They've been in your amazon basket for far too long, and now it's time to finally treat yourself to the books you've been storing in your mind as the 'need-to-reads'. With those precious few days between Christmas and New Year where time feels warped, there is no better time to catch up on the reading you should've treated yourself to months ago.
With those perfect few snuggly days in mind, we've created the ultimate edit of books you need to read before the years out. With a book for each month of the year, you have plenty to choose from. Wether you want to expand your mind with Slay In Your Lane or understand the psyche of Lily Allen, these are your must-reads from the year.
The 12 Books We Couldnu2019t Stop Talking About This Year- Grazia (stacked)
1 of 12Home Fire - Kamila Shamsie (Bloomsbury)
Shamsie's story of London, ISIS and family ties won the Women's Prize and rightly so - her modern retelling of Antigone was compelling and insightful.
2 of 12Less - Andrew Sean Greer (Abacus)
A satire about the literary world which should be ghastly but had such a likeable hero that it became a heart-warming caper about masculinity, fallibility and writing.
3 of 12I am I am I am - Maggie O’Farrell (Tinder Press)
Part memoir, part meditation on mortality, this collection of O'Farrell's near death experiences over the years is an extraordinary, life affirming page turner.
4 of 12In Our Mad and Furious City - Guy Gunaratne (Tinder Press)
An urban summer told by a fresh voice. Gunaratne was Man Booker longlisted for this story of London teenagers in a vibrant but sometimes hostile Britain.
5 of 12Fire & Fury - Michael Wolff (Little, Brown)
Wolff kicked off another year of febrile behaviour in the White House with this explosive behind-the-scenes look at Trump's first year in power. Suffice to say the President was not amused.
6 of 12My Thoughts Exactly - Lilly Allen (Blink Publishing)
Allen's forthright autobiography was heavy on gossip but never at the expense of likeable openheartedness. Must have been tough to write but all the better for it.
7 of 12Slay in Your Lane: The Black Girl Bible - Elizabeth Uviebinené and Yomi Adegoke (Fourth Estate)
Guide to being a black girl in modern urban Britain which is essential reading for both the women it describes and anyone who could do with a crash course in understanding their lives. Unmissable.
8 of 12Normal People - Sally Rooney (Faber)
What looked like a charming story of teen romance turned out to be so much more. Family, class, ambition and friendship all play out beautifully.
9 of 12The Secret Barrister: Stories of the Law and How It’s Broken - The Secret Barrister
An anonymous blogger spills the beans on what it's like to work in the legal system, how it's navigated and its current considerable flaws. Essential reading.
10 of 12Unsheltered - Barbara Kingsolver (Faber)
A pitch perfect look at post-Obama America and its parallels to its post-civil-war ancestors, this is rich, satisfying and filled with hugely likeable characters.
11 of 12This is Going to Hurt: The Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor - Adam Kay (Picador)
Hilarious and heartbreaking in equal measure, these stories are inspiring about what the human heart (and body!) can endure, but enraging regarding our beloved NHS.
12 of 12Everything I Know About Love - Dolly Alderton (Fig Tree)
A love letter to the torment and pleasure of life in your 20s, this is both side-splittingly funny and a full-throttle tear jerker.