12 Books For 12 Months

January – The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green: Start the year off with bite-sized reflections on everything from Diet Dr Pepper to pandemics.

February – Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas: Behind the locked gates of an elite school that promises to shape the future’s brightest minds, Ines finds herself drawn into a world of secretive experiments, strange disappearances, and a power no one fully understands. It’s haunting, atmospheric, and perfect for the kind of February that feels like it will never end.

March – A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers: In a post-industrial world, a gentle monk sets out on a journey to find purpose and unexpectedly meets a philosophical robot who wants to understand human life. 

April – Earthlings by Sayaka Murata: This weird, totally unpredictable novel about alienation and identity is not for the faint of heart—but perfect for breaking out of a reading rut.

May – The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly by Sun-mi Hwang: A short Korean modern fable about freedom, motherhood, and purpose.

June – My Government Means to Kill Me by Rasheed Newson: A fearless, fast-paced coming-of-age novel set in 1980s NYC at the height of the AIDS crisis.

July – Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia: Hot, moldy, and hallucinatory—this summer horror read has a haunted house, a stylish heroine, and many unsettling family secrets.

August — Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney: As summer comes to an end, four friends navigate love, friendship, and the ache of growing older in an increasingly uncertain world. Introspective and emotionally rich, this book is a perfect companion for the wistful end of summer.

September — Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami: With its talking cats, parallel timelines, and metaphysical portals, this mind-bender is ideal for the season of strange transitions.

October – The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones: Creepy and brilliant—October horror doesn’t get much better than this.

November – All the Living and the Dead by Hayley Campbell: A journalist interviews the people who deal with death on a daily basis, from morticians to gravediggers to death doulas. 

December – Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree: A retired orc warrior opens a coffee shop. It’s the wholesome comfort book you didn’t know you needed to end the year.