Reading Reflection || 2024
2024's reading in review
: 🌕 : SPOILER ALERT : 🌕 :
Another year is coming to an end. In 2024, I found myself alone in the world, trying new things, revisiting memories of times past, & fostering something akin to eagerness about where life would take me next. Most days, I found myself deep in thought. I remember 2022 when I read so many books I could hardly keep track; now that year past seems so far away, my life has welcomed so many different facets that finding time to read requires pencilled-in intentions, & time that seems to run short.
With time, I have found myself coveting the sentiment held firmly inside; I am grateful for books, those stories that colour my world as I live a life whose horizon is uncertain. I come to you once again, following in my footsteps, with a Reading Reflection, such as I did in 2023. It remains important for me to take the time to tilt my head over my shoulder & give thanks to the authors whose pens have filled the pendulum of adventure, intrigue, & sombre sunlight of my days with something more than one could achieve in a single lifetime. On that—let’s begin.
(1) WHAT WAS THE FIRST BOOK YOU READ IN 2024?
The first book I read this year was “An Irish Country Doctor” (2004) by Patrick Taylor. Followed closely, with a day’s delay, was “Strange Flowers” (2020) by Donal Ryan.
(2) WHAT WAS YOUR MOST DISAPPOINTING READ OF THE YEAR?
A couple of books this year made me long for a cliff over which I could toss them. When this happens, I usually do toss them away. So many people in the world read & deserve to have books available to them, regardless of how much I despised the story. My local libraries & Little Free Library greatly benefit from my doom & gloom.
In principle, I would much prefer to pivot to a book that I enjoy reading rather than waste my time in the sludge. However, sometimes, I cannot let go & I read a story to completion with the explicit goal of writing a cathartic & gruelling review:
“Remember This” (2025) by Anthony Giardina
“Victorian Psycho” (2025) by Virginia Feito
“Plaything” (2024) by Bea Setton
“Pretend I’m Dead” (2015) by Jen Beagin
“Heart of a Dog” (1925) by Mikhail Bulgakov
“Sisters of the Lost Nation” (2023) by Nick Medina
To keep the scales even, some short stories too:
“Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad” (1904) by M.R. James
“The Birch Trees” (2024) by Sophie Strohmeier
“The Rats in the Wall” (1924) by H.P. Lovecraft
(3) NAME A BOOK YOU HAVEN’T STOPPED THINKING ABOUT
In November, I read “Anna Karenina” (1873) by Leo Tolstoy, “The Idiot” (1869) & “Demons” (1872) by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Although I’ve spent the year reading stories from many different genres, November proved to be the most intensive. This is not because of the length of these books but rather because of their material. Both Tolstoy & Dostoevsky dedicated themselves to the world they produced, to the stories they wrote, & the societal reflections they included alongside their fictional characters.
Now that the year has drawn to a close, I find myself failing to dissociate my brain from their tomes. These were not all books that I necessarily found myself adoring, but they are ones that I have continued to mull over.
Questions revolving around the importance of electoral systems, the consequences of landownership versus lending, the value of a diamond or pearl on the bare nape of a neck, & the criminal underworld that accompanies great change.
The authors produced books that I feel grateful to have read. My century varies in some important ways from theirs, yet, in these written words, the printing press snakes us together like commas nestled next to potent vernacular; in these sentences, crafted intentionally for the world, I view my society through the looking glass, distorted, & true.
(4) WHAT ARE YOUR FINAL TO-BE-READ STATS?
I was anticipating this question with something akin to eagerness. When I started the year, I had a large physical TBR & a list of ARC reads that needed my attention. As much as I have enjoyed being surrounded—in all manner of speaking—with stories, books, & reading material, I needed to clear space. 2024 was a year during which I wanted to work through the stories I had left in piles, gathering dust. I am proud that my end-of-year stats have greatly changed from those of 2023.
I currently have 110 physical books on my TBR; & 63 ARCs (30 via Netgalley & 33 via Edelweiss+).
(5) WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE BOOKS OF 2024?
I feel deeply fortunate to have had another wonderful reading year. There are so many stories that circulate the globe; having the opportunity to be gifted these tales, thanks to the tender dedication of libraries, bookstores, & publishing houses, has left me warmed by the words I have read:
“I Cheerfully Refuse” (2024) by Leif Enger
“Demons” (1872) by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
“Idle Grounds” (2025) by Krystelle Bamford
“Indian Burial Ground” (2024) by Nick Medina
“Peace Like A River” (2001) by Leif Enger
“Senseless” (2025) by Ronald Malfi
“Franny and Zooey” (1957) by J.D. Salinger
“Poor Deer” (2024) by Claire Oshetsky
For good measure, some short stories, too:
“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” (1890) by Ambrose Bierce
“Give The People What They Want” (2018) by Alex Bledsoe
“Monte Verità” (1952) by Daphne du Maurier
“The Thing on the Doorstep” (1937) by H.P. Lovecraft
(6) WHAT WAS THE LONGEST & SHORTEST BOOK YOU READ IN 2024?
The longest book I read was “Anna Karenina” (1873) by Leo Tolstoy, clocking in at 817 pages.
The shortest book I read was “If God Were a Great Big Bear” (2025) by Paul Harbridge, clocking in at 32 pages.
(7) WHAT BOOKS DID YOU RE-READ THIS YEAR?
This is a new question that I want to include in this year’s reading review. In 2024, I found myself going over the books on my little library shelves & taking time to remember where I was when I read the books I’ve kept in my possession. As you, the reader of this newsletter, is a stranger to me in this life, & may not be aware of my literary particularities, allow me a moment to share one with you.
I have found it so much more worth my while to have shelves lined with books that I loved rather than a collection of books that include titles that I could have lived happily without. As I stated in my answer to an earlier question, I prefer to read books that I enjoy. This sounds trite, but the virtual world of readers does, in fact, comprise people who read books to write scathing & cruel things. These people do seek out stories that are not written with them in mind, all for the sole purpose of “hate reading.”
In my home, books belong just as much as I do. On occasion, I have found myself unable to resist poking my fingers in between where they nestle & returning to myself as the person I once was when first the story & I met:
“Something Wicked This Way Comes” (1962) by Ray Bradbury
“An Irish Country Doctor” (2004) by Patrick Taylor
“The Distant Hours” (2010) by Kate Morton
“The Turn of the Screw” (1898) by Henry James
(8) WHAT ARE YOUR END OF YEAR REFLECTIONS?
Another year of reading has left me feeling magenta, not quite blue or red, neither grey nor yellow, rather, this feeling is something akin to the rapid descent of the sun before we welcome her companion, the moon, to rest with us through the night.
I am deeply grateful to the people I once knew who brought books into my life before I had the ability to read on my own; the people who listened to me work through a thought, the people who shared their personal favourites with me, & the people who, to this very day, come find me in my corners of the world to share the flame they burn in themselves beside which special stories can be read.
Reading has been such a large part of my life since it began that I would be remiss not to highlight its importance in making me the person that I am. Although I might never have the chance, except in prayer, to share with those impactful people how greatly their literary love shaped my very heart that beats, I hope that I have done them proud in continuing to tend to the sun’s rays as she warms the pages on all the books that my fingers touch.
2024 encouraged me to sit with feelings, thoughts, & curiosities, making this newsletter a place where I came to wield a sword through the nuage of literary giants whose words besought growth & humble theology. I hope that the reviews published here will have brought something akin to familiar enthusiasm, comfort, insight, & brightness to the eyes & minds of all those who took the time to read the little words I have written.
Until next time,
C. x