Books About Living With Others

As the COVID-19 pandemic has kept many people at home, chances are you’re spending more time than you’re used to in close quarters with your family or roommates. Even if you live alone, you may be asking yourself if you’re the lucky one or missing out. Whether your living situation is a dream, a nightmare, or somewhere in between, there’s a cohabitation story for you.

If you’re looking for a story about friends living together, try “The Apartment, opens a new window” by Danielle Steel or “A Little Life, opens a new window” by Hanya Yanagihara. For a combination of dystopia and problematic roommates, check out “Followers, opens a new window” by Megan Angelo. There are lots of books about school roommates, including: “The Guineveres” by Sarah Domet, “Shadow of the Lions, opens a new window” by Christopher Swann, “The Expectations, opens a new window” by Alexander Tilney and “The Broken Girls, opens a new window” by Simone St. James.

Odd couple roommate stories are a classic choice. Try “The Great Unexpected, opens a new window” by Dan Mooney or “Let’s No One Get Hurt, opens a new window” by Jon Pineda. Another popular trope is the roommates-to-lovers story. “The Chai Factor, opens a new window” by Farah Heron, “The Flatshare, opens a new window” by Beth O’Leary, “Maybe Not, opens a new window” by Colleen Hoover and “Roomies” by Christina Lauren all have that relationship at their core.

If you’re quarantined with your family at the moment, there are a variety of novels that dive into family dynamics. Check out “Dominicana, opens a new window” by Angie Cruz or “Your House Will Pay, opens a new window” by Steph Cha for complicated familial stories. “The Mandibles: A Family 2029-2047, opens a new window” by Lionel Shriver is the story of a family in the near future dealing with broad economic breakdown. “The Need, opens a new window” by Helen Phillips and “We Have Always Lived in the Castle, opens a new window” by Shirley Jackson talk about family life filtered through a slightly creepy lens. “The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls” by Anissa Gray, “Red at the Bone, opens a new window" by Jacqueline Woodson, and “Go Tell It on the Mountain, opens a new window” by James Baldwin offer persepctives on African-American family life.

Whatever your situation, OPL has a book for you! This list includes the titles mentioned above, as well as a few more. You can always submit a custom reading list request if you’d like still more titles in this (or any other) vein!