It's that time again! I finally pulled all my data together to compile some fun information on what I read last year and my top picks for favorite books of the year. I will share some stats on my reading, my #1 picks in various categories, and my Top 10 (or whatever) lists. Any links go to my reviews (sometimes they are mini reviews in my Monday posts). You can also watch my 2024 Reading Wrap-Up video, where I talk more about my picks.
Please share in the comments: What books were YOUR favorites in 2024?
2024 Reading Stats
Total Number of Books Read: 73
Number of Fiction Books Read: 61 (84%)
Number of Nonfiction Books Read: 12 (16%)
Types of Books Read:
(some categories overlap)
Adult Fiction: 44 (59%)
Adult Nonfiction: 8
Teen/YA: 8
Middle-Grade: 12
Audio Books: 33 (45%)
Graphic Novels/Nonfiction: 5
Classics: 4
Poetry: 1 (breaking my 5-year zero-streak!)
Short Story Collections: 0
Interesting Facts:
Books Written by Women Authors: 45 (62%)
Diverse Books: 41 (56%)
Books from My Own Shelves: 31 (42%) - I don't count e-books or audios.
Re-reads: 0
Authors Read More Than Once: 0
Shortest Book: A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver (88 pages)
Longest Book: Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon (880 pages - nice symmetry)
Average Book Length: 340 pages
Pages Read: 24, 871 pages
My 2024 Reading Challenges:
To see my full recap, with lists of books, categories, and hosts, visit my 2024 Challenge Page.
Mount TBR Challenge: My goal was 36; I read 31 (so close!)
Monthly Motif Challenge: This is always a fun one! I hit 11 of the 12 monthly themes.
Back to the Classics (no longer hosted but I still do it!): My goal was 6; I read only 4.
Alphabet Soup Challenge: I got 23 of the 26 letters (all but K, X, and Z) - my best year ever!
Nonfiction Reader's Challenge: My goal was 12; I read 12. I got 9 of the 12 categories.
Diversity Reading Challenge: My goal was 45; I read 41(more than last year, so a win).I hit 7 of the 12 mini-challenges.
Travel the World in Books (a perpetual challenge): I read 23 books set outside the U.S. (same as last year), set in 19 different countries.
Literary Escapes Challenge: I read books set in 32 states (same as last year).
Big Book Summer Challenge (hosted by me): I read 12 Big Books last summer.
R.I.P. Challenge: I read 13 dark books in September and October.
Nonfiction November: I read 6 nonfiction books in November.
My Top Picks
Best Adult Fiction
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Best Nonfiction
Leave Only Footsteps by Conor
Knighton
Best Memoir
Tell Me More by Kelly Corrigan
Best Audio Book
The Women by Kristin Hannah
Best YA
Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley
Best Middle-Grade
Countdown by Deborah Wiles
Best Graphic Novel/Nonfiction
Sunshine by Jarrett Krosoczka
Best Classic
As They Were by MFK Fisher
Top 10 (or whatever) Lists
These are always tough choices! I narrowed down my Top 10 novels and audio books, plus whatever Top number seemed appropriate for the other categories. Lists are in alphabetical order.
Top 10 Adult Novels
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon
The Ferryman by Justin Cronin
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Honey by Victor Lodato
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
The Women by Kristin Hannah
Top 10 Audio Books
(Chosen because they were great books where the audio production made them even more special.)
Butterfly Yellow by Thanhha Lai
Countdown by Deborah Wiles
Girls Like Us by Gail Giles
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
I Am Not Alone by Francisco X. Stork
Last Summer on State Street by Toya Wolfe
The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich
The Sky at our Feet by Nadia Hashidi
Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune
The Women by Kristin Hannah
Top 4 Adult Nonfiction
Dead Wake by Erik Larson
The Invisible Girls by Sarah Thebarge
Leave Only Footsteps by Conor Knighton
Tell Me More by Kelly Corrigan
Top 6 YA Books
Bad Girls Never Say Die by Jennifer Mathieu
Butterfly Yellow by Thanhha Lai
Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley
Girls Like Us by Gail Giles
I Am Not Alone by Francisco X. Stork
Sunshine by Jarrett Krosoczka
Top 8 Middle-Grade Books
The Boy Who Failed Dodgeball by Jordan Sonnenblick
Countdown by Deborah Wiles
The Girl Who Sang by Estelle Nadel
Iceberg by Jennifer Nielsen
Not Quite a Ghost by Anne Ursu
Parachute Kids by Betty C. Tang
The Sky at our Feet by Nadia Hashidi
Uprooted by Ruth Chan
Top 3 Graphic Novels/Memoirs (these are all memoirs)
Parachute Kids by Betty C. Tang
Sunshine by Jarrett Krosoczka
Uprooted by Ruth Chan
What were YOUR favorite books read in 2024?
I like the way you cleanly make your lists. I, too, read and enjoyed Leave Only Footprints this past year. And Lonesome Dove was my favorite book of 2020 and probably makes my top 10 books of all times. I love it so much. I read the first book of Sunshine (whatever its name I forgot) and loved his honesty. Adding Sunshine to my TBR.
ReplyDeleteNow that you have finished the serious stuff, how about playing along on a not-so-serious look at a your year in books by joining in my meme which I resurrected from something that was swirling around in 2017. Take a look: My Year in Books Meme