ten books i want to finish before this year finishes me

her book, Earthlings, made me feel physically sick. And the ability to do that with just words in black and white on a piece of paper, I think is a superpower.

it's actually a very misunderstood book, and the film adaptation is quite different, so I wanted to really focus on Mary Shel's original writing as well, which we did, and it was wonderful.

Then Greek lessons is about a person who has lost the ability to see and a person who has stopped speaking and how they communicate after losing those facets of existence.

Her book Gunk, spoiler alert, will be in my top books of the year.

It's profoundly beautiful. The writing is totally exquisite. It's a meditation on grief and loss. It's just perfect. It's a perfect book.

Human Acts is about a really important moment in Korean history.

But we also have Jenny Urpenbeck who wrote this beautiful novel called Kyros which I rated so highly last year. You will have seen that book in my best books of 2024 video.

And I have to say I'm really enjoying it. The descriptions of what the landscape of hell might look like are so vivid and vibrant and beautifully crafted.

It's just such a page turner. It's such easy reading. So, if you are looking for something to get you back into the reading flow either for the end of this year or for the beginning of next year, I really recommend The Road to Tender Hearts.

If you know me, you will know that I love the book Small Things Like These by Cla Keegan.

The Vegetarian was my first experience of her writing. She won the Booker Prize with that novella. It's about someone who chooses to be vegetarian in a culture that doesn't really accept that way of living and that lifestyle choice. But I think it becomes an allegory for other things too.

when I read her book, Yellowface, my feedback was I hope that she learns to trust that her reader can keep up with her because sometimes there's a little bit too much overexplaining