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2024 was a year of discovery in reading; I found new genres and authors that I liked and a to-be-read (TBR) pile to be conquered in the coming year. This year, I read 86 books and outside of those, stopped or did not finished (DNFed) 24 books. In the past, I never DNFed books, it was hard for me to do. However, life is too short and there are too many books to read. I've decided if a book is not working for me, that I am okay with putting it down.
86 books in a year is more than I have ever read in my life, a flip switched for me at the end of 2023 and my always present love for reading blossomed. Due to this, many of the books mentioned in this post are also on my Favorite Books tab. Of those 86, two books were read with Ryan. Let me know if you've read any of these books, I'd love to discuss!
Now time for some statistic in regards to genre. I read 14 different genres this year with Thrillers/Mysteries coming in as the winner for my most read genre! Followed by Weird Lit.
- Classics: 3
- Contemporary Fiction: 3
- Dystopian: 1
- Fantasy: 6
- Historical Fiction: 4
- Literary Fiction: 2
- Memoir: 1
- Poetry: 10
- Romance: 8
- Science-Fiction: 3
- Short Story Collection: 1
- Thriller/Mystery: 26
- Time Travel: 3
- Weird Lit: 15
Out of the 86 books I read, 14 were translated works from the following languages:
- Bulgarian: 1
- French: 2
- Italian: 3
- Japanese: 5
- Korean: 2
- Spanish: 1
Finally for the moment you've been waiting for, out of 86 books, I found 36 that are worth mentioning/recommending, in addition to a recommendation from Ryan. I have decided to sort my reads by genre. Below you will find the author, title, cover, my short description, and link to the book on Amazon with the full/official description.
CLASSIC
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Macbeth by William Shakespeare (No Fear Shakespeare Version.) I did not include books I read while teaching this year in my count. Yes, I did teach this play, however, I also read it an additional time with Ryan. After reading, I also recommend watching the Folger Theater Macbeth performance from 2008. CONTEMAPORARY |
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| Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata is about a woman who has never fit in, but finds purpose and belonging in her job. This book is translated from Japanese. DYSTOPIAN |
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| The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa is about an island where everyday objects disappear from memory. The Memory Police are present to enforce and ensure that remains of disappeared objects remain forgotten. This novel is translated from Japanese. FANTASY |
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| The Night Shift by Natalka Burian is science-fiction/fantasy novel. In New York City, protagonist, Jean discovers secret passageways, referred to as shortcuts, that allow her to jump through time. This novel asks characters to confront their past and present in order to reshape their future. |
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How to Stop Time by Matt Haig is about a man who has been alive for centuries. This book looks at time through a unique lens and includes a heartwarming/wrenching romance. |
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Dreamside by Graham Joyce is about a group of college students who learn how to enter each others dreams. HISTORIAL FICTION |
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I cannot recommend The Neapolitan Novels (also known as The Neapolitan Quartet) enough. Technically, I did read the first book of this series at the end of 2023. This series made up of four books by Elena Ferrante. Ferrante is an Italian author who writes under a pen name. This series follows the friendship of two girls as the grow up in 1950s Naples Italy to present and is translated by Ann Goldstein. Get the entire box set here, or buy each book individually: Book 1: My Brilliant Friend Book 2: The Story of a New Name Book 4: The Story of a Lost Child |
POETRY
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| The Hocus Pocus of the Universe by Laura Gilpin is a poetry book that was published in 1976 by Doubleday has long since been out of print. It won the 1976 Walt Whitman award from the Academy of American poets. This book includes the famous poem, Two-headed Calf. Snippets of the book can be found online. The best way to find a copy for yourself is to contact a rare book dealer or check the Internet archive. |
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Weaving Sundown in a Scarlet Light by Joy Harjo is made up of 50 poems written by Harjo over her career to celebrate 50 years. Her work focuses on culture, home, and belonging. |
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| Bright Dead Things by Ada Limón uses nature to focus on sense of self, loss and home. |
ROMANCE
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Love in the Asylum by Lisa Carey has dynamic characters that create an accurate portrayal of the struggles of mental health while weaving together a beautiful, raw love story. |
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| The Backtrack by Erin La Rosa is a romance that features an old CD player that transports our protagonist to an alternate universe where she sees her life play out if she had made one different choice. |
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The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston is a time travel romance centered around a mystical apartment owned by the protagonist's grandmother. SCIENCE-FICTION |
