Well, here we are! Welcome to the end of December!
total number of books completed
Over the course of 2024, I finished 104 books. I did not keep track of the books I did not finish this year, which made for a more positive experience while keeping notes. I had good motivation to keep reading because I continued some habits and started new ones.
habits: book clubs & making friends
I continued with Biscuit Book Club, the unofficial name for meeting my mom twice weekly to discuss a book. We had my friend Morgan join us a few times, but largely it was the two of us continuing a tradition we started in 2020 when COVID lockdown kept us apart. We don’t plan to stop in 2025. Some books that stuck with me were The Woman in Me by Britney Spears, Waiting by Ha Jin, and The Women’s Room by Marilyn French. Mom’s top three books from our book club were Charlie Savage by Roddy Doyle (which the amazing Cathy @ 746 Books mailed to me years ago. Why did I take so long to read it?!), The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Allison Goodman, and Sister Mine by Tawni O’dell. Mom writes, “They each kept my interest from beginning to end. I wish I could know what each character is up to now!” We both agree that out least favorite book was Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter. Mom explains, “This story has too much gruesomeness, which did not add anything of value to the story. In my opinion, this story felt flat.”
I joined the Boozy Book Club, hosted at a local brewery. I read books I wouldn’t have picked up myself, like The Women by Kristin Hannah and The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters. This club will continue without me when I go to St. Louis for my internship, which I don’t mind. January’s pick is a Jodi Picoult novel, suggesting the club may be going in a direction that doesn’t match my interests. However, the co-owner of the brewery who runs the book club is a wonderful person, so I may go back just because I like her.
We started 2024 continuing the Huntsville Horror Book Club, but it petered out and will not continue under my stewardship. During our time together in 2024, I read another Stephen Graham Jones book, Night of the Mannequins, and confirmed his novels are not for me. I tried my first Tananarive Due novel, The Between. I also read one two of the most memorable horror novels I’ve come across in ages: This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer and Mister Magic by Kiersten White.
After the Huntsville book club fell apart, I found Spooky Book Club, which meets locally. I joined just as the group started exploring old vampire novels — Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Joseph Sheridan le Fanu’s Carmilla. I hadn’t realize how much I could get involved in Dracula, so I saved my copy to read it again. I had read both books before, but as we grow, so does our reading experiences. While I won’t be around for Spooky Book Club during my internship, I’m going to read along with them and create YouTube videos with my thoughts to post to their Facebook page. I’ll share those here as well in lieu of written reviews.
Lastly, I continued to read to Nick each night before bed. Some highlights are Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne du Maurier and The Prophet and The Idiot by Jonas Jonasson, translated by Rachel Willson-Broyles. We will continue this tradition during my internship via Google Meet. Nick’s favorite book was The Prophet and The Idiot. He explains that the novel has “a cast of characters so distinct and fun that each gets their own voice — literally and figuratively! The Idiot and The Prophet felt like the first two novels in a trilogy, but each 64% completed and edited together when the writer decided they didn’t need the third. However, I still want to track down some of that fancy cheese Obama was crazy for. I still think of the character Aleko (“The asshole!”) and have a good laugh. I would gladly read a book about Johan on a road trip through the US fleeing the Russian Mafia. Perhaps he could end up cooking for the first Waffle House to receive a Michelin Star.”
reflecting in numbers
With so many truly memorable books in 2024, I kept track of just how many stuck in my mind at the end of the year:
Mostly, no, but that’s not too bad considering there are a few books about which I remember nothing. But even if a book was forgettable after time passed, was it hard to put down while I was reading it?
For the most part, yes! How lovely to know that I read so many captivating stories. I know a visually captivating book helps with my memory, so I kept track of which books actually had a strong setting:
That’s kind of sad that over 40% had no sense of setting. Even in a memoir or educational book, I expect some sense of place, though surely some of my interpreting books would add to the “no” category. You don’t need a setting when you have theory . . . except, maybe you should. Theory doesn’t apply across the board, it matters in context, in place.
If I wasn’t reading a book for school, certainly I had another reason for reading it. I tried to choose the category that best fits with why I picked the book up, not what I got out of it:
An opportunity to learn still leads the pack, though this year I allowed myself to indulge more in horror. Not only did some book clubs choose horror novels, but I gravitated toward the genre myself for comfort, excitement, and familiarity. I read so few books by and about fat women, typically because I was working to get in all the book club books. Perhaps I can rectify that in 2025 with some books that I own. It’s always a goal to read the (growing (woops)) pile of books I own, which grows especially when Goodwill has a 50% off day.
The library just squeaked ahead; however, I bought several books in 2024, more than I can remember ever before, including several new books for book clubs. I’m happy to buy the book club book from the store to basically pay for the employee hosting, but I also snuck in a few new “unnecessary” books, too. In addition, I hoping that the occasional commute to and from home at St. Louis (6+ hours) will afford me time to listen to some audiobooks, but knowing me, I’ll probably just listen to the Evolution of Horror podcast. Then again, I may run out of episodes…
Grab the Lapels 
When I comment on a post on my phone I can’t see the post to check on all the things I thought about as I read. Frustrating. I was interested to see in your Biscuit book club that one of the books that made an impression on you was Waiting by Ha Jin. I read that book a few years before blogging and it’s one that has stayed with me. Even it’s cover!
