I read Wish You Were Here on my honeymoon!!!! Loved it! And have read The Wedding People too - so good. I read Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout and adored it, so need to jump on the others!!!
Also in the “loved Good Material” camp…though, I wondered why she chose to set it in that specific time period, with 2020 just beginning by the end of the book. Jen was so excited to finally be single, unemployed and travelling the world…and she obviously wouldn’t be able to?
Loved this list thank you Clare. Big queue on my kindle now. Can i second all the people calling for Elizabeth Strout :‘olive Kitteridge’ was so wonderful. And The Safekeep by Yale Van Der Wouden - as a debut novel amazing.
Absolutely loved The Bee Sting! Couldn’t put it down. My fave of last year was Demon Copperhead though - just wow, I cried when it ended as I wanted to stay with the character so badly. Recently read The Most Fun We Ever Had and Same as it Ever Was, both by Claire Lombardo, and adored both of them! Great list, thank you 🙏🏻
It seems we have identical taste in books! You have to read John Boyne’s ‘elements’ series (Water, Earth, Fire - Air coming out soon I think). So so good. I also recently loved Piglet by Lottie Hall, some of my bookish friends didn’t like it but I think it’s really clever and great fun if you can lean into the absurd…
I am returning to this thread to comment again with another rec because I just finished it and loved it SO much and I think it will suit a lot of people here!
Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy, a Sydney based author. It’s about parenting and families and grief and nature and climate change and it’s a mystery AND a thriller - there’s literally something for everyone. Love love love <3
I loved Good Material SO much. I read the bulk of the book with tears in my eyes, which says a lot due to the fact that I’ve been in a happy relationship for a decade and any feelings of heartbreak I’ve ever had are buried deep, deep in the corner of my brain. It was a masterpiece!
I read Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors recently and found it such a captivating tale on intergenerational trauma, addition and family. The relationship between the sisters was so accurate and deep and completely chilling (in a good way). Hiiiiiighly recommend.
Just downloaded the Margot one. I have to teach my brain to read again, but I can't handle anything that makes me anxious about characters. And yet I need to care about the character. I guess that's why I rewatch all my favourite shows and only read biographies (because I know how it turns out)
I loved Margo’s got money troubles because it was so hopeful and optimistic (unlike me). I also loved I have some questions for you. Wasn’t as sold on Good Material as I thought the ratio was imbalanced. If you like a romantic comedy, my recommendation is Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld - I thought it was delicious! I wish I could follow you on the goodreads ap and read your reviews!
Just finished reading.....as in sobbing.....Hello Beautiful. Thank you so much for the recommendation. Families can be so complicated. I have a few of your other suggestions waiting to be read. If I was to recommend a book, it would be Chris Whitaker's All the Colors of the Dark. I read this earlier in the year, and it was another book that left me sobbing, it was just so powerful. I'm hoping you've already read it. This has been the first year I've kept a spreadsheet of books read, and I am loving the process.
Please read The Fog by Brooke Hardwick! Debut novel by an Aussie author. Thriller, set on a writer's retreat somewhere in the remote Irish Sea. Loved it.
Did I spend the first 1/2 to 2/3 of ‘No one is talking about this’ railing internally at how contrived it felt? Yes. Did I then spend the final 1/3 sobbing uncontrollably and thinking it might be one of the best books I’ve ever read? Also yes. An unexpectedly fantastic book.
2024 was the year I fell in love with Claire Keegan. Irish writers are on another level
Omg I must get on that train!
Have you read Antarctica? I was blown away
Loved it!
This is the year I have fallen in love with Elizabeth Strout. I adored the Lucy Barton series.
Other great book from the first quarter of this year include-
The Last Illusion of Paige White
The Wedding People
Wish you were here by Jodi Picoult
I read Wish You Were Here on my honeymoon!!!! Loved it! And have read The Wedding People too - so good. I read Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout and adored it, so need to jump on the others!!!
