the best books of 2024 so far (Q3✨)

[@ellias]

OMG SWIMMING IN THE DARK IS MY ABSOLUTE FAV!! i also plan to read giovannis room bc of this book :) katerina i love the way you articulate books 💗

[@katerinareem]

it's soooo good !! and omg thank you ellias that means so much to me 😭💖

[@michellecgb]

I also thought Addie and the devil’s dynamic was a little hot 😂 it was also a lot more interesting to me than her dynamic with Henry. Sue me!

[@katerinareem]

hahahahaha yesss 👏

[@sophiealka3431]

Algorithm threw this up and I stayed for the nuanced reviews, northern accent, and similar tastes! I love James Baldwin, Claire Keegan, and Elena Ferrante, and also was transformed by The Road. Charlotte Perkins Gillman and Tomas Jedrowski, and Douglas Stuart have been on my periphery for a while but your reviews have convinced me to put their books on top of my to-read list. Thankyou! - new subscriber.

[@katerinareem]

i'm so happy the algorithm threw you my way too! sounds like you have amazing taste sophie (from your books to you rating my northern accent hahaha)

[@sophiealka3431]

@@katerinareem Thanks for the welcome! If you're interested in more Baldwin I really recommend the collection of essays Nobody Knows My Name and the documentary "I Am Not Your Negro". Claire Keegan's Small Things Like These was one of my favourite recent reads - a perfect 5 star from me.

[@katerinareem]

@@sophiealka3431 ah yes i’ve read both i am not your negro and small things like these and enjoyed them both so we def have similar tastes! i haven’t read nobody knows my name but i’ve added it to my TBR list - thanks my love!

[@chrissybooksandberries]

I’m really loving your reading list!

[@katerinareem]

thank you so much my love !!

[@cassietower9694]

Foster destroyed me. I wanted the child to stay with her relatives so badly. I then ran out and bought everything Keegan has written, and other work DOES NOT disappoint. Absolutely beautiful

[@katerinareem]

same - although I feel like the ending was quite ambiguous on who she ended up staying with!

[@ab-ab1126]

Can you make a list of fantasy novels with a romance subplot if possible, i love the way you articulate the books, and how you explain the book without giving too much, definitely the best and the only book reviewer I'm following

[@katerinareem]

thank you so much !! I don't read loads of fantasy books but I'm trying to read more so I will hopefully make a video like this in future!

[@ab-ab1126]

@@katerinareem thank you i hope you will, but honestly i just got into it and i'm trying to find good books, i'm enjoying a bunch of your other recommendations though 🩷

[@katerinareem]

@@ab-ab1126 i love to hear that !! thank you for being here

[@jules.mp3]

great list!✨ the neapolitan novels by elena ferrante will literally change your life (if you haven't already read them), especially since you already loved the days of abandonment.

[@katerinareem]

I've read my brilliant friend and it's one of my fav books !! need to work my way through the other three

[@jules.mp3]

@@katerinareem the first book is so fantastic but the final three are just chef’s kiss 😘

[@aprettybookshelf]

Have you read Minor Detail by Adania Shibli? A stunning storytelling and yet equally heartbreaking subject matter ❤🍉🍉🍉

[@katerinareem]

added it to my list, thank you so much for the rec!

[@karenwetherald6086]

So many incredible books, I wonder how you're going to (or if you will) put together a top list of favorite books of the whole year. I'm working on a couple of books for Victober, "Cranford" and "The Doctor's Wife" though I've barely just started them

[@katerinareem]

yes! I'm planning on making my 'best books of 2024' with my absolute favourites of the year (: and ooo hope those books you've started are good!

[@talkingcrow]

Also pls do a survival thriller list!

[@katerinareem]

great idea!! i'll look into it (:

[@robdum239]

You made me buy 'The Road' a few weeks ago, probably gonna read it at the beginning of next year, but you make me want to read it right now! Amazing video as always!!

[@katerinareem]

thank you so much !! I would say it might actually be better to read it during winter as it's set in a very cold atmosphere so it's not a bad idea to hold off till early next year (if you can wait!)

[@soundslikeknee]

The Road 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

[@katerinareem]

sooo good!!

[@4travelinggirls]

Reading Addie Laurie was a bit of a guilty pleasure for me, but I definitely agree that it's to the author's credit that she wrote a really fantastic layered narrative! I have such vivid images from her historical descriptions and I want to pick up another of her books now. Elena Ferrante is coming for me too, I'm about to finish the Story of a New Name

[@katerinareem]

agree!! I honestly wasn't expecting to like it that much and just read it as a chill holiday book but honestly loved it! ahhh I still need to read so many more of ferrante's works, i'm obsessed with her

[@pippapearson3092]

My favorite book

[@frankshifreen]

Katerina-have you read “Autonomous”by Annalee Newitz? Ithink it is a masterpiece ~ a possible future

[@katerinareem]

ooo I haven't but I've added it to my list! thanks so much for the rec (:

[@danieltran9634]

I’m obsessed with Swimming In The Dark too. The writing is so beautiful and I love the fact that the title has more than one meaning. Still not sure if that ending is positive or not though. It sounds promising but the more we think about it, the more impossible it becomes. Maybe that’s why we remember the book long after finishing it. Too bad the author has not published any other titles. Maybe he knows he already reached his peak with Swimming In The Dark.

