2022 wasn’t my best year reading-wise. Between working on building this blog, freelancing, and adopting a little puppy, reading was either very slow, or at times, even non-existent. But thankfully, things have changed now. I am in a much better place with my blog as well as at caring for a pup, and have finally settled into an easy routine with some reading time scheduled in each day. Thanks to this, I have been consistent with my reading, and I have finished so many great books in the last few months.
And as someone who relies on other people’s reading list recommendations when picking up new books, I thought I’ll share my recent faves with you. Most of these are literary fiction, with plots that revolve around the development of a central character – my absolute favourite type of fiction!
- A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towels
If you like historical fiction and are looking for a good cry, then I would highly recommend this one. This book is about a count who is sentenced to house arrest for the rest of his life in a luxury hotel. This novel is filled with sophisticated opulence, lovely characters, and an absolutely gripping writing style. This book is full of references to events in the Russian history, and it had be Googling every few minutes to learn more, because I really couldn’t have enough!
- Betty by Tiffany McDaniel
This is one of those books that had me rooting for a character so hard. Betty is a coming of age about survival and it has the most poetic writing style. This book deals with some serious themes like poverty, racism, bad family dynamics, and abuse, so it’s filled with trigger warnings and is definitely not a light read. But despite that the book has a lot of beautiful moments especially between Betty and her father. If you like reading about skewed family dynamics, very real characters and dark secrets, you should definitely check this one out!
- Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman:
I read this while I was on a vacation, and I just breezed through it! The story about Eleanor, who is a socially clueless 30-year old woman who seems to be fine on the surface but is actually quite lonely. The writer takes us through Eleanor’s journey of trying to be ‘normal’, be more socially active and deal with other issues like depression and family dysfunction with the help of friendship and therapy. Even though the book comes across as funny, it does have some pretty dark moments. But it is full of lovely characters and a beautiful writing style. Would highly recommend.
- A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman
A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman: Another character-driven book I just couldn’t put down! This is a book about Ove and how his attempts at trying to kill himself always fail. On the surface Ove is a man of strict routines, rarely smiles and is thought of as bitter by his neighbours. But behind his bitterness is a truly heartfelt story and sadness that is recounted throughout the book. It’s a beautiful, beautiful book about ageing, love and community. I love this one so much.
- Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
This may not be Ishiguro’s most popular novel, but it is easily my favourite. This book takes us on the journey of Stevens, a butler in a respected British household as he sets out on a roadtrip through the West Country. Along the journey, he digs into his past and recounts events that spam through facism, two world wars, and an unrealised love between him and his housekeeper. This is a story about love, loss and regret. it may be a slow read, but it’s beautifully written and very difficult to out down.
- Together We Burn by Isabel Ibanez
This was one of my first fantasy fiction books, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a story about a girl trying to save her family home and respect after a disaster. The book is set in medival spain and has dragons, magic, romance, mystery, betrayal – bascially everything you would want from a young adult fantasy fiction book. If you, like me, are starting out into fantasy fiction genre, definitely check this one out.
Other than this, I read a bunch of other romantic fiction like Forever, Interruped and Second First Impressions, which might have been light fun reads, but i definitely don’t recommend lol. If you have any recommendations, please let me know in the comments below.