Popsugar Editors Share Their All-Time Favorite Books

We all have books that resonate in our bodies long after we turn the last page. Whether it's a book that shaped some of our earliest memories, you will always be treasured.”Purple plastic wallet Lilly“—a book we were given at school, a book we received as a gift, or a random title we took from library or public bookstorethe stories we read have the power to deeply shape the people we become.

Some of us take this more literally than others. Maybe you've read A Court of Thorns and Roses and now you're only dating shadow daddies. Maybe you read The Catcher in the Rye and now everything in your life is “fake.” You may have read Arianna and the Strawberry Tea and begged your parents to make everyone at your fifth birthday party strawberry tea and chocolate brownies. No? Just me?

It may seem strange in an age dominated by tech billionaires and artificial intelligence, but nothing beats a good book. To celebrate the role of reading in our lives and the launch 2026 Popsugar Reading ContestI asked Popsugar editors to share one (or, let's be real, two or three) books from any time in their lives that opened their minds to something new and that they'll always return to. Because if you don't create a book with your whole personality out there, what are you even doing?

Popsugar Editor's Choice Books

Caitlin Hutton, Director of Audience Development

“Tomboyland: Essays” ($14, originally $15) by Melissa Faliveno touched me so deeply that I return to this book regularly, years since I first read it. It reflected my own roots as a queer Midwesterner in a way I hadn't seen in the media before.

Second place: Bloody Jack series L.A. Meyer. I picked up the first book in middle school and after that I essentially grew up with the main character, Jackie Faber. Ultimately, this is a story about becoming a young girl in a man's world and all the challenges that come with it. He also has swords, so that's a plus.

Taylor Andrews, Senior Editor

I won't keep it simple, but the book that changed my life is “Twilight” ($13, originally $17) Stephenie Meyer. When I was little, I didn't really like to read. I spent most of my free time playing sports or hanging out with my family, so I wasn't particularly into books. But when I started hearing rumors of a vampire/werewolf/human love triangle, I couldn't help but read. While the storyline didn't necessarily change my life, the series did spark my love of reading. Most importantly, it taught me that books and reading shouldn't feel like homework or a stuffy literature class.

Jordan Shalhoub, Supervising Producer, Social Video

My answer is a bit cringe-worthy, so don't judge me: “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck” ($16, originally $17) by Mark Manson.

Second place: “I keep you a secretJulie Ann Peters was a huge turning point for me as a young gay man in high school. It was probably more about timing than a specific story, but hey.

Also “Be” by AC Ping.

Lena Felton, Senior Director of Special Projects and Partnerships

I was in high school when my mother, herself a writer, first gave me “Bird by Bird” ($11, originally $17) Anne Lamott. Ostensibly it's a book about how to write—something I've always loved to do—but it's also a book about how to live. Lamott lives in Marin County, California, where I grew up, so my mother and I always found her novels, memoirs, and general sensibility interesting and wise. Bird by Bird is a book I return to when I want to be reminded of why I do what I do and where I came from.

Chandler Plante, Staff Writer and Social Producer

I hope this isn't a cliché, but “On Earth we are briefly magnificent” ($17, originally $18) genuinely made me want to be kinder and gentler. I read it shortly before I lost my right eye, but the way Ocean Vuong writes about love, loss, and grief has resonated with me throughout this journey.

Emma Glassman-Hughes, Deputy Editor

For me it might be “Wide Sargasso Sea” ($10, originally $15) Jean Rice. For a long time, Jane Eyre was my favorite book, but when I discovered that more than 100 years later, someone had written what was essentially a prequel to it, giving the “mad woman in the attic” a backstory and undeniable humanity, it made me think about how there are always two sides to every story—especially with regard to the countless women throughout history who have been systematically downplayed. This broke my mind when I read it in college. I was also fascinated by the critique of colonialism.

Second place: “Their eyes looked to God“Zora Neale Hurston”;Eileen“Ottessa Moshfegh”; “Sweetgrass weaving“Robin Wall Kimmerer; literally anything Toni Morrison”;To Kill a Mockingbird“Harper Lee and Twilight, to be honest.

Caitlin Oates, Editorial Coordinator

“The Time Traveler's Wife” ($8, originally $15) Audrey Niffenegger blew my mind in high school. It was one of the first iterations of subtle romance that I had seen in fiction, explicitly written and told from the perspective of insightful, erudite women. I was also impressed by how airtight the science fiction/time travel aspect was – it didn't feel gimmicky, and the author didn't use shortcuts to get around grounding her fiction in truth and following the rules of the world she created. Also, a forward for Chicago, which may or may not have influenced my decision to go to college.

Second place: “Come as you areI mean Emily Nagoski. There are a few women for whom this is not influential and eye-opening. I have a deep focus on sexual health, wellness and education as a reformed religious child, and it just opens up the whole concept of sex/sexuality, separating it from the very strict, narrow, heteronormative view that reigns supreme in our culture.

Also, “Devil in the White City“Erik Larson and”Snow falls on cedars» David Guterson. Wonderful writing, each one truly bringing the respective era to life.

There's still “Little beeby Chris Cleave, the devastating story of an English reporter and a Nigerian refugee and how their paths cross in both Nigeria and England. It comments heavily on colonization, the treatment of asylum seekers, and political violence, and it does so through a deeply personal and specific lens. It devastated me for months and really expanded my understanding.

And finally, “Butterfly effect» Jon Ronson. It's a journalistic look at the real, harsh consequences of “free” pornography and those who suffer from it, and it absolutely changed my entire outlook on sex work in general.

Emma Glassman-Hughes (she/her) is an Associate Editor for PS Balance. During her seven years as a reporter, her beats covered the entire lifestyle spectrum; she has covered arts and culture for The Boston Globe, sex and relationships for Cosmopolitan, and food, climate and agriculture for Ambrook Research.