Lists

All the Meghan Markle Book Recommendations Fit to Print

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Tasha Brandstatter

Staff Writer

Tasha is the least practical person you will ever meet. She grew up reading historical romance novels, painting watercolors like a 19th century debutant, and wanting to be Indiana Jones--or at the very least Indiana Jones's girlfriend. All this led her to pursue a career in the field of art history. After spending ten years in academia without a single adventure in Mesoamerica, however, Tasha decided to change her career and be a freelance writer (although she's still waiting on that adventure). In addition to writing for Book Riot, she's a regular contributor to History Colorado, the Pueblo PULP, and Opposing Views. She also runs two book blogs: Truth Beauty Freedom and Books (title inspired by Moulin Rouge, best movie ever) and The Project Gutenberg Project, dedicated to finding forgotten classics. Tasha also likes to have a drink or two and blogs about cocktails at Liquid Persuasion, as well as small town restaurants on Nowhere Bites. Blog: Truth Beauty Freedom and Books and The Project Gutenberg Project Twitter: @heidenkind

Despite recent tensions reported in the royal family, the public remains fascinated with Meghan Markle and her and Prince Harry’s fairytale-like romance. But even before she married into what’s arguably the world’s most famous royal family, Markle was a tastemaker and trend setter. Through her role on Suits and her now-shuttered website The Tig, Markle inspired her social media followers with her fashion sense, decorating inspo, charity work, and her ongoing list of Meghan Markle book recommendations.

It turns out Markle isn’t just a casual reader: she’s a legit bibliophile who made extra cash early in her acting career by teaching book binding and working as a freelance calligrapher (a gig that, surprisingly, pays pretty well). During her hiatuses from Suits, she spent time traveling, cooking, and “getting lost in books.” On The Tig, she regularly made seasonal book recommendations that included seasonal reading lists and book club recommendations. And on her (also now shut down) Instagram account, her feed was filled with pics of her home, which included a ton of books and some book recs.

What kind of books does Markle go out of her way to recommend? As many commenters have pointed out, her tastes are eclectic but also reflect her intelligence, interest in politics, philosophy, fashion, and food. Meghan Markle book recommendations range from children’s books to intellectual chunksters. And, no surprise, there are reports that Markle is soon to publish a children’s book of her own based on her rescue dogs!

Want to see if your reading tastes align with those of the Duchess of Sussex? Take a look at all of the Meghan Markle book recommendations we could dig up in the archives of the internet below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgatYUMDRyF/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Meghan Markle’s Five “Badass” Books Everyone Should Read

This list comes from a 2016 post on The Tig, where Markle said these books made her feel like a badass, which she defined as being “strong of spirit, brave and fearless, self-aware yet selfless, and always striving to be the best version of themselves.” Her list includes a classic children’s novella, a book of philosophy, and a business bestseller.

  1. The Motivation Manifesto by Brendon Burchard
  2. The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
  3. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
  4. Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson
  5. The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeIcZvGHwFO/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Meghan Markle’s Book Recommendations For Summer

  1. The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan
  2. The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy
  3. Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple
  4. The Hotel on Place Vendome: Life, Death, and Betrayal at the Hotel Ritz in Paris by Tilar J. Mazzeo
  5. Rita Moreno: A Memoir
  6. Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
  7. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
  8. Bittersweet by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore
  9. Prayers for the Stolen by Jennifer Clement
  10. It’s What I Do: A Photographer’s Life of Love and War by Lynsey Addario
  11. The Complete Ripley Novels by Patricia Highsmith
  12. The Martian by Andy Weir
  13. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
  14. God Help the Child by Toni Morrison
  15. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

The Pin

Meghan Markle’s Fall Reading List Recommendations

  1. Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler
  2. All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda
  3. Food and the City by Ina Yalof
  4. The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer
  5. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
  6. The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu
  7. Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling
  8. The Gap of Time: William Shakespeare’ The Winter’s Tale Retold by Jeanette Winterson
  9. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
  10. Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill
  11. We Are Not Ourselves by Matthew Thomas
  12. I’ll Drink to That by Betty Halbreich
  13. Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham
  14. The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

The Pin

Meghan Markle’s Spring Reading List Recommendations

  1. In the Company of Women: Inspiration and Advice from over 100 Makers, Artists, and Entrepreneurs by Grace Bonney
  2. Stolen Beauty by Laurie Lico Albanese
  3. Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
  4. Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London by Lauren Elkin
  5. Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

The Pin

Meghan Markle’s Children’s Books Recommendations

  1. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
  2. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
  3. Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
  4. The Lion, the Witch, and Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
  5. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeIlJyNHM4Z/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Meghan Markle’s Holiday Reading List Recommendations

  1. Yes Please by Amy Poehler
  2. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
  3. How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are: Love, Style, and Bad Habits by Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, et al.
  4. We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler

The Pin

Meghan Markle’s Book Club Recommendations

  1. The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
  2. Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
  3. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
  4. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
  5. The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeKLhvXH5KE/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Meghan Markle’s Recommended Cookbooks

  1. The Kinfolk Table: Recipes
  2. Together: Our Community Cookbook (Markle wrote the introduction to this cookbook, so naturally it’s recommended!)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeImumGnlJV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Meghan Markle Book Recommendations For Nonfiction

  1. Who Rules The World? by Noam Chomsky
  2. Requiem For the American Dream by Noam Chomsky
  3. Linda McCartney: Life in Photographs by Annie Leibovitz
  4. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
  5. The Game Changers edited by Samantha Brett and Steph Adams (a compilation of essays by Hollywood celebs, including Markle, where she talks about how working at soup kitchens as a child taught her the importance of putting others first)
  6. Grace: A Memoir by Grace Coddington
  7. Elements of Style by Erin Gates
  8. The Inner Gym: A 30-day Workout for Strengthening Happiness by Light Watkins
  9. Unsaid by Neil Abramson
  10. Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeKKqTznaz4/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Meghan Markle’s Recommended Books About Fashion

  1. Carine Roitfeld: Irreverent by Carine Roitfeld
  2. In Vogue: An Illustrated History of the World’s Most Famous Fashion Magazine by Alberto Oliva,‎ Norberto Angeletti and‎ Anna Wintour
  3. The Dress: 100 Iconic Moments in Fashion by Megan Hess
  4. The Coveteur: Private Spaces, Personal Style by Stephanie Mark &‎ Jake Rosenberg

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeIgp6fnz5Z/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Other Megan Markle Book Recommendations

  1. What Pretty Girls Are Made Of by Lindsay Jill Roth (Markle was the maid of honor at Roth’s wedding and was mentioned in this novel’s acknowledgments)
  2. The Four-Chambered Heart by Anaïs Nin
  3. Notes on a Nervous Planet by Mat Haig
  4. American Tabloid by James Ellroy
  5. The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
  6. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
  7. Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

Want more book recommendations? Meghan Markle isn’t giving them out anymore, but we are! Sign up for Book Riot’s own TBR subscription and receive personalized recommendations for YOU from our certified bibliologists. Learn more here.

 

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