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Dark Matter by Blake Crouch is a science-fiction thriller that you will want to devour in one sitting. This book is hard to put down. Main character, Jason, finds himself in a parallel word and it only gets more wild from there. This was my favorite read of the year! THRILLER/MYSTERY |
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| Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimo is a fun mystery and is first in a series of 5, with the fifth book expected for publication in 2025. Finlay is a mom who unexpectedly gets thrown into a murder for hire plot. |
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| Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister is a time travel mystery/thriller. I can't think of anything better! How well does our protagonist actually know her husband and son? |
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| The Boyfriend by Frieda McFadden is a thriller that I read in one sitting. This is a good place to start if you are new to the thriller genre! |
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| The Only One Left by Riley Sager is another good place to start if you are new to the thriller genre. |
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Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera is a murder mystery told in the format of a podcast. I enjoyed the characters in this book. There is a romance included as well. |
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| Kala by Colin Walsh is a mystery/thriller set in Ireland. In addition to being a wonderful story in its genre, it also explores friendship through a unique lens. This is Walsh's debut and I look forward to reading whatever is next from him. |
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In My Dreams, I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead focuses on a core group during and after their college years. This books reminds me a bit of Kala, though the characters in this book aren't as redeemable. TIME TRAVEL |
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| Scharlette Doesn't Matter and Goes Time Traveling by Sam Bowring is a time travel satire. Usually I do not enjoy satire but Bowring does it in a funny way while also keeping the reader interested in the story he is telling. Good news, this is a series of 3! |
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The Rearranged Life of Oona Lockhart by Margarita Montimore is a book that has stayed with me. The life Oona is given is complicated and have caused many emotions throughout readers. |
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| Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi is book one of five in a series of the same name. This book takes place in a café where time travel is possible, in which the manner of time travel is fresh and creative. Different characters' stories intertwine in a beautiful way. This book is my ideal form of cozy and emotional. It is translated from Japanese. |
WEIRD LIT
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Bunny by Mona Awad is categorized as horror, but I regard it as weird fiction—a fun genre to explore. This book follows our main character, Samantha, through her MFA program. This book feels like a fever dream in the best way. |
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| The Moustache by Emmanuel Carrere is translated from French. Our protagonist has always had a mustache and in a moment of spontaneity decides to shave it off. The only problem? No one can ever remember him having a mustache. Though I enjoy this book, I actually prefer the movie ending as it is more speculative and fits with the vibe of the book overall. |
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| One's Company by Ashley Hutson follows a protagonist who wins lottery money and uses it to reconstruct the Three's Company set to live in on her own. |
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A Touch of Jen by Beth Morgan is strange and begins with our main characters obsessing over an acquaintance named Jen. It gets even weirder than that from there. I'll spare the details and let you go along for the ride. |
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My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh is a novel that focuses on mental health. In the year 2000, one woman decides she will sleep for an entire year. She believes this will cure her and prepare her for whatever is next in her life. This book is strange and disorientating. |
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The Hole by Hiroko Oyamada focuses on a mysterious hole, brother-in-law and surroundings of our protagonist. |
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Tales From the Gas Station Volume 1 by Jack Townsend is the best kind of weird literature. The protagonist of these novels is sarcastic and just want to read, despite the weird things that happen to him during his shifts at the gas station. The best part? This is a series of four! Tales From the Gas Station Volume 2 is just as good! |
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Night Bitch by Rachel Yoder was my first introduction to weird literature. A woman believes she is turning into a dog. There is a brutal scene in here. Check trigger warnings before reading. I'll close out with Ryan's Reading Recommendation of the year. |
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| The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel by Douglas Brunt |
What's to come from the blog this year:
- Coming Soon: 25 Books I Hope to Read in 2025 and A Nostalgic Reading Challenge I've set for myself.
- More book and author recommendations within my favorite genres.
- How to find free/cheap e-books and utilize your local library.
- Tips for organizing and sorting your digital and physical books, and much more!
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