#3 Lyndsay's Library - My reading list to kick start 2024
Plus a few recent reads. And an invitation to share your book recommendations!
Hello and welcome back to the third edition of Lyndsay’s Library!
How the devil are you? How has your year of reading began? I hope it’s been more successful than mine! I actually feel quite sad that I haven’t been able to read as much as I would like, forgetting how much working full time takes out of your life. I did read a couple of books in December and into January which I will share with you, along with what I’m currently reading. I also wanted to share my book list for the start of the new year: books I’m excited about, books I’ve stumbled across, books I’ve been recommended.
Let’s get into it …
My recent reads
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara - Wow this book was good. It’s pretty long with complex issues tackled but oh so good. Whilst I was reading it I felt simultaneously like I never wanted it to end and also wanting it to end to stop the pain for the characters (and because I just needed to know how it all ended!). I know this book receives a lot of praise and I’m in complete agreement. In a nutshell it follows the lives of four male friends living in New York. It spans decades, from their college years to old age, with each of them having a unique story to tell. But it is Jude who has the biggest secret of all and the one whose story is at the core of the novel. It’s a book which, I think, will stay with you for a very long time.
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann - I wanted to read this before watching the film, which I still haven’t got around to watching due to it’s 3.5 hours running time. I enjoyed learning the story of the Osage Indians in 1920’s America, the murders which happened as a result of the Indian’s settling on a gold mine of oil production, and the creation of the FBI as they attempted to solve the mystery murders and the conspiracy attached to them.
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch - I couldn’t put this down, to the point where I would finish work and want to pick it up straight away. I’m a sucker for a dystopian novel and this didn’t disappoint. It tells the story of Eilish Stack, her husband and their four children, as they navigate a changing dynamic of power and the subsequent tyranny in Ireland. Eilish has to fight for survival, of herself, of her family, of the country she calls home whilst watching the world she knows crumbling around her.
I’ve just started reading Homecoming by Kate Morton. I actually spied this in Waterstones on a recent day out to Harrogate with my mum. The blurb on the back is what encouraged me to give it a try ….
I’m also reading Unlocking Your Authentic Self by Jennifer Hunt which is about overcoming impostor syndrome, enhancing self-confidence, and banishing self-doubt. I’ve never felt more seen when reading a book, especially when you are asked if any of the statements resonate with you. Hello, Imposter Syndrome tendencies! This is one of the things I want to work on improving about myself this year so what better way to start 2024?!
And now here is what is on my current reading list …
I hope you find some inspiration for your own reading list and I would also love to know what is on your reading list for 2024 so please drop me a note in the comments below! 💜
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke - I haven’t read much fantasy but this one definitely sounds intriguing so I’m going to give it a go.
If I Can’t Have You by Charlotte Levin - Reviews have described this novel as a dark tale of obsession, love and betrayal. I’m in!
I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith - Cassandra Mortmain, a 17 year old girl living in mid-1930s England in a crumbling castle, tells her story in the form of her journal entries.
Summer People by Elin Hilderbrand - this sounds to me like a pleasantly easy holiday read!
You Are Here by David Nicholls - this one isn’t out until April but a love story by David Nicholls sounds like perfection to me.
Trust by Hernan Diaz - a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a wealthy 1920s couple and their challenges with money, power and intimacy.
Wellness by Nathan Hill - a novel about modern married life, reviewers are already calling it a modern classic.
A couple of other things …
There are SO many good Substacks on books but I wanted to mention one in particular.
as part of her Substack releases a weekly article called “Receipt from the bookshop” and I love it! It’s such a joy to read, making me laugh each week which also providing me with lots of reading inspiration! I would highly recommend you checking it out.I should mention too that I’ve been introduced to the work of Mary Oliver as my mum bought me this lovely gift for Christmas. When I sit myself down at my desk to start work, I sometimes find myself opening a random page, reading the poem from it and enjoying the perfection of the words 💜
I hope you enjoyed this edition of Lyndsay’s Library! I’m hoping to get these out on a monthly basis. If there is anything you would like me to cover in these posts please drop me a note below.
Much love always xx
Ooooooh, you've made some exciting recommendations here, Lyndsay - thank you! The only one of your listed books which I've read already is 'I Capture the Castle', which is wonderful.
I've just started my first Anne Tyler - 'A Spool of Blue Thread'. I'd listened to an edition of 'A Good Read' on BBC Radio 4 which featured her novel 'Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant', and the reviewers drew a comparison with Tyler and Mary Lawson, whose books I love. I haven't got my hands on 'Dinner' yet, but was really pleased last month to pick up Tyler's 'A Spool of Blue Thread' at a secondhand bookshop, and although I've only just started it I'm enjoying it. Well, perhaps not as much as 'Crow Lake' or 'Road Ends' by Lawson, but so far, so good!
I have never read anything as original as Piranesi. It's a short book so you should prioritize it!