A very Happy New Year to all of you who visit this blog during the year, especially those who comment and who I consider to be friends. I hope 2025 will be a good one for you and yours. If, like me, 2024 was personally a bit of a shocker, due to the death of a loved one or some other trauma, then I truly hope this new year will see better things for you and new beginnings.
Books-wise I read 74 books in 2024. Much less than in 2023, partly due to circumstances of course, but I did actually plan on reading a little less last year and to take my time more over books I was enjoying. That, I feel I succeeded at and will do the same in 2025.
First, a quick list of the five books I read in December:
70. Steeple Chasing - Peter Ross. I finished this one in December having started it in September apparently! Anyway, a delightful non-fiction book about the author's trips around the UK visiting old churches. A lot of snippets of history and a good sense of place throughout. 4 stars.
71. Murder in the Falling Snow edited by Cecily Gayford. A solid antholgy of winter based crime stories. 3 stars (3.5)
72. Sherlock Holmes and the Three Winter Terrors - James Lovegrove. Three cleverly connected Holmes novellas, again with a winter theme running through. Enjoyable. 4 stars.
73. The Willows at Christmas - William Horwood. Toad's home has been invaded for Christmas by the Relative from Hell. Can Mole, Ratty and Badger save him? A fun read. 3 stars. (3.5)
74. Tour De Force - Christianna Brand. Book 6 of Brand's Inspector Cockrill series, wherein he's on his hols in Italy with a group of strangers. When one of them is murdered he's on holiday no longer. Closed circle murder mystery, similar in feel to the other book I read by her, Green for Murder. The group of suspects is very small and it's hard to believe any of them could've done the deed or why. 4 stars.
OK. So... ten favourite fiction books of 2024, in no particular order.
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky was an absolutely amazing sci-fi novel (possibly my book of the year) and I plan to read on in this series this year and read some of his other books too.
Dr Thorne by Anthony Trollope. Book 3 of his classic Barsetshire series, romantic, funny, beautifully written, just a joy.
Illyrian Spring by Ann Bridge. 1930s holiday romance sort of thing involving a middle-aged woman and a younger man. Set mainly on the coast of present-day Croatia. Loved it, another author I want to read more of this year.
The Girl Beneath the Sea by Andrew Mayne. Diving skulduggery off the coast of Florida. Pacy thriller that I really enjoyed.
Black Sun Rising by Celia Friedman. An unusal blend of sci-fi and fantasy that really worked for me. Great world building, fascinating characters.
The Trouble with Mrs. Montgomery Hurst by Katie Lumsden. A historical comedy of manners, reminding me of Emma or Cranford. Joyous, I absolutely loved it.
The Haunting of Aveline Jones by Phil Hickes. Children's/young adult spooky novella. Very strong sense of place and time of year, and quite creepy.
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett. Most peculiar in its ideas but this mix of fantasy and murder really worked for me. Looking forward to book 2 this year.
The Woman in the Woods by John Connolly. Unlikely I'm going to do a 'best of' list and not include a John Connolly, if I've read one. Creepy, atmospheric, amazing back story, he never disappoints.
Saving Missy by Beth Morrey. A delightful contemporary fiction book with an older protagonist making new friends in unexpected places. Loved it.
So those were some of my favourite fictional reads of 2024. A mixed bunch but I see sci-fi/fantasy/supernatural have come to the fore a bit more recently and I plan to continue with that into 2025. Still loving my crime fiction though.
I only read 16 non-fiction books this year so I may or may not do a favourites post on that. Several of those were really excellent so perhaps I might do a top 5.
Hope you're all well and here's to an excellent 2025, full of good books.
