I'm stingy with my five star ratings...for me a five star is a book I will talk about for YEARS and one I will always think to recommend when someone asks me for a book rec! It's a book that even after an extended period of time since reading it I can still explain the plot in detail, name the characters, recite a quote or describe the writing style vividly. Sure there are so many books that I enjoy and feel good while reading but a month later I can't recall the character names or describe it in detail.
Here is my thought process when rating a book on Goodreads:
1 star - DNF
2 stars - finished, did not enjoy, would not recommend
3 stars - liked the book, but it won't stick with me. likely would recommend to others (most books I read fall into this rating and I don't consider that is a bad rating!!)
4 stars - very enjoyable, will think about it again in the future and will recommend to people
5 stars - obsessed, perfection, resonates with me, impacts me deeply and will stick with me for years on end. will jump on any chance to talk about it. will always think of it first if someone asks for a recommendation
Some of my favorite five star reads the past few years:
Thanks for sharing! I love your litmus test of being able to recall a book after time has passed. I *try* to be stingy with my five-star ratings, which means a lot of books I read end up being marked as 4 stars, ha.
That's so interesting you rate DNF's as 1 star - I end up tagging mine as "DNF" and don't rate them at all.
The book I always recommend is fantasy but on the lighter end-The House in the Cerulean Sea!! So cozy and charming!! Other recs off the top of my head are VE Schwabs Darker Shades of Magic series & Alix Harrow’s Ten Thousand Doors of January!!
That was a valuable read in itself - it must have taken lots of effort to put it together. I totally agree with the "I love when an author’s sentences make me stop and just appreciate the poetry or lyrical quality of their writing." This is what makes me read Marquez again or makes me crave a Murakami these days. Merci - and good luck for 2025!
Great roundup! Noting that Olivia Muenter’s book is Such a Bad Influence (Such a Fun Age is by Kylie Reid) and is on my TBR! I love your reading goals and am also trying to expand what I read with the help of Storygraph’s reading challenges for the first time.
Meghan Markle is far from perfect (are any of us?) but thank you for avoiding the horrific criticism and vitriol that I’ve been seeing on Substack about her return to Instagram/tv. It amazes me how polarizing she is.
Anyhow—lovely post and I’ve added some titles to my TBR! Thank you!
Thanks, it's sad how much unfounded hate she receives on the internet (but not all that surprising because...racism). I'm actually okay with criticism of Meghan's work, but not when it devolves into personal attacks. I say this because I was able to preview her new show and I *do* have some questions about its goals and how well the team executed on them... 🙃
If you're looking to eat more veggies may I recommend Justine Doiron! Her instagram account Justine Snacks is an absolute delight and she just came out with a cookbook this fall too. I've found her creativity with veggies to be a game changer for me.
For fantasy books I HIGHLY recommend Leigh Bardugo. She’s as prolific, inventive and clever as Stephen King — he’s blurbed almost all her books! Ninth House feels very YA but it’s fantastic feminist fantasy / dark academia
We have so many favorite top reads-- Good Material (such a riot!!), James, Margo, and The Wedding People. And I loved The Marriage Portrait a few years back too! Have you read Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman yet? I think you'd enjoy it, it's a major fave and I'm rereading it now.
Also, I'm all in for a vibes-based mood board, I've been doing it for years now and I feel like it's the equivalent of having my aura read lol, I love seeing where my subconscious takes me.
For me, a 5 star book is one I couldn't put down and that I looked forward to reading each night. A story that keeps me on the edge of my seat and in the end, leaves me wanting more and thinking about it for weeks <3
Hi! Loved this round up. A few recs that came to mind while reading: Seanan McGuire’s series that starts with Every Heart a Doorway is super fun, short, but meaningful fantasy. For Veggies that sing check out Hetty Lui McKinnon. She’s on here and has several cookbooks - all of which I’ve made at least 6 things out of because they just keep delivering!
I loved God of the Woods! One of my faves of the year, for sure. I also really loved Emily Henry's Funny Story. I've since started reading other Henry books, but this is so far the one I liked best!
Like a few other commenters, I rarely give out 5 stars. My scale is based on if I'd buy the book or not (I read most things from the library) and/or if I would re-read it.
