of Margaret Hale, cultured lady raised in London, and John Thornton, cotton mill owner from Milton (a fictional version of Manchester), sunk its nails in deep. The BBC miniseries pretty much cemented its place on my list of favorite books. I just wish I could find a regular-sized copy of it in hardcover!

Eat your heart out, Mr. Darcy.

Note: Yes, I do appreciate some movies made of books, like the Cranford miniseries (based off another Gaskell classic) and [gasp] the Keira Knightley version of Pride and Prejudice.

Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

This is another classic novel on my favorite book list partially because of its movie adaptation. I saw the 2015 adaptation of Far From The Madding Crowd starring Carey Mulligan and Matthias Schoenaerts and got really attached to Bathsheba Everdene, the central female character. While the book is written by a man and told from the perspective of Gabriel Oak, one of Bathsheba's suitors, I really enjoy that she is a complex character with a lot of depth. She makes mistakes and learns from them, growing from a poor young woman to a wealthy landowner navigating the minefield of love. Whereas a lot of classic books throw female characters to the wolves when they make mistakes (especially romantic ones), Hardy gives her a realistic SPOILER happy ending. It doesn't hurt that Gabriel Oak is pretty progressive for his time in terms of dealing with a female boss.

When one of my favorite illustrators, Nan Lawson, opened up commissions for fan art, I had her create Miss Everdeane in all her glory. The print is hanging up above my writing desk.

Image cropped wonky to prevent theft.

Of course, this is by no means an exhaustive list of my favorite fiction books. I mean, I throw Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune by Roselle Lim at everyone looking for a heartwarming tale, and for a solid two years everyone on my Christmas list got Pachinko by Min Jin Lee under the tree. Celeste Ng knows the right strings to pull to make me cry, Sarah Perry can scare me with serpents and undead creepers, and Margaret Atwood makes me take to the streets and march. To learn more about my favorite books, check out my Goodreads profile!