Hooray! It’s time for our favorite reads of the year!
We love putting these posts together, so grab a hot beverage of your choice, find a comfy couch or chair or nook to settle into, and be ready to explode your TBR with all these scrumptious personal recommendations. These are the best books we read this year (but not necessarily published this year) and we need to tell everyone how brilliant they were.
Happy reading!
Bella
(In no particular order!)
We Used to Live Here – Marcus Kliewer
Jordan Peele’s Get Out meets Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite in this claustrophobic debut novel! This was originally a story on the scary stories subreddit r/NoSleep. I’ve read some mind-blowingly creepy stuff on there, so I knew it’d be good. A couple buys a big, old house to flip and on the night Eve is alone, a family of five knocks on her door asking to see the house because the dad grew up there. She shouldn’t have let them in, because now they won’t leave. One thing after another happens and extends their stay. It makes you want to SCREAM at them to get out. The fast pace, yet slow burning horror made it almost impossible to put down. Just trust me.
Odyssey – Stephen Fry
I waited so long for this to come out and it was an absolutely fantastic end to the series. As usual, Fry weaves in useful context, and wonderful tidbits of language and other facts throughout.
The Summer Hikaru Died Vol. 1 – Mokumokuren
A coming of age story about two friends who are secretly in love with each other and are coming to terms with that. One day, Hikaru has an accident in the mountains and dies, and the Hikaru that comes back after a while isn’t the same Hikaru. Yoshiki has to navigate having his best friend and crush ”back”, and feels guilty for having fun with this new Hikaru. He knows the boy he loves is dead, but struggles to come to terms with the loss and how definitive it is. The manga artist has clearly put effort into creating that dread by putting them in the setting of a very hot summer in the Japanese countryside surrounded by cicadas, mountains and a village where one bad thing happens after another. Knowing that it has something to do with the new Hikaru, Yoshiki has conflicting feelings..
The Lamb – Lucy Rose
A raw (no pun intended) and horrifically beautiful story about a young girl’s coming of age and her mother’s cannibalistic desire. It’s incredibly claustrophobic as Margot and her mother live in a cabin in the woods in Cumbria and her mother feeds on what she calls ‘strays’. This was a tough read as a mother, but boy am I glad I’ve read it.
Suspicion – Seicho Matsumoto
The title says it all.. A fun little read filled with suspicion, with a dash of biases and a sprinkle of self-preservation. If you loved Tokyo Express, you’ll love this book by Matsumoto as well! It’s tiny but mighty.
Honorable mentions:
The Darker Days by Thomas Olde Heuvelt: not finished yet but amazing so far!!
Matrescence by Lucy Jones
World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
Bob
In no particular order:
Wolves of Eternity – Karl Ove Knausgaard
Victory – Joseph Conrad
White Teeth – Zadie Smith
Beartooth – Callan Wink
Catch-22 – Joseph Heller
Honourable mentions:
The Hobbit – J.R.R. Tolkien
The Silmarillion – J.R.R. Tolkien
Not to Read – Alejandro Zambra
Ghost Mountain – Ronan Hession
Suspicion – Seicho Matsumoto
Lynn
The Sacred History: How Angels, Mystics and Higher Intelligence Made Our World – Jonathan Black
Nobody’s Girl – Virginia Roberts Giuffre
Source Code – Bill Gates
Okay, this is the first book I’ve read by Gates, who’s of my generation. One of his roommates at Harvard was a summer trainee at ABC, which was fun to discover.
Your Story, My Story – Connie Palmen
What an interesting double biography of poets Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes, full of nuance and empathy.
The CIA Book Club – Charlie English
I love tales of book smugglers but the ingenuity and dedication of these citizens who brought ten million books across the Iron Curtain were real.
The Secret of Secrets – Dan Brown
After being disappointed with the plot endings of Mr. Brown’s earlier works, this one worked, and was actually inspirational.
Yannis
A Little Life – Hanya Yanagihara
This book comes with a warning – definitely not for the faint of heart. But if you can power through, you’ll discover a beautiful story about friendship and love, about struggles against unending obstacles and the herculean effort it takes to pick yourself up after living through horrors beyond belief.
