Ursina's Shelf - 2024 Review
Issue 94
Dear readers,
I hope you had lovely holidays and have a few restful days ahead before the start of the New Year.
I can’t believe how fast this year has gone by! In December, Dominic and I celebrated the 7th anniversary of our engagement and 1 year of having Enzo in our family. We’ve also been busy at work and many new books line our shelves (though not all of them read).
Per tradition, I’d like to share my 2024 review and this year one book stuck out as the clear winner.
Favorite book: 22 Bahnen by Caroline Wahl (2023)
Description: This German debut novel follows Tilda, a mathmatician student, as she tries to figure out her career options and navigates taking care of her younger sister, and, at times, their mom, who is struggling with mental health problems and alcoholism. It’s a very hot summer, and when the older brother of an old friend shows up at the local pool, the plot starts to unfurl.
My take: I was hooked after the first sentence. Caroline Wahl’s writing immediately gripped me and I can’t help but compare her writing and the mood she creates with Sally Rooney. It has all that intensity of a young 20-year-old’s exuberance and confusion. I can’t wait for this book to finally be translated into English.
Runner Up Picks:
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore, an intense family drama and mystery (buy here). The author’s Long Bright River was in my 2022 Review and Mystery Repeating issue.
Die Enkelin (The Granddaughter in English) by Bernhard Schlink, the author of The Reader.
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney (buy here) about two brothers, grief, love, and relationships. Her Conversations with Friends was previously featured in the 2020 review.
Too Much Lip by Melissa Lukashenko about an Aborigine family saying goodbye to their patriarch, while fighting for their land rights. I was particularly surprised by the mid-book plot twist (buy here). Read more about it in my recent phenomenal fiction issue.
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch about a mother of four in an Ireland taken over by fascists (buy here). I also covered this in my phenomenal fiction issue.
Books that I learned a lot from:
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, an autobiography by a non-binary comic writer (buy here).
Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall on how to be a feminist for all women across racial and socioeconomic boundaries (buy here).
Favorite True Stories:
Tunnel 29 and A Woman of No Importance, both featured my issue on historic heroes.
Favorite Historical Fiction
The Women by Kristin Hannah about a nurse who served in the Vietnam war (buy here). A book club favorite!
I also asked my sister-in-law Alex and Dominic to weigh in with their favorites. Alex’s German-language favorite is also 22 Bahnen and her English-language favorite is Demon Copperhead (featured in my insightful Pulitzers issues). Very conveniently our reading tastes often align, we both binged through the Fourth Wing and ACOTAR series this year and swapped many a book. Dominic, of course, nicely structured his favorites, with his favorite fiction read also being 22 Bahnen, his favorite comic read being Image Comics’ Invincible, and his favorite non-fiction read being Yuval Noah Harari’s Nexus. My mom proof-read this newsletter and agrees 22 Bahnen was also her favorite, and she thinks it’s way better than Rooney.
Looking ahead to 2025, I am excited for some new books, first up Onyx Storm, the third installment in the Fourth Wing series coming up on January 21st. Mostly I plan to start the year in a bit of a reading hibernation, focusing on the books that I already have or have been lent to me, spending more time on other hobbies, and potentially also taking a bit of a break from the newsletter, while there is a lot going on at work. I do look forward to many bookish conversations ahead.
Prior Years’ Reviews
For more annual reviews, check out these prior issues:
Currently listening to: Book Lovers, my first Emily Henry romance novel, a recommendation from Aishwarya.
Now it’s time to wish you all a Happy New Year. All the best and wishing you many great adventures on the page and in real life.
If you enjoy this newsletter, subscribe (for free) to get it in your inbox regularly. Other ways to support this newsletter include engaging with a comment or like and telling a friend or family member about it. Many thanks!
Impressed with 22 bahnen. I am off to look for a sample and see if I enjoy the read too.