My scale:
5 - Will buy to own / would re-read again
4 - Liked a lot, but not enough to own
3 - Liked it well enough (I give most books this)
2 - Did not like
1 - DNF / was terrible
I do have a few authors that I will read anything they put out (ie Jasper Fforde, Leigh Bardugo, Matt Haig). I loved the full cast audio book of Daisy Jones and the Six. I'm adding several books from these comments to my TBR :)
I loved seeing your top reads from 2024 and your goals for 2025! I want to read more deeply in 2025, so I'm committing to monotasking this year. I love that I got to read so many great books on audio last year, but listening while doing other things made the reading experience less memorable for me! There are definitely some books that lend themselves to that experience, but some I wish I had read while only focusing on them.
This is a book recommendation for everyone, but especially Alisha! The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo was my book of the year. As a librarian who reads professionally *and* in the year a new Mona Awad came out this was a shock to me. I've never read any of Bardugo's other books but this one was incredible. It's set during the Spanish Inquisition and deals with themes of religious persecution, the evils of a State Church, ethnic identity and heritage, and lots of highly specific "little miracles". The author hired medieval historians to consult on her construction and execution of magic/miracles in the world and it really shows. It's so cleverly done. The writing is also excellent as is the romance and characters overall. The themes really hit close to home for me (🙃) and would probably feel pertinent for many of us heading into the next four years. I can't recommend it enough!!
I'm stingy with my five star ratings...for me a five star is a book I will talk about for YEARS and one I will always think to recommend when someone asks me for a book rec! It's a book that even after an extended period of time since reading it I can still explain the plot in detail, name the characters, recite a quote or describe the writing style vividly. Sure there are so many books that I enjoy and feel good while reading but a month later I can't recall the character names or describe it in detail.
Here is my thought process when rating a book on Goodreads:
1 star - DNF
2 stars - finished, did not enjoy, would not recommend
3 stars - liked the book, but it won't stick with me. likely would recommend to others (most books I read fall into this rating and I don't consider that is a bad rating!!)
4 stars - very enjoyable, will think about it again in the future and will recommend to people
5 stars - obsessed, perfection, resonates with me, impacts me deeply and will stick with me for years on end. will jump on any chance to talk about it. will always think of it first if someone asks for a recommendation
Some of my favorite five star reads the past few years:
Know My Name
Beartown
The Invisible Life of Addie Larue
These Impossible Things
Mad Honey
Alone With You in the Ether
Lessons in Chemistry
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Thanks for sharing! I love your litmus test of being able to recall a book after time has passed. I *try* to be stingy with my five-star ratings, which means a lot of books I read end up being marked as 4 stars, ha.
That's so interesting you rate DNF's as 1 star - I end up tagging mine as "DNF" and don't rate them at all.
Thank you for sharing, just added most of these to my to read list <3
Hope you like them as much as I did!! :)
The book I always recommend is fantasy but on the lighter end-The House in the Cerulean Sea!! So cozy and charming!! Other recs off the top of my head are VE Schwabs Darker Shades of Magic series & Alix Harrow’s Ten Thousand Doors of January!!
Ohhh YES, I loved The House in the Cerulean Sea! It was so endearing. I want to read the sequel soon.
I neeeed to get into both VE Schwab and Alix Harrow. Are you excited for Schwab's upcoming book this year? There's so much buzz about it.
I enjoyed the sequel but not as much as the first! Omg yes, I just preordered it!! Big fan of her books!
That was a valuable read in itself - it must have taken lots of effort to put it together. I totally agree with the "I love when an author’s sentences make me stop and just appreciate the poetry or lyrical quality of their writing." This is what makes me read Marquez again or makes me crave a Murakami these days. Merci - and good luck for 2025!
Ohhh Marquez! 💛 I’d love to reread 100 Years…
The the streaming miniseries is really well done.
If you haven't read Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell, I highly recommend it! I liked it even more than The Marriage Portrait.
!! I have it in my to read pile at the moment. Can’t wait. She is so gifted.
I will second the Hamnet recommendation! She has such a way with words.
