6 Month Check-in

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the first Top 5 Wednesday post of July 2024! This is a slightly strange Top 5 Wednesday post for two main reasons. Firstly, I almost thought we were not going to get a prompt at all this month as none was added to the group, and I woke up Monday morning to see that, sadly, the person who was doing the prompts had stepped down. Secondly, because of this, I said I would happily come up with prompts, so not only is this the first of my prompts for July (which I do hope people enjoy), but it also seems like I may be doing this for the long term now which is actually very exciting. I really enjoy Top 5 Wednesday because it gets me questioning the books I have read, as well as being a really friendly community and being able to pick up on new books to consider reading. Therefore, if I release prompts more regularly, I hope the group will continue to develop and become a place for like-minded readers to come together and question their reading.

Anyway, shall we finally get to this week's prompt! Somehow, we have made it halfway through 2024, which has quickly passed! This year has also been a year of reading so many books for myself, which I am incredibly proud of, and I hope to continue to read more than last year! But this week's prompt is about reviewing the books we have read or re-read this year and picking our Top 5 Favourite books from the first half of this year. Let us get straight into this post!

1. Desi Girl Speaking by A. S. Hussain

So we start with this book, which was all about experiencing mental health conditions, or more specifically, mental ill-health, in the Asian community where they believe they can't get depressed. This was a really enjoyable read for many reasons, but largely because it featured teenagers, and the book is for young adults. I would say it does a good job of tackling the myth that Desi doesn't get depressed and showing that it is ok not to be ok. I swear this book had me both laughing and crying at different points and is a book I would thoroughly recommend!

2. The Suspect by Rob Rinder

So my second favourite is a book that I predicted would be a bestseller when it was published last month, and I believe when I last checked, I was absolutely right! This was a really good read which I was privileged to be able to read before publication. It follows a junior barrister on his journey to assist in the trial of a chef who is accused of killing a morning show television personality. This book is so legally and culturally British, but Rinder brings in his humour and makes it a great read! Not only can he put on a great show in his own courtroom, but he can also write an excellent book!

3. A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll

I was stuck between choosing either A Kind of Spark or Keedie for this one, and I nearly put both on this list, but I thought I would limit myself to just one book per author and use the first book of this series, which was published. This is a beautiful book about a young girl, Addie, who has autism and advocates for a memorial for the witches who are killed for being different. This story has some amazing morals, and it provides a gentle education about autism, which is beneficial to all readers, both young and old. This is yet another book I would encourage you to read, but ideally, before you watch the available television adaptation.

4. Rough Justice by Wendy Joseph KC

This is the second legal book on this list and the first purely non-fictional (well, there may be some fiction in it, but I believe not) on this list, so I am very proud of myself for not overly legalizing this list. But this book looks at some of the most shocking cases that Her Honour Joseph KC has had to deal with in the Old Bailey and breaks down the different parts of the law whilst covering these cases. It was a good book, it may not have gone into as much detail of the law as I would have liked but it was a good starting point for those with no knowledge of the law and a very interesting book indeed.

5. First Steps to Bell Ringing by Samuel Goslin

Finally, this is the second and final non-fiction book on the list this week, and you are probably thinking of a very niche book. Indeed it is! But I liked this book as it explained the art of bell ringing at a level that was very appropriate for the beginner. The fact that this was a public domain book that is still completely relevant and useable in this modern age is amazing. It is good to see how some things just don't change, so if you are thinking about or are starting to bell ring, I recommend this book, which you can get on the Project Gutenberg website!

Anyway, that is all for this week's post. it was surprisingly hard to limit myself to only five of my favourites, but I managed not to include the same author twice, which I am happy about. Please use the comments to let me know what you think of the prompt, your top 5 favourites so far, and a link to your response. Please explore this blog and the various book reviews I have on offer and previous Top 5 Wednesday posts, but I look forward to next week!

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