I read quite a bit this year, mostly on audiobook.
Favorite Thriller/Mystery
Louise Penny’s Glass Houses
Louise Penny’s Three Pines series and her character Armand Gamache are familiar friends to me by now. I love how Penny approaches the nature of artifice. She builds a world, not unlike our own, but full of a gentle magic. Gamache and the community of Three Pines can be overcome by the dark things of the world and not be overwhelmed by them, at least not permanently overwhelmed. The answer to these dark, terrible acts is always the rise of something good - joining in community, forgiveness, and grappling with trauma through art and poetry.
Favorite Horror
Felix Blackwell’s Stolen Tongues
This is a scary one. There is a haunting and a monster, and it reads really well on audiobook. I highly suggest the audiobook version since the horror is so related to what can be heard.
Favorite Fantasy
Steven King’s Fairytale
This is a portal fantasy that theorizes about the nature of…stories? The hero’s journey? It’s quite a fun, easy listen (audiobook) for those who like to be a little disturbed. I’ll also say that King knows how to pull at a person’s heartstrings, but I think almost crying at certain parts is probably a requirement of most good books.
Favorite Odd One
Erin Sterling’s The Ex Hex
I don’t usually read romance or urban fantasy. That’s just not where I gravitate toward. However, this book is both. I was reading (audiobook) a lot of intense thrillers with world-ending consequences and suddenly felt I needed to read something with lower stakes. This fit the bill and was a truly enjoyable read/listen. It’s an enemies to lovers romance, and both parties grow to become better versions of themselves and deal with old sore spots and past personal issues.
PS. I also self-published another notebook. Check it out :)