What a list!! I just finished Boysie Singh last week and really enjoyed it! I am adding so many of these to my TBR, but I think The Night Alphabet has to go at the top of the list 🤩 Yay for Soldier Sailor. Such an incredible book 🧡
@@GemofBooks I really enjoyed the audio of Night Alphabet. Soldier Sailor was a gut punch. Being a grandma has reminded me how those early months feel. I had sugar-coated them in my memory.
I have You Dreamed of Empires on my kindle. Probably after hearing you talk about it 😂Sooooo many amazing books you mentioned. Can’t wait for The Night Alphabet ❤️ Yeah for your number one!!! I just adore that book sooooo much. I know you said this but we have so many in common. Means I have to read the ones I haven’t gotten to yet!!
Currently reading a book by Claudia Piñeiro that is not translated into English (yet). Immediately made me thinking of you and the Piñeiro reading group.
I had women's prize books in my top 10 too, such a great list. I absolutely loved Soldier, Sailor too. So good. I have Mrs Montgomery Hurst on my kindle ready to read 🥰
I love hearing your soothing voice of soft enthusiasm. Delightful accompaniment on my walk to work. I also love hearing what moved you this year, as your reading tastes are very different to mine - insiring heanchung our plans for the future. Now i am laughing aloud here 18:14 - this book sounds utterly bonkers and i am highly intrigued! Like a most bizarre emotiobally brutal game show - do a quote and we'll feed you, now let's put on a play! Adding it to my storygraph for sheer randomness! 😂 Yep added and it really does sound fantastic 💜📚
Love that in our Venn diagram of reading we have The Trouble with Mrs Montgomery Hurst and The Skull! I love that the Skull is in here and hearing yiu talk about it has given me so much joy. I re-read it again this year and shared with my kids. I am still terrified of the moment the Skeleton appears. So brilliant 💜📚
@@BookChatWithPat8668 thank you for watching Pat. I wish I could be more ruthless and decisive in picking perhaps just a top five. You managed ten across new and old, fiction and nonfiction.
Thanks for sharing this Ros and for the time spent wittling it down - I would find it so hard to rank my favorite books of the year so I appreciate when others can 😊 I also loved Still Born and would agree with it having something special. I enjoyed 6 of your top 20 so plenty for be to add to my TBR. Best wishes for another great reading year in 2025.
I am amazed by people who can blithely give just a top five for the year. The special quality of Still Born is hard to explain but anyone who has read it understands. I hope you have a brilliant reading year in 2025.
Your top books of the year videos are always compelling and insightful, Ros. My favourite contemporary novel that I read in 2024 was Intermezzo by Sally Rooney - an insightful, moving and funny exploration of human relationships and grief, complete with effective use of stream of consciousness.
I just started Persaud’s Love After Love and I’m enjoying it a great deal. I will read more by her. So many interesting and novel expanding sounding books on your list. Huzzah for Soldier Sailor!
So happy to see The Skull on here!🎉 I should finish Glorious Exploits - started it and didn’t finish but just wasn’t in the mood for it at the time. Enter Ghost has come up on a few lists and sounds powerful. As has Soldier Sailor which is also Gemma’s favourite and I do have it on my kindle - must get to it.
All the books you mention that I have read, I have also loved. I think especially Enter Ghost and the Night Alphabet stand out to me. This makes me very excited to get to a couple of the others that are on my tbr: You Dreamed of Empires and The Love Songs of Boysie Singh. And I am reminded that I should get hold of one of Eva Baltazar's books. I was thinking of Boulder. Would you agree that that is a good place to start with her books?
@@TheLeniverse yes I read Boulder first and you will know from that if she's an author for you. But I haven't got to Permafrost yet and might be worth considering that as it is the first of the three in writing order, not that they are a sequence. I am sure you will enjoy Empires and Boysie Singh.
What a list!! I just finished Boysie Singh last week and really enjoyed it!
I am adding so many of these to my TBR, but I think The Night Alphabet has to go at the top of the list 🤩
Yay for Soldier Sailor. Such an incredible book 🧡
@@GemofBooks I really enjoyed the audio of Night Alphabet. Soldier Sailor was a gut punch. Being a grandma has reminded me how those early months feel. I had sugar-coated them in my memory.
I have You Dreamed of Empires on my kindle. Probably after hearing you talk about it 😂Sooooo many amazing books you mentioned. Can’t wait for The Night Alphabet ❤️
Yeah for your number one!!! I just adore that book sooooo much. I know you said this but we have so many in common. Means I have to read the ones I haven’t gotten to yet!!
We definitely appreciate similar qualities in books don't we? Empires is so odd but I loved it.
Currently reading a book by Claudia Piñeiro that is not translated into English (yet). Immediately made me thinking of you and the Piñeiro reading group.
I had women's prize books in my top 10 too, such a great list.
I absolutely loved Soldier, Sailor too. So good.
I have Mrs Montgomery Hurst on my kindle ready to read 🥰
@@YourTrueShelf reading Soldier Sailor I was aghast at times, like she was revealing memories I had suppressed. Such a good novel.
I just loved your enthuasism talking about those books. I will tryı to find Brotherless Night, Enter Ghost and the Night Alphabet
Brotherless Night is so moving and gives such an insight into the Sri Lankan civil war in a way I think you would find fascinating.
