2024 Reading Recap

Many enjoyable reads!

2024 turned out to be a decent year, reading-wise. I read some unexpectedly delightful books thanks to book clubs and book recommendations! My total number of books read = 53. Let’s dig in.

My favorite books overall:

• Hello Beautiful (Ann Napolitano)

• Gulp (Mary Roach)

• One Long River of Song (Brian Doyle)

• The Lincoln Highway (Amor Towles)

• The Art Thief (Michael Finkel).

Best poetry: Alive at the End of the World (Saeed Jones)

“Self-help” books that were surprisingly impactful for me:

• How to Keep House While Drowning (KC Davis)

• The Power of Fun (Catherine Price)

• The Year of Less (Cait Flanders)

Weirdest: Pure Color (Sheila Heti). I truly didn’t know what to make of this book.

Unexpectedly good books (I had no idea what I was getting myself into!):

• Red Rabbit (Alex Grecian)

• Lovecraft Country (Matt Ruff)

• Running with Sherman (Chris McGougal)

Best books for a book club:

• Black Cake (Charmaine Wilkerson)

• Maame (Jessica George)

• The Art Thief (Michael Finkel)

Enjoyable audiobooks:

• Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers (Jesse Q Sutano) was a light read and entertaining audiobook.

• Tom Lake (Ann Patchett; read by Meryl Streep) was a good one for fans of Ann Patchett’s style of novel.

Worst: West with Giraffes (Lynda Rutledge). The story had potential but was…not good. One Day in December (Josie Silver) was an insufferable rom-com. The 7 1/2 deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (Stuart Turton), despite an interesting premise, was unnecessarily convoluted and demanded an extreme suspension of disbelief. I listened to this on audiobook and it was a slog. When I thought it surely had to be over, I still had two hours left?! I wish I had DNFed this one.

Overhyped books: The Heart’s Invisible Furies (John Boyne), The Guncle (Steven Rowley), The Women (Kristin Hannah)

Books that tickled my science side: Gulp (Mary Roach) (this might be my favorite Mary Roach book I’ve read so far) & The Book of Bugs by Orion Magazine.

Want to look back at my 2023 favs? That post is here.

I would love to hear about your favorite books of the year! Please share!

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Other 2024 stats

26 poetry submissions (including one chapbook!), 22 rejections, and a handful under review.

3 poetry acceptances:

• Collection

• Arachnophilia [3rd Place in “A Bug’s Life” contest]

• The Hagfish Ties Itself In Knots

Looking forward to 2025

I’m embarking on a fun reading adventure in 2025. Simon Haisell hosts a ‘slow read’ of War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy on his paid substack. The 2025 cohort will read one chapter per day for the whole year in a ‘read-along’, and Simon has weekly recaps and other resources (like a guide to keep track of the extensive cast of characters). I’m so excited to partake in this endeavor!

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Currently reading: The Great Divide by Cristina Henriquez

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Recent internet search of note: Year compass 2025

This is the annual year close out and new year planning workbook I’ve completed for many years now. It’s free!

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*Please note that I will start linking my favorite books to Bookshop.org in this post and other posts. Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores and is a GREAT alternative to big chain retailers. I am going to work on creating recommended book lists on that site that compile my favorite reads from the last 4 years into one place. I hope to be an affiliate of Bookshop.org (fingers crossed) so I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase, FYI!*