I’ll admit, I was nervous to start – I’d read really sad reviews, and as my brother put it: “It’s the most depressing book I’ve ever read.” Oh boy, was he right!
But despite all that, you simply can’t put this book down. From the very first page, you’re hooked, feeling like you’re right there in the Lispenard Street apartment with four New York college friends, each trying to find their way in the world. The narrative switches between them, making you feel like a part of this tight-knit group. You experience their worries, misfortunes, victories, and even their fights – all while still supporting each other through thick and thin.
In the end, A Little Life was a gut-wrenching yet beautiful reminder of how fortunate I am, how hard life can be for anyone, no matter their path, and how a great support network can make all the difference.
I have no doubt this is a book I’ll never forget.
The Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas
The Count of Monte Cristo is the kind of book that makes you feel like you’ve just been on an epic journey. From betrayal and imprisonment to escape and revenge, this story is a wild ride. The adventure is what really drew me in. You’re hooked by the drama and the twists, eagerly waiting to see how everything will unfold. There’s a real sense of excitement that keeps you turning pages, even though the story builds up slowly at first.
The plot is all about Edmond Dantès, a wrongfully imprisoned man who escapes the French Prison Chateau d’If and sets out to get revenge on those who betrayed him. The novel’s pacing might feel slow at times, but all of that buildup is worth it.
What really stuck with me, though, is the sense of adventure. Dumas takes you on a whirlwind tour through Europe, with treasure hunts, duels, and complex plots. And through it all, the character of Dantès evolves so much. It’s the ultimate tale of revenge, but it’s also a powerful exploration of forgiveness, fate, and redemption.
Justice: What’s The Right Thing to Do? – Michael J. Sandel
There are many situations in life where what feels fair, what seems equal, and what appears just don’t perfectly align. This book is a brilliant exploration of the philosophical foundations behind our modern ideas of “justice” – and why the concept can look so different depending on who you ask. Sandel’s writing is eloquent yet accessible; more than once I had to stop reading just to process an idea that had completely blown my mind.
Naturally, I dove straight down the rabbit hole of Sandel’s other books (The Tyranny of Merit, What Money Can’t Buy), which similarly challenge you to think about the role of law, the nature of moral responsibility, and what obligations we owe to our fellow citizens.
For History lovers, Philosophy buffs and anyone who wants to understand the ethics of Justice in more detail.
Butter – Asako Yuzuki
Murder, intrigue, and delicious food – what’s not to love? Butter may begin like a straightforward crime novel, but it quickly unfolds into a thoughtful exploration of the love, labor, and care that go into making truly great food. It’s also a sharp commentary on the expectations placed on women – both in the kitchen and in society at large – and how those pressures shape the way they’re seen, judged, and misunderstood.
Catch-22 – Joseph Heller
You’ve probably heard the famous line, often attributed to Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman: “War is hell.” Well, Catch-22 is a brilliant satire about the hell that was World War II – and the absurd, impossible situations that arise from it.
With a cast of ridiculous, hilariously flawed characters, the story follows Yossarian, a B-52 Bombardier constantly trapped in impossible dilemmas, summed up perfectly by the book’s central paradox: “Catch-22 says you can’t be grounded for being crazy because if you’re crazy enough to want to be grounded, then you’re sane enough to fly. But if you’re sane and refuse to fly, then you’re crazy and must fly.”
Despite the endless laughs and outlandish situations, Catch-22 delivers a gut-punch about the horrors of war, showing how it twists logic, humanity, and survival into a sickening game.
Else
This is a tough one, I’ve read a bunch of books this year (including the end of last year, which I’ll count towards this year’s top 5). I am splitting my top 5 into different categories: top 5 stand-alones, top 5 series, top re-reads. Am I once again going over the top with my top 5 books? Yes. This will be a yearly thing.
Top 5 Stand-alones
The Vanished Birds – Simon Jimenez
If you’ve spoken to me in the last 12 months, I will have tried to get you to read this book. It is an absolute favourite of mine already and I just got my copy back from lending it to a friend, so I am going to reread it again soon. Also, see my review written on the blog for more of my ravings about this book.
