2024 Reading Roundup
Read on to read what I read along with some reading suggestions which I also welcome from readers like you
This was the year of realizing stuff—class consciousness, the versatility of the cucumber, Ilona Maher supremacy. And, for me, just how much I could turn reading into homework.
Last year, I chose my books based on cover color schemes. This year I seemed to say, “What will break me the most today?” I wasn’t content to merely escape. I wanted commiseration, education, understanding. But it wasn’t no fun. I want to assure you I had a generally good time. I read a lot of generally good books. And I thought a lot—which I think is generally a good thing. It may not have been my most loved reading year but it was a pretty fascinating one.
You see how I wasn’t always entertained (but I was often reborn)? You see how books can fuel the fires of revolution? Very mindful, very demure.
By the numbers
I read 107 books this year
I listened to almost half (51), a new record in audiobooks for me
34 were nonfiction—mostly memoirs but also a lot of political, environmental, and historical analysis1
100 were diverse authors, 62 were authors of a different ethnicity than me
89 were new authors to me
81 were women, 25 were men, and one was nonbinary
21 were non-American, 3 were translations
The oldest book I read was from 1817 (hi, Jane Austen!); 38 were published 2024
Genres rare to me included more romance (5), a book in verse, and a lot more horror than usual (6)
12 were for book club
10 got a five-star rating2, half of which were non-fiction. My average rating remains around 3.5ish
8 were recommended to me by irl friends
7 were physical copies, the rest were from the library (reminder to get a library card and support your local branch!)
3 were sequels (or a prequel)
Only one was a re-read (and, yes, it was a Suzanne Collins book)
And there were two DNFs3
With all that data, I thought, when it comes to recommending my favorites, I’d use my favorites. After all, it was the year of the pop star and they had people realizing stuff, too (what is brat, who originated country music, why Chappell Roan gets to be a diva, etc.). Who you listen to has to say something about what you’re reading, right? Introducing my personality typecasting! Which—to again borrow some 2024 parlance—is very cutesy. Find your essence and pick your book. There’s no wrong answer here.
Hot to go read something
When We Lost Our Heads (Heather O’Neill) sees two girls on opposite sides of the tracks loving and destroying each other in a sort of allegory for the industrial revolution. It may sound dry but it was basically camp, dazzlingly and fascinating and complicating with its examination of the female experience.
The Wedding People (Alison Espach) was a surprise gutpunch around womanhood and loneliness and finding purpose far beyond what society expects of us. When a woman at the end of her rope runs into a frazzled bride at the start of her new life, the two have to help each other face the truth of what they actually want.
Anita de Monte Laughs Last (Xochitl Gonzalez) is a fun and semi-surreal telling of a young artist realizing she must break the cycle of what society tells her is expected if she wants to be a success.…get it?
Books and they’re completely different but also still books
Gideon the Ninth (Tamsyn Muir) IS brat. This high-fantasy, dark academia/trials revolves around a complicated world of necromancy with a titular narrator who is equal parts acerbic and hilarious, lustful and loathing.
Beautyland (Marie-Helene Bertino) features a fascinatingly unreliable narrator in a book that seems to ask is she an alien or just autistic? It’s beautifully written and gentle and strange and honestly one of the most thought-provoking novels of the year.
Greta & Valdin (Rebecca K. Reilly) was finally published in the US and is a joyful, messy little book about two queer siblings just trying to figure it out. Think Normal People but less annoying. It’s got heart and humor and a whole lot of characters, all unapologetically loud in their search for love in all sorts of forms.
Not like us novels
Martyr! (Kaveh Akbar) is one of 2024’s most talked about books—and for good reason. It’s a surreal exploration of identity, art, purpose, and trauma with an impressively strong POV.
James (Percival Everett) retells the story of Huck Finn from Jim’s POV. It somehow honors and eviscerates its source material while giving modern audiences something new to chew on all with the wit and twists you expect from this fellow Pulitzer Prize winner.
Poverty, by America (Matthew Desmond4) is from another Pulitzer winner who’s had enough. You can feel the fury and frustration in this galvanizing manifesto around America’s failures when it comes to class and capitalism.
Short ‘n sweet suggestions
Open Throat (Henry Hoke) — no, this is not just a reference to her most controversial tour moment, but it is a short and sweet and li’l bit devastating novel about a mountain lion trying to understand humanity from the foothills of LA. And he’s queer! Which I think Sabrina would like.
Good Material (Dolly Alderton) is “Slim Pickins” in prose as told from the perspective of the guy to effectively show why dating and romance and relationships can be so goddamn isolating.
Annie Bot (Sierra Greer) sees a sexbot gain consciousness as she wrestles with autonomy, womanhood, and the patriarchy.
III most wanted books
Enter Ghost (Isabella Hammad) follows a struggling actress returning to Palestine to put on a maybe-illegal production of Hamlet. It explores themes of art and generational trauma while claiming space in a politically charged history and future of a subjugated people.
Hula (Jasmin Iolani Hakes) is a book about stolen land. Through a complex family tree, three generations of women turn to dance to process their relationship to a country forced upon them. Gorgeous and heartbreaking and informative, it’s a fascinating reeducation for anyone willing to listen.
In the Distance (Hernan Diaz) turns stereotypes on their heads in a mythic Western that follows a young Swede trying to get back to his brother. Beautifully written, it nearly coasts on vibes alone but turns a whitened genre on its head to discuss queerness, class, and race.
So there is my highlight reel for 2024. This year, I have a similar goal but I’m not too concerned about chasing it. I’ll be more willing to DNF things that aren’t sparking joy. I’ll keep trying new genres and themes and authors. I’ll keep prioritizing women authors. And, most importantly, I will continue to say no to Colleen Hoover.
Also I’m trying out Fable this year so follow me there!
And be sure to give me your thoughts and feelings and recommendations because if this roundup proves anything, I hope it’s that I’m willing to read just about anything.
Turns out America has been nothing if not consistent in its awfulness.
3 is still good! But 5 means it basically changed my life.
“Did Not Finish” as in I don’t want to talk about it…unless you ask.
Yes they’re all men and yes that’s very gender normative of me and yes I wish it had gone differently but these are the books that reminded me most of his style I’m sorry.