Here are 94 books that Memorial Days fans have personally recommended if you like Memorial Days. Book DNA is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Heartwood

fran1

From Fran's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Unknown Author Why Fran loves this book

I love a story about walking, so Heartwood grabbed my attention.
I liked the way the book highlighted peoples comfort and discomfort in the natural world. It also had important themes of families and parents and children which I thought was presented in quite an interesting way

By Amity Gaige ,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Heartwood as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“The best thriller of 2025.” —The Boston Globe * “Genius.” —The Washington Post

“A literary thriller of the highest order” (Elin Hilderbrand, New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Couple), Heartwood takes you on a gripping journey as a search and rescue team race against time after an experienced hiker mysteriously disappears on the Appalachian Trail in Maine.

In the heart of the Maine woods, an experienced Appalachian Trail hiker goes missing. She is forty-two-year-old Valerie Gillis, who has vanished 200 miles from her final destination. Alone in the wilderness, Valerie pours her thoughts into fractured, poetic letters to…


If you love Memorial Days...

Book cover of War and Preservation

War and Preservation by Karen Lynne Klink,

In the throes of the Civil War, Adrien Villere joins Terry's Texas Rangers to safeguard his East Texas home and protect the reputation of his love, Lily Hart.

As war unfolds, Adrien grapples with forbidden love, ethical dilemmas, and the harsh treatment of the enslaved, culminating in a poignant realization…

Book cover of Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love

Linda Rosen Author Of Abandoning the Script

From my list on novels that circle around long-held family secrets.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve heard many stories from friends who, as adults, discovered that the person they always believed to be their mother or father was not, and saw what it did to their sense of self. I became fascinated by the how and why a family would perpetuate such a lie, and it made me wonder about the difference between a secret and a lie, and if there is one. This set me off writing novels about family secrets, and reading many more. I enjoy exploring what such devastating news does to a person, and to the entire family, once the secret is discovered. 

Linda's book list on novels that circle around long-held family secrets

Linda Rosen Why Linda loves this book

I couldn’t put this book down.

It’s as compulsive as reading any great mystery, yet it’s a memoir. I usually read novels about family secrets, but this is a true story about a staggering family secret. The secret ripped the author’s life apart, and her honesty and exquisite prose grabbed my heart.

It made me contemplate my own identity and my belief of what makes one a parent and what makes a family, and I found myself exploring what should and should not be kept secret. And if there are any good reasons to keep a secret.

By Dani Shapiro ,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked Inheritance as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the acclaimed author of Inheritance and host of the hit podcast Family Secrets: a memoir about the staggering family secret uncovered by a genealogy test, an exploration of the urgent ethical questions surrounding fertility treatments and DNA testing, and a profound inquiry of paternity, identity, and love.

“Memoir gold: a profound and exquisitely rendered exploration of identity and the true meaning of family.” —People

In the spring of 2016, through a genealogy website to which she had casually submitted her DNA for analysis, Dani Shapiro received the stunning news that her beloved deceased father…


Book cover of Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury

ck92bsce

From ck92bsce's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Unknown Author Why ck92bsce loves this book

Wonderful remembrance of 1950s-1960s US, through the eyes of a historian.

By Drew Gilpin Faust ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Necessary Trouble as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A memoir of coming of age in a conservative Southern family in postwar America.

To grow up in the 1950s was to enter a world of polarized national alliances, nuclear threat, and destabilized social hierarchies. Two world wars and the depression that connected them had unleashed a torrent of expectations and dissatisfactions―not only in global affairs but in American society and Americans’ lives.

A privileged white girl in conservative, segregated Virginia was expected to adopt a willful blindness to the inequities of race and the constraints of gender. For Drew Gilpin, the acceptance of…


If you love Geraldine Brooks...

Book cover of Almost Home

Almost Home by Howard Means,

Almost Home is a fictional retelling of the last great tragedy of the Civil War.

In late April 1865, almost 2,000 newly freed Union prisoners of war are packed onto the steamer Sultana, in poor repair and with a listed capacity of 376 passengers. Among them are four Indiana soldiers…

Book cover of Jacqueline in Paris

Marianne C. Bohr Author Of The Twenty: One Woman's Trek Across Corsica on the GR20 Trail

From Marianne's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Terminal wanderlust Francophile Outdoors nut Travel writer Introverted

Marianne's 3 favorite reads in 2025

Marianne C. Bohr Why Marianne loves this book

I am a Francophile to my core and I loved being in Paris with Jackie Kennedy during her junior year abroad. Post-war Paris came alive through the main character’s voice and activities, including her love affair.

By Ann Mah ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Jacqueline in Paris as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Captivating...Mah channels Kennedy and brings postwar Paris to life with exquisite detail and insight." -- People

From the bestselling author of The Lost Vintage, a rare and dazzling portrait of Jacqueline Bouvier's college year abroad in postwar Paris, an intimate and electrifying story of love and betrayal, and the coming-of-age of an American icon - before the world knew her as Jackie.

In September 1949 Jacqueline Bouvier arrives in postwar Paris to begin her junior year abroad. She's twenty years old, socially poised but financially precarious, and all too aware of her mother's expectations that she make a brilliant match.…


Book cover of Circle of Days

francine corry

From francine's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Unknown Author Why francine loves this book

I loved the historical setting and that I learned something about Stonehenge.

By Ken Follett ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Circle of Days as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.


