Hiya beauties! As we’re getting to the end of this year, I wanted to share with you my favourite reads of the year. In the past few months, I managed to read a bit more and I would like to share what I loved. Despite the stressful time of the move, or maybe because of it, I have been trying to cut out more reading time at the end of the day to read. I don’t know why, but during the first half of the year, I found it very difficult to sit down and read: once back from work, made dinner and watched a couple of episodes of a TV series, I would go to bed, get a book and almost immediately fall to sleep.

However, in the second half, a lot of the time I would do all of the above, except that once in bed I would manage to read at least one chapter! And I’m sure I haven’t been less tired than in the previous months. considering also the fact that I have been adjusting to the new living arrangements, having moved from being my cat and me, to being my cat, my partner and me. Who knows how more reading?!

A new factor

While I am enjoying podcasts on Spotify, lately the app started offering audioBooks: 15 hours of audiobooks per month. It’s a great way to get started on this wonderful source that I never considered before. At the library, I was used to issuing audiobooks to the elderly, and people driving a lot for work. Honestly, it didn’t even seem like a viable solution for me as it was usually in CD format. But there it happened, while I was browsing Spotify I got a notification about available audiobooks: I thought of looking at the titles and there were many interesting and popular while some others were a bit more obscure. After having selected my interests, I tried the first one and….couldn’t stop listening to it! So I started the next one – and stopped only because I ran out of the 15 hours. Then I remembered that with the library card, one gets also access to BorrowBox for eBooks and eAudiobooks (as well as PressReader for newspapers and magazines) so clearly being addicted to this “new” thing, I looked at the online catalogue available with BorrowBox there were so many interesting audiobooks – all for free!

Through this, I have been listening to eAudiobooks while doing chores at home, when I get to do some more creative tasks at work, while at lunch, and when I have to drive. It’s brilliant. And sometimes it’s the same authors that are reading their books, which is awesome because they know how the characters should sound or put a particular emphasis on some scenes. But also there are books read by actors who played characters from the books they are performing, such as Elizabeth Moss reading The Handmaid’s Tale – impossible to stop listening!

So, without further ado here is my favourite books of 2023:

Cat Lady by Dawn O’Porter

Thanks to a cup of coffee drank way too late in the evening, I finished this book in one night. It made me laugh and cry and it felt so relatable, but apparently, it’s one of those books that you either love or hate.

Mia is a childfree forty-something woman who loves her cat, has a good job and a nice boyfriend. One might find her a bit peculiar because she wants separate bedrooms and she likes things done in a specific way. But this makes her so much more relatable to me and I can understand her very well. Also, her boyfriend’s friends are mean to her because of her cat and if you are a cat lover then you will read the usual nasty comments you surely have heard many times by ignorant people.

It’s a perfect mix of humour and drama – I recommend it.

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

This was the second eAudiobook I tried on Spotify, when I ran out of the allotted monthly listening hours, but I was enjoying the story so much that I went to look for it on BorrowBox to see if it was there in any format and found it as an eBook!

A darkly funny book – it’s set in Nigeria and I loved reading the story of Korede and how yet again she helps her serial killer sister Ayoola. While there is murder involved, there is also a subtle and interesting social commentary on women in Nigerian society.

Funny and easy to read – absolutely recommended.

The Transgender Issue: An Argument for Justice by Shon Faye

This has been such an interesting and eye-opening read – again done half as eAudiobook on Spotify and eBook on BorrowBox.

There has always been a lot of talking about transpeople in the news, but never knew much about it and before attending university, I didn’t have any idea of the issues that members of the LGBTQIA+ have to face in life, but as I started meeting more people I also became a supporter of the LGBTQIA+ causes. However, I never investigated the “transgender issue” properly, so when I saw this book I thought it would have been a good starting point to get some information.

Shon Faye writes beautifully about a complex topic, bringing facts and statistics where most of the time the other side only brings personal opinions and feelings, clearly explaining what it means for people to be transgender, how they are viewed and treated by society, and bringing possible solutions.

It is the perfect book to get you started on this topic.

Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes

Absolutely brilliant! I listened to the eAudiobook on BorrowBox, read by Natalie Haynes herself.

It is the story of Medusa and Perseus from the point of view of Medusa – but it’s not only that, there is the re-framing of many stories from Greek mythology looking at them with “modern” eyes, without the romanticised and patronising views with which they were written by men.

Without risking a spoiler, I’ll just say that the beheading of Medusa here is not seen as a courageous act by Perseus.

Another eAudiobook that was really difficult to pause.

My Lady Parts: A Life Fighting Stereotypes by Doon MacKichan

In her autobiography, Doon MacKichan takes the chance to show how misogynistic is the world of show business, but also that change is possible. She is vulnerable and strong: while I am only familiar with her work in the TV series Good Omens, reading this book made me want to go to the theatre and watch some of her plays.

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

It would seem that people have not loved this book too much: I believe it’s because some were expecting something different after years of waiting for a sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale. As I’ve read the first one just this year, after having watched the TV series, I personally have loved The Testaments.

It is different from the first one because it has a different format and there is a change in the main character, nevertheless, it was gripping. Maybe it can be predictable in some points, but there were more surprises and unexpected events. Plus, Atwood’s writing is excellent.

The Black Pages by Nnedi Okorafor

This is the second book in the Black Stars series of short standalone sci-fi books by Black authors. The protagonist of this book, Issaka, goes back to his home in Timbouctou which is then raided by al-Quaeda. While this happens, he learns about a supernatural entity that was trapped in one of the books burned during the raid and decides to follow it.

It’s a short but intense story and one of my favourite in the series.

Conclusion

So between physical books, eBooks and audiobooks, we are in the golden era of reading media and it’s heaven for readers. Let me know if you’ve read any of these books and what do you think 🙂

Looking forward to reading some more!

Love,

TVCL xx