You mention The berry pickers in your Boozy Book Club reminded me that that book was the second most popular book in my Californian friend’s book club (but it wasn’t in my friend’s own top 3).
Your stats are fun … I love the different ways you thought about your reading this year. I think remembering 42% vividly is good too.
As for why I picked a book up is usually down to two things … book group or review copy or for some other responsibility, with an occasional “dammit, because I want to”! The Native American short stories were in this latter group but I’d like more of my reading to be in this category.
And a big happy new year to you and Nick too … hope it’s full of new adventures that fulfil you and keep you happy.
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In the Ha Jin book, it felt like the characters were stuck in such an agonizing way that made me better understand the culture AND sympathize with the people in the story.
I didn’t particularly enjoy The Berry Pickers because the author gives everything away right up front. It felt like a formulaic feel-good novel, which I don’t enjoy.
I often pick up books based on the title alone, especially if I’m in a used book store. That’s how I found The Women’s Room, for instance.
Happy New Year to you and your family. I’m curious if you have plans to travel. We’ll be home, like always, then off to central Michigan for Biscuit’s retirement party.
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Yes, that’s a great description of Waiting … you sympathise with each one of them for the situation they are in. I can’t recollect why my friend didn’t like The berry pickers but your description sounds like it might have been it.
Biscuit is retiring – tell her congratulations from me! We are in Melbourne until 6 January when we drive back to Canberra.
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I always enjoy your stats 🙂 especially the ‘why did I pick it up’. You have a wider range of reasons than I would… suspect my answers would mostly be ‘it’s just what I felt like’, with a smattering of book club picks or reading challenge picks in there!
Happy new year.
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I’m often drawn to titles or a compelling synopsis, and I love to find strange new books in a used bookstore. Any book that has the phrases “perfect marriage/family” and “secrets” is a no go for me. I cannot stand those kinds of books.
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A very good reading year! I love that you read to Nick every night. James reads to me twice a week while I do a strength workout. He sits on the sofa and reads while I exercise with dumbbells, do plyometrics, and planks.
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Happy New Year!
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Thank you 🙂
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How lovely! After I had been reading aloud to Nick for years, I read an article about how couples stay together for the long haul, and two bits of advice were read aloud to one another and never poop with the bathroom door open.
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LOL both are most excellent tips!
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Your stats are fun and unusual. Love that you use the library so much! 😁
It’s also fun how social your reading is. My reading is such a solitary activity but I kind of like it that way. I love talking about books and recommending them to people but I don’t really want to read the same books with people in a club. At least at this point in my life. That may change!
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Finding a genre book club helped me with wanting to stick to to it, hence the Spooky Book Club here and the one I found in Missouri. The Boozy Book Club picked stuff I never would, and while I can appreciate that, lately they’ve been delving more into thriller territory than I want to, so I’m not sure I’ll keep going when I come back at the end of April.
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I always like how social you make your reading with all your book clubs and your willingness to join and try new things. I like that you tracked why you decided to read a book too.
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Thanks! I have to really try not to steam roll people in book clubs because I always have a ton to say. I’m not the stereotypical introverted, shy reader. I do like to hear what other people have to say, but don’t groups have rather silent members who come to hear what others think, and some clubs have the “I liked it. It was good.” readers.
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That’s actually one of the things that makes me not want to join book clubs. I don’t want to sit around and hear people say they liked books. I liked dissecting stories in school but that doesn’t seem to be the goal of a lot of book clubs.
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I think finding a genre specific book club helped me with that, and also finding a very large book club (like 30 people) of all different ages helped, too. A small, intimate group, which sounds like fun, often fizzles out.
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A small book club does require every member to be equally dedicated. 30 seems large though! Do all 30 show up at once? How does conversation work then?
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They take turns going around the room, first saying their names, if they read it or listened, and a 1 to 5 star rating. Then, the host asks questions and people answer if they want to.
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Ok, I see. You definitely need a moderator then, not just open conversation.
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Yes, I prefer book clubs that have someone running the thing. Otherwise, you get a lot of “I don’t knows” or someone waiting for someone else to take the lead. I’ve had book clubs die when no one was willing to be in charge. I’m willing to be in charge, but I’m also not going to let the club choose their own books, too. Typically, we ended up reading a ton of YA if the club members chose, which is weird because they did not start as a YA group.
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This is probably my number one thing against book clubs, that they all seem to end up reading books I don’t want to read!
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I love how you broke down your reading here, it’s so fascinating! 104 books is alot to read. I was at 65 this year, but the years I read over 100 I recall it being really difficult to remember each one distinctly.
I’m very excited to follow you on your adventures during your internship – fun times! Audiobooks will be great in the car, you typically listen while in the car don’t you?
I start a new job in January, fundraising for the Calgary Public Library system here, so I’m quite excited about that. Yay books!!!
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Yes, I pretty much only listen to audiobooks in the car. I think several of the books I read were shorter, but I didn’t review them. I never have a goal to read a certain number.
Oh, Anne, I’m so excited about your new job! Please keep me/us updated on how it’s going.
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Thank you I will!!! Today is my first day 🙂
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Okay, it’s two days later. How did it go?!
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I’m responding to this one week later, but it was fantastic!!!! I love it, I think I’ve really found my place. It feels like I’m coming home, if that makes sense.
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That does make sense I’m about a week behind in everything myself. I just arrived in Missouri on Friday and need to do a big update post.
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