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore was a favourite of mine from last year.
Also in the “loved Good Material” camp…though, I wondered why she chose to set it in that specific time period, with 2020 just beginning by the end of the book. Jen was so excited to finally be single, unemployed and travelling the world…and she obviously wouldn’t be able to?
Loved this list thank you Clare. Big queue on my kindle now. Can i second all the people calling for Elizabeth Strout :‘olive Kitteridge’ was so wonderful. And The Safekeep by Yale Van Der Wouden - as a debut novel amazing.
Absolutely loved The Bee Sting! Couldn’t put it down. My fave of last year was Demon Copperhead though - just wow, I cried when it ended as I wanted to stay with the character so badly. Recently read The Most Fun We Ever Had and Same as it Ever Was, both by Claire Lombardo, and adored both of them! Great list, thank you 🙏🏻
It seems we have identical taste in books! You have to read John Boyne’s ‘elements’ series (Water, Earth, Fire - Air coming out soon I think). So so good. I also recently loved Piglet by Lottie Hall, some of my bookish friends didn’t like it but I think it’s really clever and great fun if you can lean into the absurd…
I am returning to this thread to comment again with another rec because I just finished it and loved it SO much and I think it will suit a lot of people here!
Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy, a Sydney based author. It’s about parenting and families and grief and nature and climate change and it’s a mystery AND a thriller - there’s literally something for everyone. Love love love <3
I loved Good Material SO much. I read the bulk of the book with tears in my eyes, which says a lot due to the fact that I’ve been in a happy relationship for a decade and any feelings of heartbreak I’ve ever had are buried deep, deep in the corner of my brain. It was a masterpiece!
I read Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors recently and found it such a captivating tale on intergenerational trauma, addition and family. The relationship between the sisters was so accurate and deep and completely chilling (in a good way). Hiiiiiighly recommend.
I’m obsessed with the cover of this book! So I’m glad to hear it’s a great read too - adding to my list!
Just downloaded the Margot one. I have to teach my brain to read again, but I can't handle anything that makes me anxious about characters. And yet I need to care about the character. I guess that's why I rewatch all my favourite shows and only read biographies (because I know how it turns out)
I promise Margo is the book for you!!!!
Bee Sting: I couldn’t finish because it was too grim.
Shuggie Bain: See above
Good Material: I have enjoyed a lot of Dolly Alderton’s material (lol) but not this. At all. Everyone in my book club hated it…
It was so polarising hey! My sister HATED it, and then I loved it.
Clearly I’m a dark, dark person because I love grim 😂
I loved Margo’s got money troubles because it was so hopeful and optimistic (unlike me). I also loved I have some questions for you. Wasn’t as sold on Good Material as I thought the ratio was imbalanced. If you like a romantic comedy, my recommendation is Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld - I thought it was delicious! I wish I could follow you on the goodreads ap and read your reviews!
Have read Romantic Comedy! And I LIKED it - didn’t LOVE it. Might’ve been in a funny headspace???
Just finished reading.....as in sobbing.....Hello Beautiful. Thank you so much for the recommendation. Families can be so complicated. I have a few of your other suggestions waiting to be read. If I was to recommend a book, it would be Chris Whitaker's All the Colors of the Dark. I read this earlier in the year, and it was another book that left me sobbing, it was just so powerful. I'm hoping you've already read it. This has been the first year I've kept a spreadsheet of books read, and I am loving the process.
Please read The Fog by Brooke Hardwick! Debut novel by an Aussie author. Thriller, set on a writer's retreat somewhere in the remote Irish Sea. Loved it.
Did I spend the first 1/2 to 2/3 of ‘No one is talking about this’ railing internally at how contrived it felt? Yes. Did I then spend the final 1/3 sobbing uncontrollably and thinking it might be one of the best books I’ve ever read? Also yes. An unexpectedly fantastic book.
The Rachel Incident!!
This is a damn good list