books I've read so far in 2024

aka me trying to convince you to read fiction

There are photos of me, in one of those absurdly large photo albums that fill the cupboards of our parents home, properly retro now with the plastic sheets sticking together, pictures of us as children in neon colours, bright, shiny eyes. Me, with long, dark red hair, before it got lighter with sun and salt water and age.

In the photos I am often reading. There is one photo of me, asleep, with a cardboard picture book, almost half the size of my body, open, covering my entire face. I remember one day, walking out of the bathroom after taking a shower, not a bath, with a book in my hand. My mother looking at me with an appropriate level of okay no that’s insane.

In my early years of teaching yoga and discovering self-discovery as if striking gold, I stopped reading fiction almost entirely. I categorised it as a waste of time. I already felt behind in almost every area of life. I had so much catching up to do. I had SO much to read about yoga and spirituality and making myself better - how could I possibly justify sinking hours into stories about talking cats or lovers or nothing at all? It hurts my heart, but it seems almost a right of passage, to at first lose yourself entirely in the pursuit of being healed, yogic, entrepreneurial: whatever it is, until you come out through the other side and realise those parts of yourself, those things you loved, were always there for a reason, and were never frivolous, or to be ignored.

I still enjoy reading non-fiction and books on yoga and spirituality. You can find some of my long term favourites here, but last year I made a point of returning to my love for fiction and I am SO glad I did.

Primarily, I’ve been grateful to have an outlet for relaxation consumption (aka gentle escapism) that is not screen based (okay I do read on a kindle but it is VASTLY different to watching something on a screen) but surprisingly, I have found I learn just as much through fiction as I do through a book that is actively trying to teach me something.

I’ll admit (while cringing) I was afraid that if I read fiction for a year I would ‘fall behind’. In what exactly, I’m not sure. It takes time to shake, this belief that we’re only allowed happiness and success if we’re constantly running toward it at full speed without pause.

People always ask my recommendations for books on Rest, and are frequently unimpressed when I say: I think it’s just better to actually start doing short rest practices first (the disappointment is palpable, I’m telling you) but perhaps, my answer now is to pick up a fiction book instead, as a starting point. To read something you love will relax your body more than reading a whole book of telling you why relaxation is good.

Why don’t we just see it for ourselves first?

Below, the books I have read so far in 2024, in order from most recent to least. As I mention below, I often start books and put them back down if they don’t grab me, so thats why most of these have positive reviews.

---

“we do not have to conform to the way our life has been written for us, especially by those who are less imaginative than ourselves.”
― Deborah Levy, Real Estate:

Currently Reading: Real Americans Rachel Khong

Including this because I already know it’s going to be a favourite. I LOVE a multi-generational story (wild swans was one of the first books I remember falling in love with as a teenager, I could write a whole substack on all my favourite multi-generational novels and it would be a mile long). The writing in this is poetic and blunt (made me think so much about what we talked about in the poetry workshop) while being addictive and hard to put down. I’m about 3/4 of the way through but feel comfortable in recommending it already.

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop Satoshi Yagisawa

I saw this in a kinokuniya here in Tokyo sometime last year and downloaded it on my kindle. I read a few pages before getting bored (this happens to me a lot, I have zero shame in not finishing a book and honestly, I very, very often go back to them at another time). This one hit me like before the coffee turns cold: on first glance it seemed basic, unintelligent almost, but recently I sat down and read it in an afternoon and it was exactly what I needed. Sometimes, novels are escapes just like binging a series or scrolling on instagram, but the effect on the whole body and nervous system is a balm. The book is nothing mind blowing but if you love Japan and books and gentle romance, it is a cute one.

Butter Asako Yuzuki

Butter, on the other hand is a must read.