2024 Reading Wrap Up

 

My 2024 Reading Year

In 2024 I surprised myself by reading more physical books than ebooks. The past couple of years, I read 50% or more in ebooks so I'm proud of myself for sticking with the books on my shelves. I thought I was making headway in clearing some books out, except they kept having babies, so guess I'll have to start over again for 2025.  LOL!

I read 104 books of which 82 were paperback or hard back and the rest were ebooks. Huzzah.  Out of those, I read 37 new to me authors, and 19 rereads and the rest were books by known authors.

Out of all of them, 18 were Five Stars  - They were stellar reads.  The writing was compelling, the world building was outstanding and the story flowed. I couldn't put them down. They evoked an emotional response and made me feel my feelings. Or they were unique.  If it was a series opener, it made want to read the whole series.  If it was a new to me author, it made me want read more of their stories. I have to say I would reread them again in the future. 

Some of my five star reads I couldn't stop thinking about:

R.F. Kuang's Babel - because once I started reading, I could not put it down. The etymology discussions, how the characters related to the world around them, how the characters grew in knowledge, the choices they made, some good, some bad, the heart wrenching decisions. All of it combined to create a story that made me think and how it related to today's world and why people do the things they do. 

Justin Cronin's The Ferryman -  because it was so complex. It left me breathless, especially with the twists and turns. Real life or a dystopian world, the future or the past, a dream or reality, upper class versus the working class, fantasy or deceit, lies or truths.  

J.T. Ellison's Lie to Me - When I finally dove into the story, it lead to me reading every spare minute. Fast paced, psychological thriller and would have never guessed who caused Sutton's and Ethan's marriage to implode. They were both to blame, yet there was someone else hiding in the shadows pulling all their strings. It was a thrill ride of a story with so many twists and turns, it made me dizzy.

Rebecca Yarros's Empyrean series - Fourth Wing with dragons and gut wrenching bad good guys and bad guys. The cadets have to master a parapet to join or fall to their deaths.  Each challenge becomes a matter of life or death, no in between.  In Iron Flame, the cadets to go war and have to deal with deception and challenges and the story is full of twists and turns.  

Naomi Novik's first book in her Temeraire series - His Majesty's Dragon, all about Captain Laurance who reluctantly bonded with the dragon Temeraire during the Napoleonic war and grew to love and trust him above all else.  I went on to read the second book and will definitely read the rest of this series. 

Nalini Singh's Archangel's Lineage, the sixteenth Guild Hunter urban fantasy/romance in which Raphael and Elana and the rest of the angels have to fight to save the world on brink of destruction due to ancestors, plus Elena dealing with family issues was an emotional coaster ride. 

Nora Roberts Mind Games which was unique, clever, gut wrenching, scary, and heart warming all in one.

Diana Setterfield's Once Upon a River, a mystery with magical realism elements totally captured me with the different characters. The story slowly bloomed and just when I thought I had the answer, it changed.  Very well done!

Kate Clayborn's Love Lettering was so unique, I decided I needed to read it again and purchased the paperback so I could annotate.  

Jason Pargin's I'm starting to Worry About this Big Black Box of Doom was a crazy thrill ride from California to Washington DC, with him vs her conversations, adulthood, and relationships, how the internet can shape your thinking, plus all the mayhem that occurs when the conspiracy theorists on the internet follow your journey. And through it all, what was in that box? The answer was a surprise.  Enjoyed it from beginning to end. 

I made the mistake of reading Joanna Quinn's The Whalebone Theatre at bedtime and there was so much of this story that captured me. The forgotten child Cristabel, the heir apparent Digby, the privileged parents, the elite friends, and how they all handled life up to, during, and after wartime. Beautifully written.  I need to read it again with annotations and marginalia to remember all the good, bad, and the ugly. 

And Patricia Brigg's Winter Lost which inspired me to reread the whole dang series over again as soon as I finished it. 

Four Stars: 61 -  The writing, world building, and characters were excellent. Enjoyed the story. Would read this series or author again. Willing to give it a second read.  Many, many well done stories. 

Three Stars: 18 - It was average, a good story, but...  Generally nitpicks about the characters actions and how ridiculous or immature they were. 

Two Stars: 5 -  I read the whole thing but had morally grey characters without any redeeming qualities, or something about the story turned me off, or it failed to live up to my expectations.   

I read three in a row which was  an interesting turn of events. I had looked forward to reading Mark Helprin's In Sunlight and In Shadow since I thoroughly enjoyed The Winter's Tale and Soldier of the Great War, but was disappointed by the story line. A historical romance novel set just after WWII in New York city in which the lead character decides vigilante justice against the mob was the best way go and it ends up all wrong.  

Helprin's novel set a theme for the next two books my husband bought for me which went down the same path and he got to hear all about how mad the characters made me. 

Jessica Strawser's The Last Caretaker  started out with good intentions then went down the wrong path in dealing with domestic violence, vigilante justice and solving problems without the authorities. 

And Leslie Wolfe's The Surgeon when a cardiac patient died under mysterious circumstances and the lead characters were involved in abuse, adultery, blackmail, and decided vigilante justice without the police was the best solution. 

Oh my word! 

My books covered a wide range of genres, emotions and subjects from dragons, dystopian oxford, psychological thrillers, magical realism, mysteries, thrillers, fantasy and science fiction and took me around the world from Japan to Europe to the United Kingdom to the United States. From grief, racism, and disability to love and family and life, the stories ran the gamut. 

I didn't avoid the cathartic reads, the ones that hit you in all the feels. In the past, I avoided them like the plague. But now, sometimes you just need to have a good cry or have a good mad.  They're a great excuse for feeling your feelings and if you dive in, let the words wash over you and pull you into the characters lives and emotions, when you come out the other side, not only have you learned something, you feel better.  

All in all, I had a great reading year. And since I usually keep the good stories, now that I've learned to annotate and talk to the author, the characters, or myself in the margins, next year should be interesting.