Books for Your Zodiac Sign

moon and birdsBook suggestions come in all sorts of ways. Maybe your friend read something that they couldn’t stop raving about, or maybe you follow various celebrityled book clubs, or maybe you just like to browse the new and hottest books at your local library or bookstore. But have you ever considered a recommendation based on your zodiac sign? If you’re stuck for something to read in these times of lockdown, below is list compiled specifically to align with your astrological sun sign. Even if you think astrology is a bunch of hooey, it can still be fun! And of course, all recommendations are offered in digital formats! 

Since we’re currently in Taurus season, let’s kick the list off there.  

Recipe for a Perfect Wife book coverTaurus (April 20 – May 20) 

Recipe for a Perfect Wife – Karma Brown

The bull sign might be known for its stubbornness, but it’s got more going on than just that! A love for hands-on, earthly pleasures like cooking, gardening, romance, and a quality piece of clothing is also something a Taurus revels in. Recipe for a Perfect Wife is a parallel story of two wives in two vastly different times—the 1950s and now—who grapple with what it means to be a “perfect wife”. Connected by the older woman’s cookbook, modern woman Alice comes to know the truths lurking beneath a seemingly perfect life, and starts to reflect on her own. Traditionloving Taurus will enjoy this exploration of conventionality through the ages—particularly the snippets of hilarious and absolutely horrifying “advice” for young women from the 19th and early 20th century that Brown prefaces her chapters with. And oh yeah—this book also comes with a bunch of recipes, some more questionable than others! 

Find it on: OverdriveHoopla

 

Conversations with friends book coverGemini (May 21 – June 20)  

Conversations with Friends – Sally Rooney 

Gemini, Gemini, Gemini. Maybe the most unfairly maligned of all the signs? People love to dunk on Geminis for being two-faced, but the truth is Geminis are just social chameleons who can adapt to situations better than the rest of us! Sally Rooney’s Conversations with Friends is definitely a twin-sign book (though Rooney herself is a Pisces) about two borderline co-dependent best friends navigating their early twenties in Dublin, and all the messy mistakes and intimacies they make along the way. Prone to intellectual curiosity, Gemini will probably see themselves in the kind of probing, honest conversations Frances and Bobbi tend to fall into, and the dual nature of their personalities—Bobbi, fun-loving and adventurous, and Frances, more introverted and cautious.  

Find it on: Overdrive

 

tin man book coverCancer (June 21 – July 22) 

Tin Man – Sarah Winman 

Intuitive, imaginative, and highly emotionalthree main traits that govern a Cancer. You probably know how important family is to Cancers, but what “family” means can vary from person to person. In Winman’s gorgeous little novel Tin Man, family is the trio of Ellis, Annie, and Michael, who love each other in different but equally important waysAs the book blurb says, “This is almost a love story. But it’s not as simple as that.” The crab sign is ruled by the moon, which means feelings and moods come and go like the tide. Sometimes the only thing moody Cancer wants is a good cry—or at least, something that reaches their heightened sense of emotion. Tin Man is quiet and introspective, beautifully devastating but simultaneously warm like soft hug. If you want a book to break your heart and then mend it back up, this is it.  

Find it on: Overdrive 

 

City of Girls book coverLeo (July 23 – August 22) 

City of Girls – Elizabeth Gilbert 

Roll out the red carpet, because the star has arrived! Leos are big, bold, and the life of the party. All that lion energy has to go somewhere, right? What better way to channel that larger-than-life Leo spirit than through the New York theatre scene of the 1940s? In City of Girls, Vivian Morris is a 95 year old grand dame of sorts, looking back (mostly) fondly on her wild years at her aunt’s fabulous Lily Playhouse, where she had been sent to live as a young woman. Showgirls, lotharios, and plenty of lovers abound! After all, a Leo’s confidence makes them highly attractive, winning them tons of friends and admirers (I’m just assuming Vivian is a Leo and rolling with it). Exuberant Leo just wants to have a good time, and Gilbert’s latest novel provides that in spades (please don’t hold Eat, Pray, Love against her!).  

Find it on: Overdrive (see also Markham PL and Richmond Hill PL)

 

my sister the serial killer book coverVirgo (August 23 – September 22) 

My Sister, the Serial Killer – Oyinkan Braithwaite 

Virgos are used to being underappreciated. Quiet, hardworking, and practical, they aren’t the flashiest sign—some might even dare to call them boring (if anyone tries that, just remind them that Beyoncé is a Virgo). In My Sister, the Serial KillerKorede’s normal, comfortable life is regularly interrupted by her flamboyant sister Ayoola, who has a peculiar habit of killing her boyfriends. With the loyal practicality of a Virgo, Korede is always there, exasperatedly, to help clean up her mess. But when the guy Korede has been crushing on starts showing interest in Ayoola, her course of action is less clear. Braithwaite’s short novel is weird, funny, and sparsely written—Virgo energy all over it.  

Find it on: Overdrive (see also Markham PL)

 

the muse book coverLibra (September 23 – October 22) 

The Muse – Jessie Burton 

Lovers of harmony above all things, Libras are known to enjoy the finer things in life: beauty, art, music, etc. It’s about the aesthetics. As the only sign based on an inanimate object (scales), Libras aren’t shy of material goods. The Muse centres around a mysterious painting and balances parallel storylines: one in 1960s London, where Trinidadian ex-pat Odelle Bastien takes up work, and one in 1930s Spain, where Olive Schloss dreams of an artistic future for herself. Where the painting fits in, you’ll have to read to find out. Burton’s writing always has a very strong sense of place, so Libra will be happy to be transported to beautiful vistas beyond their front door.

