232 books, that is amazing. I fancy reading your Maggie Smith tip, and I'm also going to be looking to read Sally Andrew's Recipes for Love and Murder series - the first book has just been made into a series and streamed in the UK. Happy New Year Katy
Ah, I'll have a. look at Sally Andrews' sounds like something that might be cosy I can read alongside my mum who is a big fan of the cosier end of criminality!
How on earth do you manage to get through so many books! I always include a re-read of a few Terry Pratchett books in my reading plans, they are just so damn good. I also have Wifedom in my TBR pile, and have noted down a few others to add to the ever growing list. I am also in favour of giving up if a book isn't doing it for you. Life is too short to read unsatisfactory books. Happy New Year to you and your family xx
I came across this post I don’t know how but now, two days later, am half way into _A Flat Place_. I cannot put it down even as child rearing and job duties accumulate all around me. Thank you for recommending this book (and others) that I would hardly have found on my own. Here’s my recent favorite: _Memories: From Moscow to the Black Sea_ by Teffi.
I finished The Garden Against Time yesterday and have been trying to remember who on Substack recommended it. It was you (via Katherine May)! Thank you for introducing me to this remarkable book.
i always enjoy your reviews! i’m just disappointed when the book isn’t released in the US until months & months later. (i’ll be in the Uk this spring, may need extra bag for new books!)
besides Ghosts of the Tsunami which i picked up on your recommendation (☺️)…such a gripping read, Lidia Yuknavitch has been on top of my list, one fiction, Thrust. the other, her first memoir, Chronology of Water. her next memoir is due out in March. and for poetry, Ada Limón’s “sharks in the water.” stunning.
there are more, but those are what are popping up for now. have saved this post so i can add more books to my TBR!
happy 2025 reading📚. and yes, i have started setting aside books that don’t resonate. too many other books vying for my attention. i just started The English Patient and am not sure if i stick with it…
i've taken writing workshops through Corporal Writing (https://www.corporealwriting.com/) which she co-founded...some with Lidia. they break rules. these days, i like breaking rules...
North Woods by Daniel Mason was my top one of the year - just weird enough to be wonderful! I had in my head that I’d got it from a Katy Boo recommendation, but then couldn’t find it when I searched the archives. No idea where it came from, but clearly I think it’s a book you’d enjoy!
I just read (devoured) A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes and was completely gripped. For those who don’t already know (like me, before my book group chose it), it’s about the Trojan Wars, but told from the perspective of a number of the women involved (for a change). I found it to be beautifully and engagingly written. I also re-read several of the earlier Pratchett Vimes books, for the I-don’t-know-how-manyth-time.
I saw her interview Susan Cooper and she was magnificent. Then my mum started me listening to her show on Radio Four and now I have one of her books. I will move it up the pile. x
Thanks so much. I found many of your top books in my local library list so have reserved! Am curious to know how you track what you read? Have seen people using apps but now have a dedicated reading journal for 2025. I hope I keep it going for the whole year.
I have a Goodreads account, which is annoying for all kinds of reasons, but as I mostly keep it as a notebook it works for me. I started using Storygraph this year on a friend's recommendation but I didn't get on with it, although I know so many people who I admire prefer it to Goodreads.
I read O Caledonia this year and loved it. Wifedom is still on my to-read pile, as are several others you’ve listed. Thanks for some great suggestions, Katy.
If you think you love reading now, you have no idea how much more glorious it will become when you start dropping books the moment you realize that you are not enjoying them. There is no reason to feel guilt about not finishing books. You owe them nothing. It is their job to captivate you, not your job to endure them. Best wishes!
232 books, that is amazing. I fancy reading your Maggie Smith tip, and I'm also going to be looking to read Sally Andrew's Recipes for Love and Murder series - the first book has just been made into a series and streamed in the UK. Happy New Year Katy
Ah, I'll have a. look at Sally Andrews' sounds like something that might be cosy I can read alongside my mum who is a big fan of the cosier end of criminality!
