Yet again, I haven’t blogged all year. But I can’t resist posting about my year in reading. This year’s post is shorter than years past. I hope your 2024 was filled with some great books, and that 2025 includes lots of time for reading! (Maybe you’ll find a book or few here to add to your TBR pile.)

10 of my favourite reads this year

The Strange Case of Jane O. by Karen Thompson Walker

I was lucky to get an advance reading copy of this novel. The Strange Case of Jane O. is quite possibly my absolute favourite book that I read this year. This story about a psychiatrist trying to help his patient who has a mysterious condition got me thinking a lot about psychology and time and dreams. I am still thinking about ideas brought forward in this book. And I really cared about these characters. I highly recommend getting your hands on a copy when the books comes out in February.

Shy Creatures by Clare Chambers

As far as books that were released in 2024, this is my favourite. Shy Creatures takes place in England in two time periods: the 1930s and the 1960s. It concerns Helen, an art therapist working in a psychiatric hospital, who is in a relationship with Gil, a married man who is one of the doctors at the hospital. A call about a disturbance uncovers a mute man in his 30s who has been living as a recluse with his elderly aunt. The man ends up at the hospital, and Helen becomes invested in finding out who the man is and how he ended up in his situation. Filled with drama and secrets, this is ultimately an uplifting story that isn’t too warm and fuzzy.

Good Material by Dolly Alderton

Good Material is more of a breakup novel than a romance novel. The story centres around Alex as he tries to figure out why his ex-girlfriend Jen ended things between them. The breakup felt very realistic, and so did the friendships surrounding Alex and Jen. This book is also funny and made me laugh out loud several times. I love when a book can feel light and full of substance at the same time.

Bear by Julia Phillips

Bear is about two sisters and their dying mother who live on a Pacific Northwest island and are struggling to make ends meet. One day, a bear turns up on the island, and eventually near their home. One sister is terrified while the other develops a relationship with the animal. The description of this book wasn’t enough to interest me in it. I only ended up reading it because I kept hearing good things and was curious. What I liked most about was that it caught me off-guard more than once. I like when I don’t see something coming, and that usually only happens with thrillers, which this is not.

Interesting Facts about Space by Emily Austin

Enid, the main character in Interesting Facts about Space, works at the Space Agency and is obsessed with outer space. The book’s title is what Enid says to her mother whenever she calls, not knowing how to have a conversation or talk about personal things. When Enid becomes convinced she is being followed, she realizes there might be something else going on with her, and she starts to dig into her past. (This is also a very funny book.)

There Is No Ethan: How Three Women Caught America’s Biggest Catfish by Anna Akbari

This was such a wild story. I commend Akbari and the other women for revealing their experiences of being catfished by the same person in There Is No Ethan. It can’t be easy to come out publicly and say you were duped. The catfish element is incredibly interesting (the motivation behind the scam shocked me), but I really loved how these three strangers came together and joined forces to expose who Ethan really was.

The Coast Road by Alan Murrin

The Coast Road takes place in a small town in Ireland in 1994, when divorce was not yet legal. It centres on two women: Izzy, a housewife, and Colette, a poet who has returned to town after she’d left her husband and children to have an affair with a man in Dublin. Colette’s husband keeps her children away from her, and Colette’s only chance to see them is with Izzy’s help. I did not get into this one right away. I am not sure if it was a slower pace at the start or if it was my mood. But after about the first third, I was really invested in these characters, their plight, and the relationship between the women.

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

In The Wedding People, Phoebe arrives at a hotel and is mistaken for one of the wedding guests who have taken over the venue. However, she’s the only person who isn’t there for the event. Her marriage has ended, and Phoebe has booked a room to end her life. When the bride learns of Phoebe’s intentions, the bride is determined to stop Phoebe from ruining her big day. It sounds dark, but it’s darkly funny, and really just gets lighter and funnier from there.

Consent: A Memoir by Jill Ciment

Ciment met her late husband when she was 16 and he was 47, married with children, and her art teacher. In Consent, Ciment reflects on their unconventional relationship and marriage of 45 years, examines it post #MeToo, and asks some tough questions.

Cue the Sun!: The Invention of Reality TV by Emily Nussbaum

Cue the Sun! is a thorough look at the history and development one of my favourite television genres. Nussbaum starts off with illustrating how reality TV has existed much earlier than many of us tend to think (e.g., Candid Camera or The Dating Game). The book also explores some of the darker sides of reality TV and follows up with what’s happened with some reality TV stars. If I’m honest, I think a huge reason I liked this book was for the nostalgia factor. I remember watching the first seasons of Survivor and Big Brother and enjoyed getting an inside look to those long-ago-aired episodes. Would I have liked this book as much if I wasn’t familiar with these shows? Probably not. But I’m pretty sure it’s only reality TV fans who are reading this book anyway.