THIS!

I've waited so long to do this. This is something I hold dear to my heart and something I love doing naturally. And what exactly is "this"? This, is this post. A post where I share my reading progress for the year 2024 and list my favourite reads of the year. I love giving book recommendations and if you're looking forward to adding books to your already long readlist, stay tuned.

I read a lot this year. I can't remember the last time I read so much books in a year as I did this year. And it's so amazing because what's there not to love about the world of books. A world based on paper and ink. A world viewed differently by everyone who happens to get themselves immersed in it. Well, I got into so much worlds this year alone and I'm still stuck in some, probably because of how good they were or I haven't completed them or worse still, I refused to come out of them for fear of finding nothing else to fill that void they'll be leaving in my heart.

Okay, okay. That's enough about how much I love books. The above is a picture of my reading statistics for the year 2024 and it says I read 185 e-books this year. I'm impressed by the records because this is just ebook achievements and I read quite a number or hardcopies this year too. It's amazing that despite going through a book slump for about a month or so this same year, I'm still doing well on my reading progress for the year.

In the background of that picture, you can see the statistics of all the books I've read since I started using the app, which is about two years ago. My total reading hours is 457.9 and out of that, 322hrs was from this year alone. I once came across a bookish meme that said '2024 was a dramatic and stressful year entirely but as long as I'm doing well on my reading progress for the year, all is good'. And that is exactly how I feel with this.

The #Mondaybookprompt asks if we have a reading goal for the year 2025. Well, that was something I did before but I don't do anymore. My reading goal for the year 2025 is to achieve more than I achieved in the previous years. To just keep progressing and bettering myself where books are concerned. I also want to read more, where self-help is concerned and stop limiting myself to fiction alone. I plan to get more hardcopy books than e-books and in that way, limit my screen time. Hopefully, these are things I'll be able to achieve. So yeah, that's it for my 2024 reading progress and 2025 reading goals.

Now, onto the most interesting part of This. My best reads of 2024. I read too many good books. Some I haven't had the opportunity to review yet, and some I reviewed already. I'll be reviewing my top five best reads of 2024. This selection was very hard because yeah, I read too many good books but few made it to the top list and I'll be sharing them in the remaining part of this post. I read many genres so you might find one of interest.

1. Amber Fire
This topped the list for the best books I read this year. I tried to think and think, I even scrolled through my list of books for any that surpassed this one but found no one that elicited the kind of reaction this book gave me. This is a Nigerian romance book between a deity and a human. The book was so beautifully crafted that a genre I found cringe usually, became one of my favorites so quickly. This is a book I'll recommend to those looking forward to know more about the Nigerian culture and are romance fanatics as well. You're definitely in for a ride with this one. And yes, it's an enemies to lovers trope.

2. I AM PILGRIM
This was a very big book and I believe it had the highest page count than any other book I've read before. As voluminous as it is, every page was worth the ride. It is a crime thriller and absolutely intriguing in every way. Scott Murdoch, the protagonist that you are. This one is actually different from the regular crime thrillers that I'm used to and I absolutely loved it. I'll recommend it to all lovers of thrillers every time, every day because it's that mind-blowing. But it's only for those who don't let the size of books deter them from consuming it's contents.

3. FAIRYDALE
Gothic romances have always had my heart. I can't believe I forgot about this genre for a while till I was scrolling through my library and came across this book. I read it and I cried. It was so gooddd!!!! I haven't reviewed this book yet and I definitely will give a more detailed review soon because book deserves more than these few lines I'll be dedicating to it in this post. If you're a fantasy and romance lover, this is not a book to sleep on. Cherish it like Darcy (in the book) did her lover.

4. Mindfuck Series
How I loved this book. The main character (Lana Myers), some people say they find her a red flag, she is NOT. She is strength itself. To think that she went through all that and came out strong was absolutely beautiful. And the love story in this series, is so swoon worthy. This is a very dark book and if you have trauma of any sort, tread carefully where this series is concerned. But it's definitely one of my all time favourites.

5. Where We End & Begin
Selecting the number 5 book was the hardest because there were about four more books that competed for this spot but this came out victorious. Can you believe I just finished this book last night and it's topping my list for the year? That's how amazing it is. This is a childhood lovers trope and that's a trope I usually found cringe too but this oneee?!!!! It blew my mind. I have about 6 roommates and I'm not one to disturb the environment so selfishly. My pillows were on the receiving end of my squeals and giggles which would have been so loud had I been staying alone. This is the second Nigerian romance genre I've read that was written so beautifully. Check this one out too. It's worth every hype and more.

Well, you've come to the end of this post. These are the books that made it to my top five for the year. Have you read any? Or do you intend to read any or all of them?

Thanks for reading.

Images are mine.

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