Books

My best children’s books of 2025

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Having written about my favourite adult fiction and non-fiction books of this year, it’s time for the books that we enjoyed reading with our nine-year-old the most this year. This is a mixture of fiction and non-fiction.

The links below to buy the books are all sponsored links to Amazon, but you’re welcome to borrow these from your local library, or buy them from an independent book shop.

‘Murder! by Narwhal!’ by Alex T Smith

This was a Waterstones book recommendation that we picked up last year. Murder! By Narwhal! is, as you may have guessed, a kid-friendly murder mystery book where someone ends up deceased by the way of a narwhal horn. Our nine-year-old really enjoyed it, and there are plenty of twists and turns in the plot. Like all the best whodunnits, the perpetrator will be a complete surprise, and have made sense all along.

An as-yet untitled sequel to the book is due to come out in 2026.

‘Bunny vs Monkey’ by Jamie Smart

Our nine-year-old has been really getting into comic books this year, hence why four of the six books recommended here are comic books. This is book one of the Bunny vs Monkey series; so far, we’ve read five of them together this year, with others purchased but not yet read.

They are very silly books, which makes them perfect for their target age group.

‘History’s Most Epic Fibs’ by Athena Kugblenu

A non-fiction book! You may know Athenu Kugblenu as an occasional co-host of The Guilty Feminist Podcast, or as a stand-up comedian, or as a contributor to the recent Dead Funny History series on BBC Radio 4. History’s Most Epic Fibs is a kid’s book dispelling commonly believed fake facts from history, like how vikings never war horned helmets, or that Queen Cleopatra was not actually Egyptian. As well as being a source of facts, it’s also a way of teaching critical thinking, and not always taking everything someone says at face value.

We also read this year’s follow-up, History’s Most Epic Fails, about how things went wrong and changed the world – sometimes for the better. I recommend both.

‘Mega Robo Bros’ by Neill Cameron

Our nine-year-old got to meet Neill Cameron at Thought Bubble this year, and so we have a signed poster of one of their favourite comic book series from this year: Mega Robo Bros. Set in near future London, it tells the story of two humanoid robot brothers, who live with their scientist mother and her spouse. Whilst their parents try to let them have a normal life, when a mysterious evil Robot 23 comes onto the scene, their robot super powers suddenly become very useful indeed.

Unlike the Bunny vs Monkey books, which are anthologies of a series of short stories, each book is a complete story within an over-arching plot line. So far, we’ve read the first two books in the series.

‘Cooking with Monsters’ by Jordan Alsaqa

We bought Cooking with Monsters at this year’s Thought Bubble from Vivian Truong, who is the artist behind this comic book series. I should note that this is aimed at young adults, but our nine-year-old enjoyed it and there isn’t much in here that isn’t age-appropriate for younger kids. It’s also quite LGBTQ+ friendly; indeed, one of the main characters is non-binary. We liked the monsters such as the Bull Frog (a frog that is also a bull).

Currently, there are two books in the series – we’ve just read the first so far.

‘Unfairies’ by Huw Aaron

Another Waterstones recommendation, and a sign that comic books are moving into the mainstream, as this is published by Puffin Books. Unfairies is a similar level of silliness to Bunny vs Monkey, and follows the adventures of Pip who works in the storeroom at the bottom of a tree. As he makes his way up the tree, he encounters other fae creatures, all of whom seem to hate each other, until he gets to the top.

We only just finished this book last week. A sequel is due out early next year and was being promoted by Puffin at Thought Bubble, along with a new comic book from Olaf Falafel for which we picked up a free two chapter sampler.

Honourable mentions

We read the first of the Montgomery Bonbon books by Alasdair Beckett-King a couple of years ago, but read the rest this year. They’re good books – all whodunnits.

My best adult fiction books of 2025

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Between now and the day before Christmas Eve, I’ll be posting about the best books that I’ve read (or the best audiobooks that I have listened to) this year, just in case you need any last minute present ideas. On Monday, I wrote about my favourite non-fiction books, and today, I’m focussing on the fiction books aimed at grown-ups that I’ve read or listened to this year. All of these are books that I have awarded five stars on Goodreads.

The links below to buy the books are all sponsored links to Amazon, but you’re welcome to borrow these from your local library, or buy them from an independent book shop.

‘How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying’ by Django Wexler

Cover of 'How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying' by Django Wexler

This book was recommended to me by a couple of people. It’s told in the first person by Davi, who is stuck in a time loop. Every time she tries to defeat the Dark Lord, she ends up dead and back at the beginning of the loop. So, as per the title, this is How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying. It’s very funny, with plenty of violence, sex and swearing to boot. Christine and I listened to this together in the car, and the audiobook is very well narrated by Jeanette Illidge.

