Seven books that feel like a movie

Marion Winik is the author of nine books, including The Big Book of the Dead (2019) and First Comes Love (1996; reissued with a new introduction in 2026). Her essays have been published in The New York Times Magazine, The Sun, and elsewhere; her column at BaltimoreFishbowl.com has been running since 2011.

[Coffee with a Canine: Marion Winik and Beau (December 2009); Coffee with a Canine: Marion Winik and Beau (June 2013); Writers Read: Marion Winik (June 2013)]

A professor at the University of Baltimore, she reviews books for The Washington Post, Oprah Daily, and People, among others, and hosts the NPR podcast The Weekly Reader. She was a commentator on All Things Considered for fifteen years. She is the recipient of the 2023 National Book Critics Circle Service Award.

At Oprah Daily Winik tagged seven books with fast-paced, visual storytelling, including:

Laws of Love and Logic, by Debra Curtis

If you're a sucker for star-crossed lovers whose destiny plays out over decades, if you don't mind shedding a tear over their fictional mistakes, heartbreaks, and joys, Debra Curtis's moving debut awaits your reading pleasure. The story revolves around the lifelong loves of Lily Webb: her mother, a charismatic force of nature who dies young; her sister Jill, a genius mathematician who falls prey to hard drugs; and "the boy —her sweet, utterly devoted first boyfriend, a high school quarterback and hometown hero. After their seemingly forever connection is cut short by a brutal incident at a drunken beach party, Lily finds a different version of happiness with her college ornithology professor. But her story isn't over yet. As it weaves through the years, this novel recalls The Notebook and Past Lives with the deep respect it extends to young love, its tender exploration of longing and forgiveness, and the haunting questions it poses about what is lost, what returns, what endures.

Read about another entry on the list.

-Marshal Zeringue