Find it on: Overdrive

 

vicious book coverScorpio (October 23 – November 21) 

Vicious – V.E. Schwab 

Seductive Scorpio is often treated as the villain of the zodiac, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. We all know the villain is more interesting than the heroAnd if Scorpio were a book, it would be Vicious by VE Schwab. The tale of two university best friends turned foes in their pursuit of supernatural abilities, Vicious kicks off after Victor Vale has been released from prison and is hell-bent on tracking down his old frenemy. Schwab plays with the hero/villain lines we normally draw around superhero stories, asking what exactly makes someone one thing and not the other. Scorpios are full of passion, and they give as good as they get—sometimes moreso. Victor is driven by revenge and an all-encompassing sense of betrayal, forging ahead with a fury of passionate determination that only a Scorpio could pull off.  

Find it on: Overdrive

 

french exit book coverSagittarius (November 22 – December 21) 

French Exit – Patrick deWitt 

Sagittariuses (Sagittari?) are known for their open embrace of life and their great senses of humour, but with that free-spirited nature comes some flakiness and impatience—the world just can’t keep up with them. Patrick deWitt’s bizarrely funny French Exit tells the story of formidable matriarch Frances Price and her adult—but still dependent—son Malcolm, who decide to skip out on their impending bankruptcy by setting sail for Paris. There they hilariously but catastrophically play out the last of their fabulous wealth, in what is described as a “tragedy of manners”. The Sagittarius spirit is alive and well in the Price’s decision to prize freedom, travel, and a life well spent over the mundanities waiting for them back in New York, and deWitt’s writing is witty and satirical but not mean-spirited.  

Find it on: OverdriveHoopla

 

ladder to the sky book coverCapricorn (December 22 – January 19) 

A Ladder to the Sky – John Boyne 

A Ladder to the Sky is the story of a man who knows exactly what he wants and will stop at nothing to get it: “handsome, charming, and hungry for success.” In fact, he’s so hungry to be a successful writer that the little fact that he has no writing talent is of no concern to him. He has a plan to get around that, and he is more than ready to put his plan in motion. Capricorn—the goat sign—is the leader, plain and simple. Disciplined and with impeccable self-control, they will make their way to the top (and we will step aside and let them). Boyne’s main character Maurice Swift is perhaps a bit more devious, a bit more Dorian Gray-esque in achieving his goals than would be typical of a Capricorn, but his singular vision of success (and the work he puts in to get it, whatever the kind) is quite Capricornian in nature. 

Find it on: Overdrive

 

queenie book coverAquarius (January 20 – February 18) 

Queenie – Candice Carty-Williams 

Aquarius hates being bored. Always looking for stimulationsocially or intellectuallyAquarius can feel restless easily. Queenie is a debut novel about the ups and downs of a 25 year old Jamaican-Brit just trying to make it work in modern day London, and it’s being touted as Bridget Jones’s Diary meets AmericanahBut while you’re guaranteed a fun ride, Queenie also grapples with questions of identity (being neither wholly British nor wholly Jamaican), race issues, and plenty of love gone wrong—all of which should hit the spot for the progressive, humanitarian, and justice-seeking Aquarius. The water-bearer sign is always original, just like Queenie!  

Find it on: Overdrive

 

ten thousand doors of january book coverPisces (February 19 – March 20) 

The Ten Thousand Doors of January – Alix E. Harrow 

If anyone is going to get a fantasy recommendation, it’s the dreamy, head-in-the-clouds Pisces. With a strong desire to escape reality, a compassionate nature, and a penchant for spirituality, Pisces should feel right at home in Harrow’s lush, lyrical novel about a girl and a book that opens doors to other worlds. Last in the zodiac, the fish sign carries the weight of all the accumulated wisdom of the others, making them highly intuitive and understanding of life. The Ten Thousand Doors of January has more to offer than just magical realism; among the themes are fantastical journeys, love in various forms, and the lasting power of words and storytelllingPisces, eat your heart out! 

Find it on: Overdrive (See also Markham PL)

 

cherry book coverAries (March 21 – April 19) 

Cherry – Nico Walker 

The most firey of fire signs deserves an equally firey book, and you won’t find a book with more blazing, gut-punch honesty than Cherry. Aries is the first sign of the zodiac, leading the way head-first without much thought for consequences. Big Gryffindor energy, for sure. Nico Walker’s autobiographical novel is not for the faint of heart; it chronicles the homecoming of a bored Iraq War vet who slips right into the burgeoning drug crisis of the Midwest. Literally written on a typewriter in prison, Cherry is bold, brash, and emotionally raw, with an Aries-like confidence-bordering-on-aggression. But it is above all honest, even in its brutality—a quality highly prized by the ram sign.  

Find it on: Overdrive (See also Markham PL)

 

 

About Alyssia

Alyssia is an Adult Services Librarian at the Vaughan Public Libraries. Nothing makes her happier than a great book and a great cup of coffee. She loves fiction in all formats - books, movies, television, you name it - and is always on the lookout for awesome new music.  |  Meet the team

2 thoughts on “Books for Your Zodiac Sign

  1. I love this! Also love how you threw us a curveball by putting My Sister, the Serial Killer under Virgo instead of Scorpio, the more obvious contender (which would also have been very fitting, as a Scorpio having read it before). I’ve seen Schwab’s name here and there before but never given their novels a try just yet – I’ll have to note it down, thanks!

  2. Fantastic idea Alyssia! I’m a sucker for anything horoscope related haha. Looking forward to reading a Ladder to the Sky. Thanks for the suggestions!

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