How on earth do you manage to get through so many books! I always include a re-read of a few Terry Pratchett books in my reading plans, they are just so damn good. I also have Wifedom in my TBR pile, and have noted down a few others to add to the ever growing list. I am also in favour of giving up if a book isn't doing it for you. Life is too short to read unsatisfactory books. Happy New Year to you and your family xx
I still don't sleep much! And I watch virtually no telly. xx
I came across this post I don’t know how but now, two days later, am half way into _A Flat Place_. I cannot put it down even as child rearing and job duties accumulate all around me. Thank you for recommending this book (and others) that I would hardly have found on my own. Here’s my recent favorite: _Memories: From Moscow to the Black Sea_ by Teffi.
Ooh, I will check it out. Thank you. xx
I finished The Garden Against Time yesterday and have been trying to remember who on Substack recommended it. It was you (via Katherine May)! Thank you for introducing me to this remarkable book.
Ah! You are so very welcome. x
i always enjoy your reviews! i’m just disappointed when the book isn’t released in the US until months & months later. (i’ll be in the Uk this spring, may need extra bag for new books!)
besides Ghosts of the Tsunami which i picked up on your recommendation (☺️)…such a gripping read, Lidia Yuknavitch has been on top of my list, one fiction, Thrust. the other, her first memoir, Chronology of Water. her next memoir is due out in March. and for poetry, Ada Limón’s “sharks in the water.” stunning.
there are more, but those are what are popping up for now. have saved this post so i can add more books to my TBR!
happy 2025 reading📚. and yes, i have started setting aside books that don’t resonate. too many other books vying for my attention. i just started The English Patient and am not sure if i stick with it…
I'll have a look at Yuknavitch. I don't think I've ever read/heard of her. x
i've taken writing workshops through Corporal Writing (https://www.corporealwriting.com/) which she co-founded...some with Lidia. they break rules. these days, i like breaking rules...
North Woods by Daniel Mason was my top one of the year - just weird enough to be wonderful! I had in my head that I’d got it from a Katy Boo recommendation, but then couldn’t find it when I searched the archives. No idea where it came from, but clearly I think it’s a book you’d enjoy!
Maybe I mentioned it in a post because I definitely read it last year and absolutely loved it!
I also adored Bookworm (probably on your recommendation!), so I’m so excited to see the sequel.
It's so good!
I've only read one on your list - The Garden Against Time, which I also loved.
Really want to read Wifedom and A Flat Place now you have recommended them! I live in Norfolk which to quote Noel Coward is "very flat"!
It is! The flattest!
What a fantastic list
Thank you. x
Such a great list. I keep hearing amazing things about the Joe Dunthorne.
It was incredible. I've read some of his fiction and thought it was fine, but this is beyond.
Just finished Ripeness by Sarah Moss and that's pretty magnificent too.
I just read (devoured) A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes and was completely gripped. For those who don’t already know (like me, before my book group chose it), it’s about the Trojan Wars, but told from the perspective of a number of the women involved (for a change). I found it to be beautifully and engagingly written. I also re-read several of the earlier Pratchett Vimes books, for the I-don’t-know-how-manyth-time.
I saw her interview Susan Cooper and she was magnificent. Then my mum started me listening to her show on Radio Four and now I have one of her books. I will move it up the pile. x
Thanks so much. I found many of your top books in my local library list so have reserved! Am curious to know how you track what you read? Have seen people using apps but now have a dedicated reading journal for 2025. I hope I keep it going for the whole year.
I have a Goodreads account, which is annoying for all kinds of reasons, but as I mostly keep it as a notebook it works for me. I started using Storygraph this year on a friend's recommendation but I didn't get on with it, although I know so many people who I admire prefer it to Goodreads.
Some great books on there some read, some gifted and on my list. Thanks for sharing and HNY.
HNY to you, too x
I read O Caledonia this year and loved it. Wifedom is still on my to-read pile, as are several others you’ve listed. Thanks for some great suggestions, Katy.
No problem. HNY x
If you think you love reading now, you have no idea how much more glorious it will become when you start dropping books the moment you realize that you are not enjoying them. There is no reason to feel guilt about not finishing books. You owe them nothing. It is their job to captivate you, not your job to endure them. Best wishes!
I've already canned one this year. The freedom!
Congratulations! 🎉
well said. and a writer is not supposed to appeal to everyone anyway. that writer’s book is just not my/your cup of tea.
It made me angry too, and I had read Orwell's Roses by Rebecca Solnit the year before and loved it and then felt quite angry with myself too!