Hello! I want to talk about books, specifically some of the great ones I’ve read this year so far. But first, some stats as provided by my trusty Storygraph account (if you want an app to help track your reading, I highly recommend this one as opposed to Goodreads, though that is good too). I have read 47 books so far this year. 45% of those have been in print, 30% have been digital/ebooks, and 26% have been audiobooks. I don’t know why this totals to 101% instead of 100% but who am I to correct Storygraph’s math when I could barely pass it most of the years I was in school. My top 5 genres are romance (I started reading romance in 2021 and it has been my top read genre ever since), contemporary, literary (this is a big shock to me), fantasy, and thriller (which is also a big shock). I try not to let the numbers and stats in the app and in my reading journal that I keep influence how I read or how I feel about my reading but it is fun to see what kinds of trends emerge as time goes on. I’m going to talk about my favorite(s) of each of these genres as well as my favorite audiobooks that I’ve listened to so far this year.
Favorite romance: This has to go to The Artist and the Feast by Lucy Steeds, even though I think it is misshelved as a romance. This story falls more into the historical fiction/literary category, I think. Regardless of its genre, it is a beautiful story of a young man named Joseph who journeys to the south of France to write an article about a reclusive master artist, Tartuffe. He does not expect to meet Tartuffe’s niece, Ettie, who, Joseph discovers, has much more to do with the artist’s success than anyone could have thought possible. This novel is a brilliant character study of three incredibly different people who are constantly trying to determine what art means to them and how art does and should shape their lives and the lives of those around them. This is the book I most recently finished so I might be a touch more biased toward it but I truly adored this novel and I will be screeching about it from the treetops for the foreseeable future.
Honorable mentions for romances are: No Matter What by Cara Bastone (I’ve enjoyed all of her novels so far and while the miscommunication in this one drove me a bit batty, I loved the discussions of how embracing different passions and trying new things can help people learn to communicate in ways they never would have before), Catch Her if You Can by Tessa Bailey (I am not much into sports romances but I do love this series of hers).
Favorite contemporary/literary: I’m combining these categories since there is a lot of overlap. I have not had much luck with literary fiction until this year. I seem to be hitting my stride with it and I plan on reading it until I get sick of it. I can’t pick just one title so my favorites have been:
- Whistler by Ann Patchett. This is a story about a woman who reunites with the man who was her stepfather for the short duration of her mother’s second marriage. That makes it sound saccharine but it is a beautiful story that doesn’t shy away from more difficult topics. Ann Patchett is fantastic.
- An American Marriage by Tayari Jones. This is a story of the challenges and changes a married couple face as one of them is falsely convicted of a heinous crime. This is my first work of hers that I’ve read and it will not be the last. I read this primarily because I wanted to read her newest release, Kin, and I wanted to read An American Marriage since I already had a copy. I am so glad I did, though I found the story harrowing and upsetting yet important in more ways than one. I will be thinking about this story for a long time to come. And I now have my copy of Kin and I can’t wait to read it.
- Broken Country by Claire Leslie Hall. This is another book that details the trials and tribulations of a married couple as an old flame of the wife returns to the neighborhood. I adored the character work in this story and how twisty it was. I was not expecting it. If you are a fan of BBC shows such as Land Girls or Home Fires (that show did not deserve its cancelation but that’s a rant for another time), you will enjoy this.
- Honorable mentions include: The Burning Side by Sarah Damoff (please be careful reading this if you have had someone you know get diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia; this story can be triggering for that. It is fantastic in spite of that), The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett by Annie Lyons (we read this for book club and it led to a lot of great discussions. It is a heavier read as well), Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy (I read this purely because it was so popular last year and its popularity is well-deserved. I was also not expecting this one to be as full of plot twists as it was nor how dark it got. I am sensing a theme here.)
Favorite fantasy: There is no competition for this one but it is a surprise because it was a book that I thought I would not like at first: The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow. I read her debut novel and I did not like it but I was so intrigued by the premise of this novel: a lady knight and a scholar, bound to circle each other throughout time and space. That was all I needed to place my hold on Libby (please use your library ereading services!) and boy am I glad I did. The story is a touch confusing at first but Harrow does an excellent job of showing the reader how time travel works in this world and how the knight and the scholar get caught up in it. It’s best to go into this book without knowing too much, so that is all the information I’ll give right now. Honorable mentions favorite fantasies include: Rose in Chains by Julie Soto (I know this is a romantasy but I haven’t read enough of that genre so far this year to warrant a category in this post. And yes, I also know this started out as fanfiction. I liked it when it was fanfiction but I love the work that has gone into remaking this story), The Poet Empress by Shen Tao (this story involves court intrigue, poetry magic, and a woman trying to find a way to help her people. What is not to love? So awed that this is her debut novel and I am so looking forward to reading more of her work!), The Once and Future Queen by Paula Lafferty (this book was slightly disorganized but it was enjoyable anyway. I am excited for the next book. Fans of BBC’s Merlin will enjoy this book. May that show forever rest in peace.)
Favorite thriller: There is no contest for this one, either, it’s Beth is Dead by Kate Bernet. This is a thriller retelling of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and centers Beth, the character who definitely gets the short end of the stick in the original text. Beth dies in this story but instead of succumbing to sickness, she gets murdered. Everyone is a suspect: including all of her sisters. I read it in three days and it delivered everything you want from a thriller: intrigue, suspense, and lots of plot twists. My honorable mentions for this category are Molka by Monika Kim (this is more horror but I think it can be classified as a thriller as well. I was at the same time outraged, horrified, yet entranced while reading this book and I can’t wait to read her debut sometime soon), The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke (yes, I know this is also technically a mystery but the line between mysteries and thrillers is so thin. This was so intriguing and I will be reading whatever this author duo puts out next.)
I haven’t listened to as many audiobooks as I would have thought by this point in the year but I have so enjoyed the ones I have listened to. I have to say it’s a tie for my favorite: The Convenient Marriage by Georgette Heyer and read by Richard Armitage and Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka and read by Mozhan Marnó and Jim Meskimen. The Convenient Marriage is a historical romance that tells the story of a young girl named Horatia who enters into a marriage of convenience with the Earl of Rule to help out her impoverished family. She knows the earl does not love her but as time goes on, it becomes clear that he does. Richard Armitage does a fantastic job reading this book, as one might imagine the man who played John Thornton in North and South might. My only gripe with this was that it is an abridged production of the novel, which I did not find out until I was done reading the book. That was sad to find out. Notes on an Execution, as one might imagine, is about a man named Ansel who is on death row after being found guilty of murdering four women. Instead of him telling the totality of his story, we see his life unfold through the eyes of three women: his mother, a childhood acquaintance, and the sister of his wife. I had been meaning to read this book for years and I am so glad I decided to listen to it since the audio production really brought out the lyricism of the writing. Honorable mentions for audiobooks include The White Book by Han Kang, translated by Deborah Smith and read by Jennifer Kim (this was a short, intriguing book and made me eager to read more of Kang’s writing) and The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde and read by Ben Barnes (somehow I avoided reading this book during my English degree and I enjoyed it so much more now than I would have back then. And having Ben Barnes, my childhood celebrity crush, read it to me made the experience even more enjoyable).
I hope you find some good recommendations among these titles! Please stay cool in all this heat. I am intent on blogging more so you’ll be hearing more from me in the near future. That is both a promise and a threat. Have a good one!
Elizabeth Hoyle 