every book i've read this year

and a whole bunch of happy reading moments 📷

We’re halfway through the year and I’m halfway(ish) to my goal of reading 30 books this year!

Reading Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré sometime last year

Here’s what I’ve consumed so far:

Reading with my eyes:

• Sorry I’m Late, I didn’t want to come - Jessica Pan

  • This was a cute and easy read about an introvert’s “year of living dangerously”; throwing herself in the most wildly uncomfortable extroverted situations. I loved that it was set in London and I loved even more that it introduced me to the author’s substack - one of my absolute faves 💌

• On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous - Ocean Vuong

  • I’m really sorry but I didn’t like this at all. In fact I can’t even tell you what it was about. Maybe I’m not clever enough to understand the point of it because it has 4 stars on goodreads? Anyway, that is my truth.

• The Rachel Incident - Caroline O’Donoghue

  • The first book in the longest time to make me LAUGH OUT LOUD. No notes. I want to be Caroline’s friend.

• Friends & Dark Shapes - Kavita Bedford

  • Not a whole lot to say about this one - didn’t leave a lasting impression on me but was an easy read.

• The Silent Patient - Alex Michaelides

  • I’m not really a mystery book girlie, this was a book club read. It kept me entertained enough and the surprise ending is what saved it but I couldn’t deal with the normal-paced first half, and lightening-paced second half.

• Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros

  • Would I be a millennial woman in 2024 if I didn’t read Fourth Wing? I liked it! But I max out at about one fantasy book per quarter I think. The sex scenes were hot.

• Love Stories - Trent Dalton

  • Perhaps I’m not in the right phase of my life to appreciate this but I found it overly-sentimental and a tad cringe. I also didn’t enjoy the reminder of covid references (serious question - when will we ever?)

• My Husband - Maud Ventura

  • Was equal parts gripped, horrified and amused by this! The perfect antidote to a reading rut I found myself in. Also loved the setting in France and the fact that it was originally translated from French. The depiction we see of French marriages and relationships in books/media is fascinating. I want more…

Typed 'book' into my camera roll...

Reading with my ears:

• Good Material - Dolly Alderton

  • I love Dolly and I love the way she writes. This is the story of a breakup told from the man’s perspective. I thought it was humorous but the narrators accent got preeeetty annoying by the end.

• 4am: Answers to the conundrums that keep you up at night - Michelle Andrews & Zara McDonald

  • This is an advice column book from the Shameless girlies. Call me weird but I like this style of book on audio (and in general), it’s more like a long-form podcast. I’m also just a nosy person and I love hearing about other people’s lives/relationships/issues etc and predicting if my advice would be the same. If you’re into this, I would say Tiny Beautiful Things is a way more hardcore/sophisticated version of this type of book.

• Any Ordinary Day - Leigh Sales

  • I really enjoyed this although I think I might have enjoyed it more in hardcopy and with a few less stats. A deeply sad but moving look into some of the most infamous tragedies in Australian history and the people who experienced them.

• Hello Beautiful - Ann Napolitano

  • I absolutely loved this book to the point where I actually miss reading it. I would look forward to going on walks just so I could listen to it. I’ve since very selfishly chosen it as my book club’s read for this month so I can talk about it some more. I loved how this book explored the grey areas of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ decisions in sibling and romantic relationships. 5 stars.

• Lessons in Chemistry - Bonnie Garmus

  • I wish I loved this more than I did. There was too much science lingo and I think at the time of listening I was just really distracted? Obsessed with random names for dogs though and I think ‘six-thirty’ takes the cake 🎂

• Heartstrong - Ellidy Pullin

  • I adored this and inhaled it in about 2 days. Ellidy’s general optimism and attitude to life is seriously inspirational and the chapters read by her late boyfriend’s dad made me cry.

More miscellaneous happy reading moments

Some other books I’ve given 5 stars to in the past to are:

Sorrow & Bliss - Meg Mason

Milk Teeth - Jessica, Andrews

Really Good, Actually - Monica Heisey

Homegoing - Yaa Gyasi

American Dirt - Jeanine Cummins

The Paper Palace - Miranda Cowley Heller

Let me know if you’ve got any recs!

Thanks for reading 🫶