Books I've loved this year

I’ve read some beautiful books this year. The kind that pull you in quietly and stay long after the last page.

Each one left me thinking about character, craft, and the small moments that make a life feel vivid.

Here are five that stood out:

Butter — Asako Yuzuki

Translated from Japanese, Butter is a exploration of food, ambition, and the lives women build around both. The main character is a reporter who uses food as a way to connect with a female murder accused. Along the way, she moves from a life of calorie restriction to embracing a true love of food. This story has it all, the pressures of climbing the career ladder, deep friendships, past trauma, and a gripping murder mystery.

The Bee Sting — Paul Murray

A sprawling Irish family saga that’s funny, painful, and deeply human. The Bee Sting captures the chaos of people trying and often failing to do their best for each other. The writing is sharp and tender all at once. It’s the kind of story that leaves you feeling wrung out and grateful to have read it. I literally went WHAT NO when I read the last page of this book.

Strange Sally Diamond — Liz Nugent

Darkly compelling from the first page, this one is hard to look away from.

Sally Diamond is an unforgettable character strange, blunt, and unexpectedly moving. The story unfolds with layers of mystery and trauma, but also quiet resilience. It’s unsettling in the best way. Warning I did find this book so terribly sad.

Nightbitch — Rachel Yoder

Witty, feral, and oddly freeing. Nightbitch captures the wildness of early motherhood and the tension between creative identity and domestic life. It’s absurd and raw and strangely empowering a reminder that transformation doesn’t always look graceful.

Milk Fed — Melissa Broder

A sharp, intimate exploration of appetite for food, for connection, for self-acceptance. Milk Fed is funny and uncomfortable in equal measure, written with the kind of honesty that makes you wince and nod at the same time. I loved its boldness and heart.

Each of these reads reminded me why I love storytelling the way it shifts your perspective, slows you down, and leaves you seeing the world just a little differently.

If you’ve read any of these, I’d love to hear what you thought. And if not, consider this your nudge to pick one up for a slow weekend afternoon.

Char x