This book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, and so there’s a second book, Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me, which also comes recommended. I think Christine enjoyed both books more than I did, but they’re still amongst my books of the year.

‘Human Rites’ by Juno Dawson

Last year, the other two books in the Her Majesty’s Royal Coven trilogy were in my best of list, so it’s no surprise that this third and final book, Human Rites, is here too. These books almost feel like they were written specially for me, as many of the settings are places around Hebden Bridge that I know well. Plus the various pop culture references.

Dawson manages to bring the overall story arc to a really satisfying conclusion, without making it feel like it was a foregone conclusion. The audiobook is, once again, excellently narrated by Nicola Coughlan, who is able to give each character a unique and distinctive voice.

‘Rule of Cool’ by Matthew Siege

Cover of 'Rule of Cool' by Matthew Siege

This was my first foray into the world of LitRPG – fiction books that incorporate role-playing game mechanics. So, in this book, Rule of Cool, the characters level up, and as events happen, you can read how their stats change. Attacks are on the basis of dice roles. It’s a whole genre of books.

The story is an idea I’ve come across before, in Drew Hayes’ book NPCs. Characters in a game find a way to break out of their pre-defined non-player character roles, and get to be the heroes for once. Whilst Hayes’ book was a little disappointing, I found the story in Rule of Cool much more engaging.

I picked this up on the basis of its narrator, Felicia Day, whose career I have followed since she released the first series of The Guild. Which is approaching its 20th anniversary, somehow.

‘The Fireborne Blade’ by Charlotte Bond

Cover of 'The Fireborne Blade' by Charlotte Bond

I met Charlotte Bond at this year’s Sci-Fi Weekender, as one of the invited authors. She’s from Leeds, and when I read the dedications for this book, The Fireborne Blade, one of those was to a mutual friend. As well as a signed copy of this book, she also gave me some Yorkshire Tea.

It’s a dragon-slaying fantasy book with a few unexpected twists. There’s some humour in here, and overall, it’s quite a short book. Which, if you’re like me and wanting to hit an ambitious reading challenge target for the year, is welcome.

There’s a follow up – The Bloodless Princes – but I haven’t started this yet.

‘When The Moon Hits Your Eye’ by John Scalzi

Cover of 'When The Moon Hits Your Eye' by John Scalzi

Last year’s best of list featured two honourable mentions by John Scalzi. As with Human Rites, mentioned earlier, this is one of two books that I read which were actually published this year.

In When The Moon Hits Your Eye, the moon suddenly turns to cheese. The book is essentially a series of short stories, where different characters all react to the same events, including teams of scientists, eccentric billionaires, and cheese shop owners.

Whilst my favourite John Scalzi book remains Starter Villain, this is good, and what you would expect if you’ve read Scalzi’s other books. The audiobook is once again well-narrated by Wil Wheaton.

On Tuesday, I’ll focus on the best kid’s books that I read this year with our nine-year-old.

My best non-fiction books of 2025

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Between now and the day before Christmas Eve, I’ll be posting about the best books that I’ve read (or the best audiobooks that I have listened to) this year, just in case you need any last minute present ideas. Today, I’m focussing on the non-fiction books that I’ve read or listened to this year. All of these are books that I have awarded five stars on Goodreads.

The links below to buy the books are all sponsored links to Amazon, but you’re welcome to borrow these from your local library, or buy them from an independent book shop.

‘You Don’t Have to be Mad to Work Here’ by Dr Benji Waterhouse

Cover of 'You Don't Have to be Mad to Work Here' by Dr Benji Waterhouse

Released last year in hardback, You Don’t Have to be Mad to Work Here is written by psychiatrist Dr Benji Waterhouse. He writes about his first few years in psychiatry, both in hospital and later in community roles. We are introduced to some of Dr Waterhouse’s more notable patients and their struggles with poor mental health. It’s funny and heartwarming, but also lays bare some of the challenges in psychiatry and health and social care as a whole. I really enjoyed it, although my wife, a healthcare worker, found it hit a little too close to home in places.

I picked this up as an Audible daily deal back in July; Dr Waterhouse narrates the audiobook himself and does an excellent job of it too. I also listened to this Richard Herring interview with him back in January.

‘Why Can’t I Just Enjoy Things’ by Pierre Novellie

Cover of 'Why Can’t I Just Enjoy Things' by Pierre Novellie

A second mention for this book this year, as we went to see Novellie discuss this book with Robin Ince at the Bradford Literature Festival this summer. I have now finished this book (it took me from June to November), and have shared many quotes from it with friends. The book is subtitled ‘A comedian’s guide to autism’, and it follows his diagnosis of being autistic in his thirties and how this has informed his comedy.

