December Review

An end of year reflection on the reading life

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If you are new around here, I usually write about all things women literature related, with a free essay every Sunday. As a thank you to my paying subscribers, I also do these monthly roundups of great books and recommended reads. For the last review of the year, I am sending this out to all subscribers, free or paid.

If you find value in the work that I do, why not consider taking out a paid subscription to support me in spreading the words of women?

Sign up before the end of December to receive a special 20% discount on monthly or yearly subscriptions with this link.

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I can’t believe another year is closing out!

One of the highlights of my week honestly is writing for this newsletter, conversing with readers in the comments, and connecting with other writers through this platform. I have truly found my people: a community of readers, writers, and thinkers who want to share ideas on books to read, writing to do, and ways of increasing our intellectual lives. It is so humbling sometimes to discover the sheer talent of work on this platform, and I have to pinch myself that I get to share space with them all.

My aim for 2024 has been to get back into better book reading habits, having found myself struggling in recent years to focus on the written page for any serious length of time. Although I have always been a reader, I have found the draw of distractions, like most other people in the twenty-first century, difficult to pull away from.

I don’t have social media at all, which helps somewhat, but there still always seems to be some great newsletters to read online, emails to attend to, message groups to respond to…and so on. My aim for this year was to try and silence that some, and I would say, I have definitely found myself reading more books and for more sustained reading stints than the previous year. I’m still not quite where I’d like to be, but I am putting the effort in and it is beginning to pay off. I am constantly inspired by my favourite writer/readers here on Substack and the intentionality behind much of their reading lives. I am not a good planner when it comes to reading, but I am going to attempt to try a little bit more input going forwards in the coming year.

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If you are anything like me, you might find the holiday season a little bit overwhelming at times. It seems we are being sold an ideal of what we should be doing/eating/drinking/wearing/gifting on a constant loop from around the end of October onwards.

I hope you have all managed to salvage some time to yourselves to sit down in a quiet corner with a good book this holiday season. Here are the books that have been keeping me company throughout December…

Books

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

I read this book through part of November and the beginning of December, as I wanted to write an essay about it, and had been saving it for a Christmassy read. I hadn’t returned to the book in many years, despite knowing the whole story by heart and watching the films every Christmas since childhood. I wrote about both my experience of returning to a beloved classic and my research into Alcott’s real-life family and experiences of writing it. It’s probably my longest essay here on Substack, but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of re-reading!

Significant Others by Armistead Maupin

I have been continuing to read the whole Tales of the City series, as I often do when life gets chaotic. This is the fifth volume, which follows the relationships of the main characters amidst the 1980’s AIDS crisis.

A Line Above The Sky by Helen Mort

I have seen Helen Mort (who also has her own Substack newsletter) speak a couple of times at book events as she is a local writer. Most often recognised for her poetry collections, this is a book of essays written after the birth of her son and reflects on her love of climbing, the associations with climbers of the past, and the exhilaration and exhaustion of becoming a mother. It is written in beautifully evocative prose, showcasing her talent as a poet.

Come and Get It by Kiley Reid

I have been waiting for this to arrive at the library for ages, and it was well worth the wait! I had been anticipating a new release from Reid after loving her last novel, Such a Fun Age. This one has similar themes around race and class, but also delves into the ideas and differences around money and college life. I raced through it.

Wanderers: A History of Women Walking by Kerri Andrews

This is a non-fiction book telling the stories of ten literary women who found inspiration and solace through the act of walking. I enjoyed dipping in and out of the women’s stories throughout this month, and was impressed by Andrews’ choices of some lesser known women walkers.

Best books of 2024

I thought it might also be fun to look back at my previous end of the month reading roundups and share with you the best books I’ve read in 2024. This is always a little difficult to choose (I couldn’t narrow it down to a top 5, so went for top 6 instead!) but here are my top picks:

The Wonder Spot by Melissa Bank

The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank

All Fours by Miranda July

Wayward by Dana Spiotta

Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma by Claire Dederer

French Braid by Anne Tyler

Five of these are fiction titles and all have engaging female narrators. The only nonfiction book (Dederer’s) was incredibly thought provoking, and I’m still thinking about it months later. The same is true for July’s novel.

Have you read any of these? Would they make your favourites list? Let me know in the comments- as well as sharing what other books would make your list!

What I’m looking forward to reading in 2025

I have so many books on my to-read list, many of them recommendations from my favourite Substack newsletters. Top of my list at the moment are: Scaffolding by Lauren Elkin, The Last Sane Woman by Hannah Regel, Getting Lost by Annie Ernaux, and The Details by Ia Genberg.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

I am still interested in reading books about strong, relevant women, and this list sounds like a good start to me! Any other recommendations gratefully received 🙂

Substack Roundup

I have loved ‘meeting’ so many great writers on this platform again this year, and feel like I have made some brilliant discoveries and some real literary friends.

This year I was chuffed to be invited over to Matthew Long’s Beyond the Bookshelf for a chat about the books that have influenced my life. I also appeared in the pages of Petya K Grady’s A Reading Life, a new discovery this year which has enhanced my reading life no end. I would trust Petya’s word on any book she chose to recommend to me- the sign of a true kindred spirit!

This month, I also loved reading Laura Thompson’s discussions on Agatha Christie films to watch (and importantly, which to avoid) this season.

Articles

This searing piece in The New Republic on the unreliable narrator/author of the book of the moment, Didion and Babitz.

Electric Literature on the queer bookshops to love and support.

This snappy Guardian interview with Andrew Ridgeley formerly of 1980s pop group Wham!

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

Watched

Netflix film Lonely Planet, about a heartbroken writer who visits a Moroccan writers’ retreat to finish her overdue manuscript. Starring Laura Dern and Liam Hemsworth, this was an enjoyable, escapist film for a cosy night in.

Moonflower Murders on BBC iPlayer, a follow-up to Magpie Murders, and again based on Anthony Horrowitz’s book. A fairly slow-paced mystery in a traditionally who-dunnit style but with a modern twist. I enjoyed it!

Shetland on BBC iPlayer is back for a new series, this time with two female leads. I love this series for the landscape if nothing else, but I also like how they’ve put two women in charge of the police force on the island. It makes for an interesting dynamic not always seen in these kinds of crime stories.

Listening

Dr Kathleen Waller’s podcast is back with some slightly shorter episodes and a series on the epistolary novel.

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Finally, I would like to say a big thank you to all my readers, subscribers (both free and paid), and all the people who have shared, commented, and liked my essays this year, as well as those generous souls who have recommended my newsletter.

You all make it worthwhile researching and writing at my desk every single week - thank you!

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy New Year; I can’t wait to get started on some new writing to share with you in 2025 on the inspirational lives of women writers!

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If you find value in the work that I do, why not consider taking out a paid subscription to support the important work of spreading the words of women?

Sign up before the end of December to receive a special 20% discount on monthly or yearly subscriptions with this link.

Not into commitment? Why not contribute to my book fund instead?

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