I can't tell you exactly how many books have been published this month alone, but I can guarantee one thing: it's a lot.
I've made it through 30 books on my reading list this year, some recent, others years-old. Between work, raising three sons and keeping up a social life, that's not half bad in nine months, if I say so myself.
But if you're a casual reader, especially one who likes to genre-switch between books like me, and overwhelmed by the BookTok chatter, here are my recommendations of stand-out titles.
Disney Adults: Exploring (and Falling in Love with) a Magical Subculture, AJ Wolfe
Read if: You want something fresh off the printing press
Being a Disney adult (that’s a grown-up who is obsessed with everything to do with the Mouse House) may not be particularly niche, but my (unhealthy-ish) obsession with such people certainly is.
However, you don’t need to overthink why grown-ups spend a lot of their time and disposable income on weekly theme park visits, films, collectibles, costumes and roomfuls of pricy merch, to find this deep dive into an unignorable cultural phenomenon and economic force fascinating.
There’s no snark here, which I appreciated. Rather, this is a thoughtful exploration of what Disney means to an array of people, and Wolfe herself is a proud Disney adult who has been running the popular Disney Food Blog since 2009, making her one of the original influencers.
If you’ve ever looked at a fandom with absolute incredulity, wondering how, what and why, this book is a great place to start. Even as a Disney-ambivalent, I loved it.
The Guest List, Lucy Foley
Read if: You want an easy thriller
I’m not really a troubled-detective-hunts-serial-killer fan, but I do enjoy a dip in the waters of the thriller genre every now and then.
The Guest List is set on a remote Irish island on which a celebrity-ish wedding is taking place between a digital magazine editor and her TV adventurer Bear Grylls-like fiance. Written in first person, each chapter shifts between the perspectives of guests, wedding planners and the island owners and hosts.
There’s Hannah, who is pretty sure her boyfriend is in love with the bride; Jules, the bride who's having reservations about the guests she’s invited; and Johnno, who doesn’t seem to like the groom, despite being his best friend and best man.
As the night goes on, there’s a murder, but between the confused guests and the storm front moving in, no one seems to know who has been killed or why.
Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel
Read if: You want to tick off a modern classic
Yes, this was written in 2009; yes, I only just got around to reading it and quite frankly I refuse to be judged for it because there’s no time frame for literature. This is also probably a good time to confess that I only watched Titanic last year, and that came out 28 years ago.
The first novel in Mantel’s double Booker prize-winning trilogy is an absolute triumph, not only for fans of historical fiction, but also for those who like to feel truly immersed when reading a novel to the extent of practically being able to smell the scenes coming off the pages.
Mantel’s spare yet descriptive writing takes you deep into the heart of Henry VIII’s cutthroat court as he splits with the Roman Catholic Church over his desire to divorce his first wife Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn. At that very dark heart, we find the protagonist Thomas Cromwell, the intelligent, unscrupulous, grudge-holding, jaw-droppingly wily architect of the English Reformation who will stop at nothing to become one of the most powerful men in England, second only to Henry.
Online one-star reviewers who claim to be “baffled” by the book’s popularity are deeply wrong, and should have their novel-reading privileges revoked.
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind and Body in the Healing of Trauma, Bessel van der Kolk
Read if: You want to be in the self-help know
Firstly, this penchant for overly long book titles needs to take a break (see also the Disney book above), and secondly, on the rare occasion I step out of my fiction comfort zone, it’s usually into the biographical or historical genre as opposed to self-help. But here we are.
To date, this book has spent over 250 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List with reviewers calling it “life-changing”. While I don’t necessarily share that level of hyperbole, the thoroughness of Kolk’s research is fascinatingly undeniable and I found myself nodding along far more often than I imagined I would.
Kolk offers scientifically backed advice and solutions (a bold move in our world of half-baked viral theories and TikTok trends) and discusses treatments that, if they were presented by such-and-such health-fluencer, I would baulk at. But, Kolk has put in the work, and it shows.
Listen For the Lie, Amy Tintera
Read if: You're seeking out a podcasting page turner
Ever since Only Murders in the Building became a huge hit, books featuring a crime-solving podcaster as the protagonist seem to be everywhere.
In Listen for the Lie, Ben Owens might not be the main character, but he is the podcaster picking through the evidence of an unsolved murder for his salivating fans to discuss whether Lucy Chase really did kill her best friend years ago.
After Owens dredges up the cold case, Chase loses her job, her boyfriend and her home in quick succession, forcing her to return to the scene of the crime, her hometown, to live with her parents and face a divided townsfolk who remain sceptical of her claim that she doesn’t remember what happened that night.
Chase is an interesting character, in that she’s not particularly sympathetic and constantly makes inappropriate jokes that hint at a dark side. Where many novels of this ilk falter, Tintera maintains the did-she-didn’t-she? puzzle right up to the end.
