Reader Rayna

Hello and welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by Jana of That Artsy Reader Girl! Today’s topic is a freebie, so we get to choose our own topic for today!

I had a different topic I was working on for today, but I’m going to do it for a different time because it’s a bit more involved in terms of how I need to make comparisons from one thing to another, so I figured today I’d pick the topic of ten standalone books I’d like to read by the end of the year!

Last week I talked about five series I’d like to at least start this year, if not finish by the end of the year, so I wanted to chat about standalones that I wanted to read this year that are much less of a commitment than series books are. (Technically both and neither are commitments depending on how you look at it, but you know.)

I’ve got a mix of genres here, from fantasy and sci-fi, to general fiction, classics, horror, romance, and non-fiction that I’d like to get to by the end of the year, though, like always, I’m not trying not to pressure myself to get to these as a definitive in that time frame. We’ll see where the year takes me!

Click on a cover to go to its Goodreads page!

• The Red Winter by Cameron Sullivan – I feel like I’ve talked about this a bit frequently, but as a new release it’s kind of hard not to. I’d like to read this some time in the later months, I think, as it’s giving my autumn or winter vibes. It’s about the first werewolf and is supposed to be a very dark fantasy story, so I think that would be the perfect time of year for it. From what I hear it borders the line of fantasy horror.
• Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green – It’s less than 200 pages and would count toward my nonfiction goal for the year, so that’s something, but also I don’t really know much about the disease at all, so I’d think this would be a great way to get informed about it.
• Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer – I had started listening to the audiobook back in 2024, I think, and found her voice to be very soothing, so I would oftentimes be zoning out as she would be telling the stories about the various berries she was talking about. It was, however, very beautiful, and I would like to finish it!
• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett – I’ve had this book for a long while now and I hear such phenomenal things about it. I feel like it’s having a small resurgence, and so I want to read it at some point this year and see what it’s about and how I like it.
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – This will be toward my classics goal for the year, and another step in my Austen journey, as well! I read Sense and Sensibility a loooong time ago, and though I’ll have to reread that at some point as well, I really want to give this one a go and see how I feel as the 2005 movie adaptation is one of my all time favorite movies.

• Alchemised by SenLinYu – I was so excited to read this when it came out last year and then I just… didn’t read it… so I definitely want to get to it this year. I know it’s a huge book, but really, if I tackle it a few chunks at a time, it won’t be too bad.
• Kindred by Octavia E. Butler – I also have some of her other works that are parts of series, but this is her one standalone that I have that I want to give a try.
• Razorblade Tear by S. A. Cosby – Hey, remember when I said that I didn’t want to read thrillers or mysteries? Look at what I have! A thriller! It’s the one thriller I own because I heard so much buzz around it, and when I read the synopsis I wanted to actually give a shot for myself.
• Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan Braithwaite – I’ve been thinking about this one constantly lately because of the cover and title. I think I got in a subscription box, so I really want to know what it’s about.
• The Giver by Lois Lowry – I never had to read this for school or anything, so I also never picked it up for myself otherwise. I finally got a copy for myself last year per the recommendation of my wife and so I want to give this short classic a go. She loved it when she had read it, so I hope I do as well.

And there you have it, my list of standalones I’d like to get to this year! This is actually quite a good mix of books, I’m not gonna lie. I hope that I’m able to get to all of them, and that when I do, I enjoy each and every one. Even if not all of them are five star reads, I hope that I still enjoy them to the fullest.

What standalone books are you hoping to read this year? Have any recommendations for me? Let me know in the comments!