The Best Book I will read in 2024! - Recent Reads 

Thanks you for kind message Scott. I'm so glad you enjoyed I Who Have Never Known Men. It's so rare to see a Belgian novel to have such a wide audience.

I was very interested to hear your take on The Berry Pickers. I am intrigued by that one. Fantastic reviews as always.

I bought Forbidden Notebook on the Booktubers meet up in London so glad to hear it was a success for you. I am much intrigued by I Who Have Never Known Men. I loved Penance but have been hesitant about Boy Parts. Thanks as ever for your frank reviews.

Golf!😱 Quinn sounds really interesting. Penance was one of my best reads last year, so I should read Boy Parts especially after such high praise!

Based on your recommendation, I just finished The Berry Pickers and it was a beautiful read. Thank you!

Stone Yard Devotional sounds so interesting, won't lie! You had SUCH a good way to bring out a point I totally forgot in my review of "the Berry pickers" I loved that it addressed those who were left behind as so many of the stories that are coming out about those travesties are from those who were placed in residential schools or taken away, not the other half. And if it is a half it's usually focused on a singular mother or grandmother when part of the tragedy is the familial and communal bonds destroyed. Very sad to hear that "The Things We Didn't Know" was just okay. My ears always pick up when I hear PR and I've seen the aspect of being too American for PR and too latino for america explored before but I'm always curious as there are so many sub identities in both places. And I hadn't been aware of the trans relative aspect. Definitely still interested but will tamper expectations. The irony of me buying "I who have never known men" even though I couldn't join the group? Never got it XD Got an email from seller. there was a warehouse error. got refund, but totally forgot to go get another copy. thanks for the reminder.

Loved the DNF rants! I absolutely lost it when you said doofus!!!! 😂 and of course, I immediately added the good books to my TBR. Great video!

Forbidden Notebook was my favourite classic of last year and I remember thinking I hoped you picked it because I thought you would enjoy the layers and depth.

I have had I Who Have Never Known Men on my TBR for a while now but I am going to move it up the list! Great reviews

So glad to hear you loving I Who Have Never Known Men. It has so much. Love this book!

Oh no!! I loved such a fun age so much and was so excited for come and get it :( it's waiting for me on my shelf but I am... less excited now. I skipped the opportunity to get a copy for family meal and I think I made the right choice as I don't have time for medicore reads anymore. I dnfed the beekeeper of aleppo and also unhauled the book of fire unread because it just looked medicore and I would read it and forget it. And again, don't really have time for that in my reading life unfortunately :/ Sugar baby is one I have on my kindle and as someone who didn't like luster at all, I'm hoping that I would be able to enjoy sugar baby more. It sounds like it is trying to highlight the multi-faceted elements to our personalities that people like to simplify due to a person's circumstance. I who have never known men is on my list of books to get to at some point. I have not heard a single thing against it, and praise from you as well! I have penance so I am going to read that first. But if I like it, then I will go on to read boy parts next.

Yes. Plz make a full video on I Who Have Never Known Men.

I felt exactly the same about Family Meal. I thought based on the premise it would for sure be a favourite of the year but like you said it fell a bit flat. I would still try more from Washington as I enjoyed Memorial much more. I couldn’t click completely with Close to Home and the way you talked about it have made me realised why. So thank you. I would called that you would have loved Boy parts. I wouldn’t be one for me as I don’t like bodily fluids etc in books but pleased you loved it 😊

“I think Dan Brown is more accurate” that’s a zinger 😂😂😂

I’m glad I’m not crazy about Come & Get It. It did evoke flashbacks of dorm life, but that stopped being interesting after a few pages. I really disliked it, but finished because I wanted to know if she got her house 😂Simon Savidge also adored I Who Have Never Known Men. I really liked Sugar, Baby but agree the tension play was strange. I’m looking forward to more of her work, and I’m also in the “love it” camp considering Luster by Leilani. I’m so glad to be here, you deserve a ton of patrons 😊❤

My husband is golf mad. It happened about 2 years ago and it's just started happening to me. This week I signed up for a block of golf lessons (I KNOW!!) so your golf joke had me laughing! I have only read (and loved) The Forbidden Notebook. I found it quite engrossing. Lots of other great recs here. I am only hearing amazing things about I Who Have Never Known Men and I know I would probably enjoy it but for some reason the premise just doesn't excite me. Think I need to be in the right mood for it. Thanks again, Scott!

I quite enjoyed The Berry Pickers!

“How can you write a book about Georgia without Georgia in it”. 😂 The Berry Pickers is one I want to check out. I Who Have Never Known is waiting for me. I cannot wait to get to it. 😊💙

I just bought Hard by a Great Forest before seeing your scathing review...

Completely agree about Hard by a Great Forest. So much potential that I was looking forward to but ultimately just very underwhelmed.

I who never known men was so intriguing. One of my best books of the year so far. I have just finished Penance by Eliza Clark and should have been on the Women’s Prize in my opinion.

You grossly overestimated the speed at which I can read a cereal box. Now I have the unfortunate imagine of Dan Brown having a wank on a book while reading Sherlock Holmes in my head. Thanks a lot Scott. Sorry to hear about the he Bryan Washington. Sorry about the mice/rats. I feel the same about lizards/geckos. Hey, we agree about Luster. I didn’t know that. Brilliant review of I Who Have Never Known Men. Not sure I’m a big a fan of darkness to enjoy Boy Parts as much as you.

I liked that there is a character named Lindy in Berry Pickers… but I found Peters’ writing style irritating. Example: “The room was too small for all the people in it. It smelled slightly of mould, the kind that comes with old houses, houses that hold happiness and grief in the walls. Houses where laughter has been absorbed into the cracks in the plaster and tears have washed the floors many times over.” [There were probably mice in that house too. 😉]

yes please do a full review of women who have never known men..i didn't find eileen too tame so maybe body parts will have to wait a bit before and if i'm ready for it.

I also ended up dnfing hard by a great forest despite being a book I thought I'd love

Hard by a Great Forest brings Tbilisi and its people alive for the reader. I wish you liked it more.

The two books I’ve read on the list Close To Home Stone Yard Devotional I’d recommend both. April was in the past #aussieapril run by Jacklyn @sixminutesforme. I still read Aussie books in April. Video idea? Best Aussie literature in past 25yrs? The Berry Pickers & I Who Never Known Men are on my TBR

We’ve fallen into our old habits once again. I’ve read Boy Parts and…

I plan on reading more fictitious dystopian stories about our possible future, but then I decide to switch off the news! Best wishes.

I felt the same way about Stone Yard Devotional - it was good but not as great as I thought it might be.

I'm full of feminist rage, too. :) I've always viewed sexuality as a social construct. I can't wait to read that book. Thanks for bringing those last two to my attention. We have such similar tastes. Or rather, we tend to gravitate toward the same books even if our reactions might be different. I'm grateful for your Patreon. I love how it opens my eyes to things I may not have considered previously. And I'm going to read Blue Cobalt even if it doesn't win.

I’m a Fien for your content 😂

Had you not liked I Who Have Never Known Men, I would have seriously questioned all of your bookish opinions. 😉 It’s such a great book.

I was waiting to see what you were going to do with Come and Get It. It was awful. I read the whole thing and it did not get any better. Very disappointing because I really enjoyed Such A Fun Age. Perhaps this is the result of pressure to publish a second novel?

I had a feeling Kiley Reid would be on the bottom of your list. I’ve soft DNFd for now. I love her dialogue and character work but this one is a bit of a slog. I’m hoping it comes together at the end.