26-ish books 2024

[Tinkhasflown]

A shiny new thread for 2024.

All welcome and note 26 is just a number. Everyone can set their own target and you are welcome here even if you only read 3 books a year.

I personally count the larger novel style books I read to my children and audio books I listen to. Others don't and there are no rules.

I look forward to all your suggestions again this year.

34 Porpoise - Mark Haddon

a conglomerate retelling of the Apollinus/Pericles myth from a feminist perspective with 2 main seperate threads and one of those splitting into 3 more. Very Mark Haddon but also very different to CIOTDITNT and A Spot of Bother, more sprawling and grand and lyrical - sometimes feels very dreamlike and is heartbreaking at points. Loved all the characters and while some storylines were less interesting to me than others it’s def worth a read

21. The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex.
This novel's had a lot of comments already I think on here so I won't wax on. I really enjoyed it but am unconvinced /unsure about one aspect towards the end. Be interested what others thought. Without risking spoliers it's the presence of the child that bugs me a bit. I can't fully go with it.

21. Travelling in a Strange Land by David Park

Absolutely loved this. A short but powerful read. I'd never heard of the author or the book before but found it in the local library and wanted to give it a try. So glad I did. 4.5 out of 5.

28 Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher. She's funny and makes a really hard life amusing.
29 Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimandana Ngozi Adichie. Amazing book but a hard read.
I think I may be out on my numbers though.

26. The girl who played with fire by Stig Larsson.

2nd in the trilogy, thrillers are not my normal genre but loved this as I did the first. Problem with books like these is they keep me awake too late!!

@TrustPenguins I have no recommendations but funnily enough I bought Norwegian Wood this weekend. I take your comment as a sign that this should be my next book. It was going to be Hamnet...

I've read Norwegian Wood and Hamnet - loved both but NW is definitely a firm favourite of mine.
I enjoyed The Stig Larsson trilogy too. Proper page turners!

@Scout2016 I know exactly what you mean with The Lamplighters.

28: The Unicorn by Iris Murdoch
This is possibly my 3rd or 4th reading of this and have just finished it for a read-along on another thread. I loved it as a young adult and some elements still captivate me, I don't feel quite the same love for it as I did 30 years ago.

26: A Thousand Feasts by Nigel Slater. A compilation from Nigel’s notebooks and thoughts, gathered over the years, I know he’s not to everyone’s taste but I find his writing very comforting (he is just tongue in cheek enough to poke fun at his own pomposity) and I like that you can just dip in and out, I listened to it on audible and suspect I will be dipping in and out in future when I want something to listen to but not to have to pay full attention IYSWIM.

34: Reykjavik - Ragnar Jónasson and Katrín Jakobsdóttir

crime novel bought by a friend. It was fine. I don’t read crime normally and I’m assuming it needs to be more of a mystery for the whodunnit to be any good. Certainly hasn’t made me want to read more of the genre

@DiggoryVenn thank you! I wasn't sure I bought it and as time has passed it seems a bit of a convenient contrivance to wrap that third character's story up.

Two to add to my list : Joe Cinque's Consolation by Helen Garner. A very interesting read, it is a true account of the trials of Anu Singh and her friend Madhavi Rao, for the murder of Singh's boyfriend Joe Cinque.
Also The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. Beautifully written but I found the non-linear plot quite confusing.

1. Stone Yard Devotional - Charlotte Wood
2. Strange Sally Diamond - Liz Nugent
3. Normal Rules Don’t Apply - Kate Atkinson
4. The Drowning Girls - Veronica Lando
5. Lessons In Chemistry - Bonnie Garmus
6. Limberlost - Robbie Arnott
7. Back to Bangka - Georgina Banks
8. Zeus is a Dick - Susie Donkin
9. Water - John Boyne
10. The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning - Margareta Magnusson
11. The Mercies - Kiran Millwood Hargrave
12. Cloudstreet - Tim Winton
13. Joe Cinque's Consolation - Helen Garner
14. The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy

16. A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute - Englishwoman Jean Paget is living & working in Malaya during World War II when she is captured by the invading Japanese army. Along with several other women & children, she is forced to march around the country for months whilst their captors try to figure out what to do with them. On the way she meets fellow prisoner of war, Australian Joe Harman, and they strike up a friendship before being separated. Years after the war, Jean (now back in England) receives a surprise inheritance, and goes first back to Malaya to build a well for the villagers who saved her life, then onto the Australian outback.

This felt like a book of two halves. The first part, which covers Jean's capture and subsequent imprisonment, was the most interesting part for me. The second half, when she is in Australia, was slow in comparison but still worth it.

22 Out of Love by Hazel Hayes

A love story - told in reverse. Beginning at the end of a relationship, each chapter goes back in time... until the first kiss.
Well written and easy read, I enjoyed it and got through it pretty quickly.
Not ground breaking but a good read.
3.5 stars out of 5

17. My Ride With Gus by Charlie Carillo. It's New Year's Eve in New York City, and architect Jimmy Gambar is about to propose to his girlfriend. Instead an arguement ensues, and Jimmy storms out. A few bad decisions later, and Jimmy is standing over the body of a strange woman whom he's accidentally killed in his SoHo loft apartment. Frightened and unsure what to do, he calls his estranged older brother, mobster Gus "The Ghost" Gambuzza.

