Blog:
My goal for 2023 was actually to read fewer books, because I wanted to read slowly and also tackle longer books. In 2022 I read 135 books, and in 2023 I read… 146. So I actually read more. What can I say? I really like reading.
In 2024 my goal is to read fewer books, read more slowly and tackle longer books. See you in 2025, when I will have done the opposite again.
In my best books of the year, I’m not including some friends’ books, for no particular reason other than I’ve already gushed about them and also it’s a given that I’ll love them. These include new books by Heather Parry, Camilla Grudova, Rachelle Atalla, Josie Long, Anbara Salam, Anna Bogutskaya and Alice Slater – all of whom also have a next book in 2024/5, which I can’t wait to read.
Here are the best 20 books I read:
Books out in 2023:
Best impossible-to-classify and somehow both intellectually and emotionally satisfying book: Blackouts, Justin Torres
Best haunted house story that spoke directly to my fears as a parent: A Good House for Children, Kate Collins
Best body horror about language: The Centre, Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
Best love interest for a spiky, taciturn older woman: Music in the Dark, Sally Magnusson
Best intense, luscious, claustrophobic girl vibes: Strega, Johanne Lykke Holm (translated by Saskia Vogel)
Best disturbing and beautifully-written thriller: The Quiet Tenant, Clémence Michallon
Best short stories that creeped me right the fuck out: Seven Empty Houses, Samanta Schweblin (translated by Megan McDowell)
Best queer horror: Eyes Guts Throat Bones, Moïra Fowley
Best blending of classical ghosts and Black Mirror-esque modern ghosts: Night Side of the River, Jeanette Winterson
Best poetry anthology that made me lurk in a cafe long after I’d finished so I could read more: Blood & Cord: Writers on Early Parenthood, Abi Curtis (ed.)
Best essays that were exactly what I needed to read: It Came From the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror, Joe Vallese
Best non-fiction book that fully blew my mind: Matrescence, Lucy Jones
Books Out Before 2023:
Best disturbingly horny literary thriller: The Book of the Most Precious Substance, Sara Gran
Best literary horror that made me immediately go out and get the author’s other books: Palace of the Drowned, Christine Mangan
Best poetry collection that made me cry in public: Breaking Silence, Jacob Sam-La Rose
Best ghost poems: Dearly, Margaret Atwood
Best book about books: Well-Read Black Girl, Glory Edim
Best book I read as research for my own book: Fangirls, Hannah Ewens
Best book that made me think ‘I can’t believe this book didn’t exist before’: Our Red Book: Intimate Conversations About Periods, Rachel Kauder Nalebuff
Best essays that I immediately recommended to everyone I know: Poor Little Sick Girls, Ione Gamble
I read a bunch of books in 2021. Not as many as last year, but probably more than next year (as I now have a baby, a book out in January, and two more to write). I also read advance copies of novels by Heather Parry, Camilla Grudova and Julia Armfield: all due out in 2022, and all highly recommended.
Here are my top 25 books of 2021:
Books out in 2021:
Best book that was so beautifully written I copied my favourite bits into a notebook: The Ormering Tide, Kathryn Williams
Best magical-realist horror about pregnancy and parenthood: Chouette, Claire Oshetsky
Best book that (surprisingly) lived up to its odd premise: Absorbed, Kylie Whitehead
Best short stories about language, queerness and homesickness: Between Tongues, Paul McQuade
Best Halloween vibes: Bad Apples, Will Dean
Best poetry collection about grief and queerness: Butcher, Natasha T. Miller
Best horror graphic novel: The Crossroads at Midnight, Abby Howard
Best book that convinced me of things I didn’t know I needed to know (but I’m glad I now do): Laziness Does Not Exist, Devon Price
Books Out Before 2021:
Best kids’ book I initially read for nostalgia but then as a metaphor for finding a queer community: Moominland Midwinter, Tove Jansson
Best re-read that makes me want to stop writing because it’s too good: Fingersmith, Sarah Waters
Best horror sci-fi novella: The Employees, Olga Ravn (translated by Martin Aitken)
Best thriller set in the world of filmmaking: Pretty As A Picture, Elizabeth Little
Best book about the power of stories: True Story, Kate Reed Petty
Best queer classic: The Love of Good Women, Isabel Miller
Best dark, weird, beautiful poetry inspired by Scottish folklore: Grimoire, Robin Robertson
Best book about internet linguistics which is way more fun and interesting than that sounds: Because Internet, Gretchen McCulloch
Best feminist analysis of horror: Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers, Sady Doyle
Best smart analysis of true crime: Savage Appetites, Rachel Munroe
Best mix of horror film analysis and confessional memoir: House of Psychotic Women, Kier-La Janisse
Best non-fiction written years ago but eerily relevant to now: On Immunity, Eula Biss
Best creative, experimental book about trauma: Notes Made While Falling, Jenn Ashworth
Best book about insomnia I read while feeding a baby at 4am: The Shapeless Unease, Samantha Harvey
Best book that got me out of a reading slump: Shit, Actually, Lindy West
Best folklore-inspired graphic novel set in 1930s Spain: Tales of the Mist, Laura Suárez
Best absolutely batshit 90s horror series read for Teenage Scream podcast: Fear Street Cheerleaders: The First Evil, R.L. Stine
What were your favourite books of 2020?
