Top 5 books that found me when I needed them most

Hello friends, and welcome to Top 5 Tuesday! This week’s topic is a freebie, but I decided to write about the top 5 books that found me when I needed them most.

The last few weeks have been… strange.

Not bad. Just different.

After spending years in a role where every day was packed with meetings, speeches, governance, competing priorities and other people’s deadlines, I’ve suddenly found myself with something I haven’t had in a very long time: space.

As it turns out, I’m not entirely sure what to do with it.

This week alone, I washed and folded what felt like an entire household’s worth of laundry, reorganised drawers that had been annoying me for months, finally booked medical appointments I’d been putting off, booked my first haircut since February, and officially logged into work for the very last time to make sure I hadn’t left anything unfinished.

A few months ago, I probably would have looked at that list and thought, “That’s not much.”

Now I’m trying to be kinder to myself.

I’m learning that recovering from burnout doesn’t always look particularly productive. Some days, one big task is enough. Other days, making a phone call feels like an achievement. And maybe that’s okay.

If you read my recent put the kettle on update, you’ll know I’m starting the arduous task of learning to embrace a slower pace of life. It still feels strange some days (it is only day 4), but it’s also reminded me that slowing down creates space — not just to catch up on life, but to notice the books that arrive at exactly the right moment.

The funny thing is that my reading has mirrored that change.

I haven’t necessarily been reading the “best” books I’ve ever picked up. Instead, I’ve been finding the books I needed at exactly the right moment. The ones that gave me comfort, reminded me why I love stories, or simply arrived at a time when they had something I desperately needed to hear.

Someone once described the books on our shelves to me as being like bottles of wine. Sometimes you uncork one straight away because you’re excited to see what it’s like. Other times, it sits quietly on the shelf for months, or even years, waiting for exactly the right occasion. Books are much the same. The timing has to be right on both sides. It has to be the right time for the book, and it has to be the right time for the reader.

So this week’s Top 5 Tuesday isn’t about my highest-rated books (although they almost all are) — it’s about the books that found me when I needed them most.

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top 5 books that found me when i needed them most

The Scorpio Races — Maggie Stiefvater

There was never going to be another choice for number one.

I reread The Scorpio Races every year, and every year I seem to find something different waiting for me.

Sometimes it’s Sean’s quiet resilience. Sometimes it’s Puck’s determination to keep moving forward, even when everything feels impossible. And sometimes it’s simply the wild beauty of Thisby itself, where the sea is equal parts breathtaking and terrifying.

I don’t reread this book because I know every word. I reread it because I’m a different person every time I come back to it.

Last year, it reminded me that life doesn’t become less frightening because we’re ready. Sometimes we simply decide the race is worth running anyway.

There’s comfort in that which I don’t think I’ll ever be able to explain properly.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea — Axie Oh

This book arrived at exactly the right moment.

On the surface, it’s a beautiful fantasy inspired by Korean mythology. Underneath, it’s a story about sacrifice, hope, family, and choosing kindness even when the world doesn’t seem to deserve it.

I remember finishing it and feeling… lighter. Broken, but lighter.

Not because everything in the story was easy, but because despite all of the tragedies in the story, the story itself never lost sight of hope. It reminded me that compassion isn’t weakness, and that choosing hope can sometimes be the bravest decision a person makes.

I think I needed that reminder more than I realised.

Legends and Lattes — Travis Baldree

Burnout has changed the way I read.

A few years ago, I probably would have reached for something with world-ending stakes, political intrigue, and at least one devastating plot twist.

Instead, I found myself falling completely in love with an orc who just wanted to open a coffee shop.

Legends & Lattes taught me that not every story has to be epic to be meaningful. Sometimes it’s enough to watch good people build something, find community, and create a life they’re proud of.

It gave me permission to slow down.

And honestly, I think that’s one of the greatest gifts a book can offer.

Emergency Contact — Mary H. K. Choi

I’ve always loved messy characters.

The ones who overthink, make questionable decisions, struggle to communicate, and yet somehow still find their way towards connection.

That’s exactly why Emergency Contact resonated with me.

Penny and Sam don’t have everything figured out. They’re awkward, complicated, and trying their best while carrying far more than most people realise. Their relationship develops through conversations rather than grand gestures and it feels wonderfully imperfect because of it.

Sometimes you don’t need characters who have all the answers. Because who in this crazy life does? The imprefection is what makes us relatable. What makes us human!

Sometimes you just need characters who remind you that it’s okay not to be okay.

Some Girls Bite Chloe Neill

This one might seem like an unexpected choice if you know me well.

Over the past year, I’ve read far more romance and romantasy than I ever expected to. A younger version of me might even have apologised for that.

Now? Not a chance.

When you’re exhausted, when work has taken more from you than you realised, and when your brain is quietly asking for a break, there is something wonderfully healing about picking up a book that promises adventure, a little danger, plenty of banter-filled chemistry, and — most importantly — a happy ending. (Although do I have a plot twist for you if you think every book in this series has one of these…)

Some Girls Bite was fun!

It reminded me that reading doesn’t always have to challenge you. Sometimes it can simply comfort you.

And after the last couple of years, I think I’ve earned a few guaranteed happy endings in my books.

Maybe books find us too

Some people say we find the right book at the right time.

The older I get, the more I think there might be some truth to that.

The books that stay with us aren’t always the objectively “best” ones. They’re the ones that meet us where we are. The ones that arrive when we need comfort, hope, distraction, laughter, or simply the reassurance that someone else has felt this way before.

Looking at this list now, I realise it isn’t really about books at all.

It’s about different versions of me.

The woman who needed courage, or who needed hope.

The one learning to slow down.

And the one remembering that reading is supposed to bring joy.

Maybe the next book will be for the one who’s slowly figuring out what comes next.

PARTICIPANTS

What are the top 5 books that found you when you needed them most?