I love reading, curling up with a good book and cup of Ginger and Lemon tea (recipe for a homemade version linked here), but I sometimes find it hard to know what to read next. I thought I'd pop a list of what's on my bookshelf for 2024 down for anyone who's looking for their next read.
For anyone interested - you can get my up to date list on goodreads by clicking here.
Let me know in the comments what your top recommendations are this year!
Yellow Face - Rebecca F Kuang
I couldn't put this book down! In summary the author explores racism and appropriation in the world of publishing. The characters are well developed and the themes of the book are so relevant to today's world. Without giving anything away the main protaganist is a woman whose decisions in a number of different circumstance lead her down an interesting road. I was gripped by the insight we were given to the protagonists mind, specifically the contextualisation of decisions that were made, leading me to feel both shocked by her actions whilst simultaneously understanding and in some cases empathetic of her choices. I finished this book with some big introspective questions about myself (what choices would I have made differently, where would I draw the line) and society (why is there so much pressure to achieve that the ends justify the means to so many people) and a new perspective on the effects of cancel culture (is the threat of being cancelled enough to deter people acting dubiously, does cancelling someone make them irredeemable). 10/10.
The Venomous Lumpsucker - Ned Beauman
This book challenges the idea of offsetting our impact on the plant by assinging a market value on nature. Now, my 9-5 is working in Nature Finance so I thought it would be a really interesting but I found it quite hard. There is comedy in the book and it's written in a very accessible way (think hitchhikers guide to the galaxy), so definitly some plusses. And the book definitely raises some serious philosophical questions about our presence on this beautiful planet. But maybe the material was a little too close to my day job for me get that sense of escapism that I love when I read or maybe I just didn't click with the characters but something was off for me. And interesting read but not my fave of this year. 7/10.
Seven days in June - Tia Williams
This is an out and out chick-flick kinda book. And I loved it. I'm not going to say anything about the storyline (go find out for yourself). But the characters are well rounded yet non-typical for this genre of book. A very light hearted easy read, perfect for a Sunday afternoon. 9/10.
Normal people - Sally Rooney
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