My 2024 Reading Challenge

So each year I set myself a book challenge. Usually it’s to read 60 books per year, which I track on Goodreads. Usually I hit the target, with a few books either side of 60. Sometimes I throw in an additional challenge, like in 2022 when I banned myself from buying books (which led to more borrows from the library, but did put a small dent in my TBR {to be read} pile). But it’s become evident to me that my TBR pile (which, honestly, is numerous shelves, definitely bigger than a pile) has got a little out of hand…

…As became evident when I decided to count all my books. It turns out that out of the (gulp) 337 book I own, I’ve not read (bigger gulp) 182 of them. Now, I feel I need to explain my excessive book hoarding a little. Firstly, there’s one bookcase that’s a big set of classic hardback books that I bought for a tenner on eBay back in 2010ish (and then phoned my mum to get her to collect in the boot of her car because the seller lived the next town along from her). And the excessive number is also partly due to a local charity shop that for a while was selling five books for £1… I couldn’t resist. But, in all honesty, it’s gluttony. I don’t need that many books. I can’t possibly read that many books… Or can I? 

The trouble I have is that when I see a book I see all its potential. What hours of pleasure might lie between those pages? What gem of a phrase might lurk there? What ‘ah, I thought I was the only one!’ moment might I miss if I don’t pick up that book? So it’s part gluttony and part FOMO. And the FOMO is getting me now right in my own home – I know lots of the books I own will be brilliant, but I don’t always pick them up. I mean, who really is ever in the mood to read Moby Dick? And some books I know I’m going to love, but I feel like I need to save them for when I really need an excellent read. 

So, my plan for 2024 is this: not only am I going to not buy any books, but I’m also going to start working through every book I own in alphabetical order. No impulse-reserving at the library, just focusing on powering through my list. I’ve made a spreadsheet, I’ve alphabetised it, and I mean business. Starting with Nick Hornby’s About a Boy, and finishing with Robert Lacey and Danny Danziger’s Year 1000, The – I’m going to simply read through the list, whether I feel like reading the next book or not. I’ve alphabetised by title rather than author so I don’t get stuck in an authorial rut. 

However, to help me best stick to this challenge, I’ve allowed myself the following exceptions: Where a book is part of a series, but a later book in the series is alphabetically before an earlier (unread) book in the series, I’ll read the earlier book first. Also, where a book has been picked for my book club, I’ll allow myself to get it from the library or (gasp, again!) buy a copy and break my trajectory for the sake of book club. (Will somebody PLEASE think of the BOOK CLUB?!) And my third exception is that I will allow myself an out-of-order bedtime comfort read. Likely Little House on the Prairie or something by L. M. Montgomery. If I happen to be on a Stephen King novel, I don’t want to be reading that right before bed, thank you very much. 

Actually, there’s a fourth exception too… Christian books. I read a lot of these, and always have them on the go alongside whatever novel/history/short stories I’m currently reading, and I’ll carry on with those in the same vein because (get this)… I haven’t included Christian nonfiction in my list of 337 books. I know. I’ve got a problem. This is my attempt at tackling it. 

Here are some thoughts as I embark on this challenge:

1. I’m excited to read some books I just haven’t got to, despite owning them for years.
2. I think the juxtaposition of what I happen to read because of the alphabet is going to be really interesting.
3. I’m really glad Ulysses is quite far down the alphabet and that won’t be 2024’s problem. 

Will I allow myself to DNF (did not finish)? Yes – I think I will. Though I rarely do this, anyway. Any DNFs I’ll rehome and they won’t be part of my TBR any more. Sorted. 

Anybody else up for this challenge with me? Let me know if you are! I’d love to compare notes along the way!

My 2023 in Books

2023 has been quite a year for me in terms of reading, having read 81 books by mid December! My target for the last few years has been 60 books per year, and I usually manage a few either side of that. This year was different though, mostly because of the DYCP grant I received from the Arts Council England in September 2022 to work on flash fiction for a year. So I was able to dedicate more time than usual both to writing flash and to reading all the flash I could lay my hands on, as well as guides to the craft of writing. My figure of 81 books is a little artificially high due to the fact that many of the books I read were very short ones! So what were some highlights?

Let’s start with flash fiction. I read some fantastic flash collections, including The Woman’s Part by Jo Gatford (a collection of erasure poems and flashes written from the point of view of Shakespeare’s women), 100neHundred by Laura Besley (exactly 100 hundred-word stories), I Wanted to be Close to You by Katie Oliver (flash and longer stories themed around plants, motherhood and the surreal), Alligators at Night by Meg Pokrass (a real flash fiction pro – Pokrass is fearless!), and Love Stories for Hectic People by Catherine McNamara (all love stories, all wildly different). Buy yourself a Christmas present and snuggle up with one of these collections to be inspired by the greats of flash. 

I also had the privilege, thanks to my grant, of being able to buy and read a number of novellas-in-flash, something that’s been enormously helpful as I’ve been putting together my own. How to Make a Window Snake by Charmaine Wilkerson, Joanna Campbell and Ingrid Jendrzejewski contains three different but moving novellas-in-flash, which won the Bath novella-in-flash award. If There is no Shelter by Tracey Slaughter tells the tales of people trying to put their lives together after disaster has struck their city. Agua Viva by Clarice Lispector is a very early novella-in-flash that reads like a dream. It’s best read in one breathless sitting. Hairy on the Inside by Tracy Fells was so much fun! It tells the stories of a group of monster housemates (literally, vampire and werewolf type monsters) living through the Covid lockdowns. My Very End of the Universe contains five different novellas in flash, all of which are moving and exquisitely observed. The Regeneration of Stella Yin by Kristen Loesch was I think my favourite novella-in-flash this year; it’s just so clever! Loesch tackles issues of grief, family strain and what it is to be human, in a world where AI and virtual reality have reached unprecedented heights. Kipris by Michelle Christophorou conjures its Cyprus setting so gorgeously, whilst a teenager strives for independence. Finally, We the Animals by Justin Torres nearly broke me with its childhood trauma and the echoes it has on human lives. 

