my halfway top 12 reads
somehow we are already 50% through 2024, and these are the best books i've read so far
i feel like i blinked and now it’s the middle of june? didn’t we just ring in 2024? is this what it’s like to be a real grown-up? wow, time flies. i took a look back at the 76 books i’ve read so far (of which 15 were five star favorites) and narrowed it down to my top 12 (sorry to the three that got the boot, i still loved you!!!).
here are my top 12 reads of the year so far:
(these are in no particular order!)
CURVEBALL: WHEN YOUR FAITH TAKES TURNS YOU NEVER SAW COMING by peter enns //
an essential deconstruction/evolving faith read ↩️
i was introduced to @peteenns at @evolvfaith but this was the first book of his i’ve read, and it resonated so much (see all the flags for evidence). i deeply appreciate his incredibly thorough, rational, intellectual, and expansive thoughts on faith, on the bible, on god, and on how he’s navigated his own journey along the way.
i learned so many new things in this one, found myself thinking about my own faith and experiences and beliefs from new angles, appreciated how he wove his own story in humbly and frankly, and how his privilege was laid bare throughout. connecting dots between history and science and faith, between blown elbows in baseball and moments in taxis and changes in plans to faith, all to help expand our view of god? yes. so beautifully done, and so compelling to me. i have a lot i’m still thinking about from this one, and i love that! i want to keep ruminating on it for a while.
a fantastic read, and one i highly recommend!PUCKING AROUND by emily rath //
fanning myself from how steamy this book was!!! 🥵
✨hockey romance
✨reverse harem
✨why choose
✨f/m/m/m
✨m/m
✨fmc is a doctor (and her name is rachel 😏)
✨a golden retriever hockey player (who calls her baby!94 seattle), a moody tatted pierced equipment manager daddy (who calls her hurricane), a brooding finnish goalie giant (who calls her rakas)
this one pushed the boundaries of what i’ve read before for sure 😳 i haven’t read “why choose” romances before, and polyamory isn’t my jam personally, but it doesn’t need to be for me to read about it and enjoy the story (and the 🔥🥵 scenes lolol). the beauty of exploring new things through reading!!! i was crying by the end because of how these characters showed up for each other and loved each other so fiercely and fully and truly became a family, even in such an unorthodox way. so tender and beautiful. yes, sex was a big part of this book, but it was truly just the avenue for how these characters broke down their walls and got vulnerable and discovered more about themselves. we love to see the growth!
(i do wish i was like 200 pages shorter, it did not need to be 700+ pages, but still a good time)ONE IN A MILLENNIAL : ON FRIENDSHIP, FEELINGS, FANGIRLS, FITTING IN by kate kennedy //
HOW DID WE ALL LIVE THE SAME LIVES, like truly this book made me feel SO SEEN as a 90s baby growing up in church youth group alongside the development of the internet and cell phones and all the most fun pop culture. truly had me LAUGHING and remembering so many things i had forgotten, and just feeling SO GLAD kate wrote this gem for us. it’s glorious!!!THE UNFILTERED ENNEAGRAM: A WITTY AND WISE GUIDE TO SELF-COMPASSION by elizabeth orr //
if you’re a fan of @rudeassenneagram or want to be read to filth while also being helped (kind of like how really good therapy feels), this is the book for you. it had me like hahahahashutupyesthatsrealwowokaystopthathurtthankyou every page but in the best way, ya know? swipe for some pages about being an #enneagram1 — i can’t stop thinking about pursuing alignment over perfection. what a life-giving shift!!!
big fan of this one. (and i think many enneagram things are silly these days so that’s saying something.) it hits hard and is wholly honest and hella helpful and really good.
read it and grow.SOMEHOW: THOUGHTS ON LOVE by anne lamott //
queen anne did it again. she brought her signature wit and warmth and wisdom packaged in a pretty punchy gem of a book that made me laugh and cry and highlight a bajillion passages and just feel so glad i’m alive at the same time she is. the way that woman wraps words around what it mean ms to be human is unlike any other!!! a gift. a spunky, sassy, stunning, sharp gift. i love her so much.
