What Books Have You Begged Friends to Read?

Last month, I had a much-needed FaceTime catch-up with my friends Mary and Laura. we are all writers and As parents of young children, we spend a lot of time gossiping about our children and the books they’re reading. Mary was ready to discuss Lena Dunham. fame chicbut Laura and I hadn’t gotten to it yet. I let go of my casual complaint about not being able to sit still. another conversation about strangerI didn’t read it either.

It wasn’t the Internet’s fault that my friends’ faces froze at this point. “Wait. I haven’t read it yet.” stranger still? “It seems this was a bridge too far. Apparently no amount of work or kids will exempt me from reading the mandatory memoir in 2026.

Take inspiration from them (and completely Embarrassing), I started reading the book the next morning and within 12 hours peer pressured others to read the book. For the record, I found this book to be a breathtaking read, but that’s not the reason. Some books require friends. Sometimes you shove a book into a friend’s hand because it contains the medication they need. There are also books that I share because they tell you what you can’t do. There are also some books that you need to have someone else read to you so you can see the look on their faces when they read the book. that part. I’m sure I’m not the only married woman to have handed over my hand. stranger She stood there with her arms crossed facing her mate. “Wait!”

Things don’t always go as expected. I have turned it on once david sedaris audiobook — one of the books called This Is Me — during a four-hour drive with my aunt. She shrugged. “It’s not about me.” Also, sometimes the challenges don’t stick. I chased my husband around going home For months I ignored his pitiful cries, “I’m not that interested in fiction!” (“But this is historical fiction!”) ​​My grandfather gave me a biography of Ron Chernow. alexander hamilton Three different Christmases later, I knew nothing about the man until Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the musical.

But what a thrill it is when it works. One summer I assigned my favorite to my friend Ellie Stephen King’s novelAnd she read it in two days and texted me about the parts that kept her up until the wee hours of the morning. That was the same part that kept me up all night. And suddenly there was a new layer to our friendship. Another friend read Mia Farrow’s memoir. things that disappearafter me begged She was when we were in our early 20s. I don’t remember the details, but somehow we ended up having a huge tearful fight over it? All I know is that we are still best friends and we haven’t talked about the book yet. And in a strange and inexplicable way, it is one of the tightest ties in our friendship.

My group chat this week is reading long ago — This is another zeitgeist book that I picked up only because as a group we declared mandatory summer reading. There’s something very different about succumbing to peer pressure from an actual loving peer. It’s so much more fun than picking up a book because the world says you should. We haven’t talked about it yet – we’re waiting until everyone is done – but we know it would be a good time to talk. Or something really, really bad. Either way, I can’t wait.

So what books did you impose on your loved one? I would love to hear it!

PS Dark and funny books we loved and 5 things we noticed at New York bookstores.

(Photo by: Michela Ravasio/Stocksy)