Phew. Told you it had been quite a year for books! Short story collections I’ve loved this year have included Lisa Schneidau’s Woodland Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland, Words from a Glass Bubble by Vanessa Gebbie, Of Myths and Mothers collated by Fly on the Wall press, Birds of America by Lorrie Moore, and Fen by Daisy Johnson. So many of these stories I wish I’d written myself. I’ve definitely gleaned tons of story writing tips from this glut. 

I’ve also read an unusual (for me) number of books on the craft of writing this year, and though I may do a separate post on excellent craft titles in future, here are some of my highlights this year. Michael Loveday’s Unlocking the Novella-in-Flash is a game changer for anyone wanting to write their own novella-in-flash, or who is simply curious about the genre. Reverse Engineering by Tom Conaghan was fascinating. He’s collated a set of short stories and then interviewed the author of each about how the story came about. Writing the Uncanny by Dan Coxon and Richard V. Hirst was a fascinating read all about what makes scary things scary… or creepy, or unsettling, or just ‘not quite right’. Going Short by Nancy Stohlman is the best introduction to flash fiction I could recommend. Not only does she unpack what makes flash fiction what it is, but she is full of advice on how to write it so it’s the best it can be. I recommend this book to all writers, actually, as the techniques gleaned will make all writing stronger. I’ve even urged my husband to read it to help with his sermon writing! 

There have been some really disappointing reads this year too. I started off the year with Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James and I felt really let down – beloved characters felt poorly handled, and to me it seemed like there were plot holes, and I found I couldn’t actually care about the plot. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus was a disappointing read too, after all the hype. I did enjoy parts of it, and loved the premise, but the prose was so preachy and I found the narration distractingly anachronistic. Yellowface by R.F. Kuang, too, was a novel that divided me. It was clever and undoubtedly well written, tackling important issues, but again I felt the author’s point came across as too didactic, and her main character was somewhat of a caricature. 

Other great fiction to note: Lionheart Girl by Yaba Badoe, a YA novel set in West Africa about a teenage girl asking questions about family, friendship and love, with lots of magic. A Wild & True Relation by Kim Sherwood – historical fiction with smugglers, a young girl disguised as a boy, rivalry, action and strong female characters. A Gentleman in Moscow I read for book club and was surprised how much I enjoyed this story that I wouldn’t usually have chosen: a literal gentleman is under house arrest in a grand hotel in Moscow during the 1920s-50s. A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan was like a novel-in-flash. Told through multiple perspectives, this was a fun romp through divergent lives and where choices can lead you. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton was a stunning tale of teen rivalry told with such a fantastic voice. The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell was of course great.

Let me finish by gushing about Shark Heart by Emily Habeck for a bit. This book totally took me by surprise. It’s the story of a woman whose husband gradually turns into a shark. Yes it’s surreal, but more than that it’s completely moving and strangely believable. This, too, reads like a novel-in-flash, and also play excerpts. Truly original, I think this is my number one recommendation of the year, though not my highest rated, just because it’s unlike anything else I’ve read. 

If you’re keen to support local book shops, why not check out my list of books I’ve enjoyed this year at Bookshop.org. It contains many books I’ve mentioned here, and some others, and shopping online through my list gives money to a book shop near you, as well as giving me a small commission too. 

So, I hope you enjoy the rest of 2023, and that you’ve also read some great books this year. I would love to hear your thoughts on any of the books I’ve mentioned here! 

We the Animals by Justin Torres

My rating: 4/5 stars

This is an incredibly moving novella in flash about growing up impoverished, mixed race and with young, turbulent parents in New York state. Told through the voice of a young boy, this is an uncomfortable read, with each page full of trauma and stolen innocence. The paired-back language and viewpoint make this bearable, but even so, something dark and sexual lurks in the shadows, sometimes more visible, sometimes less, but always there. This culminates at the climax as we see the fallout of all this built-up trauma.

Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake

My rating: 4/5 stars

This was such a fascinating book! Sheldrake is a biologist who specialises in fungi, and in this nonfiction book he explores how fungi affect so many parts of human, plant and animal life. From the disgusting and macabre to the beautiful and ‘intelligent’, the variety of fungi and what they’re able to achieve is astounding. I found my interest waned a little past the half-way mark, but Sheldrake did capture again with his lighthearted but insightful prose. I know I’ll be talking about this book for ages!

Shark Heart: A Love Story by Emily Habeck

My rating: 4/5 stars

This novel was surreal and moving. When they’ve not long been married, Wren’s husband is given the diagnosis that he’s mutating into a great white shark. The book, told through flashes and play exerpts, feels much more heartbreaking than gimmicky, and there is so much hope woven in the pages. At first I didn’t like the jolt back in time to Wren’s mother as a teen, but I quickly warmed to her and loved the familial strands that gather through the plot — it’s all more interconnected than I’d first thought. A beautiful read.

Love Stories for Hectic People by Catherine McNamara

My rating: 4/5

This flash fiction collection is all love stories: romances, marriages and affairs. McNamara’s writing is sharp and insightful, her imagination wide ranging. I was impressed by the scope of these stories and how the author conjures the flavour of a number of different countries. Not all the stories to my taste, and quite a few of them were uncomfortable to read, but each story got me to feel something — usually quite strongly — and that’s a skill I really admire