2024 Reading Wrap-Up & Best Books

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?

It's Monday 1/6! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by The Book Date

Life

 I know this weekly update is getting pretty boring, but I am still stuck in this relapse of my immune disorder, still with flu-like aches every day, and typing this from the couch, lying flat. The good news is that I have had some better days mixed in with the worse ones (today is a bad one). I am still experimenting with my medications and looking for something that helps, but the ups and downs--as always--seem pretty random, something my very logical mind isn't happy with!

It's snowing outside right now, the first real snow we've had here in Delaware in a couple of years. It's very pretty, looking out the windows, and cozy inside.

Still, clear sky last night before the storm

Our feeder is busy this morning, with the birds all fluffed up!

Pretty snowfall from our back deck

 

My husband and I enjoyed our usual quiet New Year's Eve. I love our traditions: staying home together, having a delicious dinner (filet mignon with roasted Brussels' sprouts), watching two movies, and counting down as the ball drops on TV. It is always a big victory for me to make it till midnight!

Happy New Year!

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On the Blog

Next Exit - this unique movie combines drama and comedy set against a science fiction backdrop; while the premise sounds dark, it is actually a warm, uplifting movie about hope, meaning, and connections. We both enjoyed it. My review and a trailer at the link.

And be sure to check out Sheila's annual First Book of the Year post at Book Journey! See if you can spot me :)

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On Video

Christmas Book Haul! The Books We Gave and Received for Christmas - including a bit about each one and why they were chosen

Friday Reads 1/2/24 - Last Books of 2024 and First Books of 2025

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 What We're Watching

I decided to stop writing TV and movie reviews in October last year ... but I still want to tell you about the great shows and movies we discover! As evidenced by last week's movie review - I couldn't help myself. But I really don't have the time/energy to devote to full reviews, so instead I am adding this short section to my Monday post.

We enjoyed these two movies on New Year's Eve and thought both were excellent:

Win Win - This funny, heartwarming drama starring Paul Giamatti is all about family, with a twisty plot, a good guy who does something bad, characters to cheer for, and a happy ending. It's available for under $4 on many streaming platforms (we watched it on Amazon).

 

Thelma - I've been meaning to watch this one ever since it was released in June! It's the hilarious and heart-warming story of an elderly woman, played by June Squibb, who gets scammed and sets out on a mission to get her money back. She's great in the role, and it's a very entertaining movie. Available free on Hulu or for a fee on other platforms ($4.99 on Amazon).

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 What We're Reading

 

My first book of the new year is Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May. It's a memoir in which the author describes one particularly difficult winter for her family, using "winter" both literally and figuratively, explaining that everyone encounters a personal winter at some point(s) in their lives. She uses the months from September through March as jumping off points to discuss topics like metamorphosis, light, dark, slumber, survival, and more. This is the perfect book for me right now, as I am in the midst of my own personal winter with this relapse, as I hibernate in our home with snow and cold outside. I'm a little past the halfway mark now, with lots of passages tabbed!

 

On audio, I just started listening to The Briar Club by Kate Quinn, my book group's pick for January. I've heard great things about this book, and I enjoyed Quinn's The Diamond Eye. She has a talent for historical fiction, taking real-life people and events and building rich, full stories around them. Unlike some of her others, this novel is not based on a real person, but it centers on a real time and place and the world events that defined it. The focus here is on the Briarwood House, a rundown boarding house for women in Washington, DC, in 1954. I've only just started it, so I'm getting to know the widely different cast of women living in the home, as well as the cranky, strict woman who runs the house, and her children, Leah, and 13-year-old Pete. It's great so far, with in-depth characters set against the backdrop of the paranoia of the McCarthy hearings and the beginning of the Korean War.

 

My husband, Ken, is reading The Searcher by Tana French, a birthday gift from me, though he is still spending more time watching football than reading (he's a big fan of college football and an Oklahoma State alum)! We are both huge fans of Tana French and have loved her Dublin Murder Squad series, including In the Woods, The Likeness (my favorite), Faithful Place, and Broken Harbor. This is the start of a new series, featuring a retired American police detective now living in Ireland. He says it's great so far.

 

Let's see ... a week ago, our son, 30, was rereading Marshal Arcane, book 15 of the Spellmonger series by Terry Mancour, so I am guessing he has moved onto book 16, Preceptor by now (or will soon!). I'm hoping he can come visit next weekend for his brother's birthday, but his work schedule has been tough.

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What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

You can follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook or on Facebook on my blog's page.

 

What are you and your family reading this week?