I loved reading as a child. Sheila McCullagh’s books, especially, dominate with much emotional resonance my fondest childhood memories of reading. My interest switched to film, however, around the age of 10, when I had a bit more agency over what I could watch and when I could watch it.
When I got into university in my mid-teens (long story) to study literature, my love for reading was revived. Not only did I start reading the classics that we were studying in my courses, but being a little older and no longer confined by what was assigned to us in high school (boring stuff that I don’t even remember), I realized that I could now read “grown-up” books, ones that I could choose for myself, like the ones that my favourite films were based on (e.g. Fried Green Tomatoes, The Color Purple, Beloved, The Hours, Rabbit-Proof Fence, etc.), or some of Oprah’s book club selections (e.g. The Deep End of the Ocean, Drowning Ruth, The Poisonwood Bible, etc.), and so on.
When I went to do my graduate degree in the States, and for the following 10 years, not having a set routine for it, I dipped in and out of reading for pleasure, which to me means getting lost in fictional narratives. There were times when I went months without reading anything, and then months when I relished in having time to consume all that I could. For example, I read a whole bunch of Patricia Cornwell’s Scarpetta books while sitting in the back of the car on road trips with my family in the summer of 2006.
But over this past decade of my life, my relationship with reading became even more distant. Busy with work and much of what life has to throw at one, I barely read anything that didn’t have to do with personal growth and development, or building a creative/coaching business, or content creation, or client management, or marketing and branding…until I burned out and got sick of it all, and eventually, just the sight of a book became a turn off.
The connection I once had with my own joy of reading was all but forgotten.
Sometime in late 2023, I came across HBO’s His Dark Materials. I watched the first episode and found myself really enjoying it. Remembering that it was based on a series of books, I thought to myself, “This looks to be a great adaptation—how about I read the books, now that I’ve seen enough of the show’s visual world to draw on and fuel the imagination, then come back to watch it after completing the book series?”
I had done it 15 years ago with Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series—loved the original three books and loved the Noomi Rapace adaptations just as equally. Within myself, in that instant, a spark of something exciting was lit!
So, I found the first book, The Golden Compass, at a thrift store and started reading it…but life happened, as it does, and I had only gotten through a third of it before it was left untouched for many months…I’d pass by it often, sitting on my dresser, and wonder when I’d pick it up again.
Then in July of 2024 something clicked into place. I woke up one morning, made my daily matcha latte, picked up the somewhat-lately-abandoned book and sat down to read in the most natural way, as though I’d been doing it all my life. The habit stuck and I’ve not stopped since.
It has become my special time of solace and comfort at the start of each day. I had started waking up super early many months before, but I’d use the time to watch TV and catch up on the news on my phone, etc. On that particular summer day, however, without any thought given to it, I picked up a book instead. When all is dark and quiet outside, I now venture into worlds wondrous and wild, both stirring and soothing, whether trying and tragic, or uplifting and exciting. It has been an immeasurable gift to have those early morning hours to myself.
I’m not a very fast reader, and mainly just read for an hour or two in the morning. On average, it takes me one to two weeks to read a book, depending on its length.
I really wanted to write this post earlier in the year—I certainly hope that my 2025 reads post doesn’t take me ten months to write…I should probably start writing it now, actually—but here we are, and it’s okay.
So, starting in July, these are the books I read last year.
| Date Completed | Title | Author |
| 07. 17 | The Golden Compass | Philip Pullman |
| 07.27 | The Subtle Knife | Philip Pullman |
| 08.08 | The Amber Spyglass | Philip Pullman |
| 08.24 | The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi | Shannon Chakraborty |
| 08.31 | The Sea of Light | Jenifer Levin |
| 09.07 | Desert of the Heart | Jane Rule |
| 09.12 | Stir-Fry | Emma Donoghue |
| 09.22 | Fire Logic | Laurie J. Marks |
| 10.02 | Earth Logic | Laurie J. Marks |
| 10.10 | Water Logic | Laurie J. Marks |
| 10.18 | Air Logic | Laurie J. Marks |
| 10.26 | The Pull of the Stars | Emma Donoghue |
| 11.21 | This Is How You Lose the Time War | Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone |
| 11.29 | Upright Women Wanted | Sarah Gailey |
| 12.18 | A Memory Called Empire | Arkady Martine |
| 12.31 | A Desolation Called Peace | Arkady Martine |
Obligatory Note:
I find rating books really difficult. I don’t usually pick up books that I know nothing about, so the likelihood of not finishing them or not liking them is generally low. Still, I definitely appreciate some books more than others.