As you’d expect from a comedian, it’s a funny book, but I also found it useful too. I’ve previously blogged about how I’m (probably) neurodivergent, and reading this book has certainly reinforced that.

I’ll also offer an honourable mention for Robin Ince’s Normally Weird and Weirdly Normal, which Christine and I listened to as an audiobook whilst in Wales and enjoyed. It gets a strong recommendation from me, especially as Robin was forced to quit the BBC’s Infinite Monkey Cage as studio executives were not happy about his views on social media about trans people being deserving of dignity, respect and inclusion.

‘My Thoughts Exactly’ by Lily Allen

Cover of 'My Thoughts Exactly' by Lily Allen

Another Audible Daily Deal, but one I picked up way back in 2019 shortly after the paperback was released. I now regret that I left it six years before I read My Thoughts Exactly, because it’s excellent. It covers Allen’s early life – I had no idea that Harry Enfield was essentially her step-dad for a while – and how she was one of the first major artists to use MySpace to break into the mainstream.

There’s also a lot about her personal life in here, including how she handled a stalker (subsequently convicted) and her relationships. Indeed, I finished it just before she released her latest album, West End Girl, with some very raw lyrics about her latest partner.

‘Brutally Honest’ by Melanie Brown

Cover of 'Brutally Honest' by Melanie Brown

This isn’t the first book from Mel B from the Spice Girls, but Brutally Honest is a really important read. It’s her account of her relationships with Eddie Murphy, and her second husband, Stephen Belafonte, who she accuses of emotional, financial and physical abuse.

Mel B wrote the book in conjunction with Louise Gannon; she mentions a midlife diagnosis of dyslexia, and the audiobook is also read by a professional voice actor, albeit one with a Leeds accent. The audiobook also features a bonus interview with Mel and Louise at the end. Anyone in a relationship needs to read this to know what not to do.

‘Tits Up’ by Sarah Thornton

Cover of 'Tits Up' by Sarah Thornton

Yes, a book about breasts is in my top five best books that I consumed in 2025. Tits Up starts with a discussion about Thornton’s own breasts; removed to avoid breast cancer, and replaced with prosthetics that ended up being larger than her previous natural breasts. There’s also a discussion about the phrase ‘tits up’; Thornton is Canadian but has spent time in the UK, and it means different things on either side of the Atlantic. In the UK, if something has gone ‘tits up’, it means it’s gone wrong, but in the US, I gather it means something on the lines of ‘put your big girl pants on’.

What is notable is that almost everyone interviewed for this book is a woman – you won’t find anything about men publishing topless photos or producing porn in here, although there are interviews with sex workers themselves.

Honourable Mentions

As well as Robin Ince’s and Mel C’s books above, I also enjoyed these books this year:

Next time, I’ll be writing about the adult fiction books that I’ve most enjoyed this year.

Meeting the Map Men in Leeds

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Mark Cooper-Jones and Jay Foreman, aka the Map Men, in front of a crowd at Waterstones in Leeds

Last week, I went to meet the Map Men at Waterstones in Leeds. They have a new book out, called This Way Up, which you can buy from Waterstones or Amazon (sponsored link).

The Map Men are Jay Foreman and Mark Cooper-Jones. They’re both stand-up comedians, and Mark used to be a geography teacher before going into comedy, hence the interest in maps. Jay, meanwhile, has long had a YouTube channel; I first came across his ‘Unfinished London‘ series many years ago. Mark and Jay started collaborating on their Map Men series way back in 2016, with a video about Bir Tawil:

The show started out primarily as a sketch show that happened to be mostly factual. This became an issue when Mark and Jay found out that teachers were using their videos in classes at school, and so newer episodes undergo rather more fact-checking before they’re published. In all, there’s been 34 episodes across four series, with each episode typically getting 3-4 million views. They’re good – they manage to be entertaining whilst also educational.

The Map Men Book

Every successful thing seems to result in a book nowadays, and so ‘This Way Up’ is their first book inspired by the show. It’s worth noting that it’s all new content – essentially, lots of the content in the book are things that are interesting, but would probably not make a good video. That also means that the book isn’t treading the same ground as the videos.

Here’s a couple of interesting points that I picked up from the book launch. Firstly, the first draft of the book was almost finished, when Mark and Jay realised that there was nothing about the UK in the book. So those chapters were some of the last to be added.

The second was about whether Yorkshire appears, seeing as the event was in Leeds. The answer is yes, but not a whole chapter. It comes up in a chapter about ITV regions, and how the area covered by Yorkshire Television included a lot of places which were emphatically not in Yorkshire, and didn’t cover many that actually were. For example, King’s Lynn, all the way down in Norfolk, picked up Yorkshire Television, but Scarborough, further up the coast and very much in Yorkshire, did not. The broadcast area also included the tiny county of Rutland, and thus merits a mention of Eric Idle’s sketch show Rutland Weekend Television.

