Our favourite reads this year, from fiction and food to short stories and poetry.
In the brilliant short story collection Quickly, While They Still Have Horses (Doubleday, approx €14.99), Jan Carson’s details are so vivid – from first love to babies slowly crawling towards the wet frey of water (unnoticed by distracted parents) – it’s too easy to imagine a place in her worlds.
Elaine Feeney’s All The Good Things You Deserve (Harvill Secker, approx €16.99) is a powerful, fierce exploration of women’s lives, bodies, and battles. The stanzas full of poignant, personal observation, demand multiple readings. A beautiful collection of poetry.
Christine Anne Foley gives us a sharp, dark and subversive debut about a young woman navigating complex and coercive relationships with men, fighting to regain control in any way she can in Bodies (John Murray, approx €16.99). Her body, Charlotte feels, is not her own, but owned and at the will of others.
From roast chicken and traybakes to vibrant curries and stews, classic comfort foods are reimagined with a twist in Ottolenghi COMFORT by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh (Ebury Press, approx €22.99). Think caramelised onion orecchiette with hazelnuts and crispy sage or cheesy bread soup. Even mash becomes garlicky aligot potato. With over 100 irresistible recipes, this isn’t just about recipes, it’s a celebration of the food that brings us home.
For the little bookworms in your life, The Faerie Isle: Tales and Traditions of Ireland’s Forgotten Folklore by Síne Quinn with illustrations by Dermot Flynn (Walker Books, approx €11.99) is a magical read. From trickster spirits to slippery shape-shifters, and tiny leprechaun to the enormous giant, this will guide you through the world of Irish faeries with beautiful illustrations.
Nothing screams winter like a delicious cheese board. Anne-Laure Pham and Mathieu Plantive’s The Complete Book of Cheese (Flammarion, approx €25.99), this comprehensive guide on the art of cheese, covers everything selecting, serving and storing with nearly 50 simple recipes to try yourself. If you weren’t a cheese fan, this will convert you.
Irish-based Brazilian writer Nicole Louie’s Others Like Me (Dialogue Books, approx €18.99) is an honest reflection of a wide range of childfree women’s emotions and experiences. Louie, who has constantly wrestled with the guilt of not wanting children, shares 14 interviews as uninterrupted, first-person sections that weave through the author’s personal experience. An essential read.
This article originally appeared in the Winter 2024 issue of IMAGE.
IMAGE Winter 2024
The Winter issue of IMAGE is here, and from luxe layering to stylish staycations and easy entertaining, you’ll find everything you need for the months ahead. Plus: * Daytime sequins * Merlot moodboard * In studio with Irish designer Jennifer Slattery * Irish storytelling * Winter joys * Curating your tribe * Futuristic beauty * Modern motherhood * Festive feasting * Maximalist stays * and so much more…
Find IMAGE Winter in stores, or click here to buy online. Have you thought about becoming an IMAGE subscriber? Our Print & Digital Magazine subscribers receive all four issues of IMAGE Magazine and two issues of IMAGE Interiors directly to their door along with digital access to all digital magazines and our full digital archive plus a gorgeous welcome gift worth €75 from Max Benjamin. Visit here to find out more about our IMAGE subscription packages.
Also Read