If any books in the above table are not referenced below, it’s probably because I found them averagely enjoyable, and not worth expanding on further due to neither loving nor hating them enough to do so.
His Dark Materials
Superb, I loved all three books! The HBO show was also really well done and I enjoyed it very much, but the books are definitely better (though that’s not always the case). Having said that, there is one major thing that the show significantly improved upon the books: the character of Mrs Coulter, played by Ruth Wilson.
Though the show was pretty faithful to the books, save a few minor changes, it felt like the show featured the character more prominently somehow, and Wilson, whom I’ve always found captivating, brought so much depth and complexity to Mrs Coulter, made her so much richer, that how she was written in the books seemed flat in comparison. So while the books are superior, I would wholeheartedly recommend that you watch the TV series for Ruth Wilson’s Mrs Coulter, if nothing else.
The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi
Loads of fun! Shove over, Sinbad, this is what historical fantasy on the high seas ought to be, and with a female captain at the helm to boot!
Sea of Light
I read this book 20 years ago and wanted to re-visit it. Well-written, with three narrators, each with a distinct voice.
Desert of the Heart
I have owned my copy of this lesbian classic for close to two decades, moving with me across two countries and three apartments, and remaining unread during all of it…until now. It was fantastic! Then I re-watched the movie, the last time I watched it being too long ago to remember any of it except for one or two pivotal parts, and it’s so different from the book and very much inferior to it that I’d say it is only loosely inspired by the novel. It may have a few solid scenes, and the two leads do have good chemistry, so there is that.
But honestly, read the book.
Stir-Fry and The Pull of the Stars
I also read Stir-Fry about 20 years ago and thought to give it another go. It was okay, not bad, but nothing special. I was quite moved by The Pull of the Stars, though. At times heavy/sad, it was also a very touching and gripping read.
Elemental Logic Series
I was in the mood for some traditional fantasy, with magic and the like, and vaguely remembered reading and liking Fire Logic and Earth Logic back in 2004 (before the following two books came out). I no longer had the two books I’d read in my possession, so I ordered myself the whole collection, now published by Small Beer Press. I really enjoyed this series! Putting it way too simply, it follows a group of (very imperfect) people as they resist their colonizers and quest to unite their peoples and restore peace to their land, set in a place where elemental magic is woven very smartly into the fabric of the world, and apart from an age difference in one of the primary relationships that was a little too great for my comfort, it was very engaging, and very queer, and just the sort of fantasy that I love. I would definitely recommend this series to epic fantasy enthusiasts.
However! So. Many. Typos. I counted 8 typos in the first book, 26 (!) in the second, 8 again in the third, and 11 in the fourth…and that’s just the ones I caught, I may have missed some. On top of that, I got my hands on and checked older versions of the first two books that were previously published by TOR (couldn’t help myself, I had to check), and the typos, the few I looked for, weren’t there. Weird, isn’t it, that typos would be introduced into new printings? They’re well-written books, so it’s can’t be a matter of overall writing quality.
I hate seeing good books marred by such issues that can so negatively impact the reading experience. I can only conclude that the editing and proofreading process was done poorly, if at all. I can understand low profit margins, and the need to exercise economy with copy editing matters, especially when it comes to small independent publishers such as this one who put out well-regarded lesser-known and award-winning works…but this many typos is hard for me to give a pass. It makes me wonder about the publisher’s catalogue as a whole, they have a couple of other books I’m interested in reading, I hate to say that I hesitate to buy from them again.
It’s all quite unfortunate, and makes me sad, and I’ve since learned that this publisher is now on indefinite hiatus.
This Is How You Lose the Time War
Excellent book! I would put it up there as one of my top favourites. I learned about it through various reading subs on Reddit. Many people were recommending it, and usually advised readers not to research the book and to simply dive in. Personally, I struggled with it in the beginning, I didn’t understand what was going on and couldn’t make sense of anything. Like, I was reading words, but I had no idea what anything meant! 😅 I kept going, and a few chapters in, things started to come together. I’m planning on a second read soon. Oh! Beautiful book! Highly recommended!
A Memory Called Empire / A Desolation Called Space
Another wonderfully entertaining read (as a duology)! A sci-fi series set in space, that deals with colonialism and political conquest, and themes of cultural and personal identity, and how they intersect with language and generational memory. Loved them both.
And that’s it for 2024!