Reviewing every book I've read so far this year

Just wanted to hear myself talk.
Books mentioned:
Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad
My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki
A Prayer for the Crown Shy by Becky Chambers
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
Hi Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet
Henry Henry by Allen Bratton
How to be Here by Rob Bell
Butter by Asako Yuzuki, translated by Polly Barton
Beyond the Wall by Katja Hoyer
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Wifedom by Anna Funder
Outline by Rachel Cusk
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
Giving Up the Ghost by Hilary Mantel
Based on a True Story by Norm MacDonald
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Salmon Wars by Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins
Batshit Seven by Sheung-King
Doppelganger by Naomi Klein
In Memoriam by Alice Winn
The Crying Book by Heather Christle
Persuasion by Jane Austen
The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn
The Promise by Damon Galgut
Romancing Mr. Bridgerton by Julia Quinn
Biography of X by Catherine Lacey
The Age of Magical Overthinking by Amanda Montell
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
Wolf at the Table by Adam Rapp
The Cabinet by Un-Su Kim
Sociopath by Patric Gagne
My dwindling social media presence:
The StoryGraph: bit.ly/3os9V0B
Instagram: @thebookbully_

[@CharliGirlMusic]

I remembered in a previous video when you mentioned how much you enjoyed The Thursday Murder club. The next day I was in a thrift store and found a copy for a couple of bucks and bought it but I've yet to read it. Someone told me there are a lot of characters and you have to really concentrate to keep it all straight so my executive dysfunction has kept me from starting it so far, but I really want to! I also have Where the Crawdads Sing on my shelf that I have yet to read. I'm such a mood reader that unless a book grabs me fairly quickly, I put it down and look for a new one. Right now I've started Giovanni's Room thinking if I read some short books to get my literary juices flowing better I met get on a roll again, but there it sits, next to me on my table while I'm on TH-cam...thanks for another great video, Jill!

[@jorvikreads]

I've been loving the Women's Prize for Nonfiction this year too. Definitely the best longlist for any book prize from the last few years. I got lots of great recommendations from this video - thanks Jill ❤

[@getbookish]

I have to read Wifedom and Doppelganger for the current Booktube Prize round so I'm glad to hear you enjoyed both so much. Biography of X - what a feat of writing (even if I thought some of the alternative history was shaky at times)! -Becks

[@bookishsabrina]

Yay I'm glad you liked Doppelganger too! Best thing I've read all year, still. 💛

[@lisaedwards8505]

I’m listening to Sociopath now and really enjoying it so far. I’m only 6 chapters in so we’ll see how it goes. You’ve read some interesting books! Hoping to get to Biography of X, Doppelgänger and In Memoriam this year.

[@noteonthetext]

Great video! My TBR is a little bigger for it 😊

[@savagereads]

I love this video! I am always looking for good reviews. I completely agree with your thoughts on My Year of Meats. I also really enjoyed Thursday Murder Club. Butter sounds really interesting! I am adding it to my TBR right now. Doppelganger and The Talented Mr. Ripley are going on the list as well. I just finished In Memoriam last week!

[@jenntendo64system]

Poisonwood Bible is where i learned about the Apocrypha for the first time! I also remember laughing out loud about a scene regarding a parrot and one of the daughters going to the bathroom outside??
Anyway, I really want to read The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver.
Also, I am listening to Doppelgänger on audiobook and really like it so far!

[@jenntendo64system]

Also do you know about the Delia Owens controversy? I got spoiled for Crawdads because of an article about it.

[@socaltoobie8984]

Best book I’ve read so far this year is the new release Everest Inc about the genesis and rise of the whole guiding industry in regard to Mt Everest. Really fascinating!

[@deborahwager5883]

I felt the same way about Where the Crawdads Sing. Really enjoyed it when I didn't expect to!

[@FullyBookedMelissa]

I've yet to read my copy of Norm's book and keep putting it off because my hopes are subterranean at this point :P Have never heard of the Goblin Emperor but colour me intrigued

[@ellaedelman1070]

this was a delight!!!

[@judybrown1624]

I'm with you on Biography of X. You are so good at pinpointing the things and reasons this and other books end up 4* instead of 5* for me.

[@kathyarrr]

Thank you for validating my conflicting feelings I had after reading Norm MacDonald’s book. I didn’t even finished it I hated it so much. But then I felt like a bad comedy nerd for not giving it a chance. 🥴

[@illustratorsam]

I’m nearly finished with Doppelgänger. It does breach a number of topics but it’s tied together so perfectly just reflecting on the shadow. It’s like dipping into alternate reality without discussing A.I.
I also agree the Nonfiction Women’s Prize list was top-notch and I’d like to focus on it more next year. The fiction list feels like it’s set up to span a number of reading tastes and genres, but the nonfiction list is just one fascinating read after another. I am bummed that Eve didn’t make the shortlist. It’s my current top read of the year.

[@paulat5921]

Just wanted to listen. Thank you.

[@smittenforfiction]

Added a couple of those to my tbr. I've read 32 books so far this year. Kicked off 2024 with two 5-star reads: Book 9 of the Wayward Children series and The Adversary by Michael Crummey. Other 5 star reads for me: A Mind Spread Out on the Ground by Alicia Elliott, Braiding Sweetgrass, Island Witch by Amanda Jayatissa, Out There Screaming by Jordan Peele, Mockingjay, Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, Spring by Ali Smith, Yellowface, Moon of the Crusted Snow and its sequel Moon of the Turning Leaves, and Gender Queer. I'm currently reading Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina and Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel.

[@amylynnm324]

Great video :) Benny is such a gorgeous cat! I’m making my way through the women’s non-fic prize, but sadly had to dnf Wifedom. I really liked the historical parts, but didn’t enjoy the author’s stories. She lost me when she had a short chapter about some run-in with a rock star boyfriend of a friend of hers-something like that anyway. I haven’t gotten to Doppelganger yet, but am looking forward to it. Cheers!

[@yellowmeeplereads]

I have a similar reaction to Naomi Klein's Doppelganger. The politics in the book doesn't bother me especially when I find Klein's point of view very empathetic. It changes the way I look at "us and them", and how to confront my own opinions. Caste is on bedside table pile - happy to hear your endorsement and excited to read it soon. Thanks for the reviews.

[@LitPages]

Completely agree with you about Sociopath. I disliked that book so much. The repetitiveness, the contradictions, the gaps in her life was all too much. Also her constantly bragging about being a sociopath got on my nerves. Throw in the fact that she took no accountability for her actions and always claimed no one understood her, accepted her, supported her, made this a very long book to finish. I only did so because I was buddy reading it and hoping things would change. The only parts I liked was when herresearch and discussing sociopathy in comparison to psychopathy and the relationship with anxiety disorders.