Books of 2024

Looooooong time no book talk. I think the last reading list I posted was in August or September, and after that I really wasn't reading much. Earlier in the year when I was still at school, I didn't have much time to read but I remember squeezing in some time for one or two books when the term was coming to a close. The weather was nice so if I wasn't in my bed on a study break I'd go and find some picnic bench, or lay sunbathing on the docks, or in the grass outside the academic buildings with a book. I read a bit over the summer, not too much, and then I started work and fell into a routine where finding a book I was interested in and actually sitting down to read it, not to mention trying to find time to read, was extremely difficult. At least that's what I told myself. After a few months of this slow and sporadic reading I think I might have changed over the last year or two into someone who is not the reader I was. I'd definitely still say I like to read, but much more casually than I did. I used to consume books like I was starving and the books at my local library were the only thing that could satisfy me. I'd spend hours and hours on end in my room, in my bed, at my desk, on top of my desk, sometimes sitting on a chest of drawers leaning against my closet feverishly reading some book I'd finish in 2-3 days. I've come to accept that that's not who I am anymore, and although it's a bit scary to think about because I know that person, it might honestly be for the best. It also makes me realise how picky of a reader I am now. I used to read anything I could get my hands on in the YA section of the library, but now I DNF books like there's no tomorrow. If it doesn't interest me, I'm not spending my time on it.

Anyways, let's get into all the books I read this year.

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

This was during Christmas break and I'd read Chloe Brown before and jumped straight to the third book in the trilogy for some reason. I can definitely see how this appeals to some people, especially with the representation for autism and Eve's discovery and understanding of herself, but this was just a bit too intense for me. Still enjoyed it though, but it has to be my least favourite in the trilogy.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

This is one of my top 3 books of all time. I don't care that it's so mainstream that you can buy it at any airport in the world, I love it so much. I decided to reread it in January before my last term of high school as a slight mood booster and to remind myself of what's really important to me: to make the most of each day because unlike the protagonist, I can't switch around my possible lives to find the best one. It has to be this one. I should honestly read this again now that I think of it.

Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks

I read this play for English class. It was very different from anything I'd read before. The playwright is most peculiar. I don't really have any comments about it, I think I ended up using it in my essay on the exams but I never felt I got a good grip on any meaning of it, I just used bits and pieces I could make some sense of. I don't know, I'm not much of a theater girl.

Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors

I borrowed this from my roommate who said this was popular on TikTok late in the term when I was really yearning for some fiction and this definitely satisfied some of those cravings. With almost no plot and the most interesting characters, this was all the way up my alley. It was so long ago since I read this so I have almost no memory of what happened in it, but I remember enjoying it, so there's that.

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

This is the kind of book I would recommend to someone who has never read a page of fiction in their life. This was giving feminism 101. Why does the dog have a point of view?? That irritated me into space. Nothing is more annoying to me in books than a toddler that's bombastically wise beyond their years or an animal that understands human concepts for no apparent reason. WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE DOG KNOWS THE ENTIRE ENGLISH LANGUAGE??? AND WHY DO I HAVE TO READ THE STORY FROM HIS PERSPECTIVE??? I know it's female empowerment and blablabla but after the love interest died like immediately I pretty much lost interest and was always waiting for it to finally pick up again but it just didn't for me. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who doesn't want to waste their time. Sorry for the negativity.

Turtles All The Way Down by John Green

I read this when I was much younger, maybe around 6th-8th grade, and absolutely hated it to be honest. I love John Green though, and when I saw that the movie was coming out I really wanted to reread this and see if maybe my relationship with mental health from the last years would maybe change my perspective on the book and oh boy did it. It's crazy how the meaning of a book can change significantly in relation to the reader's own experiences. Youthful, yet so tragically laced with the sense of finality, THIS one I would recommend to anyone.

At this point I started the blog and already posted comments about the next few books so the description of them will be short.

Prince Charming by Rachel Hawkins

Lovely book. LOVELY love interest. Such a quirky story, I love it, if you hadn't gathered that already.

The Premonition by Banana Yoshimoto

Uhmmmm I wasn't expecting the incest but I liked many OTHER aspects of this book, and I love Yoshimoto's writing style.

Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert

Oh my god THIS man is the best one in the trilogy.

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

Zaf in Dani Brown cast a bit of a shadow on Red but I still love him. I think it's so funny that he messes up, storms out, then IMMEDIATELY realises what he did and apologises profusely. He's just like: "Oh, shit. Well, I can't just sit here lemme go win her back." Let me just say that when I read this book for the first time it was genuinely the first time I enjoyed the smut in it and I'll leave it at that.

Gegnumtrekkur by Einar Lövdahl

Beautiful writing and beautifully flawed characters. I wish I could recommend this to more people around me.

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Just so indulgent. Sometimes all you need is a good time and a gay enemies to lovers trope.

A Room Of One's Own by Virginia Woolf

I was always going to read this again after I finished it but never ended up doing it because that would have sent me into a reading slump so deep I'd still be in the trenches of it. Slow and hard to get through, but interesting in the end. I'll make sure to get to it again this year after I read some fun stuff I've been meaning to reread (hihihi it's Six of Crows I'm gonna read Six of Crows again and no one can stop me).

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

This book made me so annoyed and I finished it out of nothing but spite and because I am a nice person and wanted to give it a chance to prove something to me. I know that the point of the book was that the characters were all morally gray and performative but it was too predictable and it annoyed me.

DJ Bambi by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir

I am a slut for practically plotless books. This author wrote one of my favourite Icelandic novels so I wanted to check out some of her other stuff and I like her overarching theme of overlooked identities in Icelandic society, in this case an older trans woman. This book had me crying, not because of anything particularly sad event in the book, but more out of its general depression. Good insight into this character's world, but tended to get boring if I'm being honest. This did not convince me to look at Auður's other books, unfortunately.

All That's Left In The World by Erik J. Brown

After those 3 books I needed something lighter so I just went to the YA section of the library and picked out what looked interesting, like in the olden days...

Despite being stock-full of pop culture references, one of my biggest book icks, this had me invested. The post-apocalyptic jungle covering American cities as a result of the human race being almost wiped out by a viral pandemic is not even the non-realistic part of this book, but the fact that both of the characters made it to the end alive. I'm sorry, together they were trapped in a bear trap and almost had to have the leg amputated, starving, freezing, overexerted, and then SHOT, got SEPSIS for what seemed like a loooong time and then just continued to live in fine condition??? TELL ME HOW THAT MAKES SENSE?? Given the slump I was in I did appreciate the fast pace of the story. Sometimes you just need a dramatic love story for teenagers to get you out of a reading slump, and that's okay in my opinion.

That is all the books I read in 2024, not many but some. I am continuing to read, but slowly. Honestly, I've found that I can't read in my room anymore. If I go to a café, I can sit for hours reading, and it's so enjoyable when you have a little coffee and a little muffin perhaps! Could not recommend getting out of the house to read somewhere else enough.

Here's to 2025 and reading in the way I enjoy, and what I enjoy.