Great roundup! Noting that Olivia Muenter’s book is Such a Bad Influence (Such a Fun Age is by Kylie Reid) and is on my TBR! I love your reading goals and am also trying to expand what I read with the help of Storygraph’s reading challenges for the first time.
Omg facepalm - this is why I shouldn’t write post 8pm! Thanks for the edit.
I’ll have to look at Storygraph’s reading challenges!
This year is going to be my fantasy book year too! A 5-star read for me is one I can't stop thinking about and is beautifully written and original.
Oh yes that’s a great one. I love when a book just sticks with me for a while.
Meghan Markle is far from perfect (are any of us?) but thank you for avoiding the horrific criticism and vitriol that I’ve been seeing on Substack about her return to Instagram/tv. It amazes me how polarizing she is.
Anyhow—lovely post and I’ve added some titles to my TBR! Thank you!
Thanks, it's sad how much unfounded hate she receives on the internet (but not all that surprising because...racism). I'm actually okay with criticism of Meghan's work, but not when it devolves into personal attacks. I say this because I was able to preview her new show and I *do* have some questions about its goals and how well the team executed on them... 🙃
If you're looking to eat more veggies may I recommend Justine Doiron! Her instagram account Justine Snacks is an absolute delight and she just came out with a cookbook this fall too. I've found her creativity with veggies to be a game changer for me.
For fantasy books I HIGHLY recommend Leigh Bardugo. She’s as prolific, inventive and clever as Stephen King — he’s blurbed almost all her books! Ninth House feels very YA but it’s fantastic feminist fantasy / dark academia
We have so many favorite top reads-- Good Material (such a riot!!), James, Margo, and The Wedding People. And I loved The Marriage Portrait a few years back too! Have you read Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman yet? I think you'd enjoy it, it's a major fave and I'm rereading it now.
Also, I'm all in for a vibes-based mood board, I've been doing it for years now and I feel like it's the equivalent of having my aura read lol, I love seeing where my subconscious takes me.
Absolutely loved this
For me, a 5 star book is one I couldn't put down and that I looked forward to reading each night. A story that keeps me on the edge of my seat and in the end, leaves me wanting more and thinking about it for weeks <3
Hi! Loved this round up. A few recs that came to mind while reading: Seanan McGuire’s series that starts with Every Heart a Doorway is super fun, short, but meaningful fantasy. For Veggies that sing check out Hetty Lui McKinnon. She’s on here and has several cookbooks - all of which I’ve made at least 6 things out of because they just keep delivering!
I loved God of the Woods! One of my faves of the year, for sure. I also really loved Emily Henry's Funny Story. I've since started reading other Henry books, but this is so far the one I liked best!
Like a few other commenters, I rarely give out 5 stars. My scale is based on if I'd buy the book or not (I read most things from the library) and/or if I would re-read it.
My scale:
5 - Will buy to own / would re-read again
4 - Liked a lot, but not enough to own
3 - Liked it well enough (I give most books this)
2 - Did not like
1 - DNF / was terrible
I do have a few authors that I will read anything they put out (ie Jasper Fforde, Leigh Bardugo, Matt Haig). I loved the full cast audio book of Daisy Jones and the Six. I'm adding several books from these comments to my TBR :)
I loved seeing your top reads from 2024 and your goals for 2025! I want to read more deeply in 2025, so I'm committing to monotasking this year. I love that I got to read so many great books on audio last year, but listening while doing other things made the reading experience less memorable for me! There are definitely some books that lend themselves to that experience, but some I wish I had read while only focusing on them.
This is a book recommendation for everyone, but especially Alisha! The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo was my book of the year. As a librarian who reads professionally *and* in the year a new Mona Awad came out this was a shock to me. I've never read any of Bardugo's other books but this one was incredible. It's set during the Spanish Inquisition and deals with themes of religious persecution, the evils of a State Church, ethnic identity and heritage, and lots of highly specific "little miracles". The author hired medieval historians to consult on her construction and execution of magic/miracles in the world and it really shows. It's so cleverly done. The writing is also excellent as is the romance and characters overall. The themes really hit close to home for me (🙃) and would probably feel pertinent for many of us heading into the next four years. I can't recommend it enough!!