A photo of me (on the left) with Mark and Jay (the Map Men) and my friend Phil

Book launch

This Way Up was released last week, and so I attended one of the five launch events being held in various branches of Waterstones across the UK. Of those five, three sold out; this one in Leeds wasn’t quite a sell-out, but around 200 people gave up time on their Tuesday evening to see the Map Men speak. I turned up slightly late, thanks to Northern Rail, but managed to see almost all of their hour-long Q&A session.

Of course, the best thing about attending a book launch is the opportunity to meet the authors, which we did after the Q&A. So, I have a lovely photo of me with Mark and Jay, and my friend Philip Lickley, and a signed copy of the book. Incidentally, neither Phil nor I knew each other would be there ahead of time (despite me saying so on Facebook – curse you, algorithms!) and yet we ended up sat next to each other.

As I write this, I haven’t yet read the book, apart from the short passages that were read out at the event. I have, however, separately picked up the audiobook, which Mark and Jay narrate themselves, and will listen to it soon.

Robin Ince and Pierre Novellie at BradfordLitFest

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Pierre Novellie (left) and Robin Ince (right) taking part in a discussion about Thinking Differently and Laughing Loudly at Bradford Literature Festival

A couple of Sundays before, we went to see Robin Ince and Pierre Novellie at the final day of the Bradford Literature Festival. They’re both stand-up comedians, who, as adults, have received ADHD (Ince) and Autism (Novellie) diagnoses, and written books about them. The event, entitled Thinking Differently and Laughing Loudly, had Ince and Novellie talk about their experiences both pre- and post-diagnosis, and their books.

The Bradford Literature Festival has been going for a few years now, and – full disclosure – my employer, the University of Bradford, has been one its major funders from day one. Indeed, this event took place in the university’s Great Hall, which, combined with an Open Day the day before, meant I spent quite a bit of my weekend at work in some capacity. Ashamedly, this was the first event I had attended, although I put this mainly down to issues arranging childcare in previous years. This event was in the late afternoon, and so we dragged our nine-year-old along along with their iPad and headphones.

The following paragraphs include sponsored links to Amazon for the books mentioned.

A photo of two books, 'Normally Weird and Weirdly Normal' by Robin Ince and 'Why Can't I Just Enjoy Things'

Robin Ince – Normally Weird and Weirdly Normal

I’ve seen Robin Ince a few times before. These include a couple of ‘Uncaged Monkeys’ events in 2011, which was sort-of a live show for nerds as a spin-off of the Infinite Monkey Cage show that he co-hosts with Professor Brian Cox on BBC Radio 4. We also saw his ‘Bad Book Club’ show in Hebden Bridge, again in 2011, and we’ve seen him at a couple of shows in Leeds and in Huddersfield. Finding out that Ince has ADHD was not much of a surprise – his comedy sets would often go off and tangents and he would frequently go over time.

Robin Ince has written quite a few books now, and I’ve read Bad Book Club (related to the aforementioned show), I’m A Comedian And So Are You (one of my books of the year for 2019) and The Importance of Being Interested. His latest is Normally Weird and Weirdly Normal, published in May, and this was the book he was here to promote. I haven’t read it yet, but we picked up a signed copy and I also have the audiobook to accompany us on our upcoming holiday. We also had a couple of Robin’s other books signed, including Bibilomaniac, which I haven’t yet read.

Pierre Novellie – Why Can’t I Just Enjoy Things

I haven’t seen Pierre Novellie before, but I follow him on social media as he’s popped up on a few podcasts that I listen to. Pierre was born in South Africa, moved to the Isle of Man in childhood and then went to Cambridge for university. He was diagnosed as being autistic in his thirties, and in the discussions on stage, he said he’d realised that autistic observations made up much of his comedy even before he was aware.

His book is called Why Can’t I Just Enjoy Things? and, if I remember correctly, Novellie self-published it before it was picked up by a publisher and released in paperback in May. I picked up the Kindle edition when it was on offer, and had started reading it on the plane on the way back from Greece. It’s very good; it’s funny, but it also makes you think. I’ve not finished it yet – probably a combination of being busy and my undiagnosed ADHD – but we picked up the paperback to have that signed as well. I mean, I could have asked Novellie to sign the iPad that I’m reading it on, but I’m looking at replacing it later this year.

As for the Bradford Literature Festival, it’ll be back next year. It’s a really good festival, with a huge range of activities and a real commitment to diversity.

