This is becoming one of my favourite yearly traditions – aside from the self development reflections, of course. I’m learning what the perfect balance is between fiction and nonfiction. My favourite books of 2024 were a happy mix, and I strengthened my love and appreciation for memoirs. In 2023, I read a total of 10 books. Last year, I was close, but fell short at 9. I hoped that I would surpass my record of 10 this year, but it’s already March and I’ve read a grand total of no books (though I am over halfway through one, if that counts). Reading a book a month is hard. For me, at least. But let’s not give up so soon.

Make It Happen – Jordanna Levin

I’m sure you’re sick of me talking about this book by now (here and here), so let’s put it at the top of my 2024 favourite books list and get it out of the way. It’s not easy to find a book on manifestation that is clear, easy to follow, makes a whole lot of sense, and is funny and enjoyable to read. It’s taught me how to set intentions, how to shift my perspective and the way I’m feeling, and how to recognise opportunities that present themselves in my life. My favourite concept from this book is called this or something better. If you’re hoping for a certain outcome (a job opportunity, the love of your life knocking on your door), it may not always happen. The way to let go of this expectation is to believe that if what we want doesn’t come to fruition, something even better will.

Wild – Cheryl Strayed

This is the second memoir I’ve read and I loved it just as much as the first. (The first being Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton.) Like a lot of women out there, Wild sparked something in me. It’s based on Cheryl Strayed’s journey hiking the Pacific Crest Trail alone, and the events in her life that led up to this moment. Her mum had died, her marriage went south, and she was hopeless, lost, and full of pain. The reason I loved it so much is that the trail gave her a way to accept and release the pain – there were no distractions from it. My favourite quote from the book is this – “Of course, heroin could be had there too, I thought. But the thing was, I didn’t want it. Maybe I never really had. I’d finally come to understand what it had been: a yearning for a way out, when actually what I had wanted to find was a way in.”

Milk Teeth – Jessica Andrews

When I first picked up this fiction book, I thought it was ridiculous. I still kind of do. It upsets me that the two main characters are nameless. But what I loved about this book was that some of what was conveyed felt so real to me at the time (and still does). I was about to leave London – I felt sad, conflicted, and indecisive. Although I didn’t resonate with all of what Jessica Andrews had written, there were parts of this book that spoke to me – “I don’t know how to put my feelings into words; that I am homesick but I don’t know where home is, that I can’t work out what I need”.

There’s always been this part of me that has rebelled against staying still. Living through my twenties, I feel as though there is this unspoken rule that you will choose one of two things – travel, independence, and freedom, or love, comfort, and stability. I gravitate towards the former, but there’s always the occasional pull toward the latter. This is the first time I’ve read about this in a book. “Our conversation grew stilted. She told me about friends from school having babies or affairs and I laughed along and asked the right questions but it all seemed far away. I thought I was reaching for freedom in my quest to become a different kind of person, but I looked at Tara with her job as a mortgage advisor and her musky perfume and she seemed like an adult, with glamour and power, and I wondered which of us was more free.”

Good Material – Dolly Alderton

Another book by Dolly Alderton on a favourites list, what a shocker. Dolly wrote almost the entirety of this book from a male’s perspective. That’s impressive. I can’t say I have the faintest idea of what runs through a man’s head at any given time. It’s a romantic comedy novel that centres around Andy – a heartbroken comedian in his thirties. It’s full of overthinking, reminiscing, distractions, and jumping to conclusions – the recipe for every breakup. The best part is the ending. It gives his ex-girlfriend Jen’s perspective – the answers that Andy searches for throughout the whole book. We rarely get to see both sides of a story, and this is what makes it feel complete and fulfilling. It’s full of wit and charm, and you still get Dolly’s lists and text message conversations, similar to all her previous books. It’s a must read – and the last of my favourite books from 2024.

Yours,

Kait x

Cover photo by Leeloo The First