[@katerinareem]

it's such an incredible book - i'm glad you feel the same way! yea I see it's his only book published, however it was released just four years ago so I'm hoping he'll write some more books in his life time (:

[@danieltran9634]

@@katerinareem while waiting for his new book, you should try Lie With Me by Philippe Besson. I think you will love it. It’s just as beautiful and sad as Swimming In The Dark (they even share the same rating on Goodreads: 4.26). This is also one of the few books I still think about sometimes.

[@katerinareem]

​@@danieltran9634 ahhh been wanting to read this for so long! just waiting on the book to go on sale as i'm currently broke LOL

[@daisyd3w3491]

I think he said in an interview with dua lipa that he has another book in the works, but i may be remembering that incorrectly. Either way swimming in the dark is phenomenal ♡

[@katerinareem]

@@daisyd3w3491 dua lipa is the last person i imagine him in an interview with hahahaha what

[@Darkpumpkinspice]

I would have to say The god of the woods and The shards by Bret Easton Ellis. 😍

[@katerinareem]

I want to read the shards so much !! maybe this is my sign to finally buy it

[@Darkpumpkinspice]

@@katerinareem you will not be disappointed! I LOVED it!

[@athenatangari8260]

Giovanni’s Room and Shuggie Bain in one quarter? Girl are you ok lmao??? *love these reviews!

[@katerinareem]

@@athenatangari8260 nope, your girl was going through it LOL

[@Thetrilingualreader]

Brilliant as always Katerina, and thank you for mentioning palestine

[@katerinareem]

thank you so much my love

[@NovelFindsByKassi]

Hi. It's really nice to meet you. I'm amazed by how many "best books" you and I have both had this year. So many books you've mentioned have impressed me so much. The ones for me this year are: Cloud Cuckoo Land Miss Lonelyhearts I have some Questions for You The Shards Birnam Wood The Bluest Eye Prophet Song To be Taught if Fortunate 11/22/63

[@katerinareem]

thank you so much !! and ahhh we must have wonderful reading tastes (; and wow so many books on your list I haven't read - I really want to read the shards so this must be my sign to finally buy it!!

[@olgaotherstories8355]

Just finished Martyr!! Still under too much “sad numbness” to comment. Some books r emotionally unbearable. I loved everything about it.

[@katerinareem]

ooo I'll have to check it out!

[@talkingcrow]

So glad the algorithm brought you to my feed! Great reviews.

[@katerinareem]

that is so kind, thank you so much !!

[@AyeshaKhan-e9d]

Loved this and updated my goodreads shelf with almost all of these. Thank you! Free Palestine!!

[@katerinareem]

yay love to hear it !!

[@skzstaybtsbulletprooftoget3693]

i loved how you mentioned Palestine while talking about "the road"

[@katerinareem]

palestine is always on my mind and heart ):

[@chocolateoreo6489]

🧡🧡🧡

[@katerinareem]

🥰

[@natashaawais8258]

Where are u from??

[@katerinareem]

@@natashaawais8258 the UK (:

[@monisharmuk]

I think i am in the minority who did not like Addie La Rue.. I went in with a lot of gusto and excitement but I was left so underwhelmed after reading it. The writing in the first few chapets was too "purple prosey", the author used so many similes, I was like am i missing the point. I felt the book was mostly about the conversations between the devil and Addie.. and in that case it did not have to be 400 pages long.. I in fact felt that the author did not delve deeper into the three hundred years of history that addie witnessed.. also her characters did not develop any further that the 23 year old girl in the french country side..There was so much potential in the story and VE schwab os certainly a great author but this was over hyped. Also, seeing the world was just europe and the US.. yes, the book was definitely white washed..

[@katerinareem]

I see where you're coming from - I saw a lot of similar critique from people on goodreads who also weren't huge fans! I went into this book not really knowing anything about it so was pleasantly surprised (I think hype around some books can lead to high expectations which is unfortunate when books don't meet your personal expectations)!

[@monisharmuk]

@@katerinareem I think the key is going in without any expectations.. but I loved the other reviews and I am sure to pick them up and read

[@kacpercichosz465]

Free Palestine 💪

[@katerinareem]

from the river to the sea !!

[@lyramidsummer5508]

I presume you have read Enter Ghost?

[@kacpercichosz465]

On my TBR. I recommend A Day in the Life of Abed Salama.

[@aminananana3442]

❤

[@dedope58]

Going to subscribe because of this support and acknowledgment and also that you included James Baldwin in this review!

[@Montie-Adkins]

Skimming your thumbnails, a smattering of fantasy? No scifi?

[@katerinareem]

not the biggest fan of sci fi but please feel free to recommend me books you think are worth reading!

[@Montie-Adkins]

@@katerinareem Cool. I found the best way to ease people in is through short stories. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury, with The Veldt, The Long Rain, and The City being the stand outs. The Nine Billion Names of God by Arthur C. Clarke. This can be found in The Other Side of the Sky but you can find it free online. The Server and the Dragon by Hannu Rajaniemi, found in Invisible Planets: Collected Fiction. I shall subscribe.

[@katerinareem]

@@Montie-Adkins thank you so much for taking the time to recommend these to me! I will definitely check them out as I'd like to love sci fi a bit more!