Well I remember it being June, or maybe July, and then it was my birthday and then it was the end of the year. So not sure what happened there.
I read a lot last year. I didn't do a round-up of books I read in 2023 because I was busy losing my mind in Brazil, but I’m doing it this year because my friend Ruby told me to. And she’s very smart. 2024 was a little lacklustre by comparison, and I was feeling insecure about it (god forbid my identity as ‘girl who reads book’ be impacted by my brain-rotted 2024 self) until I remembered that this year I spent hours and hours of my life editing an entire book and writing another. Which is why I had less space for reading - less space for a lot of things actually. 2024 was a year of insularity. Which would perhaps make me sad (hi, I am ‘girl who reads book’, nice to meet you) if I didn't know what huge thing I am about to do with my life in 2025, which, tee hee, can’t tell you what exactly yet but trust me it’s gonna be good for my book-reading neurosis. And good for this substack. And good for me. More to come when it comes.
PLUS, I have so many amazing books queued up for next year, I’m shivering with delight.
Anyway, some data for you:
Books read this year: 23 (ish)
Non-fiction: 3, lol. I did read a LOT of New York magazine though.
The Lasting Harm, Lucia Osborne-Crawley. Everything Lucia writes is amazing, of course, and this is no exception. Her latest book dives into the Ghislaine Maxwell trial, covering the events whilst centering and profiling the victims. To be one of only four journalists allowed into the courtroom, Lucia had to be there by three or four in the morning every single day. Her dedication is visible in the pages of her work.
How Not To Write A Novel, Sandra Newman & Howard Mittelmark. I found this really helpful! Some of it is basic do’s and don’ts, but a lot of it was practical and useful advice from two people who have had to read a lot of books in life. It’s also funny, which is a hard achievement for a book about writing.
Want, by Gillian Anderson. This is a delicious and sexy archive of women’s fantasies - I just wish some of them were better written. I wish more editing had been done to the stories - with effort, this could be brilliant. They’re all varied and interesting, but mostly white, and clearly a representation of Anderson’s core fanbase. Not necessarily her fault, and I love the intentions behind the project. I will say though, it’s beginning to feel like a money grab.
Fiction: 20, maybe more, because I just stopped logging my books between June - October and have forgotten them…
Butter, Asako Yuzuki. Ok this was about fifty pages too long, and has what feels like a random and unnecessary twist towards the end, but I really liked it regardless, and I loved the ending and the unpredictable nature of the story. It’s hard to write about food and Yuzuki does it so well.
The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros. Flew through this one - it’s a novella, one of lyrical perfection. Read it.
We Are All Birds of Uganda, Hafsa Zayyan. Hafsa is my Merky Books Prize co-winner and I have been meaning to read her debut for YEARS - I’m so glad I did. I read it as I was beginning my own debut novel and it felt like a balm over all my anxieties about writing family stories. Hafsa is a brilliant writer, and this book carries so much - the ending has stuck with me, all these months later.
Normal People, Sally Rooney. Apparently this is the book you start with when you’re reading Rooney for the first time! I enjoyed this one a lot - in particular, the way the inaction of both characters makes you want to claw your own eyes out! I love a book that can create tension in an understated way.
Evenings and Weekends, OisÃn McKenna. The dangerous thing about a very hyped book is that your expectations get warped - but this was an excellent read and I loved the writing technique. The character writing was also so good!
The Book of Disappearance, Ibtisam Azem. This book is set in a world where everyone wakes up one morning and all Palestinians have vanished. An Israeli journalist tries to piece together what happened to his friend and neighbour.
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows, Balli Kaur Jaswal. I loved the premise of this book more so than the writing, which wasn’t my usual style. But this was a really fun read written by someone who clearly loves and respects the older women of her community.
Books that taught me the most:
All Fours, Miranda July. Urgh, where to begin. My boyfriend said July’s writing reminded him of my own, which is the hottest thing anyone has ever said to me -and I obviously had to find a way to crowbar that in. All Fours is sexy and thrilling and effervescent, but it’s also a masterpiece on form. July has a way of delivering insights which are clearly her own (it’s autofiction, after all) but are wrapped up so perfectly in her characters’ voices that they don’t feel like lessons. That’s very hard to do. I loved the way she writes about sex, and I love the slightly unhinged behaviour of the protagonist. I've put this book in this category becuase I am working on a novel (not the one coming out in 2026) that has a similar frenetic energy to it, and I feel like I just got handed a blueprint to study.
