lou's library

As we’re entering the last quarter of the year, it’s time to figure out which books I still wanna read in 2024 and to look ahead to the next year (I can literally not tell you where the last nine months went, but here we are) Books Unbound (my favourite bookish podcast!!) recently did the End of the Year Book tag in one of their episodes and encouraged their listeners to join in, so here’s my version of it!

Are there any books you started this year that you need to finish?

Ahem, yes. I started Jill Lepore’s These Truths at the start of the year, managed to read about 200 pages of this absolute door stopper and then (very willingly) got distracted by another book. But I’m determined to finish it this year because it is about the American constitution and the history of the US and with the presidential election coming up in November, now really is the time to read it. And so far, the book has been written in a very accessible and enlightening way, so it’s not like I’ve been suffering my way through it. It’s just a lot to take in and the plan was to take only a short break from reading it before tackling the next 200 pages. Fast foward six months and I haven’t made any progress at all. Ooops. But all is not lost yet, I still have three months to read the rest and I shall try my very best to succeed!!

Do you have an autumnal book to transition into the end of the year?

About five years ago I read The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins for a university seminar and loved it. I’ve been meaning to reread it for quite a while now and as it’s a mystery novel about a woman who escaped from an asylum, I think it might be a very fitting read for autumn. Other than that, I have been reading Mansifield Park by Jane Austen (also a reread), because there is something inexplicably cosy about Jane Austen’s novels to me that just screams autumn/winter. There’s nothing better than cuddling up on the sofa with a cup of tea, reading about silly women getting married off to silly men.

Is there a new release you’re still waiting for?

Did someone say Intermezzo by Sally Rooney??? I am counting the days till I can finally get my hands on this book (along with anyone else remotely interested in literature)!!!!!! Sally aside, I also can’t wait for the final book in Kerstin Gier’s Vergissmeinnicht series. She’s a German author whose young adult fantasy books have been translated into English. The third book will be released on 26 November and I shall, run, not walk to the bookstore!!! 

What are three books you want to read before the end of the year?

Okay, so I’ve been saying that I want to read The Lord of the Rings for an age and a half now, and maybe it’s just time to stop dillydallying and do it?? Maybe reading the entire thing this year is a tad optimisitc, but surely I can manage the first book (I have the edition that’s split into three separate books)??? Watch me not read a single sentence of this book anytime soon, lol.

Other than that, I would love to read George Orwell’s Essays, because I love his writing and have not read anything by him in a hot minute. Also, I just have this feeling I will love his essays, so I’m really not sure why I am depriving myself of all this joy here. I should just get on with it!!

The third book I really want to read this year is Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas. It’s the final book in the Throne of Glass series, which I started earlier this year. Finishing this series in 2024 would be neat, and would also mean I would finally be able to read another fantasy series again (looking at you, Lord of the Rings!!). My brain can’t deal with multiple fantasy books at once, so I really have to finish this series before I can start something else. Also, I do really wanna know how it all ends. I can smell some serious trauma and heartbreak incoming. Not sure I’m ready.

Is there a book you think could still shock you and become your favourite book of the year?

Hmmm, I’ve read some absolute bangers this year and am not sure what book could compete with those ones. I mean, I’m fully prepared for Intermezzo by Sally Rooney to blow my mind, obviously. But there’s also one of the books I bought in Prague in August, which I know nothing about but have a slight suspicion might just be fantastic. It’s called I Served the King of England (strong contender for best book title I came across this year) by Bohumil Hrabal and apparently is a Czech classic. I’m ready to have my mind blown by it (or perhaps at this point my expectations are so high I can only be disappointed?).

Have you already started making reading plans for next year?

YES. I love making plans, and reading plans especially! A few years ago I set the goal to read 100 books in a year and that was the most stressed out I ever was. I did reach the goal (read the hundreth book on New Year’s Eve, didn’t I), but I hated how it took the joy out of reading and meant I hardly read any long books for fear of taking too long to finish them. Ever since then, I never set a reading goal connected to an amount of books again, but I still count all the books I read in a year. And in 2025, I want to try and care even less about that. In fact, I want to tackle some really long books that I have been dying to read for years, but never have. I’m looking at you, War and Peace, Middlemarch, and (let’s face it, I won’t have read it by next year) Lord of the Rings!! I’m coming to get you in 2025!!!!

So, those are my answers! Do let me know what you’re planning to read in the last quarter of the year!! Autumnal reading suggestions are highly appreciated!! ❤