It’s a resolution that many of us claim for our own come January 1: Read more books. And we start off well-intentioned, opening up to that first page in those first few days of the year as we emerge from our New Year’s food-and-champagne coma. But by February 1, we’ve put the book in a designated spot on the bedside table, where it sits collecting dust. But this year is going to be different. You’re going to accomplish that January reading resolutions goal—and we have the books that will help you do it.
No doubt distractions will arise (hello, mom life), but if a book is good, and we mean really, really good, like page-turning stay-up-too-late good, then you can’t help but make the time to devour it. These books all fall into that category. Browse the list below and find one that calls your name, then get ready to rock that resolution. Just be forewarned, you may need an extra cup of coffee in the morning to compensate for your upcoming late-night reading sessions.
The Best Books to Kick Off Your January Reading Resolutions
Books Out Now
Those of us who find ourselves fasciated by true crime will want to get our hands on this book immediately. It’s a reimagining of the infamous Ted Bundy case like you’ve never heard it before.
When the worst possible scenario strikes a Florida sorority house, chapter president Pamela Schumacher is left to deal with the aftermath. With the help of a reporter and a new found friend with a dark past, the trio aim to uncover how this murder is linked to the other crimes of the All-American Sex Killer.
After Gemma gets dumped by her boyfriend, she enlists the help of her sister, aunt, and best friend, Dax, to make her feel better. The drunk night leads to them performing a love-cleansing spell. When it inevitably goes awry, Gemma wakes up the next day to find her life completely unrecognizable—including Dax not knowing who she is. To reverse it, she needs to win back his friendship, but it’s not long before she realizes she may not want to go back to being just friends.
Especially after the passing of Matthew Perry, reading his book feels like a small way to pay homage to a man who played a big role in many of our lives. Take peek into the complicated life the beloved actor lived. Behind closed doors, Matthew Perry struggled with severe addiction. In his memoir, he recounts the struggles he endured after a life-threatening health scare. His story is raw and unforgettable, and one we can all learn from.
Start your reading goals by finishing a book in one sitting? The impossible is possible with this book.
Dannie and her best friend Bella could not be more different. Dannie’s straightforward lifestyle has left her wanting more, until one morning she wakes up five years in the future and everything is different—including the apartment she’s in and the man she’s with, who happens to be Bella’s fiancé. After spending one hour in this future world, she wakes up back in the present questioning her every move.
We’ve all felt the frustration of almost getting something, and the inevitable letdown those “what ifs” cause. The good news is, author Jordan Lee Dooley knows exactly how we can embrace those harsh moments of change to make them work for us. With practical steps, she shares exactly how to take the uncertainty and transform it into a means of finding what’s really meant for us. Talk about a great way to start the year!
Many of us know her as the beloved Lorelai Gilmore, and, as it turns out, Lauren Graham has quite the sense of humor, too! In her book of essays, she shares her life stories that are filled with hilarious anecdotes and plenty of sage advice that we can all take with us throughout the year ahead.
You may be familiar with Matt Haig from his bestselling novel The Midnight Library. This time, he hits us with a dose of reality rather than fantasy with what’s been dubbed as one of the most “feel-good books of the year” by The Washington Post. Brought together from years of notes, lists, and stories is a piece that serves as a reminder to slow down and take time to appreciate the life we have. What more could we ask for as we go into the new year?
It may not seem like that long ago, but it was all the way back in 2021 that the world got to hear Britney Spears speak in court about her life under conservatorship. It felt like, for the first time, the world was finally listening to the pop star. Now she’s more candid than ever about her life, fame, and personal struggles.
Coming in January 2024
Fantasy fans, rejoice! There’s a new world out there—and a new series. In book one of The Guilded City series, we enter into the story of Fallon Bane. Born with a dreaded curse, Bane cannot be touched by another person without feeling excruciating pain. When her father becomes ill and she fears for her life, she heads to the Gilded City to find a cure. While there, she meets a handsome healer, Ariyon Madden, and learns more about herself and her family than she ever knew before.
Release date: January 2
Presley Ayers is a city girl through and through, but she wants to surprise her outdoorsy boyfriend with a vacation to a picturesque lodge in the forest. When he dumps her instead, she’s determined to go it alone. Handsome local, Beckett Keller, can tell right away that she’s a fish-out-of-water, so to speak, and has no time for it. Still, the two complete opposites can’t deny the attraction they feel for one another.
Release date: January 16
Stacy Willingham has graced us with two great thriller novels already, and we expect nothing less from her third.
Lucy and Margot couldn’t be more opposite. Lucy is larger than life, and Margot feels most comfortable in the shadows. Still, the two make great unlikely friends and become roommates their second year of college. Along with two other girls, they find themselves living in an off-campus house. Halfway through the school year things start to go very wrong—a boy from a nearby fraternity house is murdered and Lucy goes missing. Margot doesn’t know how, but she knows she must get her best friend back.
Release date: January 16
Kat Bird wakes up from a coma not remembering any part of her life, and face to face with her twin sister, Jude. Taking a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Jude decides to give her sister a brand new past, filled with out-of-this world experiences and an idyllic childhood. But if that’s the case, who are the strange people following Kat, and what explains the bursts of violence she randomly has? As she begins to unravel the web of lies her sister created, she finds out more than she bargained for.
Release date: January 16
Millennial mamas need to get their hands on this book as soon as it’s released. Feel all the nostalgia with the hilarious exploration of everything it meant to come of age in the time of AOL, “going out tops,” the Spice Girls, and more.
Release date: January 23
After their parents were murdered in their childhood home, Emma, Juliette, and Daphne never stepped foot in it again. That is, until Emma finds out she’s pregnant and her husband loses his job. With no option but to return to the house she partially owns, she comes face to face with the memory of what she saw that night. As the sisters are drawn back together, Emma seeks to uncover the truth about what happened all those years ago.
Release date: January 23
Riley has spent all of her high school years trying to please her mom and losing herself along the way. The only solution she can think of to finding herself again is to visit her childhood best friend, Tom, in New York for the summer. A long time ago, the duo co-authored their very own “Getaway List”—a list of all the adventures they wanted to do together. After reuniting, the two set out to check off everything on their list. But Riley quickly realizes it’s not all fun and games when her heart gets involved.
Release date: January 23
If Ferris Bueller was a premenopausal woman, his day off may have looked a little something like this. “No” isn’t in Clover Hendry’s vocabulary. She’s used to living her life for everyone else, and being the likable “yes” person. Until now. Follow along as she takes back her life, even if it means life as she knows it unravels.
Release date:Â January 30
