Are We Having Fun Yet? by Lucy Mangan
Meredith, Alone by Claire Alexander
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
These four all touched me deeply, in different ways. Legends & Lattes is like a warm hug, full of love and hope and friendship. Are We Having Fun Yet? is the book I have been looking for for years, since becoming a mother. It’s got all the feelings of being overwhelmed, the loneliness, the frustration, the desperation and the deep love. It’s also incredibly funny, which is my favourite way to experience hard topics in literature. Meredith, Alone is likewise about a difficult situation – Meredith is unable to leave her house and we learn why and how that affects her over the course of the book – but it’s also incredibly funny in places and I loved that well-executed balance of pain and humour. Remarkably Bright Creatures isn’t perfect – some of the characters and plot are a little thin – but it was still really beautiful in the way it drew people together and showed love and forgiveness. And the octopus is a fantastic character who I’d love to spend more time with! Also very funny.
Rescuing Ruby by Nicola Baker
Bucket List by Russell Jones
Frank & Red by Matt Coyne
Snapdragon is a graphic novel, but comes with wonderful characters, great relationships, important growth and lots of interconnected stories that we slowly put together. I loved the intergenerational friendship, the diverse characters and the love that is shared between so many of them. Rescuing Ruby is the second in a kid’s series of books about a young girl who is spending time on her Aunt and Uncle’s farm and the adventures she has learning how to help on the farm, care for animals in need and even help solve a mystery along the way! Bucket List and Frank & Red are both books about intergenerational friendships that I really enjoyed and that left me feeling a strong sense of hope and optimism about the world in general and people (to a point).
Strong Female Character by Fern Brady
Between the Stops by Sandi Toksvig
I’ll Show Myself Out by Jessi Klein
The Great Unexpected is another book about friendship, but this time it’s between two older men who meet when they’re paired as roommates in a senior living facility. They couldn’t be more different, but somehow they end up becoming close – and learning things about themselves in the process. Strong Female Character is a fantastic memoir about life with undiagnosed autism, and the process of coming to terms with a late diagnosis that adds a whole new meaning to every experience you’ve had in your life. It’s funny (Brady being a comedian), but also heartbreaking – in a good way, if you know what I mean. I have been a fan of Toksvig’s for ages, but this is the first time I’ve read any of her books, and this one is wonderful. It’s a memoir, but she has found a completely unique structure for it – telling her life story by following the route of the Number 12 bus. Sounds odd, but somehow totally works. And I’ll Show Myself Out is another motherhood memoir that I wish I’d found sooner. It’s hilarious, but so deeply full of truth and honest about the hard parts. Worth a read for any mother who feels like she’s lost her mind, herself or at least half of her belongings, mostly the important ones.
As you can see, I found some fantastic books this year. I’d recommend each and every one of these if they sound like your kind of thing. And I’d love to hear from you if you’ve read any of them or have other books to recommend that these remind you of!
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly link-up feature created by The Broke and the Bookish and hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. Every week TTT has a different topic, and everyone who links up has to create a link of ten items that fit that topic. To see past and upcoming topics, go here.
I enjoyed reading Legends and Lattes and have Remarkably Bright Creatures on my TBR.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/authors-i-read-multiple-times-in-2024/
Interestingly those are two I’d kind of pair from this list. They’re not the same genre, but they do have a slightly similar feel! Both have found family, deep themes of friendship and people (or, you know, other creatures) who are exploring what their lives mean. I hope you enjoy it if you do get to it!
LEGENDS AND LATTES is the only book I’ve read from your list, but REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES and FRANK AND RED are both on my TBR list. I’m glad you found so many great new authors/books in 2024!
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
Those are two of my favourites! I do hope you get a chance to try them this year – and that you enjoy them as much as I did!
I really liked Remarkably Bright Creatures, though it didn’t aucase me to go see what else the author has written. I am busy right now updating my list of reviewed books and it is painfully obvious to me that I don’t often read the same author over and over. There are just a few authors I make sure to read everything they publish based on my previous reading experiences.
I get that. Sometimes I’ll read one stellar book and then try other books by the same author and they don’t have that thing I loved so much, and it’s all the more disappointing. Other times I just feel like well, I’ve tried that author, but there are another hundred over here I haven’t even sampled yet…. lol! I’m curious which authors you do read everything by? I feel like that would be quite the recommendation!
I absolutely adore Travis Baldree! I haven’t read any of these others yet though, but will be putting a few on my TBR now.
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you.
I’m very glad to hear it! Of these, if you’re a fan of Baldree, I think Remarkably Bright Creatures might be one you’d enjoy – it has similar themes of found family, friendship, searching for purpose and belonging – and the characters are quite quirky!
Legends & Lattes was exactly like a warm hug.
It really was!
Snapdragon and Rescuing Ruby both look good! I added them to my TBR!
Oh good! They were both great, for totally different reasons. I think one of the things I loved about Rescuing Ruby (and the other book in the series) is that they have that wholesome charm of a book set in the country, but they’ve also got good stories that will be enjoyable for kids and adults alike. I’m always thrilled when I find kids books that are just as much fun for me to read! I hope you get a chance to try them!
I put Frank & Red and The Great Unexpected on my wishlist because of your love for these books.
Yay! I think they will be up your street, as I know you enjoy books with mature characters and intergenerational friendships, and these books have both. They’re very heartwarming and enjoyable/emotional to read!