2024 Reading Wrap Up

This was a wonderful year of reading. I set my reading goal at the typical 100 and managed to read 115. Much credit should be given to having 8 weeks off to heal from different surgeries. When you don’t have to work you have a lot of time to read.

MY 2024 READING PLAN – HOW DID IT GO?

This year I did a theme each month. I managed to stick to the theme, for the most part, but I can see by my books read and stats which months lack enthusiasm or struggled due to lack of planning. I will do the same for next year but need to be better about picking the themes.

I was aiming for a 50/50 split between Fiction and NonFiction and I came very close!

BEST OF 2024

MY FAVORITE FICTION AND NONFICTION BOOK FROM EACH MONTH

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JANUARY

Chris van Tulleken’s book Ultra Processed People really encouraged me to evaluate what I was putting in my body all year. This book provides information without judgment.

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q Sutanto is so different from her Dial A for Aunties. I adored the characters, especially bossy Vera. I cannot wait for the sequel.

FEBRUARY

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White Tears / Brown Scars by Ruby Hamad is the book all white women should read. This book struck me and stayed with me all year. Once you see the way white women use their one up / one down position to further disenfranchise women of color, you cannot stop seeing it.

I loved the Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett. This is the second in the Emily Wilde series but I think it was my favorite in the series.

MARCH

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Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez confirmed that feeling that I have always had that the world is not built for women. I have cited this book so much throughout the year.

Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice by Elle Cosimano is the fourth in the series. March was not a big fiction month for me but I always enjoy time with Finlay.

APRIL and MAY

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I had no favorites in April or May. It was the dip in my year. Here is where my failure to plan really caused me to stumble.

JUNE

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Decolonize Drag by Kareem Khubchandani really opened my eyes to the many ways that an art form that should be revolutionary and open to all is frequently gate-kept by white people.

It was very difficult to select my favorite fiction book of this month – I more than made up for the slump of April and May this month. In the end, Hail Mary by Andy Weir is the one that still brings me joy to just think about.

JULY

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Eat and Flourish, like Ultra Processed People, changed the way I thought about food. This time, to see how food could support my mental health. The tip that I cannot stop obsessive over is to try and eat a large variety of produce. My fridge and pantry are a rainbow of food and I feel so privileged to have so much available to me.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum was a theme this year. I bought this book at the Smithsonian this summer, saw the movie while the Chicago Symphony Orchestra played the soundtrack, and then Wicked came out. The book is much more middle grade than I imagined. The shoes are silver! And, the Scarecrow, Lion, and Tin Man all put off on their dreams until they helped Dorothy. Better than the move in every way.

AUGUST

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Secrets of Women’s Healthy Ageing from Professor Cassandra Szoeke is the culmination of decades of research on women in aging. It is fascinating to see effort put into research specifically for women but, in the end, it turns out you just need to eat well, keep moving, and prioritize sleep.

The Body in the Backyard is a Riley Thorn book by Lucy Score. I really thought I read all of this series and I was elated to visit with old friends.

SEPTEMBER

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Bomb by Nick Bertozzi is a perfect example of how great a nonfiction graphic novel can be.

Apprentice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer was everything I was hoping it would be. Bring on book 3!

OCTOBER

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No NonFiction winners for this month but The Clackity scared the crapity out of me. Middle grade scary stories and peak fright for me – they give me the shivers but don’t cost me sleep.

NOVEMBER

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Hey, Hun by Emily Lynn Paulson was a book I started and finished in one day. The author’s morals are occasionally weak but dishing out about MLMs is strength.

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter may be the perfect book. It is a mystery with a romance inside it set in a cottage in Scotland. So, basically, my own personal fantasy.

DECEMBER

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This was a hard month to chose from because I read so many excellent books this month. So I picked these based on my desire to make everyone around me read them too. The Art Thief by Michael Finkel was one I could not put down!

Juniper’s Christmas by Eoin Colfer is a rare Christmas book that doesn’t just tell the same tale. I loved it from start to finish.

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That is my 2024!

Tell me, please – how was your reading last year?

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