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It’s a (very) small but perfectly-formed list this time. I’m struggling to focus on reading lately, and I’ve started many more books than I’ve finished. Thankfully I found these few beauties, all of which have a short page length but a huge breadth of imagination and ambition. If you’re also struggling to get into big chunky books, try one of these small wonders:
Orfeia, Joanne M. Harris –I can’t get enough of these folklore-inspired novellas (I also loved A Pocketful of Crows and The Blue Salt Road), and this is a perfect addition to the series.
Between Tongues, Paul McQuade – Elegant, intelligent short stories combining a thoughtful examination of language and characters who feel entirely real.
The Employees, Olga Ravn – A strange, sparse and utterly compelling series of monologues. I’ve been looking for a decent space horror story for a long time, and this doesn’t disappoint.
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What are the best books you’ve read recently?
Well, pals, it’s been a great few months of reading. I’ve spent several long afternoons lying out in the shade of my back garden, getting lost in books. And summer is just beginning, so I’m hoping for many more days like that. My top 8 of May and June covers novels, non-fiction, poetry, graphic novels:
Year of Wonders, Geraldine Brooks – I bought this years ago as research for a novel I planned to write about medieval witches in a post-plague landscape. The novel is finished and edited, and I only now got around to reading this book. I shouldn’t have waited so long, because it’s a real beauty.
The Crossroads at Midnight, Abby Howard – The stories are compelling and genuinely creepy. The panels are clean and uncluttered, but still contain masses of detail about the characters and their world. There’s great diversity in the characters in terms of gender, sexuality, ethnicity, economic background and age, but this is never signposted; it’s just an organic part of the story, which is great. Horror can definitely do with more diversity. I really can’t fault this book – it’s my favourite horror graphic novel since Emily Carroll’s Through the Woods.
All the Things She Said: Everything I Know About Modern Lesbian and Bi Culture, Daisy Jones – A fun, quick read touching on several aspects of modern queer women’s culture.
The Plot, Jean Hanff Korelitz – A pacy, keeps-you-guessing thriller set in the world of books and writing. Other reviewers have said that the beginning is slow, and it is compared to the rest, but I still enjoyed it – mostly because Korelitz is so scathingly accurate about the life of a midlist writer, and that stuff is catnip for me. If you’ve been looking for a fun, smart, absorbing thriller, this is certainly worth a read.
Laziness Does Not Exist, Devon Price – A genuinely life-changing book. I’m going to re-read this every year – hell, every month – until all its wisdom seeps properly into my brain. This is a must-read for every overachiever who can’t shake the feeling that their worth is tied to their productivity.
Grimoire, Robin Robertson – The best poetry collection I’ve read in years. Themes of violence, madness and retribution; stories of second sight, witches, ghosts, selkies, changelings and doubles. I adored every page.
Tales of the Mist – Laura Suárez – So much to enjoy here! I loved the art style, and there’s a great slow-build sense of unease.
Absorbed, Kylie Whitehead – You might think this concept – a woman absorbs her boyfriend – can’t be sustained for a whole novel, but I was delighted to find that Kylie Whitehead entirely pulls it off. This novel is unique, beautifully written and… yes, absorbing.
Want to keep up with what I’m reading? Follow me on GoodReads.
What are the best books you’ve read recently?
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been struggling to get my reading groove back. This is partly due to bad reasons (pandemic stress) and partly due to good ones (finishing final edits on a new novel). Thankfully I still read some absolute brilliance, and I highly recommend my top six of March and April:
On Immunity, Eula Biss – It’s a strange experience reading this during a pandemic, surrounded by vaccine news. It’s a thoughtful, informative exploration, and I’m still thinking about it weeks later.
The Dangers of Smoking in Bed, Mariana Enriquez – Rotting little ghosts, heartbeat fetishes, curses and witches and meat: each of these stories is a luscious, bewitching nightmare. Each one builds up a steady, thrilling dread—until the final lines, when the true horror is revealed. I adore this book.
The Aunt Who Wouldn’t Die, Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay – I only borrowed this from the library as it was short and I was intrigued by the title and cover. I expected something light and darkly funny – and while it does have dark humour, it’s a lot more complex than I anticipated. Despite the short page count, somehow this had the feel of a multigenerational epic. All the characters felt so real, and I loved the angry, foul-mouthed ghost.
Love Works Like This, Lauren Slater – It’s such a treat to find such an honest and raw memoir, and I found this one about ambivalent motherhood fascinating.
Nightshade, E.S. Thomson – I love this series about a queer woman living as a man in Victorian London so that she can continue her work as a pharmacist – and solve murders, of course.
Shit, Actually, Lindy West – You’ve probably read Lindy West’s scathing and hilarious analysis of ‘Love, Actually’ (if not, get on it), and I’m pleased to report that the rest of the movie analyses in this book are equally funny and equally scathing.
Want to keep up with what I’m reading? Follow me on GoodReads.
What are the best books you’ve read recently?