Simone Snaith's 3 favorite reads in 2024

I had read A Wizard of Earthsea before and I reread it first, so that I could read the next two in the original trilogy. I could definitely have included A Wizard of Earthsea on this list, but since it was a reread, I skipped it.

What I loved about The Tombs of Atuan was the fascinating and disturbing world of the temple in which Tenar is raised, with all of Le Guin's excellent description. Tenar herself is an interesting character because she is so immersed in her child priestess role and fully committed, until the cracks in her world start to show.

Her interactions with Ged, once he arrives and changes everything, are so sweet and I was disappointed that they weren't together in the third book, The Farthest Shore. But I fully plan on reading Tehanu next to get more of the two of them. As always, Le Guin's tone makes her books feel like fables or fairy tales, and it mesmerizes me as I read.

I'm not sure why I never read any of The Wheel of Time books before, but I was most likely put off by the length of the series. I much prefer standalone fantasy novels or short series. But after enjoying the show on Amazon Prime, I decided to check out the first book, The Eye of The World. Boy, was I surprised by how much the Amazon show had changed! While it's basically the same story, the book is much less dark and the characters read much younger and more innocent. This was actually a pleasant surprise, because there were some upsetting incidents in the show that simply weren't in the book at all.

What I enjoyed was the imaginative world building, the interesting magic system, and the classic fantasy adventure vibe.

T. Kingfisher's sense of humor works really well to offset the scary parts in her thrillers, and I enjoyed laughing at the banter between Kara and Simon even as I was worried about their survival in the increasingly dangerous alternate world they discover. I also loved the coziness of Uncle Earl's museum and how it contrasts with the world on the other side of the wall. There are a couple truly harrowing scenes in that secret world that are burned into my brain now! I also appreciated the reference to Algernon Blackwood's The Willows and the parts that reminded me of Jeff Vandermeer's Annihilation.