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At the beginning of every year, I take the time to update my records of what I've read the previous year and write up a summary.
Previous summaries: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024.
I've continued to keep track of my reading using Goodreads. My profile has nearly the full list of the books I've read since 2010.
I'd like to maintain a regular reading practice. I think this means having a similar number of pages read this year.
Ehh, I don't think I succeeded in this goal, despite not being too far off the number of pages I read in 2023.
I have a massive stack of books at home that I haven't read through yet, I'd like to whittle that down some.
I'm pretty sure there is a universal law that a stack of unread books can only grow and my coffee table is proof it is true.
Below are the highlights from 2024. Any title link will bring you to Goodreads.
This book was beautiful. I cried. The writing is lyrical, the subject matter is tough, and you'll probably tear up too.
You may have heard that reading fiction can help you be more empathetic. I could feel this book do that to me.
Go read it.
This book is fantastic. I literally laughed out loud multiple times. Miranda July's writing tickles me in just the right way.
I guess I haven't gotten sick of books that deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Maybe that is because I've only read stories on the topic from really solid authors.
This book gives you a glimpse into the lives of a family on three different days (April 5 2019, 2020 and 2021). It has been nearly a year since I've read this and unfortunately I don't remember what I enjoyed so much about this book.
I don't know, sometimes you read a young adult book and it just makes an impact. I doubt others will enjoy this as much as I did at the time I read it.
I'm projecting but I'd guess that most folks would be better off if they became better communicators. And that is exactly what this book says it will do.
I enjoyed reading this and will benefit by going back through and trying to apply the lessons found in this book.
Some parts were great; some parts were so-so. Seeing Zen principles applied to climbing was thought-provoking.
The right reader will absolutely love this series. Unfortunately, I'm not that reader. Still, I enjoyed the series quite a bit. The world built by Ada Palmer is fascinating. I'll admit though, I think about this world quite often. This book made an impact.
A short and powerful book.
At the time of writing this, I think there are only two books in the series and those are the two that I've read.
This series puts you into a world of rules and structure, with society being built on top of hierarchies based on how much color you can see. It is an interesting coming of age story as the main character learns to navigate this world. This is a fun and interesting world and I hope more books come out in the series.
This book calls out our modern world and our addiction to outrage-as-entertainment, addiction to screens, and the information bubbles we live in.
I really enjoyed all of that. In a way, this book takes non-fiction books, such as Hans Rosling's Factfulness (a book about how much better the world has become) and books on social media, filter bubbles, and polarization, and packages it up into a fiction tale demonstrating how it the Internet warps how we perceive each other and our modern world. Some readers might not enjoy characters going on rants and arguments about these topics but I really enjoyed it.
This book is a good reminder that we're really more similar than we are different and that modern media (social, news, etc) really divides us and both makes the world seem worse and actually be worse.
A collection of stories about rejection that are loosely connected. It is fun satire. I probably could have given this one five stars.
I read 35 books in 2024.
| Year | # of Pages | # of Books |
|------+------------+------------|
| 2024 | 12919 | 37 |
| 2023 | 14956 | 53 |
| 2022 | 10127 | 35 |
| 2021 | 19564 | 57 |
| 2020 | 12093 | 43 |
| 2019 | 15994 | 42 |
| 2018 | 13538 | 36 |
| 2017 | 18317 | 48 |
| 2016 | 22790 | 59 |
| 2015 | 21689 | 51 |
| 2014 | 24340 | 71 |
| 2013 | 19815 | 60 |
| 2012 | 14208 | 44 |
| 2011 | 9179 | 19 |
| 2010 | 14667 | 46 |
Electronic books continue to dominate.
| | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
|-----------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------|
| audiobook | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ebook | 35 | 51 | 34 | 56 | 41 | 43 | 37 | 37 | 56 | 47 |
| hardcover | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 1 |
| paperback | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
I did not read many non-fiction books last year.
| | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
|---------------------------+--------+-------+------+--------+--------+--------+--------|
| fiction | 33 | 47 | 28 | 46 | 26 | 28 | 29 |
| non-fiction | 4 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 17 | 23 | 14 |
| fiction:non-fiction ratio | 8.25:1 | 7.8:1 | 4:1 | 4.18:1 | 1.53:1 | 1.22:1 | 2.07:1 |
Here is the star rating distribution.
| | 3 stars | 4 stars | 5 stars |
|-------------+---------+---------+---------|
| fiction | 17 | 12 | 4 |
| non-fiction | 1 | 2 | 1 |
For the last month or so, I've been better about reading with a regular cadence. I'd like to keep that up.