I’m a little late to making this post, for which I heartily apologise.
I’ve actually been posting some monthly cultural roundups over at my new Substack newsletter, as well as some essays. So, if you enjoy getting reading recommendations from me, as well as other media, please sign up (for free).
My reading score this year (26) is really not great, despite going back to commuting. That’s because I did a lot of language study this year (building Italian to A2 and trying to get my Greek up from B2 to somewhere closer to C1, although I’m not sure I succeeded there). Languages brought me a lot of joy in 2024, so I have no regrets there, although I do regret another year with too much scrolling in addition to more productive pursuits.
If there is a theme this year, I somehow ended up reading a lot of Classics-themed books, both fiction and non-fiction. I’m not totally on board with the ‘feminist retelling’ trend, for a number of reasons, but on the whole it was nice to get back in touch with my academic discipline, both on the page and in real life (as I walked the streets of Pompeii!).
If you only read one from this list, make it Glorious Exploits.
Faves in bold.
- Lucrezia Borgia by Sarah Bradford – loved this incredibly dense and fascinating biography of the infamous woman. By the end, I mainly felt angry that she was subjected to so much awful behaviour from the various syphilitic idiots around her, and thankful that I was born in the 20th century.
- Blood and Sugar by Laura Shepherd-Robinson
- The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper – a VERY readable story of Pompeii’s sex workers, led by smart heroine Amara who is trying to survive the mean streets of the doomed city, alongside a memorable cast of complex women.
- The House with the Golden Door by Elodie Harper – book 2!
- Sunbringer by Hannah Kaner – the sequel to Godkiller. I adore this series.
Catherine Queen 