Book cover of The Correspondent

Jackie Kurtz Author Of Kindness Heroes

From Jackie's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Jackie's 3 favorite reads in 2025

Jackie Kurtz Why Jackie loves this book

When I first started The Correspondent, I found it a bit confusing and had to jot down who was who to keep everything straight. But that didn’t last long, once I settled in, I was hooked. The story centers on Sylvia, a senior woman who was ahead of her time professionally, and whose life unfolds through letters to family, friends, and even film stars, authors, and politicians. Through her correspondence, we see her regrets, kindnesses, heartbreak, health struggles, and moments of joy.
At first, I wasn’t sure about the letter-writing format, but it ended up being one of the things I loved most. It’s a fresh, beautifully done way to tell a story. I grew deeply attached to Sylvia and found myself rooting for her and those she loves.
I highly recommend this book, just give it a little time in the beginning. It’s absolutely worth it.

By Virginia Evans ,

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked The Correspondent as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.


If you love Memorial Days...

Book cover of Cities of Women

Cities of Women by Kathleen B. Jones,

Cities of Women is a dual timeline novel that interweaves the contemporary story of Verity Frazier, a disillusioned professor lacking passion and love in her life, with the tale of a medieval woman, who transforms herself into the artist, Anastasia, an unidentified illuminator of the manuscripts of the historical Christine…

Book cover of What We Can Know

Barrie Trinkle

From Barrie's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Unknown Author Why Barrie loves this book

There's something very interesting about a book set 100-ish years in the future that posits big changes for our world. I know I won't be around to check whether any of it came true, but--I still want to consider the possibilities, because it's not so far removed that there might not be people who still remember my name (e.g., grandchildren), and I'd like to think about what kind of legacy I might leave. This book doesn't disappoint. There have been some disasters, and huge changes; the population is smaller, and the power centers are different, and so on, but there are still students, and academics, and people who love literature. And that gives me hope, in some weird way, even though I know this future exists only in McEwen's mind. It's so beautifully written and deeply felt, and it seems so real.

By Ian McEwan ,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked What We Can Know as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the Booker prize–winning, bestselling author of Atonement and Saturday, a genre-bending new novel full of secrets and surprises; an immersive exploration, across time and history, of what can ever be truly known.

ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR

"It gave me so much pleasure I sometimes felt like laughing. . . . It's a sophisticated entertainment of a high order." —The New York Times

"Brilliantly, and surprisingly, plotted."—The Washington Post • "A novelist of consummate skill."—The Wall Street Journal • "Elegantly structured and provocative."—Los…


Book cover of Snake-Eater

Barrie Trinkle

From Barrie's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Unknown Author Why Barrie loves this book

It was funny and fresh and had powerful women at its core. Loved it.

By T. Kingfisher ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Snake-Eater as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this witty fantasy horror from New York Times bestselling, Nebula and Hugo award-winning author T. Kingfisher, a young woman seeking a fresh start is confronted by ancient gods, malevolent supernatural forces, and eccentric neighbours in an isolated desert town.

Perfect for fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Chuck Tingle, and Rachel Harrison.

With only a few dollars to her name and her beloved dog Copper by her side, Selena flees her past in the city to claim her late aunt's house in the desert town of Quartz Creek.

Selena loves the strange beauty of the desert. But the people of Quartz…


Book cover of Amity

fran1

From Fran's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Unknown Author Why Fran loves this book

Coleman is a unique character an erudite, talkative and yet anxious and fearful young man who is exceeding loyal to both Oliver, his dog and June, his sister.

Amity is a story of a quest and journey which highlights family ties of many kinds. I didn't feel the emotional impact in this one as I did in Sweetness of Water, but I really loved the characters and have a soft spot in my heart for Oliver.

By Nathan Harris ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Amity as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The highly anticipated second novel from the author of the Booker-longlisted THE SWEETNESS OF WATER

'Amity is deeply adventurous and astonishingly beautiful' Robert Jones, Jr., author of The Prophets
'A writer of great lyricism and power' i paper
'Harris will win over the hearts of many readers' Financial Times
'Masterful' Oprah Winfrey

Louisiana, 1869. The Civil War might be over, but former slaves Coleman and June have yet to find the freedom they've been promised. Two years ago, the siblings were separated when their old master, Mr Harper, took June away on a hair-brained scheme to Mexico, to escape the…


If you love Geraldine Brooks...

Book cover of The Last Bird of Paradise

The Last Bird of Paradise by Clifford Garstang,

Two women, a century apart, seek to rebuild their lives after leaving their homelands. Arriving in tropical Singapore, they find romance, but also find they haven’t left behind the dangers that caused them to flee.

Haunted by the specter of terrorism after 9/11, Aislinn Givens leaves her New York career…

Book cover of Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague

Kate Durni

From Kate's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Unknown Author Why Kate loves this book

I love history and learning how people reacted to events.. then and now… we are likely to share similar experiences

By Geraldine Brooks ,

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked Year of Wonders as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of 'March' and 'People of the Book'.

A young woman's struggle to save her family and her soul during the extraordinary year of 1666, when plague suddenly struck a small Derbyshire village.

In 1666, plague swept through London, driving the King and his court to Oxford, and Samuel Pepys to Greenwich, in an attempt to escape contagion. The north of England remained untouched until, in a small community of leadminers and hill farmers, a bolt of cloth arrived from the capital. The tailor who cut the cloth had no way of knowing that the damp…


Book cover of Heartwood
Book cover of Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love
Book cover of Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury

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