I read 100 books this year, here is a roundup of 10 of them: 5 of the best and 5 of the worst, excluding any I’ve reviewed on here and in no particular order.
Preface
Two things:
I tend to feel strongly about books I don’t like, but it’s never a reflection on the people who do like them. If you loved a book I hated, tell me why! I want to discuss!
I only got back into reading this year & I had a lot of catching up to do, so many of these books aren’t recent. Also, I took this year to sort out what I enjoyed reading & what I didn’t, so this list is sort of all over the place.
Enjoy!
I’d love to hear your top & worst books of the year! Slander and praise in the comments!
Top 5
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
This book, to me, is Greek mythology adjacent, and how I love Greek mythology! I absolutely adore when you can just tell that so much work and dedication went into a book, and Piranesi was clearly written with love. It’s unlike any book I’ve ever read and it was unexpectedly tender and soft and heart wrenching. It has beautiful descriptions and prose and fascinating mythological elements. I could go on and on about this book, please do yourself a favor and read it!
The Sleeping Car Porter by Suzette Mayr
I adored everything about The Sleeping Car Porter. The writing is straightforward while being incredibly emotional and capturing the main character’s exhaustion and dread. It’s a short book, and it feels like a quick but complex glimpse into a life, which only adds to the book’s charm. Mayr explores racism in the 1920s and its cruelty, boyhood, queer identities, and much more in such a short time with strikingly distinct writing and absolutely brilliant storytelling. I’d highly recommend this one go on your tbr list for the coming year!
Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy
With one of the best opening lines I came across this year, Once There Were Wolves stayed with me long after I finished it. There was so much humanity in this book that it nearly had me in tears. Themes of grief, motherhood, nature, and compassion meet remarkable characters and create such a moving book. It was both upsetting and full of kindness, both brutal and gentle. All in all, I don’t have a bad word to say about it; give it a read (but be prepared to feel deeply about it).
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
My sister (who loves fantasy) lent this to me and was surprised I enjoyed it, and so was I, but for one reason or another, I loved it. I am not immune to the found family trope, apparently, nor am I immune to the readability (and excellence) of Bardugo’s writing. Six Of Crows is, above all, a fun read, and sometimes that’s exactly what you need. It doesn’t lack depth, though, and one of the things I adored most about it was the characters; distinct, well fleshed out, and especially loveable. It’s intensely immersive and draws you in with the world building and the plot. Plus it’s got queer, diversity, and disability representation. If you enjoy fantasy, try Six of Crows this year!
Babel by R.F Kuang
I know I already talked about Babel a bit but I cannot overstate how much I loved this book. Kuang never fails to create remarkable characters, captivating plots, and harrowing scenes. Babel deals with colonization and violence, with resistance and oppression. With beautiful writing and an intense atmosphere, rich with history and social commentary, Babel is a must read (be prepared to ugly cry, though).
Worst 5
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
My first Riley Sager book and certainly my last. I think I was expecting too much because of the praise Sager gets, but I did not like this one. Terrible execution, plot full of nonsense, writing and characters were abysmal, it was so incredibly difficult to get through. Just watch The Haunting of Hill House series, it starts the same and is much better (or read Shirley Jackson’s book by the same name).
The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
I didn’t particularly enjoy The Silent Patient, but the concept of The Maidens was intriguing; an inner circle of girls in the academic world revolving perhaps obsessively around a professor is a solid concept for a book, but unfortunately it was terrible. The writing was mediocre but the characters were dull and unlikeable, the exposition was clumsy and it offered absolutely nothing special. I think a different author could have taken this concept and wrote a brilliant book, but The Maidens was not even close to being good in my opinion.
Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak
I could talk about how terrible this book is for hours but I won’t waste my breath, it doesn’t even deserve that. At best it’s insensitive, and at worst it’s offensive, but overall it’s severely underwhelming and has no redeeming qualities. I hated it, I wouldn’t recommend it to my worst enemy.
The Night Shift by Alex Finlay
This one solidified my decision to stay away from thrillers, turns out they’re just not my thing, which is fine, but I found The Night Shift to be uninteresting and derivative of every other thriller ever. The characters were one dimensional and kept doing things that made no sense, and I don’t even remember what the reveal was precisely because it was so forgettable. Also, the dialogue especially was painful to read.
The Family Plot by Megan Collins
I bought this one on a whim thinking it was going to be a critical look at true crime and its effects on families and society as a whole, but instead got a disaster of a murder mystery that was so incredibly boring and had no depth, just a lot of unrealistic scenes and even worse dialogue. If anything it was the opposite of criticizing true crime.
That’s all for now, take care of yourself!
& don’t forget to tell me your best and worst reads of the year!
!!! Thanks for sharing your list! I feel like I read so many great books this year but I'll try to keep it brief --
BEST:
Against the Written Word: Toward a Universal Illiteracy by Ian Svenonius
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein
Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
Slow Media: Why Slow is Satisfying, Sustainable, and Smart by Jennifer Rauch
Jawbone by Monica Ojeda
WORST:
The Rum Diary by Hunter S Thompson
Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas
(I had quite a few mid reads but it doesn't feel fair to put 'em on the 'worst' list, so we'll leave it with those two)
Love this 5v5 wrap up format (might have to snag the idea for my own post)! I read through the Arc of a Scythe trilogy by Neal Shusterman this yeah and, while I didn’t love every book in the series, the first book Scythe quickly became one of my favorite reads. It isn’t often I feel that coming back to a book instantly makes me feel like I’m living in its world, but that one just works.