in order of what I read first:

• The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman - the first book of this series was fantastical and intriguing and sad, I do not want to talk about the rest of the series
• Paris: The Memoir by Paris Hilton - this was just crazy to read
• She's Always Hungry by Eliza Clark - this was the second time I have read short stories that used body horror and I enjoyed this time wayyy better, I loved the mermaid one and the pus cactus one
• The Search for Wondla by Tony DiTerlizzi - This was pure nostalgia because I read the book when I was 9, but still it was so much fun and the drawings made it more immersive
• There are rivers in the sky by Elif Shahak - I would have read this book until all the characters lived out their lives to old age and died, the concept was so beautiful and the interconnectedness was almost addictive.
• Perfume: The story of a murderer by Patrick Süskind - this creepy little story was a perverted delight I do not know why I enjoyed it so much but it was fascinating to follow the life and desires of this creepy little sniffer boy.
• Dracula by Bram Stoker - the whole format of the journals and the sharing of the journals was deeply satisfying and kept me engaged. I loved this even more because I kept imagining how much this horror concept would have blown all those romantic minds in the 1800s and have genuinely been terrifying to them. Also reading this in October made the spooky fun element much higher.
• Butter by Asako Yuzuki - this gave me hunger and emotional whiplash and a surprising amount of gender role commentary
• SLewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom - I read this in 4 days, it literally bewitched me! the folklore mythical dark horror was so enticing and I just loved reading every word of this. The drawings were the most haunting thing about this book though like damn at 11pm at night I do not want to see a possum child sneering at me.

I think the top contenders for favourite book of the year are Perfume: The story of a murderer, There are rivers in the sky and Slewfoot so far.