I did away with ‘top tens’ a few years ago, and instead I finish the reading year with a recap of the books that are still speaking to me (less about four and five-star ratings, more about what has stuck).
A handful of stories have lingered for their clever plots and impressive sense of place – Seascraper by Benjamin Wood and Slags by Emma Jane Unsworth.
For absolutely arresting writing – those sentences you want to read over and over – The Chronology of Water by Lidia Yuknavitch.
I devour memoirs, and this year there were lots that I loved – Always Home, Always Homesick by Hannah Kent; Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton; Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy; All the Way to the River by Elizabeth Gilbert; and Everything, Nothing, Someone by Alice Carrière.
And of course, I always manage some grief memoirs and this year I read some exceptional ones – The Tidal Year by Freya Bromley and Grief is For People by Sloane Crosley. I also loved a grief novel, Max Porter’s Grief is the Thing With Feathers (and I can’t believe I hadn’t read it years ago).
Nora Ephron’s I Feel Bad About My Neck for articulating some of the things that I’ve thought about for years, and because she’s so witty.
Three nonfiction books (a mix of memoir and investigative writing) that have kept me thinking were Careless People by Sarah Wynn Williams, The Woman Who Fooled the World by Beau Donnelly and The Mushroom Tapes by Helen Garner, Sarah Krasnostein and Chloe Hooper.
Books that had me laughing out loud – Perfume & Pain by Anna Dorn and Banal Nightmare by Halle Butler. I read them one after the other in January, and they set a precedent for the year.
And to the books that, if forced to choose absolute favourites, would top my list – Heart the Lover by Lily King because I sobbed and sobbed and loved every moment of this story. And Gone Fishing by Thomas Mailaender – it is unlikely that anyone else will read this (it’s more an art piece than a book), but I have quite literally never laughed so hard reading something.
Thanks for your readership and I look forward to sharing more books in 2026.
A nice way of doing it! I am currently mulling over how many “best of” books to allow myself – 10 per cent, something else? In reality, I’ll start a list and see what happens …
I reckon just start a list and see how many you end up with – there are no rules! (I also like to look back on lists from previous years when people ask for recommendations).
This is an interesting way of ending the year. I use the test of “stickability” too – ie, what has stuck in my mind.
Every so often I read a book that I LOVE at the time but a month later, I can hardly remember any of it – not very ‘sticky’!
Plots I forget, names also but I do remember how certain books made me feel.
Impressed by your review of Chronology of Water, thinking of giving a copy to a friend we are supporting to leave an abusive relationship, she is the classic raging, abused woman. What do you think? Would it help her?
I would be reluctant to give this book to someone who has experienced trauma – there is potentially a lot in the story that would be triggering. I think it’s the kind of book that you have to find your own way to. Perhaps you could read it first and make a decision, given that you know your friend’s circumstances?
That’s a good way of looking at books. So many just leave your mind as soon as you turn the last page. From your list The Chronology of Water is the one I know from reviews that I should read. A book still speaking to me is de Krester’s Theory & Practice.
Interestingly, when I read Theory & Practice I enjoyed it but I wasn’t raving about it. However, since then, I have had quite a few really good discussions with others about it and have enjoyed it more retrospectively!
Usually some of our books cross over, but this year only I’ve only read Seascraper and I’ve got my review on hold because my review is too mean and I will have to find something nice to say about it!
Thanks for sharing your favourite reads of the year!