One Yellow Eye – Leigh Radford
This book is a powerhouse for me, has been stuck in my head ever since I’ve read it and is also tempting me to go back into academic mode to do a close reading of this book and general zombie narratives in relation to our health services, Covid-19, and the likes.
Girl Dinner – Olivie Blake
This book basically set off my interest in “Yes We Cannibalism” books for this year. I absolutely adore this book, the style and everything about it. Once again, I have written a review about this book, so you can read all my thoughts there!
The Reformatory – Tananarive Due
I see a trend in these top 5 books, I tend to write blog reviews about them when I absolutely adore them. See the blog post about this one as well. Very good, very thought-provoking, I want to read absolutely everything by Tananarive Due.
Blood over Bright Haven – M.L. Wang
This book left me too stunned to speak, staring into the abyss for four hours after finishing it and made me think about our own world, exploitation and the likes.
Top 5 Series
The Legendborn Cycle – Tracy Deonn (starts with Legendborn)
I thought I was so smart, starting this series when book 3 just came out, thinking it was a trilogy. SPOILER: It is not a trilogy. We are expecting at least one more book after the third one. But the series is Oh So Good. I really enjoyed it all, and I don’t read a lot of Young Adult books. This is series is for all ages and oh so fun. Arthurian legend-inspired with a load of Black Girl Magic in there as well.
Between Earth and Sky – Rebecca Roanhorse (starts with Black Sun)
This series is a blast. Such cool and interesting world building, I loved every second of it. It is pre-Columbian Americas-inspired, prophesies, political intrigue, loads of action, and just overall very cool.
The First Law Series – Joe Abercrombie (starts with The Blade Itself)
So last year I said that all Joe Abercrombie books were on the to-read list. So I read them. And loved them. When I say First Law, I mean the entire 9 books set in the same world, so the The First Law trilogy (The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged, and Last Argument of Kings), the three ‘stand-alones’ that are basically also one series (Best Served Cold, The Heroes, and Red Country), and The Age of Madness (A Little Hatred, The Trouble with Peace, and The Wisdom of Crowds). Secretly I probably liked The Age of Madness the most out of the trilogy, but I adored this entire world. The only thing left for me to do is to read Sharp Ends, the collected short stories set in this world.
The Green Bone Saga – Fonda Lee (starts with Jade City)
Have I finished this series at the time of reading? Nope. Do I absolutely love it? Hell yes. Gangsters with magic, political intrigue and maneuvering. So much fun.
The Sun Chronicles – Kate Elliott (starts with Unconquerable Sun)
I am a sucker for fun space operas. I had so much fun reading these two books, and I was soo convinced I had already seen book 3, Lady Chaos, on the shelves, that I was disappointed to find out that Lady Chaos releases next year in April. But that is definitely on my watch list for next year.
Top Re-Reads
Do I only re-read books that I love? Yes, so all the books I re-read are probably favourites.
Malazan Book of the Fallen – Steven Erikson (starts with Gardens of the Moon)
My all time favourite fantasy series, I’ve been re-reading this and writing blog posts about my experience and just anything that is related that pops into my head really.
The Imperial Radch trilogy – Ann Leckie (starts with Ancillary Justice)
This is one of my all-time favourite Science Fiction series, also because of AI with anxiety. And there is an extended universe, with Provenance and Translation State, that I also absolutely adore. Next year a new book set in this world will be released, and I cannot wait! I’m so looking forward to it!
Piranesi – Susanna Clarke
I read this book a couple of years ago, when it won the Women’s Prize for Fiction, and I re-read it this year because I joined a book club about it. And it is even better the second time around. Basically you should go in a bit blind, to get the full experience, but it also lends itself so well to a re-read, because then you catch all the subtleties that went over your head at first. Such a good, impactful, compact book. And I usually like my books with too many pages.
Special Mention:
Alien Earths – Lisa Kaltenegger. I also try to dip my toe into non-fiction every year, so far this year it is one of the only goals I have yet to complete. But my favourite Non-Fiction of the year has been Alien Earths. This book is about trying to find life in the universe with the technology we have today, and how would we even be able to recognize life? It is a load of fun, especially for my little Sci-Fi nerd brain.
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