Authors I’ve read 5 or more books by

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Last weekend, on Bluesky, there was a meme going around where you listed the authors where you have read five or more of their books. I duly complied, but felt it was also worth a blog post to provide a bit of commentary on top.

The ordering of these is essentially the three authors that came to mind, and then the rest were from my Goodreads profile. Also, when I say ‘read’, this includes books that I have listened to as audiobooks. Indeed, this is primarily how I consume books, but I do try to fit in e-books and paper books where I can.

Terry Pratchett

I have read a lot of Terry Pratchett over the years. As a teenager, I read the Johnny Maxwell trilogy, and then started with the Discworld books in 2017. I’ve now read every core Discworld book (all 41 of them), as well as some of Pratchett’s non-Discworld works like The Carpet People, his Long Earth series with Stephen Baxter, and Truckers, the first book in the Bromeliad Trilogy. I tried to get our nine-year-old into the latter, but they weren’t interested and didn’t get a lot of the references, alas.

John Scalzi

Although I’ve not yet read any of his Old Man’s War series, for which he is best known, I have read a number of John Scalzi books. This includes the Lock In series – well, the two books and the prequel – Starter Villian, The Kaiju Preservation Society and The Android’s Dream. I picked up the majority of Scalzi’s books in a previous Humble Bundle, so they’re there for me to read in due course. I’ll also be picking up his latest novel, When The Moon Hits Your Eye when my next Audible credit is available. It’s once again narrated by Wil Wheaton, who does an excellent job – especially in the newer books.

Scott Meyer

Scott Meyer wrote an inventive fantasy/sci-fi series called Magic 2.0, and I’ve read all of those that have been published so far. If you like Pratchett and Scalzi, then you’ll like this series. I haven’t read any of his other books yet though.

Yahtzee Croshaw

Yahtzee Croshaw made a name for himself doing fast-faced and highly sarcastic video game review videos, in a series called Zero Punctuation which ran until 2023. But he has also had seven books published to date (plus two unpublished works available from his web site) and I’ve read five of them. They are, once again, mainly sci-fi, and include the humour that you would expect.

Roald Dahl

I think I’ve read every Roald Dahl book. More recently we’ve started reading some of them to our nine-year-old, hence why they’re showing up in my Goodreads lists.

Juno Dawson

Last year, I started reading Juno Dawson’s Her Majesty’s Royal Coven series. The first two books are fantastic, and I need to read the prequel soon before the final book, Human Rites, is published this summer. I’ve also read several of Dawson’s non-fiction, including The Gender Games and What’s The T? – I recommend both.

Terry Deary

As a kid, I wasn’t into reading fiction so much, so instead I read a lot of books like Horrible Histories. We’re now reading some of these with our nine-year-old.

Matt Haig

As with Juno Dawson, I’ve mainly read Matt Haig’s non-fiction works, like The Comfort Book and Reasons to Stay Alive. But last year I also read The Midnight Library and it fully deserves all of the accolades it received. Just an excellent novel. I need to read more of Haig’s novels in future.

Adam Kay

I remember seeing Adam Kay when he was performing comedy songs in a double act with Suman Biswas, as The Amateur Transplants. We saw them in Manchester – Christine and I were in the early months of our relationship and still lived apart. Back then, Kay was still a practising doctor with comedy and writing as a side-hustle.

Then he published This Is Going To Hurt which was both hilarious and heartbreaking in equal measure. Since then, he’s written a follow-up, Undoctored, but the reason why he features here is that he’s also written a very good series of science books for kids, starting with Kay’s Anatomy. We’ve read all of them to our nine-year-old.

Caitlin Moran

Another author who is here because I’ve read her non-fiction books. Indeed, How To Be A Woman was the first audiobook that I listed to on my Audible free trial, 12 years ago. I’ve also read her follow-ups, More Than A Woman and What About Men? as well as her collections of previously published columns for The Times newspaper. I would recommend them all, although I scored More Than A Woman highest.

Jay Rayner

I think I’ve read all of Jay Rayner’s books – mostly through the audiobooks which Christine and I listen to in the car. Rayner’s dulcet tones have accompanied us on many a long-distance drive over the years.

Gill Sims

Gill Sims is known for the Why Mummy series, of which I’ve read the first four books. There’s also the Saturday Night Sauvignon Sisterhood, which is a free-standing book that tangentially takes place in the same universe. All the books are very relatable if you’re a parent.

Neil Gaiman

I almost didn’t include Neil Gaiman here because, whilst I had read more than five of his books, I won’t be reading any more. I touched on this last week, but following the allegations that surround him, I can’t bring myself to read any more of his work. And that’s a shame, because Anansi Boys was one of my favourite books of all time.

What does this say about my taste in books?

