Happy Friday bibliophiles! Kibby started this tag at Something of the Book. It’s a fun way to celebrate the books you love on one of the best days of the week!

Space is amazing. Ever since I was a lil tween I have been fascinated by all things astronomy. I really bonded with my Dad over various Sci Fi stories like Star Wars, Star Trek, and Back to the Future. Unsurprisingly, my love of Science Fiction has followed me to this day. A lot of my top books and series take place in space, so I’m excited to share some of them!

1. The Illuminae Files – Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

I wouldn’t be surprised to see this series on most lists today. It was one of the first recent YA Sci Fi series I’ve read, and it really did a lot to pull me back into the world of modern YA. It helps that I adore the authors, and every day I’ve gotten to spend in their presence is truly a bright spot in my life. I won’t list their other collaborative work separately, but I will also shout out Aurora Rising. I think it has a lot to love, and I cannot wait for the 2nd installment.

2. The Wayfarers Trilogy – Becky Chambers

One of my backlist reads this year was A Long way to a Small Angry Planet, and I was UPSET about how much I loved it. It is really a book I think I needed in my life years ago. It helped me understand parts of myself I didn’t even know I misunderstood. I can’t say enough about how much I love this ensemble story. There are all sorts of aliens, different world views, and of course space drama. I just love this series, even though I still haven’t continued on to book 2.

3. Contagion – Erin Bowman

I’ve read a few titles by Erin Bowman, and this one is my favorite! It has a lot of things I love. Space, teens making super questionable decisions, and an incurable super scary illness! Actually all of the books I’ve mentioned so far involve a weird plague/ disease at some point. I have simple needs! The sequel Immunity will be on shelves next week and I am so excited to read it!

4. Skyward – Brandon Sanderson

Sanderson writes a lot of my very favorite stories and Skyward is no exception. Some of the elements of this story I really love are the misunderstood alien race, a crew with lots of personal differences, and most importantly an adorable AI. I can’t wait to see how this story develops, and I trust Sanderson implicitly with sequels so I’m jazzed for Starsight later this year.

5. Digging in the Stars – Katherine Blakeney

This is a small press title that I fell in love with a few years back. I was part of a readalong group and it was a lot of fun to discuss opinions and what people liked and disliked about it. Though the pacing was a bit slow, I was so enchanted by the details of the aliens in this story that I really didn’t care. Where most humans are used to talking about their environment in terms of what they see, the creatures in this book relate through smell. I found the change in wording really quirky and enjoyable. I would love to read another book by Blakeney someday.

So those are my top 5! Have you read any of these? Let me know in the comments, and let me know if there are any similar titles I need to add to my TBR.