11 Popular Books That Live Up To The Hype

I don’t know if it’s an Australian thing, or a millennial thing, but there’s something deep within me that automatically wants to resist anything Popular. Even though my frontal lobe is fully developed and I know intellectually that popularity is no indication of quality, something about loving a book that absolutely everyone loves feels… cringe. Still, I’m determined to overcome this bias, which is why I’ve put together this list of popular books that live up to the hype.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

In the hands of a lesser writer, The Secret History would have been beyond the pale. But Donna Tartt is convincing, too convincing, and you’ll find yourself drawn in unquestioningly as the story unfolds. The prose is exquisitely detailed, with startling revelations and intriguing mysteries. Even at 500+ pages, the temptation to read the whole thing in one sitting is real. This book that defined the dark academia subgenre really is as good as everyone says it is. Its enduring popularity is entirely deserved. Read my full review of The Secret History here.

The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule

The Stranger Beside Me is unique in that it is both biographical and autobiographical, existing in the weird gray area between journalism and memoir. See, Rule wasn’t just any crime writer who picked up the Bundy story: she was his friend, before his crimes came to light. She met Bundy in 1971, when he was a psychology student at the University of Washington, and they volunteered together manning the phones of a suicide crisis line. Even if you already “know” the Bundy story, this book still has jaw-dropping twists and turns in store for you. Read my full review of The Stranger Beside Me here.

Room by Emma Donoghue

Room is stay-up-all-night-to-finish-it readable. You’d be forgiven for being skeptical going in, maybe figuring that the premise and the plot are too obviously horrifying to be truly immersive and that the pulling-of-heartstrings would feel contrived, but you’re in good hands with Emma Donoghue. Even if you know every single spoiler, you’ll still find your heart pounding, as the emotive nature of the novel isn’t rooted in any schlocky plot twists. This is one of the very few genuinely scary reads that definitely lives up to the hype. Read my full review of Room here.

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

Once upon a time, Fredrik Backman was a quiet little Swedish blogger, and A Man Called Ove (or, in the original Swedish, En man som heter Ove) was his debut novel. It was published in 2012, translated into English in 2013, but didn’t reach the New York Times Bestseller List until eighteen months later. Once it got there, it stayed there for 42 weeks. It’s an enchanting tale of unlikely friendships, and it will pull on heartstrings you didn’t know you had. Plus, it’s a timeless reminder that you can almost never guess someone’s story just by looking at them, and we could all do with a few more of those. Read my full review of A Man Called Ove here.

You by Caroline Kepnes

We’ve all Googled someone we’re interested in, haven’t we? Well, You by Caroline Kepnes – a thriller novel published back in 2014 that went on to become an international best-seller and a must-watch TV adaptation – takes this idea to its (il)logical extreme. It’s an indulgent escapist fantasy of sorts, in a way that most other stalker/thriller books aren’t: because the story is told entirely from the perpetrator’s perspective, the reader never has to experience any of the fear or distress that his victim must feel when she realises that her boyfriend is actually her tormentor. Read my full review of You here.

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is far from your standard pick-me-up fare, which might go some way to explaining its enduring popularity. The titular character has a troubled past on many fronts, which goes a long way to explaining her solitary lifestyle and… odd way of relating to people. She just has a very unusual perspective, on herself and the world, and often the reader learns more from what she doesn’t say than what she does. This makes it highly re-readable, and it will surely give your brain a lot to chew on. Definitely more than you’d expect from a beach read! Read my full review of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine here.

Educated by Tara Westover

When it comes to writing memoirs, you’ve either got to have talent for storytelling or a life so fascinating that talent (or lack thereof) doesn’t matter. Luckily, Tara Westover has both. Even in the hands of a real bore, Educated – a memoir about shame, understanding, and the transformative power of education – would be an interesting read. In Westover’s voice, it’s downright enthralling. The book spent over two years on the New York Times Bestseller List, and has been translated into over 45 languages. As of 2020, it had sold over 6 million copies worldwide. Read my full review of Educated here.

Fleishman Is In Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner

At first glance, Fleishman Is In Trouble looks like your stock-standard New York divorce novel. A privileged couple – he’s a doctor, she’s a talent agent/manager – sniping at each other and using their kids like battering rams in the dissolution of their marriage. But by the end of the first chapter, you’ll realise that this is something different, something special. Your allegiances will shift throughout the novel, from page to page, even paragraph to paragraph. Pre-pandemic, this is the book that absolutely everyone was talking about, and with good reason. Read my full review of Fleishman Is In Trouble here.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Little Fires Everywhere is Celeste Ng’s second novel, the one that catapulted her to book club stardom. It was famously endorsed by Reese Witherspoon, who said: “It’s a deep psychological mystery about the power of motherhood, the intensity of teenage love, and the danger of perfection,”. It’s an issue novel, but one that doesn’t beat you over the head with a foregone moral position. It’s a psychological thriller, without the hack writing or “plot twists” you can sniff out a mile off. It’s a family drama with a family that actually feels like a family, lots of little dramas unfolding in each of their lives. It’s a best-seller book that absolutely lives up to the hype. Read my full review of Little Fires Everywhere here.

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

A boy born to harrowing circumstances, abused by his stepfather, orphaned, put to work while still a child, battling poverty and demons at every turn, with a wide cast of curious and captivating characters. Is this Dickens’s classic David Copperfield, or Barbara Kingsolver’s epic, Demon Copperhead? Believe it or not, it’s both! Kingsolver does an incredible job, finding parallels between Dickens and a boy’s life in her homelands, the Southern Appalachian mountains of Virginia, that wouldn’t be obvious at a glance. It’s destined to become a contemporary classic, an essential component of the burgeoning canon of books about the generation of lost boys in 21st century America. Read my full review of Demon Copperhead here.

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

Yesteryear is the ultimate contemporary ‘be careful what you wish for’ parable. There’s a delicious schadenfreude in seeing a ‘tradwife’ influencer forced to reckon with the consequences of her lies, but there’s also a fascinating commentary about the many forms and iterations of patriarchy. If you’ve walked past any bookstore window reecently, you’ve probably seen a copy of peeking out from the display – and the hype is very well deserved. Read my full review of Yesteryear here.