Firstly, I was surprised that I had read five or more books from as many authors as this. Logging what I read on Goodreads has helped here. But I’m also a little disappointed that the majority of authors are straight white men. Admittedly, some of those straight white men, like Pratchett and Scalzi, are/were good allies, but I need to read more books by women and people of colour.

Also, I definitely have a thing for stories with humour, ideally in the sci-fi and fantasy realms, and most of the books that I read have been published relatively recently. Indeed, as I write this, all the authors bar Pratchett and Dahl are still alive.

Separating the art from the artist

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A photo featuring a Harry Potter book and DVD, and the books Scrap by Guy Bass and Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

I suppose a lengthier title of this would be: “how to consume Harry Potter content without its transphobic author benefitting financially”. Because this is what I’ve been grappling with of late. This blog post therefore comes with a trigger warning about transphobia.

As regular readers of this blog will know, I am the father of a nine-year-old, albeit a nine-year-old with additional needs and who struggles with reading. We have had the odd conversation around Harry Potter, but so far there has been no desire to read the books, watch the films or engage in the fandom. This, of course, could change.

We have had some discussions with our nine-year-old around JK Rowling’s transphobic views, and why they’re bad. It helps that we can contextualise the situation, as one of our close friends is trans. But if all of their friends suddenly decide that they’re into Harry Potter, then we might need to handle this sensitively.

Whilst JK Rowling’s transphobia has been public knowledge for some time, the recent Supreme Court case around the definition of ‘woman’ was financially supported by her. In other words, if you’re spending money on Harry Potter books, films and merchandise, then you’re supporting transphobia. What I’m attempting to do is outline ways that you can do so without your money going to transphobic causes.

The books and the films

It just so happens that Christine already owns all of the books, and I have many of the DVDs of the films, so if our nine-year-old wants to consume them then they’re already there. If you have a child who wants to engage with the books and the films, but don’t already own them, then the best thing to do is buy them second-hand. That could be from a charity shop – even better if it’s for an LGBTQ+ positive charity – or on a site like eBay. Just make sure that you’re definitely buying a used copy.

In the UK at least, authors are recompensed when you borrow their books from the library. And whilst that’s generally a really good thing, it’s not helpful this situation. You also don’t want to be streaming the films on Netflix either.

When it comes to problematic authors from the past, the situation is a little different. For example, HP Lovecraft held views that we would now consider to be racist. However, he is dead, and therefore he can’t actively fund legal action against marginalised groups. And, his oldest work is now out of copyright anyway, so you can download some of his work from Project Gutenberg for free. This is also an argument about why you should boycott Tesla, and not other car companies like Volkswagen who may have supported fascism in the past, but not now. At least, as far as I’m aware.

The new Harry Potter TV series

Just don’t watch it. Indeed, if enough people don’t watch it, they won’t make any more, and it may indicate how toxic the Harry Potter brand is becoming.

Merchandise

Again, buy second-hand if you must. Also, there’s no shortage of unofficial ‘teenage wizard’ merchandise and fancy dress outfits that you could consider. Maybe avoid the dubious tax-avoiding ones that have cropped up all over London though.

But also, consider having the difficult conversation with your kids about the nature of Harry Potter and its writers’ views. Parenting is hard, and trying to go against peer pressure and your child’s desire to fit in can be harder still.

Alternatives

You could steer your child towards other books, films and TV series that are less problematic. We recently read Lee Bacon’s ‘The Last Human’ (sponsored link) which is a really good book and aimed at a similar age group. Others have said good things about Tomi Adeyemi’s ‘Children of Blood and Bone’ (sponsored link), which is the first in a three-part series. I have the Kindle edition of the first book, but I haven’t read it myself yet. Both of these books have film adaptations in the works. Currently, we’re reading SCRAP by Guy Bass (sponsored link) which is also very good, and there are the ‘junior’ Discworld books by Terry Pratchett as well.

My best children’s fiction books of 2024

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Between now and Christmas Eve, I’ll be posting about the best books that I’ve read (or the best audiobooks that I have listened to), just in case you need any last minute present ideas. On Thursday, I wrote about my favourite non-fiction books, and yesterday, my favourite adult fiction books. Today, I’m focussing on the fiction books that I’ve read to our soon-to-be nine year old this year. All of these are books that I have awarded five stars on Goodreads.

The links below to buy the books are all sponsored links to Amazon, but you’re welcome to borrow these from your local library, or buy them from an independent book shop.

Luna Wolf: Animal Wizard by Alesha Dixon

The cover of Luna Wolf: Animal Wizard by Alesha Dixon

Our eight-year-old picked this out of the school library, and wasn’t aware that I used to listen to Alesha Dixon’s music as a teenager, from when she was part of the girl band Mis-teeq.

