End-of-the year reading lists, as a debut novelist
Bookish musings/anxieties
Hello and welcome! I am Penny Zang, an author (Doll Parts: August 2025) and English professor. Start here to learn more about Mourning Pages, where I write about books and writing, which means I’m also writing about grief and, you know, life.
“You are about to begin reading a new book, and to be honest, you are a little tense. The beginning of a novel is like a first date. You hope that from the first lines an urgent magic will take hold, and you will sink into the story like a hot bath, giving yourself over entirely.”—Rufi Thorpe, Margo’s Got Money Troubles
Hello friends! The last few weeks, as everyone recaps their reading lives in a public way, have felt weird for me. Every “best of” list suddenly carries a different weight as I look forward to next year, when my debut novel will be out in the world. And every “most anticipated of 2025” list feels like a heavy stone in my stomach.
Which is to say, I’m very much in my head right now and I’m trying to get out.
Andrea Bartz captured this feeling so well when she saw that her upcoming book was not on one of those “most anticipated” book lists. Of course it isn’t; no one has seen it yet. Same same. The ARCs for my August release aren’t on anyone’s radar yet. What an eye-opener for me to realize that every "most anticipated list of 2025,” while full of really exciting titles, only includes the first half of the year.
Nothing I can do about it. Nothing to worry about or feel bad about.
(Though let me add that I plan to post a lot of anticipated debuts in the new year, not just mine, because the books on some of those lists look SO GOOD—I see you Liann Zhang.)
As Bartz reminds us, “publishing’s not a zero-sum game; another author’s success is not your failure. It’s not a competition (though it certainly can feel like a pageant at times). There are 8 kajillion paths to “success,” and mega bestsellers can turbocharge a genre or even the industry. It’s a good thing when another author takes off, actually.”
Yes. I needed that reminder so much I almost cried when I read it.
I’ve also just discovered Oliver Burkeman at the recommendation of my friend, Lindsey of Between Two Things (who also recommended my new favorite candle), and it has been an eye-opener. Burkeman’s words really resonate as I think about the places where my reading and writing lives converge.
In Meditations for Mortals, Burkeman uses the term “insecure overachievers” to describe people, like me I’m afraid, whose “accomplishments, impressive as they may sometimes be, are driven ultimately by feelings of inadequacy.”
Attacked. No wonder we’re all so tired.
I’m very aware that these exact concerns are the same concerns I have always wanted someone to gift me. A little over a year ago today, I manifested all of these worries in the best way possible. And I promised myself to enjoy every step in the publishing process. Maybe “enjoy” isn’t the best word. I promise to be grateful for every step in the process, while also sharing the behind-the-scenes thoughts and conversations of a debut novelist, as much as I feel compelled to share.
Last year, I got real reflective about end-of-the year “best of” lists, but then also recommended a bunch of kick-ass books.
I also offered a brief reading guide this summer because I couldn’t wait until the end of the year.
Now, at the end of 2024, I can’t decide how I want to sum up my reading. I love recommending books, but I also don’t want to leave anything out. I’m thinking like a writer instead of a reader now. It’s a strange, though exciting, transition. I’m sure I’ll have even more thoughts about this next year.
I think I’ve settled on sharing some of my favorite debut novels of the year, with the knowledge that my list isn’t complete and that I recommend books all year long—not just on Substack but via all the social media platforms.
Book recommendations are funny because we all have such subjective taste anyway. If I tell you that my favorite kinds of books are classified as literary or suspense (or both), that tells you one thing about my recommendations. If I also add that I live for books with a “thimble full of weird” (sometimes more than a thimble-full), you’d have a more accurate picture. If that isn’t your idea of a good time, take my recommendations with a few grains of salt. And please recommend your own in the comments below!
One list can’t attempt to do it all. I wouldn’t dare try at this point. Here, I offer a handful of debut novels from this year that I really enjoyed.
A Few 2024 Debut Novels that I Can’t Stop Thinking About:
Each of these books transported me during long days, swim practice and travel, hurricanes and rounds of tedious edits. Any writer or podcast who dares to say there weren’t great books in 2024, hasn’t read widely enough, in my opinion. It was a great year of reading and I’m still hoping to read a few more before the year is over.
Note: I am a Bookshop affiliate and may earn a small commission if you purchase through my links.
The next weeks are busy with both travel and rest (I hope). In case I don’t chime back in before the end of the year, I wanted to say thank you, as always, for being here. I hope you can find some space to rest, to read, to enjoy the beginning of winter in whatever ways feel good to you. Even if that means hibernating. Especially if that means hibernating.
Cheers and big love,
—Penny
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A belated read and note here to say how much those two quotes—from Bartz and Burkeman—also resonate with me! Writing them down to keep close.
Oh I’m glad to appear in your algorithm! And those book lists are a lot. It’s so hard for me to not do the comparison thing as a writer but I try not to. Hope you have a good restful end of the year :)