I thought I lost my Kindle at one point this year and felt completely lost. What was I going to do? How was I going to spend my time in the mornings pinned beneath a coiled cat? I was so desperate I considered overnighting myself a new one. To my great relief, it turned up a few days later.
Thanks to Goodreads, I have records of everything I read in 2024. It’s a little early to publish this, but I read so many amazing books this year and wanted to share them. This way if any of them pique your interest, you can tell me about it (impromptu book club!) or gift one to a friend.
Here are my lists from previous years:
- 8 Books To Review – A Summer Reading List (2019)
- Every Book I Read Last Year (2021)
- All The Books I’ve Read So Far In 2022
- Every Book I Read Since June (2022)
- A Rating of Every Book I Read In 2023
Memoirs
Interestingly, two memoirs I read this year have the same title. Memoirs are particularly special to me lately as I try to write my own. Three of them are written by mothers, all who struggle to juggle childcare with a spouse who seemingly does not notice nor heed that they need help.
More: A Memoir of Open Marriage
More: Life on the Edge of Adventure and Motherhood
It’s all so typical. I feel typical. I hate feeling typical […] How are we equals now when in my spare time I’m researching changing tables and strollers and nursing pillows and in his he’s eating fucking baked goods in El Chaltén waiting for the weather to change so he can do yet another climb?
This American Ex-Wife: How I Ended My Marriage and Started My Life
What was compelling about my marriage wasn’t its evils or its villains, but its commonplace horror.
Books That Challenged What I Used To Think
Feminist Reckoning
Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny
Non-Fiction
It’s Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People
In some ways, grieving the living is far more difficult than grieving the dead.
The Ohlone Way: Indian Life in the San Francisco-Monterey Bay Area
A balanced (rather than exploitative) relationship with the environment; an economic system based on sharing rather than competing; a strong sense of family and community; social moderation and restraint; the opportunity for widespread artistic creativity; a way of governing that serves without oppressing; a deeply spiritual sense of the world: these are the very things many of us are currently striving to attain in our own culture.
The Optimist’s Guide to Divorce: How to Get Through Your Breakup and Create a New Life You Love
Wait, Mechanic, aren’t you planning on getting married? Yes. That’s why I’m also reading books on divorce. I also spent a day in a café reading California divorce laws.
Novels / Fiction
Free of Tilly Killick after six years together, she loves knowing that there’ll be no underwear lurking greyly in the kitchen sink, no teeth marks in the Cheddar.
Queer Beach Reads (i.e. Romance)
Yes, a The Bachelor-based rom-com where the contestants fall for each other.
“I don’t have to sleep with him on our Honeymoon,” Lauren says. “They actually encourage you to just spend the night, like, kissing. Talking about vulnerable stuff you wouldn’t want to discuss on-camera.” “Right. And there’s a lot of vulnerable stuff you need to tell him,” Damian says. “For instance, you need to tell him you don’t like guys.”
Straight Beach Reads
Made It Onto My Kindle
I meant to read this and it’s still on my list, but I haven’t gotten to it yet.
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Without Children: The Long History of Not Being a Mother
Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity
The Other Significant Others: Reimagining Life with Friendship at the Center
My Next Read
I used to listen to a lot of podcasts, but it’s narrowed down considerably recently. One of my podcasts by Bridget Casey and Alyssa Davies, Money Feels, had an episode called Our Bookish Obsessions which led me to the next book on my reading list:
Podcasts For When I'm Not Reading
Noticing Book Trends
In total I read 46 books. My friend group reads a lot, so this year I received several recommendations from them. Particularly in the Beach Read sector! I really loved all the queer content this year, as queer romance books are becoming more mainstream.
I didn’t vary much in genre. The Golden Couple was the only thriller/mystery book on the list, for example.
As usual, most of the authors were non-binary or women. It’s actually easier to count the number of books written by men: a whopping 3.
That’s actually pretty insane! I used to read a lot more career-oriented or “Top Ten List” books which skewed male-heavy. Most of my reading gives female-main-character-energy, which I’ve been really enjoying. I’m a big Brandon Sanderson and Patrick Rothfuss fan, and that the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas filled that fantasy niche for me this year.
I’ve also mainly been listening to women’s voices in the podcasts I’ve been tuning into, with the exception of Ramit Sethi’s pod, which is very relationship oriented.
Overall I enjoyed this year’s reading list! Let me know of any books I should add for next year.
I am envious of all your reading! I really enjoyed, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, too. In the same regard, you might like, A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon. As a side suggestion, The Broken Girls by Simone St. James is a good one.
Yes, it was so cozy!! I’ll check out your suggestions