Luna Wolf: Animal Wizard is co-written by Dixon in collaboration with Katy Birchall, and is about a girl called Luna who has recently moved to London with her father, following her mother’s death. Through her volunteering at a local animal rescue centre, and her bond with one of the rescue dogs, she begins to uncover her mother’s exciting past, and a plot to capture some very special animals that her mother worked with.

The Day My Dog Got Famous by Jen Carney

The cover of 'The Day My Dog Got Famous' by Jen Carney

We picked up The Day My Dog Got Famous from our local library, and it’s written and illustrated by Jen Carney. It follows the story of Ferris, who lives with his two mums, his dog Aldo, and a revolving door of foster brothers and sisters. Alas, despite Ferris’s attempts to make Aldo appear amazing, by drawing comics, Aldo is anything but, and this presents a problem when his next-door neighbour Destiny challenges him to a video contest.

I’ve read many books to our nine-year-old over the years, and this stood out because it’s a bit more inclusive than others. It’s nice to see families represented that don’t fit the standard 2.4 children pattern.

Rainbow Grey by Lauren Ellen Anderson

The cover of Rainbow Grey by Lauren Ellen Anderson

Another book which is written and illustrated by the author. Lauren Ellen Anderson is probably better known as the writer of the Amelia Fang books, which we haven’t yet started.

Rainbow Grey follows the character of Ray Grey, who is a ‘weatherling’ and lives high up in the clouds. But whilst every other weatherling has powers to control the weather, she doesn’t. Until one day, when she ventures down to earth, and encounters a mysterious artefact.

There are now three books in the Rainbow Grey series and we’ll be on the lookout for the others.

Honourable mentions

Whilst the above books were deserving of five stars, these are the four star children’s fiction books that I also read this year:

That’s the end of my 2024 lists of best books; hopefully, if you were stuck for ideas for Christmas presents, these will have helped you. Obviously, it’s cutting it a bit tight to order anything in time for Christmas now…

My best adult fiction books of 2024

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Between now and Christmas Eve, I’ll be posting about the best books that I’ve read (or the best audiobooks that I have listened to), just in case you need any last minute present ideas. On Thursday, I wrote about my favourite non-fiction books, and today, I’m focussing on the fiction books aimed at grown-ups that I’ve read or listened to this year. All of these are books that I have awarded five stars on Goodreads.

The links below to buy the books are all sponsored links to Amazon, but you’re welcome to borrow these from your local library, or buy them from an independent book shop.

Baby Does A Runner by Anita Rani

Cover of 'Baby Does A Runner' by Anita Rani. It's mostly pink at the top and green at the bottom.

Okay, slight conflict of interest time: Anita Rani is our chancellor at work, although it’s a largely ceremonial role and no, I haven’t actually met her in person yet. In 2021, she published her memoirs, The Right Sort of Girl, which were great – having spent some of my formative years in Bradford, I related to a lot of Rani’s experiences. Baby Does A Runner is fiction, and is about a young British-Asian woman who sets off to her family’s ancestral home in India to uncover a family secret. Whilst it’s not a true story, there’s a lot about topics like the Partition of India which certainly wasn’t taught to me in history lessons at school. It does well to tackle colonial-era views of India.

Rani reads the audiobook herself, and does an excellent job of it, giving each character a unique voice and accent.

Her Majesty’s Royal Coven and The Shadow Cabinet by Juno Dawson

The cover of Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson

I’ve grouped these books together as they form the first two books in a trilogy; book three, Human Rites, is due out in summer 2025. Book one, Her Majesty’s Royal Coven, follows four witches, Niamh, Leonie, Elle and Helena who knew each other from school, and now each have their own professional working lives. Only Helena remains part of the secretive government department, Her Majesty’s Royal Coven, and there are rumours that a ‘sullied child’ will bring forth Leviathan and a terrible disaster.

The Shadow Cabinet picks up from the same cliff-hanger scene at the end of the first book, and sees Leonie take off on a wild goose chase around Europe. Meanwhile, we find out about The Shadow Cabinet, a board consisting of witches, warlocks and so-called ‘mundanes’ (non-magic users) in government. Again, there’s a cliff-hanger at the end of this book, and I’ll have to wait several more months to find out how it ends.

The cover of The Shadow Cabinet by Juno Dawson

In the meantime, there’s a prequel, Queen B, set in Tudor times, which I’ve yet to read.

Both books come highly recommended. Again, I relate to the settings, as many scenes take place just up the road from us in Hebden Bridge, and Hardcastle Crags in particular. They’re also the first fiction books that I’ve read/listened to by Juno Dawson; I’ve previously enjoyed her non-fiction books, The Gender Games and What’s The T?