I want to read _Enter Ghost_ (along w others of your recommendations)! Thanks, Roz!
@@bighardbooks770 yes you'd find Enter Ghost really interesting I think.
I love hearing your soothing voice of soft enthusiasm. Delightful accompaniment on my walk to work.
I also love hearing what moved you this year, as your reading tastes are very different to mine - insiring heanchung our plans for the future.
Now i am laughing aloud here
18:14 - this book sounds utterly bonkers and i am highly intrigued! Like a most bizarre emotiobally brutal game show - do a quote and we'll feed you, now let's put on a play! Adding it to my storygraph for sheer randomness! 😂
Yep added and it really does sound fantastic 💜📚
@@ChattieTheMadChatter I think Glorious Exploits could be one you'd really enjoy too even our tastes often differ.
@scallydandlingaboutthebooks I am feeling that it could be a me book that emotion mixed with hilarity just sounds delightful 💜📚
Thank you for this list will be reading ❤
@@TCAishaNefiseBazlamatci thank you for saying that 😀
Love that in our Venn diagram of reading we have The Trouble with Mrs Montgomery Hurst and The Skull!
I love that the Skull is in here and hearing yiu talk about it has given me so much joy. I re-read it again this year and shared with my kids. I am still terrified of the moment the Skeleton appears. So brilliant 💜📚
Totally!
Brilliant discussion, Ros. Thank you.
@@BookChatWithPat8668 thank you for watching Pat. I wish I could be more ruthless and decisive in picking perhaps just a top five. You managed ten across new and old, fiction and nonfiction.
Thanks for sharing this Ros and for the time spent wittling it down - I would find it so hard to rank my favorite books of the year so I appreciate when others can 😊 I also loved Still Born and would agree with it having something special. I enjoyed 6 of your top 20 so plenty for be to add to my TBR. Best wishes for another great reading year in 2025.
I am amazed by people who can blithely give just a top five for the year. The special quality of Still Born is hard to explain but anyone who has read it understands. I hope you have a brilliant reading year in 2025.
Your top books of the year videos are always compelling and insightful, Ros. My favourite contemporary novel that I read in 2024 was Intermezzo by Sally Rooney - an insightful, moving and funny exploration of human relationships and grief, complete with effective use of stream of consciousness.
Maybe Intermezzo is the one to tempt me back to Rooney.
@@scallydandlingaboutthebooks I did think that Intermezzo might be the Rooney novel for you!
What a terrific list! Some that I’ve loved and some still on my TBR; plus a few new to me to explore. A great wrap up of your favorites.
@@readandre-read I read a lot of good stuff in 2024. Roll on a good 2025 for both of us.
I'll be looking into a few of these - You always manage to add something to my TBR!
@@novelideea guilty as charged 😉🤣
This is a fabulous list, Ros. Thank you for your wonderful commentary.
@@susan3037 thank you. I'm delighted if you enjoyed it. I had a great reading year. I hope you did too.
I just started Persaud’s Love After Love and I’m enjoying it a great deal. I will read more by her.
So many interesting and novel expanding sounding books on your list.
Huzzah for Soldier Sailor!
@@BookishTexan I was happy when I heard you talk about Soldier Sailor as it reassured me that it could speak to men too.
Still Born is such an interesting and moving book. Great list!
@@Nina_DP unusually for me I find it hard to explain why it is so very good. But it is.
So happy to see The Skull on here!🎉 I should finish Glorious Exploits - started it and didn’t finish but just wasn’t in the mood for it at the time. Enter Ghost has come up on a few lists and sounds powerful. As has Soldier Sailor which is also Gemma’s favourite and I do have it on my kindle - must get to it.
@@spreadbookjoy Soldier Sailor is short too so no reason not to squeeze it in sometime. The Skull was brilliant.
Great list of books, Roz!
@@59cubanita thanks. It's been a good year for new fiction for me.
Great top 20 Ros, glad to see Andrew Miller made your list!
@@Ali-AvidReader thanks. It's harder to assess books read in December as there isn't time to see if they stay with me. But the Miller was so strong.
If only our soldiers nowadays could quote classical literature, there would be no more fighting... Absolutely agree about The Night Alphabet
@@MarcNash Night Alphabet felt fresh. And reading more Euripides could change the world.
All the books you mention that I have read, I have also loved. I think especially Enter Ghost and the Night Alphabet stand out to me. This makes me very excited to get to a couple of the others that are on my tbr: You Dreamed of Empires and The Love Songs of Boysie Singh. And I am reminded that I should get hold of one of Eva Baltazar's books. I was thinking of Boulder. Would you agree that that is a good place to start with her books?
@@TheLeniverse yes I read Boulder first and you will know from that if she's an author for you. But I haven't got to Permafrost yet and might be worth considering that as it is the first of the three in writing order, not that they are a sequence. I am sure you will enjoy Empires and Boysie Singh.
I adored _James_ and _North Woods_ and I'd like to read more 2023-24 novels ... I'd like to hear your opinions upon the novel, _Beautyland._ 📚
@@bighardbooks770 I hope to get to Beautyland.
Your voice is similar to Emma Thompson! I can’t believe how spot on it is. I love it. ❤
@@JennyJohnson-e5e I'll definitely take that as a compliment 😊