Fave reads for 2024(ish)
It's been a while since I pulled together a Fave Reads post. So here's some of the best books I've read over the past year or so.
The Two Towers by J R R Tolkein
This novel was much, much more than I remember it.
The Lord of the Rings has sat near the top of my favourite books/series for many years now. I used to re-read it frequently when I was younger. But I hadn't revisited it for over 20 twenty years.
And for a long time, The Fellowship of the Ring was my fave of the series. But that has shifted with my most recent re-read.
The world building is so rich -- I love the deep, cool reservoir of histories just below the surface of the story. The characters are so alive -- they're mutit-dimensional layers of complexity and nuance.
(Neither of which I've ever been able to achieve in my own writing!)
I adore the culture of the Rohirrim. I love to explore them further. I could gorge myself on a whole series set in the Riddermark.
(As an aside, I am so looking forward to the forthcoming movie.)
Unlitmately, the book raises the stakes from the first without riding it too hard. I was transported, carried across the plains of Rohan and through the escarpment of the Emyn Muil. I can't wait to finish this one. I hope it comes home just as strong as I remember it.
Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica (translated by Sarah Moses)
This novel was disturbing.
It's a near future dystopia in which animal flesh has become poisonous and humans are farmed for consumption as "special meat". The main character works in a processing plant.
The sections of the story which deal with processing the special meat -- the othering of human beings in order to be able to treat them like livestock -- left an indelible mark. Some images will definitely stay with me.
The story itself was good, with some interesting plot twists along the way. But again, I loved the world building aspect -- for instance, some of the characters had a obsession with umbrellas that felt both bizarre and too close for comfort. This future was at times way too real.
I loved it.
The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown
This book was just beautiful.
It's a non-fiction account of one of the members of the ill-fated Donner Party -- a group of American pioneers who, heading westward, got caught in the snows of Sierra Nevada mountains and ended up resorting to cannibalism to survive.
(Hmm, I might detect a theme here, methinks.)
This book was so much more than a simple blow-by-blow account. It brought the plight of the pioneers to life. The writing switched effortlessly between historical recounting and describing the environment the colonialists lived through.
We get a descriptive lay of the land, the flora and fauna they encountered, the warts-and-all descriptions of what life on those prairie trains were like. But we also get background on some of the key players -- reasons for leaving the east coast, insights into their personalities, along with some supposition around motivations where the historical record is lacking.
By the end, I truly believed I would probably make the same decisions if handed the same circumstances.
For me, though, the writing was sublime. This book is so much more than a mere collection of historical facts. The descriptions and turn of phrase was poetic in parts.
I really wish I could discover it for the first time again.
Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett
Ah, the Discworld.
I used to read the Disworld novels voraciously when I was younger. Then, for some reason, I stopped just after Hogsfather. I have recently continued on again (and gone back to re-read some old favourites).
But this one -- a witches novel -- was Pratchett at his best.
Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg (and Agnes Nitt). Against vampires. This was just a ripping yarn, with all the story elements in the right place.
The vampire aristocrasy from Uberwald take a shine to Lancre, when invited to a royal naming day, and decide to stay. They have built up a resistance to most of the usual banes, and they are exceedingly charismatic.
Esme and Gytha are the only ones who can save the day. But even they are not immune to Count Magpyr's charms.
I could not put this one down.
Troy by Stephen Fry
A classic tale retold by a master storyteller.
I've really enjoyed Stephen Fry's accounts of classic Greek tales and mythology -- Mythos, Heroes and now Troy. (And coming soon, Odyssey.)
I had a passing familiarity with the siege of Troy -- Achilles, Hector, Agamemnon, Helen and a bunch of ships, and of course the wooden horse.
Fry delves into the events which led up to the siege, the backstories of the heroes and villains, the long protracted siege itself, and the myths/truths around the horse.
War has always and ever been a scourge on humankind. Fry doesn't shy away from the ugly underside of the myths either.
With Troy, I love that the myths and legends are touching events and places for which we have historical proof. It blurs the edges of the story enough to make you wonder how close are we to truth.
The Greeks certainly knew how to spin a tale -- their myths are a tightly woven and complex tapestry. And Stephen Fry strikes just the right tone to bring them to life again in the 21st century.
Even after three books I haven't tired of them. I am very much looking forward to the next in the canon.
There it is. My favourite reads from the past two years. Enjoy your end of year break, if you're having one. Don't work too hard, if you're not.
And remember, a book as a present is a gift to both the reader and the author.
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