Both audiobooks are read by Nicola Coughlan, known for her roles in Derry Girls and the later series of Bridgerton, and her narration is excellent.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

The cover of 'The Midnight Library' by Matt Haig

Another author for which I’ve only really read their non-fiction before. I believe I picked up The Midnight Library cheaply in an Audible daily deal, and my only regret is that I didn’t listen to it sooner. It goes to some dark places; consider this a trigger warning for suicide, and a subject that Matt Haig has written extensively about in his non-fiction books.

The story follows Nora, who’s reached rock bottom and sees no way out. Except, she ends up in a mysterious library, seemingly staffed by the librarian from her school days, and each book shows her a possible life that she could have lived, had she made different decisions. The ending wasn’t quite as predictable as it could have been, which kept the book interesting, and it is very well written.

The actress Carey Mulligan narrates the audiobook and does a decent job of it.

Honourable mentions

Whilst the above books were deserving of five stars, these are the four star fiction books that I also read this year:

Tomorrow, I’ll focus on the best kid’s books that I read this year with our eight-year-old.

My best non-fiction books of 2024

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Between now and Christmas Eve, I’ll be posting about the best books that I’ve read (or the best audiobooks that I have listened to), just in case you need any last minute present ideas. Today, I’m focussing on the non-fiction books that I’ve read or listened to this year. All of these are books that I have awarded five stars on Goodreads.

The links below to buy the books are all sponsored links to Amazon, but you’re welcome to borrow these from your local library, or buy them from an independent book shop.

‘Period. It’s About Bloody Time’ by Emma Barnett

The cover of the book 'Period. It's About Bloody Time' by Emma Barnett.

I don’t get periods, being a cisgender man, but my wife Christine does. Whilst this isn’t the first period book I’ve read (that would be Maisie Hill’s Period Power), I really enjoyed Period. It’s About Bloody Time by Emma Barnett. It’s funny, but also a very important book about how periods are perceived, and what society can do to better accommodate those who menstruate.

I like how it goes through lots of the euphemisms that people use instead of the word ‘period’ (it’s called ‘Shark Week‘ in our house).

The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read by Philippa Perry

The cover to Philippa Perry's book 'The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did)'

Or to give it its full title, ‘The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did)’. If you only ever buy one parenting book, make it this one, as it was full of useful advice. It’s taught me to be more patient as a parent, and to focus on being present and nurturing with our child.

I also read Perry’s follow-up book, The Book You Want Everyone You Love To Read (and maybe a few you don’t) this year, which was still good but not as good as her first.

Barry Cryer: Same Time Tomorrow? by Bob Cryer

The cover of the book 'Barry Cryer: Same Time Tomorrow?' by Bob Cryer.

I’ve been to a couple of recordings of I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, which is now into its 82nd series, and Barry Cryer was a regular contestant for over 50 years before his death in 2022, aged 86. Barry Cryer: Same Time Tomorrow? is a biography of him written by his son, Bob, along with many anecdotes contributed by Barry’s friends and colleagues. It’s a lovely tribute to someone who carried on working in comedy well into his senior years, and was loved and respected by comedians both new and old. As with Rob Wilkins’ biography of Terry Pratchett, it’s written with warmth and admiration.

A Girlhood: A Letter to My Transgender Daughter by Carolyn Hays

The cover to the book 'A Letter to my Transgender Daughter' by Carolyn Hays

Right now, the issue of care for young transgender people is very much in the news, and I would urge anyone wanting to have an informed opinion on the topic to read A Girlhood: A Letter to My Transgender Daughter by Carolyn Hays.

Published under a pseudonym, it’s written as a letter over several chapters, about a family who is doing their best to provide gender-affirming care for their child. There’s a lot of bravery on show, especially as the book starts in an American state which isn’t particularly trans-friendly.

Fix the System, Not the Women by Laura Bates

The cover of the book 'Fix the System, Not the Women' by Laura Bates

Laura Bates was the founder of the Everyday Sexism project, and wrote a 2014 book of the same name. This follow-up, Fix the System, Not the Women, is about how society’s systems and structures work against women and other marginalised people. But it also has positive recommendations for how society can change to be more equal.

It’s an important book for anyone committed to gender equality and inclusion.

“No Offence, But…” by Gina Martin

The cover to the book 'No Offence, But' by Gina Martin

Gina Martin is probably best known as a campaigner who pushed for the Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019, which made upskirting a specific criminal offence. “No Offence, But” is a useful handbook for responding to claims such as ‘not all men’ and ‘playing devil’s advocate’. Whilst Gina herself has written around half the chapters, there are also contributions from other authors and activists who write in their area of expertise. Again, it’s a positive book that offers useful talking points to respond to lazy stereotypes.

Next time, I’ll be writing about the fiction books that I’ve most enjoyed this year.