LONG SHOT by kennedy ryan //
another #radbookhugs read?! yep. 😭🥹🥰
y’all— this one wrecked me. plz check trigger warnings (@the.storygraph is the best for that) because there is a lot to be aware of in this one, but for me, it was something i could keep reading even with my own story echoing so much of what was happening in the ab—sive relationship in these pages. i did skim some of the more graphic scenes to protect myself but wow wow wow, this book was powerful and redemptive and beautifully written and so, so raw, real, and honest.
(also let it be known— the hero here is the good guy!! the ab—ser does not win in the end. it’s important to me that you know that.)
i had never read @kennedyryan1’s work before and now am about to flyyyy through her catalog! holy moly. this one absolutely shattered me at times but then was such a story of strength and perseverance, of family and love and fighting for healing, of redemption and hope and joy. what a freaking stunner.
thank you to @read_bloom for my free copy! 😍
(tw: domestic/physical/sexual/emotional ab—se, r—pe, forced pregnancy, g—n violence, m—rder, gaslighting)
FUNNY STORY by emily henry //
she did it again, folks!!! emily henry, you are a queen. your banter is unmatched! the way you write romance is the blueprint. the heart! the wit! the warmth! it truly is unmatched and in a league of its own, and i loved this story dearly. reader, i cried. (of course i did). i swooned. i laughed. i want to reread all of my other henry books now, just to live in the world of her words even longer. it was a treasure.
miles was engaged to petra. peter was engaged to daphne. petra and peter were best friends (uh huh, sure they were). bet you can guess what happened here...
and even with a predictable couple swap, fake dating that led to real love, a third-act break up due to miscommunication, and other reliable tropes, nothing (and i repeat, nothing) about this felt tired or old. every page sparkled with emily henry magic. and the side characters?! amazing in their own right!
gah. a gem.A LOVE SONG FOR RICKI WILDE by tia williams //
this! book! is! magical! ✨
truly, tia williams, your brain is a wonderland and this is a treasure that i was not at all prepared for. it blew me away and was an absolutely captivating story of music and flowers, family and love, desire and dreams, and the twists and tangles of time.
it was a slow burn but a beautiful one, and such a celebration of black harlem and epic love stories and making art no matter what.READY OR NOT by cara bastone //
what a gem. 💖🥹🍼 truly such a sweet and delightful story— it won me over from the very jump, was incredible on audio, and did the unexpected pregnancy trope perfectly. i laughed out loud so much, squealed and kicked my feet incessantly, and teared up more times than i can count. i’m in love with shep?! what a man. best of the best.
this book is an absolute treasure!!!YOU WITH A VIEW by jessica joyce //
y’all know what it means when my review post is a photo of me hugging the book… this one got me in my feels!!! i want this made into a movie immediately. i mean come on, it’s got a precious matchmaking grandpa and old academic rivals who of course fall in love as they hear about the lost forbidden love between their grandparents through the letters grandpa paul shares with them along what would have been their honeymoon roadtrip, what else do you want. oh yes also of course there is perfect spice, and an ending that had me squealing, and so many tender, tear jerking moments along the way…
MANACLED by senlinyu //
holy moly. manacled. what a journey. swipe to see snippets of the tiktoks i made along the way — suffice it to say, the first half is hard. very triggering. much forced repopulation (a la handmaids tale). hermione is a dull shell of a human and it is slow. i didn’t know what anybody saw in this book and i almost called it quits, but y’all convinced me the flashbacks were coming and it would get better. i couldn’t see how, but i carried on, and wow wow wow you were right and the turn of events was masterful and i never could have seen it all coming and i truly was blown away by it all. i’m not even a potterhead?!? i can only imagine how much deeper this would hit true fans… because i was a puddle by the end. dramione forever. and ever. the end. 🖤SHARK HEART by emily habeck //
wow, this book is stunning. 🤩🦈🤍
my last (ever!) pick for #alltheradreadsbookclub was this gem that i’ve heard so many rave reviews about — and i’ll admit, the concept had me a bit skeptical! a man turning into a great white shark? it sounded cheesy or too sci-fi-ish or something, but it blew me away with how poignant and fascinating it ended up being!
this book reads like poetry — it’s truly remarkable and unlike anything i’ve read. i’m a fan of @emily.habeck for life now! what a talent she has. ✨
this is a must-read, one to savor, one to share widely and enjoy deeply.
would love to know a book on your faves list for 2024 so far!
xo,
rad