Improve English through reading!
Boost your English: monthly book recommendations for passionate readers
Hi, I’m Kerin—founder of EDA, English teacher, and proud bookworm 📚🐛
Since so many of my students share a love of reading, I thought it would be great to create a space where we can exchange book recommendations. Each month, I’ll share my latest picks, and I’d love to hear yours too!
Feel free to drop your thoughts on the books mentioned in the comments—and if you have other must-reads to recommend, don’t hold back! Let’s build a community of readers who love discovering new stories and improving their English through great books.
Fresh Water For Flowers by Valérie Perrin
I’m cheating again by adding this to my recommendations for “doing things in English” because this book was originally written in French. However, the translation seems flawless, and makes an excellent read in English.
I found this book incredibly beautiful. Perrin’s writing is lyrical, elegant, and full of feeling. It’s heartwarming, tender, and I finished it in just one afternoon!
Fresh Water for Flowers is a moving tribute to the resilience of the human spirit. It is a story that touched me deeply. It offers comfort, quiet moments of tenderness, and stirs up deep emotions around loss and loneliness.
The story is sad, yes, but also full of hope. It leaves you believing in the strength of the human heart.
If you’re looking for a gentle, emotional read, I highly recommend this one. And if you’ve already read it, what did you think?
Rating: 5 worms! 🐛 🐛 🐛 🐛 🐛
Suitable for: C1, C2
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
I owe a massive shout out to my dear student Sara (🙏) for recommending Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin to me. I devoured this book – no exaggeration. It’s a book that I probably wouldn’t have picked up myself had it not been recommended to me.
In a nutshell, it’s a story about brilliant young game designers hitting it big and slowly growing apart … I’m not a fan of video games, so perhaps some of the references were lost on me, but it didn’t matter. I cannot tell you how much I loved reading this book!
Rating: 5 worms! 🐛 🐛 🐛 🐛🐛
Suitable for: C1, C2
A Little Luck by Claudia Piñeiro’s
I’m cheating slightly by adding this book to my recommendations for “doing things in English” because it was originally written in Spanish! I’m reading the translation obviously, but it is so beautifully written and translated, I thought, what’s the harm?!
Claudia Piñeiro’s A Little Luck (translated by Frances Riddle) is essentially a slow confession of the narrator’s sins. I won’t say any more about the plot than that to avoid spoilers.
I LOVED this book. It’s not a happy story; it’s uncomfortable, emotional, and frustrating at times. However, it ends with hope and is so beautifully written that I think I wore out my pencil underlining parts I liked. It is a quiet read, painful and extremely intimate. I think a lot of you will love it too.
Rating: 4 worms! 🐛 🐛 🐛 🐛
Suitable for: C1, C2
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
This historical fiction novel is set during the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s, following Elsa Martinelli as she and her family struggle through drought, economic despair, and impossible choices. While the book is rooted in American history, it zeroes in on the environmental catastrophe that paralleled the Great Depression, as well as the mass migration from the agricultural heartland to the West Coast.
I have to be honest—it took me a while to get into this one. At first, I found Elsa frustratingly passive, though I realize now that was intentional. We witness her growth, and as the story unfolded, I became completely immersed in its world. At times, it reminded me of Steinbeck—not in the writing style, but in the rawness of the story itself. So much of it feels painfully relevant today. In the end, this book left me deeply moved (and in tears).
Rating: 4 worms! 🐛 🐛 🐛 🐛
Suitable for: C1, C2
In the Blink of an Eye by Jo Callaghan
At first glance, this is pretty standard crime fiction—the plot is predictable, and it lacks the humour or shock factor that often makes these formulaic thrillers stand out. So why am I recommending it?
Because at its core, this book explores something fascinating: a police unit tasked with piloting an AI detective, AIDE (Artificially Intelligent Detective Entity). It raises some thought-provoking questions—AI versus human experience, logic versus instinct—and feels especially relevant in today’s world.
It’s an easy, no-brainer read (great for upper-intermediate English learners) and perfect for a rainy Sunday afternoon.
Rating: 3 worms! 🐛 🐛 🐛
Suitable for: B2, C1, C2
Improve your English doing something you love.
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
This book had been lingering in my peripheral vision for a while, but for some reason, it never quite made it onto my shortlist. Then, last month, I attended the Granite Noir book festival in Aberdeen—a celebration of crime fiction in all its forms, inspired by Scotland’s rich literary contributions and our love affair with Nordic Noir.
I went to a talk by Paula Hawkins, which was fascinating. She took us inside her writing process—how she developed the story, how she pieced it together—and, well, she convinced me to finally pick up a copy.
The story itself? It’s good. (Yes, I tell my students to use more descriptive adjectives, but that’s the word that comes to mind!) I love the unreliable narrator, and the way the narrative is split between three women whose lives tragically intertwine. The suspense builds well—I didn’t see the twist coming—but the ending left me a little… hmm. It felt a bit rushed and slightly unconvincing.
That said, I did enjoy reading it. Recommend it to anyone who enjoys suspense thrillers and appreciates a well-crafted, tightly paced story.
Rating: 3 worms! 🐛 🐛 🐛
Suitable for: B2, C1, C2
Graded reader available: B1
Have you read any of these?
📚🐛 What’s your verdict? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Feel free to drop your thoughts on the books mentioned in the comments—and if you have other must-reads to recommend, don’t hold back! Let’s build a community of readers who love discovering new stories and improving English through reading! 👇