What's the best books you've read in the last 12 months?

[lizkt]

American Dirt really stands out for me.

Looking for some new books to read so would love to hear any ideas.

How to Kill Your Family
The Appeal

The watchmaker of filigree street. Didn't realise it was written years ago and can't believe I missed it until now. On the sequel at the moment.

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

Antwork by Anders Drachen. Teaches economics and technology to children/tweens/teens and is a pretty good read too.

Jessie cave - Sunset

Alongside Hamnet, Small Pleasures and The Girl with The Louding Voice, I'm really enjoying Shuggie Bain!

Hamnet
Girl, Woman Other
Shuggie Bain
My biggest disappointment of the year had to be Where The Crawdads Sing - shockingly bad IMO.

We have similar reading tastes, PP!

I didn't enjoy Crawdads either ....

alone on a wide wide sea
michael morpurgo

East of Hounslow by Khurrum Rahman. It’s the first in a series, if you like a thriller that’s a bit different

The Fortune Men by Nadifa Mohamed - based on a true story and brilliant.

Hamnet
The Last House on Needless St
Shuggie Bain
None of them very cheery, but all incredible

I've just finished Sorrow & Bliss by Meg Mason & really enjoyed it.

Others are Hamnet, American dirt & untamed by Glennon Doyle from this years reads. It hasn't been a great year for me but have noted a lot to try from this thread.

Shuggie Bain
American dirt (this was my favourite)
The Southern book clubs guide to vampire slaying
Born a crime

The Thursday Murder Club - some great characters and really touching moments as well as being really funny. Looking forward to reading the sequel.

It was just before this year but looking at small pleasures I thought I should recommend the wonder by Emma donohue

Just read A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley , I think it was recommended on this thread. Absolutely brilliant book, I can see why it won the pulitzer prize.

Sorrow and Bliss - Meg Mason, Bewilderment - Richard Powers, Loved and Missed - Susie Boyt, Oh William - Elizabeth Strout, The High House - Jessie Greengrass, Sunset - Jessie Cave.

For me
Re-reading 'The Big Sleep' by Raymond Chandler - classic american detective noir
Chris Beckett's sci-fi trilogy - Dark Eden, Mother of Eden, and Children of Eden. Although classed as sci-fi it's very much about society, relationships, belief and faith
The Southern Book Club's Guide to slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix.
The Thursday Murder Club - much much much better than I expected

If We Were Villains
Station Eleven
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
All The Young Men

I also read and enjoyed My Dark Vanessa and Hamnet but they don't beat the above for me.

Watching with interest

Top three
All The Light We Cannot See - Anthony Doerr
The Story of The Lost Child - Elena Ferrante (Last in Neapolitan Quartet)
Hungry - Grace Dent

Other five stars from the year:
Small Pleasures - Claire Chambers
The Girl With The Louding Voice - Abi Dare (would highly recommend on Audible)
Many Different Kinds of Love - Michael Rosen - Lovely little gift in hardback
Fifty Fifty/Devil's Advocate - Steve Cavanagh - Easy to read, enjoyable legal thrillers

Lots of inspiration here one book rarely mentioned that I loved this year was the murder of Harriet Monckton by Elizabeth Haynes.

The phone box at the edge of the world