I read this over 2 days because I didn't want to put it down. A really fun, fast paced book. Definitely recommend.

22. Foster by Claire Keegan. Really enjoyed. Very short so I took breaks to make it last.

36 Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

like most of his books I find them interesting and I like the characters and the world he creates but there’s something that doesn’t quite hook me in to make me love them. Very Great Gatsby esque which I’m a fan of

18. Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung - A collection of short stories that blend elements of horror, magical realism, science fiction, and fantasy. Shortlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize.

All of the stories are quite surreal. I enjoyed about two-thirds of them, but there were definitely some which didn't resonate with me. The longest story in the collection is only about 50 pages though, so even if you aren't keen on one you won't be stuck with it for very long.

I didn't really feel either way about this book, although I suspect it might be one of those where years from now I'll suddenly remember one of the stories and wonder where I heard it!

I haven't updated in an age, but do keep an eye in for recommendations.
Book 27 All the Light we Cannot See this was on my list for so long and I finally got around to it. I loved this book and felt transported by the writing.

Book 28 Water - John Boyne A brilliant read 5*. If I didn't know better I'd think this was written by a woman! I had the audio version of this and I was hooked from the beginning. The narrator was just perfect. It's about a woman who runs away from life in Dublin after a tragedy to live on an Island off Galway.

Book 29 Milk - Alice Kinsella About motherhood. Beautifully written, I could relate to so much of it as an Irish mother. Some elements were so sad and a little too relatable.

Book 30 The Woman in Me - Britney Spears It was just ok. A little immature in places.

Book 31 Ordinary Human Failings - Megan Nolan I really enjoyed this read. It's about family asnd judgements after a child is suspected of committing a crime.

Book 32 Acts of Desperation- Megan Nolan This one should come with as trigger warning due to the self harm and a toxic relationship. It was a good read despite the topic, but I wasn't mad about the ending.

Book 33 Long Island - Colm Toibin This is a follow on to Brooklyn that was made into a movie. It was quite a drawn out story and I got fed up by the end. I thought the ending was terrible too which didn't help.

Book 34 Spirit Level - Richy Craven Not my usual type of book. Main character loses his best friend in a car accident but can see and converse with his spirit...

@Tinkhasflown
One of my all-time favourites (along with many other MNetters) is Boyne's Heart's Invisible Furies.

I've always been reluctant to read any more of his books in case they disappoint.

Where does Water rank? And is it based around a harrowing subject?

@BaconAndAvocado I absolutely loved Hearts Invisible Furies. This is a very different book to that one but equally good imo. I gave both 5* and I don't do th ast often.

It is based around a harrowing subject, but it doesn't go into it in detail. The focus remains on the main character on the island but does reveal why she is there and how things have happened as a consequence.

1. Holly, Stephen King

2. The Push, Ashley Audrain

3. The Killing Kind, Jane Casey

4. Kala, Colin Walsh

5. The Salt Path, Raynor Winn

6. Strange Sally Diamond, Liz Nugent

7. Brooklyn, Colm Toibin

8. Long Island, Colm Toibin

37 Water - John Boynes

feels like cheating because it’s so short but I’ve read a few monsters this year about to start David Copperfield also I wish with my heart it had been three times the length!

a novella really but amazing he manages to get so much story into it considering I think novellas tend to be most successful when they’re “slice of life” much like a short film. You understand the lead character immediately and I could have lived in her world a lot longer

27. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. It's my first book by this author, enjoyed it. But when I read the reviews afterwards lots of people were saying this was just a straightforward and simple love story and a diversion from his other books. I can't see how a book with 4 suicides in it is straightforward and simple? I didn't really see it a a love story at all, more a tale of entering adulthood with all the complexities that exist in your late teens. Mental health was a pretty strong theme running through the book.

Number 15 - The Night Tiger - Yangsze Choo. I loved this mix of historical setting (1930’s British Malaya), folklore, fast-moving story and interesting characters.

1. Stone Yard Devotional - Charlotte Wood
2. Strange Sally Diamond - Liz Nugent
3. Normal Rules Don’t Apply - Kate Atkinson
4. The Drowning Girls - Veronica Lando
5. Lessons In Chemistry - Bonnie Garmus
6. Limberlost - Robbie Arnott
7. Back to Bangka - Georgina Banks
8. Zeus is a Dick - Susie Donkin
9. Water - John Boyne
10. The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning - Margareta Magnusson
11. The Mercies - Kiran Millwood Hargrave
12. Cloudstreet - Tim Winton
13. Joe Cinque's Consolation - Helen Garner
14. The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy
15. The Night Tiger - Yangsze Choo

2024 books

1. This Christmas
2. A Terrible Kindness
3.Picking up the pieces 
4.Yellow face 
5.Love Untold
6.None of this is true 
7. Really Good Actually
8.The Stonehenge Legacy
9.The Lost Man
10.Then She Was Gone
11.Everyone here is lying 
12.The Woman Who Lied 
13.American Dirt
14.The couple at no. 9
15.The survivors 
16.Tackle
17.Hamnet
18.Demon Copperhead
19.Someone else's shoes 
20.The Silent Patient 
21.Very Very Lucky 
22.His and Hers 
23.The Last List of Mabel Beaumont
24.It starts with us
25.The Distance Between Us