Best Books From the First Quarter of 2024

Well first of all, the fact that we’re in the second quarter of 2024 already is just mind-blowing. It’s APRIL already and I swear to God if any shops put their Christmas decorations out soon I’m losing my sh*t. But anyway, let’s talk about books! Today I’m going to rave about the 5 best books I’ve read this year so far.

At the time of writing, I’ve read 14 books this year and am currently in the middle of one. According to my Goodreads challenge, I’m 3 books ahead of schedule, which I’m happy about (although what really does it matter) and I’ve read a decent mix of books this year as well.

I also seem to have gone on a bit of a book-buying rampage this year and I’m buying more books at approximately 5 times the speed I can read them, so never have I been in a better place to have an exciting selection of my own books to read!

I’m keeping up with my usual format of having two books on the go at any given time, one Fiction and one Non-Fiction. As expected, delving into more medical non-fiction that I can find (of which one EXCELLENT recommendation sits in this list).

And also trying to dip in to some different types of non-fiction as well as poetry. My foray into poetry hasn’t gone too well so far but I hope I can stumble upon a poetry book that speaks to me at some point. Any recommendations, please let me know! But for now…

Here are the best books I read during the first quarter of 2024:

The Knife’s Edge by Professor Stephen Westerby 

This was definitely one of the most gripping medical non-fiction’s I’ve read in some time. Not without it’s faults, of course. Professor Stephen Westerby has an ego the size of a continent and is a raging Tory, based on his, quite frankly strange, love of Churchill but this definitely does not take away how great The Knife’s Edge was.

Professor Westerby has an extensive career as a heart surgeon and has help pioneer some incredible life-saving technology in the field. His knowledge is unfathomable and his knack for story-telling a charm. The intricacies he goes into in this book is outstanding and for me, was a real “unputdownable” book.

Queuing for the Queen by Sweta Rana

Now, Queuing for the Queen is not my usual real or really my usual genre. I picked this up entirely on a whim whilst I was in one of my favourite book shops because it sounded like a light-hearted and fun read, which it very much was. The immense love some of the characters had for the Queen was a bit weird but you definitely don’t need to be any sort of royalist to enjoy this.

I liked the fact that it was set during a time we can all remember. Whether you saw the Queen lying-in-state or not, you’ll be familiar with the story and the queue. This was a touching novel which delve much deeper than what it appears on the surface for the main characters as it dealt with cultural differences, family conflict, regret and forgiveness.

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

This book had me in an absolute chokehold. Despite the fact it came out in 1993 – when I was one years old – and I’ve heard the title being thrown around as a “modern classic”, I genuinely didn’t feel compelled to pick it up until now. And yep, you guessed it, I’m kicking myself for not reading this sooner.

The Virgin Suicides, expectedly, deals with suicide as it’s main theme, so definitely something worth considering if you’re thinking about picking this up. But more so than that, it deals with the unknowns and the unanswered questions that surround suicide really well, arguably leaving us with more questions than answers by the end.

One Last Thing by Wendy Mitchell

Wendy Mitchell has been on my radar for some time, having written the blog Which Me Am I Today? documenting her life with early onset dementia at the age of 58. Wendy died earlier this year, at the age of 68, so this was a particularly poignant time to read this book, in which she reflects on and talks about a number of things that would have transpired as she reached the end of life.

One Last Thing is just as much as Wendy’s experience and journey as it is our own. She offers a lot of valuable insights into health, medicine, end of life care and how to live well. Touching on a number of points that I guarantee you wouldn’t have thought of before. This is far from a sad book.

Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers

Have you read any of these? Let me know the best books you’ve read in 2024 so far!