The House of Impossible Beauties, Joseph Cassara. This book is the most beautiful one I have read this year, by far. It follows a handful of characters - almost all Puerto Rican - in New York, living their lives in the looming shadows of poverty, homophobia and HIV, yet refusing to be diminished. The story itself was perfect and heartbreaking, but what blew my mind was the seamless incorporation of Spanish into the text. I speak Spanish fairly well, and having grown up in a blend of languages, this did something to my soul that both put me at ease and thrilled me. It was nostalgia without the melancholy. I don’t know if a non-Spanish speaker would feel the same, but to me, the choice added so much flavouring to the novel and drew me into a world I did not belong to but felt at home in. I’m so grateful to Cassara for teaching me how to interweave.
Ease-in books:
An ease-in book is a book you read when you’re having a chaotic and busy time and you’re out of practice and have forgotten how to concentrate.
Piglet, Lottie Hazel. This was a good book in that it was effective in making me feel like I was having a panic attack in slow motion. Good writing, good pacing, satisfying ending, exquisite tension-building.
Queenie, Alice Munro. This was fine when I read it but I remember little of it.
Books I feel require caveats:
All the Harry Potters, sigh. I read them in between intense editing periods because I needed familiarity and comfort. When it comes to the god-awful mess that is JK right now, I have a ‘no new money’ policy. That is, no consumption of anything that will bump up her royalties. I own all the books already, and they are very beloved. If I had lived in that world I would’ve been so in love with Ginny. Book Ginny - we do not speak of the other one.
Number of DNFs: 3 or 4. But I only trash-talk when I’m drunk, so those stay with me.
Books I’m frantically trying to squeeze in before the new year: 4
Kitchen, Banana Yoshimoto. I’m almost done and I’m struggling a little, but I think that might be a translation issue.
Life Ceremony, Sayaka Murata. Haven’t started yet but if I hate it I will be shocked and also you will never know.
Sunstruck, William Rayfet Hunter. This is, realistically, going to be my 2025 opener. Exciting - I’ve heard excellent things!
A Sport and a Pastime, James Salter. I’m REALLY struggling with this one, but I value the opinions of the person who recommended it to me too much to give up on.
Books I’m really excited to read next year:
Intermezzo, Sally Rooney. I read my first ever Rooney this year and enjoyed it!
Ultra Processed People, Chris Van Tulleken. I just feel like maybe I need a little more panic in my life
Eyes Guts Throat Bones, Moira Fowley. This is a piece of me, and one I avoided reading when writing and editing my short story collection, A Beautiful Lack of Consequence, becuase I sensed similarities.
Trick Mirror, Jia Tolentino. This is a re-read but it feels like an urgent one.
Pixel Flesh, Ellen Atlanta. Will pair brilliantly with Tolentino.
My Cat Yugoslavia, Pajtim Statovci. I have owned this book for ages and keep forgetting to read it - next year I am determined not to let that happen.
Daybreak in Gaza, Mahmoud Muna & Matthew Teller. I was lucky enough to be a sent a copy of this book, and then saw Mahmoud speak in person - and I just know this is going to be unforgettable.
Modern Times, Cathy Sweeney. Exactly the same as Eyes Guts Throat Bones, a collection I’m eager to read but didn't want to be influenced by.
Rapture, Susan Minot. 116 pages of a couple’s relationship, told mid-sex. This is a fascinating premise.
Dream Count, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. This comes out next year, and Americanah is one of my all-time favourite books! I love her fiction.
Bonus: A pod recommendation
The Narrator, This American Life
This is an extraordinary episode covers months of phone calls between an eight year old girl in Gaza, and a reporter for This American Life. The reporter, Michelle, initially began speaking to B’s mum, who is a journalist working for Al Jazeera. But B took over the conversation, and then began calling Michelle of her own volition - when she was bored, when she wanted to chat, when she wanted to tell stories. And gradually a picture of her life forms, as well as a child’s perspective of living in the heart of a war zone. The thing that struck me in this episode is how strongly B focuses on recreating her everyday life - she, and the children around her play ‘school;’ every single day. They re-enact lectures, homework, exams, they have disagreements and pull pranks, and these are the focus of her phone calls, not the war, which lingers in the background. It’s so rare these days to see portrayals of Gazan children as joyful, or mischievous, or fixated on ordinary, childlike things. We tend to only ever see and hear stories of their suffering, and of course, this is critical to understanding the true horror and depravity enacted by Israel. But it feels equally important to see the joy, the life, the love, the richness, of Palestinians too. There is so much there, and this episode provides that, even as it is heartbreaking.
A quick favour. I love writing these posts, and I intend to do them for free for as long as I can. If you enjoyed reading this, forward it to a friend (or three) who you think might like it too. It helps massively, because validation from strangers is truly the only thing that makes the horrors bearable for me.