What I Read (and Loved) in 2024
I did something fun this past year (admittedly, it falls under a nerdy definition of fun). I kept track of all of the books I finished using the Notes app in my phone. I starred the ones that I really enjoyed reading, or that stayed with me in some way. Now that we’re in December, and approaching the end of 2024, I thought it would be fun to review what I’ve read, look for patterns, and share what I loved so that you can decide if you’d like to read it too.
First—some stats!
In 2024 (minus the month of December; as of this writing, I haven’t yet finished any books in December), I read a total of 74 books. By far, my most popular genre was fiction, which surprised me! Other years when I’ve tracked what I’ve read, I seem to lean more heavily into self-help/psychology books and memoir. But I read a lot of good fiction this year, and I’ll share my favorites below.
Here is a breakdown of the number of books I read in each category:
Genre | Count |
Fiction | 45 |
Memoir | 19 |
Nonfiction/Contemporary | 1 |
Nonfiction/History | 2 |
Parenting | 2 |
Self Help | 4 |
True Crime | 1 |
Clearly, fiction was the big winner here, with a total of 45. In my less-popular categories, I read one true crime book—I got into the Hulu show Candy, starring Jessica Biel, so I read Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs by John Bloom and Jim Atkinson to learn more about the real story of Candace Montgomery and Betty Gore. I read Momfluenced, an examination of “mommy influencer culture” on Instagram (e.g., Ballerina Farm), by Sara Petersen (Nonfiction/Contemporary), and just two nonfiction history books—The House of Kennedy (a history of the Kennedy family) and Democracy Awakening by Heather Cox Richardson which, it occurs to me now, is historical but also contemporary. I probably could have combined my nonfiction categories, but I had trouble putting Momfluenced in the same bucket as House of Kennedy!
The author whose books I read the most of was Judy Blume! I was sick in May (strep throat and COVID at the same time), and I couldn’t handle anything too heavy, so I got on a Judy Blume kick. Interestingly, she led to my first starred reviews of the year—I starred both Tiger Eyes and Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (which I first read during elementary school!) as especially good. I also read Just as Long as We’re Together, Here’s to You, Rachel Robinson, and Deenie (which was a reread—I first read Deenie in 2019) for a total of five Judy Blume books. The runner-up in this category was Elena Ferrante—I read the four Neopolitan novels in August of this year. Besides Deenie, my only other re-read for the year was Bossypants, by Tina Fey, which I first read in 2011. It held up the second time around!
Starred Reviews
Twelve of the 74 books I read this year received a starred designation, meaning that reading them was especially pleasurable or absorbing, and/or they really stayed with me after finishing the book. This means that I truly loved about 16% of what I read—I think that’s pretty good, but there’s certainly room for improvement. Of note here is Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan series. I had actually started book one years ago, and abandoned it before I really got into it, but I was motivated to pick it back up after My Brilliant Friend got the # 1 rating in the New York Times’ 100 Best Books of the 21st century (book four from the series received a lower ranking, but also placed on this list). This time, I read far enough into it to feel engaged—I’m not sure what it is about this book, but I had to restart it again during this period, and read the first 30 or so pages twice to feel like I was tracking the characters and really into the story but—Wow—the language and the symbolism in this book. Once I was into it, I was really, really in. I’m so glad I made the effort to pick it back up. The language (and this was an English translation I was reading) was so beautiful and compelling, I found myself rereading sentences just to feel them wash over me again. And I’m still thinking about some of the symbols in the book and what they meant. I will definitely read this series again.
Complete List of Starred Books for 2024
Title | Author | Genre |
Tiger Eyes | Judy Blume | Fiction |
Tales of a Fifth Grade Nothing | Judy Blume | Fiction |
The Silent Patient | Alex Michaelides | Fiction |
Ambition Monster | Jen Romolini | Memoir |
The Year of the Horses | Courtney Maum | Memoir |
My Brilliant Friend | Elena Ferrante | Fiction |
The Story of a New Name | Elena Ferrante | Fiction |
Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay
| Elena Ferrante | Fiction |
The Story of the Lost Child | Elena Ferrante | Fiction |
Annie Bot | Sierra Greer | Fiction
|
Garlic and Sapphires | Ruth Reichl | Memoir (*with recipes!) |
Hello, Beautiful | Ann Napolitano | Fiction |
Reading Patterns
My most productive months, reading-wise, were January and May—I read 10 books in each of these months. I attribute this productivity to chance (January: I was really close to finishing about three different books at the end of December, so I started January off with a bang!) and to COVID (May: there's nothing like being stuck in bed to give you time to read!) September and October were tied for being my least productive months—I read only three books in each of these months, respectively. I attribute this to having launched my business at the end of September and being totally brain-fried and unable to focus on much reading. By far, I gave the most starred reviews (meaning I was really enjoying what I was reading), over the summer months. Maybe I made better picks then, or maybe the weather just put me in a happier mood!
Top Book in Each of My Popular Categories
Genre | Title |
Fiction | Annie Bot (Sierra Greer) |
Memoir | The Year of the Horses (Courtney Maum) |
Self Help | Tie
Who You Were Meant to Be (Dr. Lindsey C. Gibson)
How to do the Work (Dr. Nicole LePera) |
The table above displays my top pick in each of the categories where I read enough to have a meaningful “top” pick.
Annie Bot – I love me a good dystopian futuristic novel! This one was absorbing, creative, and excellent.
The Year of the Horses – I love anything Courtney Maum does. I recommend her Substack (Before and After the Book Deal) for anyone interested in writing. This memoir was heartening, relatable, and impossible to put down.
Who You Were Meant to Be – Dr. Lindsey C. Gibson is another one of my favorites! I like pretty much everything she’s published and I find her advice insightful and helpful. I heartily recommend this book for anyone thinking about what you want to make of your life, or how you can find meaning and purpose in what you do and who you are.
How to Do the Work – This is a great kind of taking stock/life assessment book. If you’re feeling stuck, if you know you have some issues but you’re not yet sure how to deal with them, or how to begin the process of healing, I highly recommend this book!
Reading Goals for 2025
My initial numerical goal for 2024 was to read 100 books. As you can see, I fell quite short of that (damn you, September and October!). However, I we move into 2025, I don’t want to focus on quantity. Rather than fixating on hitting a certain number, I’d like to slow down and make purposeful choices. Here are my reading goals for 2025:
Read 5 “classic” books that I’ve never read before but have always been meaning to read (ideas: Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, Anna Karenina, One Hundred Years of Solitude) ….Other ideas? I’d love to hear your suggestions of what to add to my list.
Read at least 10 books from the New York Times 100 Best Books of the 21st Century (top of my list so far: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Pachinko, Cloud Atlas, Sing, Unburied, Sing, The Goldfinch).
Read 3 presidential biographies (I’m really interested in American history and I’d like to make more time to read about it. I’m going to start with a biography of John Adams, the 2nd president of the US, since I live in Quincy, Massachusetts.)
Read at least 15 books that I’ve already bought but have yet to read [top of my list: Shop Class as Soul Craft (memoir), How to Calm Your Mind (self-help), The Artists Way for Parents (Art/Parenting), Don’t Overthink it (self-help)].
How about you? What are your reading goals for 2025? What were your favorites from 2024? Is there anything you think I should read? Please share your reading recommendations with me!
And, as we go into 2025, happy reading!