24 moments from 2024 - part one: books

 

I read 30 books this year, you can see them all on my instagram if you so wish, but if you don't have the time or inclination (which is completey okay, of course) then here is a snapshot:

1. In Memoriam by Alice Winn - I loved this book, and to think it was her debut novel. It is a love story, about a forbidden love and a complicated love, set during WWI. A book that invaded my thoughts and also my dreams (not always in a good way!).

2. Politics on the Edge by Rory Stewart - everyone said to read it, and I delayed - and then I did and it was as good as they said it would be. It is written in a style I found easy to read, there is humour and a strong sense of frustration. If you listen to Rory anywhere else, then you will know what to expect.

3. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver - I think this is my book of the year, perhaps the decade, because as soon as I finished it, I started again. And I have only read a couple of books twice. I also watched Dopesick afterwards to fully immerse myself in the issues around Oxycontin addiction. I missed Demon's voice once I had moved onto another book.

4. The Way I Found Her by Rose Tremain - I knew nothing of this author and only read it because we picked it up at a charity stall. We had such a battered copy which suggested lots of people had loved it. It was a love story but it was also a mystery, with Paris creating the backdrop and adding to the prose.

5. The Betrayal of Thomas True by AJ West - This is possibly the most beautifully designed book I have read all year, and I wouldn't have read it were it not for my local bookseller who pushes the depth and genres of my reading. Thomas True arrives in London and becomes part of the molly houses, an underworld I knew nothing about. Part love story, part murder mystery and part historical novel, it is a great read (although dark in places - quite Dickensian with a feel of Perfume by Patrick Suskind). 

6. First Lady: The Lives and Wars of Clementine Churchill by Sonia Purcell - My family are quite obsessed with Churchill, the Winston variety. So I wanted to know more about his wife, who is often portrayed as exasperated by him or the one with the strength. This is a really interesting book and although it is out of stock in some places I would spend some time finding a second-hand copy. Clementine came from money but grew up with none, she was charming and well-liked, suffered huge personal grief, and mental health issues -  and yet she really epitomises "behind every great/successful man there stands a woman".