It’s one hour and 40 minutes until 2024 begins and I’m reading my 16th book of the year while the animals snooze by the fire and a candle sends cedar aroma throughout the house.
There are worse ways to ring in the New Year.
Next year, maybe I will read more than 1.33 books per month. Who knows? In any case, these last few minutes seem like a good time to review my books of the year. Here they are:
First up, I finished the last two of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall trilogy. While I had a few issues with the ambiguous narration, the perspective and insight into Thomas Cromwell had many moments that have stayed with me throughout the year—the yearning for connection, the ambition, the fatalism, the touching moments of family life, and always the trick of dealing with the danger of serving the unstable and powerful Henry VIII. 4/5 stars
I followed with a modern times Mantel book, Beyond Black, about an English psychic who is haunted by not only her own ghosts, but the ghosts of others. It held my attention and had endearing moments, but could have used a little more editing. 3/5 stars.
I read all three of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series. This was my biggest disappointment. Of course I knew it was children’s literature, but it seemed unnecessarily formulaic, which was surprising after all the consternation about how radically “dangerous” these books are. I honestly have trouble remembering much more than polar bears and portals between worlds and a nefarious plot to harm children. 2/5 stars
Fun fact: I got my last book of the year
at The Morgan Library & Museum
in New York City
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig was pretty entertaining and well constructed, but a wee bit predictable in spots. Vibes of “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “The Twilight Zone.” But fun and easy. 4/5 stars.
Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer is part of my ongoing exploration of Cult Books. By Cult Books, I don’t mean books that are cultishly popular, I mean books about cults. I find this genre strangely comforting, as in “I may be totally messed up but at least I’m not in a cult!” This particular book is about a breakaway sect of Latter Day Saints, aka Mormons, and it is WILD. 4/5 stars.
The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb is a fun Who Done It and is also a first novel by a musician from NC, which endears it to me quite a bit. Nothing earth shattering and it’s hard not to guess who did it, but still lots of fun. 4/5 stars.
The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory: my second most disappointing out of the lot. It felt like it was trying too hard to be scandalous and really, hasn’t Anne suffered enough? 3/5 stars
Foster by Claire Keegan is a short introspective book featuring a lonely girl sent to the Irish countryside to live with a kind but odd couple. I like quiet fiction, so I enjoyed it, but honestly it was almost too quiet for even me. 4/5 stars
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Selby Van Pelt was my break-out favorite. It’s much lighter and more feel-good than books I usually fall for. I’m not sure why I fell in LOVE with all of the characters, but I did, especially the cantankerous octopus held captive in the aquarium. The plot was perfect in my humble opinion. As always, your mileage may vary. 5/5 stars
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner re-created a wonderful atmosphere in 18th century London where a woman has found it necessary to specialize in potions that offer quite illegal solutions to all sorts of problems. The modern-day plot didn’t quite work for me, but it was still fun. 3/5 stars
Slaves in the Family by Edward Ball captured my attention since I am a native of South Carolina and grew up vacationing near the plantations featured in the book. Ball’s family was, in days gone by, one of the most significant slave-holding families in the country. Against the wishes of most of his still well-known and respected extended family, he entered into a quest to find the descendants of their slaves and to determine if he is related to them. (Spoiler alert—he is!) While the story is fascinating, I think the book could have been half the length and held the reader’s attention better. 4/5 stars.
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin was a gamble I chose based on a tip from social media, but I ended up liking it so much I gave a copy to my son for Christmas. It is a novel about game designers and the meaning of creating games and what it means to PLAY. At times it reads like a documentary, but it lifts into flight on several occasions and raises interesting philosophical questions. 5/5
And finally, The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray is my book to ring in the new year, made even more special because I bought it in The Morgan Library in New York City. It’s quite incredible to be in a space holding illuminated manuscripts, Gutenberg bibles, and the original manuscript of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. It’s even more incredible to learn about the woman who helped create the library. So far I’ll give it 5/5 stars.
( It’s possible I have a few books left out–sometimes, especially with non-fiction–I’ll let a title hibernate for a while. And it seems that I had a library book at some point that I can’t recall. But this is close.)
I hope everyone adds a book to their reading goals for 2024. I’m going to set my goal for 18, which—if my math still serves me—equals 1.5 books per month.
I hope you have a literary and most HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Elizabeth Jennings 