2024 in Books
In 2016, I set a goal to read 100 books. I have no clue if I reached that goal because I didn’t keep a list of the books I read. In 2017, I started keeping an annual reading list, accompanied by short reviews, on my website. Thankfully, I’ve kept up that habit— and, so far, I have read more than 100 books each year.
The Women of Troy by Pat Barker
I enjoyed this novel about women following the Trojan War, but I think I preferred The Silence of the Girls.
finished January 6, 2024
A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales
This was a fun novel—sort of Pride and Prejudice meets Sherlock Holmes.
finished January 7, 2024
A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum
I first read this novel by a Palestinian American author in 2019; I wanted to reread it now because of current events and to refresh before the sequel.
finished January 11, 2024
Evil Eye by Etaf Rum
These books are tough to read because it takes a while to get to any sort of hopefulness.
finished January 12, 2024
The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth by Beth Allison Barr
This was a really interesting book written by a Christian historian about how political and social structures throughout history, often more than any original Biblical texts, have informed the subjugation of women in the church.
finished January 15, 2024
The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
This was one of my top books of 2021, and I was ready for a reread. As John Green writes in the collection of essays, “For me, reading and rereading are an everlasting apprenticeship.”
finished January 17, 2024
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
I reread this because I went to see the musical. It was really interesting to compare the book and movie, both excellent. Rereading this made me miss English classes in college.
finished January 17, 2024
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
I read the ACOTAR series nearly two years ago, and I’ve been meaning to read her other series for nearly as long. This fantasy series hooked me immediately. ACOTAR is a series driven by characters and their relationships to one another; while of course I love the characters and their relationships in the Throne of Glass series, it’s the plot and tension that have me devouring the books.
finished January 19, 2024
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
It’s early, but this could be a top 10 contender. What a weird, fascinating little book this is. I think it’s unlike anything I’ve ever read before. It’s written in journal entries, and the main character unravels mysteries about himself and his world through his past journals—and the meticulously curated Index he has for his journals. I loved this book for its unique diction, quiet wisdom, and very fun Doctor Who reference.
finished January 20, 2024
Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas
Like I said—devoured. Second books in a series can often be a struggle, but Ms. Sarah J. Maas has a special skill. I just finished reading this at 1:30 a.m.
finished January 20, 2024
The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J. Maas
I enjoyed this collection of prequel novellas, most of which were very engrossing because they revealed new information about the main character’s past. The last novella dragged a little for me because it should’ve been one of the most interesting but the limited amount of new information wasn’t really worth it.
finished January 21, 2024
Everything/Nothing/Someone by Alice Carrière
This memoir was fine—the last third was the best part—but to me it fell into the memoir trap of “anything sad or hard makes a good memoir.”
finished January 25, 2024
Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
I have definitely fallen into a pattern of doing nothing but read this books on the weekends. I’m halfway through the series now.
finished January 28, 2024
Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas
This one was a lot of fun—so many earned plot twists and well-written details.
finished January 31, 2024
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
I was sorely disappointed by the first season of the Disney+ show—and I’d had such high hopes—so I needed to reread the book.
finished February 3, 2024
All’s Well by Mona Awad
When, at the beginning of a book, I think I won’t like it very much, I should trust myself.
finished February 7, 2024
The Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas
Well-researched historical fiction about a time and region I’m not that familiar with, plus vampires—this was a great read. It was more rushed than I wanted at the end, but I’ll mark that down as a strength of the characterization, not a weakness of the plot.
finished February 12, 2024
Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce
My husband is a huge D&D nerd, so this YA romance caught my eye. It was a fun read.
finished February 18, 2024
First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston
My interest flagged at times, but this was a fairly captivating twist on Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
finished February 20, 2024
Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
This was a reading experience I’ve never had before—I read this and Tower of Dawn in tandem. The events happen concurrently, with two different sets of characters, so the fandom recommends reading them in tandem. My sweet husband (almost-husband when he did this) tabbed both books so I would know where to switch back and forth. I definitely read these together a little slower than if I had read each separately—not least because it was difficult to take two 700-page books with me on the go—but I liked that often one book was really tense and exciting while the other was a little slower.
finished February 25, 2024
Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas
This book had such great characterization of some new and formerly minor characters.
finished February 25, 2024
Weyward by Emilia Hart
I enjoyed this novel about three really strong, witchy women from the same family line, across 400 years.
finished February 27, 2024
Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas
This was a really great conclusion to the Throne of Glass series. Loui watched me cry many times throughout the last 500 pages, all of which I read on a Friday night…
finished March 1, 2024
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
Sometimes it felt like I was trudging through this novel and its ever-present air of “you haven’t figured this out yet.” But it was quite inventive.
finished March 5, 2024
I Miss You When I Blink by Mary Laura Philpott
This was a good essay collection. There were many times—like when Philpott wrote of her lifelong fear of being wrong—that I read something aloud to my husband and said, “Did I write this?”
finished March 7, 2024
Behind You Is the Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj
This was a lovely collection of short stories about a Palestinian community in America. I keep reading short story collections that make me rethink my typical aversion to short story collections.
finished March 7, 2024
We Got the Beat by Jenna Miller
This was a cute but pretty juvenile romance novel—and yes, it’s YA, but I wouldn’t describe all YA as juvenile, and I’m probably mostly talking about the journalism content of the book (which was still fun!) when I use that adjective.
finished March 10, 2024
Goodbye Earl by Leesa Cross-Smith
Unfortunately, this book was not good.
finished March 12, 2024
The Correspondents by Judith Mackrell
This book was excellently reported, researched and written—my favorite set of three Rs! I learned not only about six extraordinary women reporters during World War II but also about facets of WWII to which I had never before been exposed. This book is long and packed with information, but it’s really a pleasure to read. I highly recommend it, and I plan to read Mackrell’s other works—even about topics in which I have less interest.
finished March 13, 2024
Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz
This is sort of a Frankenstein retelling, with gravedigging and moral questions and sewn-on limbs. It also has a young woman determined to be a physician, a sweet first romance, and some exquisite phrasing—as well as one of the most gorgeous and clever book covers I’ve ever seen. Occasionally the text felt repetitive, and there was one character continuity error that was hard for me to overlook. But I just loved this book overall, and I think it’s a top 10 contender.
finished March 17, 2024
Immortality by Dana Schwartz
For a little bit, I wished that Anatomy had stayed a standalone book—not because what I had read so far of Immortality was bad by any means, but just because it hadn't yet lived up to the excellent ending of Anatomy. But Immortality ended up being very good as well. The use of real-world events and people was great.
finished March 24, 2024
Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
I was SUCH a Jodi Picoult girl as a teenager, and she’s been popping up on my TikTok recently. Like all of her books, this was a complicated, nuanced story… and yes, there’s a murder trial. Not until I started telling my husband about my favorite books of hers did I realize that she really does write mystery/thrillers.
finished March 26, 2024
The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism by Tim Alberta
This book was excellently reported and written by a believer, journalist and son of an evangelical pastor. I highly recommend this book to anyone within or without the evangelical denomination.
finished March 27, 2024
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
This book suffered under the weight of my expectations. I saw this book on must-read lists for years, and it was… fine.
finished March 27, 2024
Morphinomena by Joshua Moore
A fellow Lexington writer asked me to beta read his book about Power Rangers, forthcoming in 2025. If you love Power Rangers, you should definitely plan to read this book—and even if you don’t (like me, who just mostly missed the phenomenon), you will still find a lot to enjoy!
finished March 28, 2024
It’s Hard for Me to Live with Me by Rex Chapman with Seth Davis
I really enjoyed this memoir written by a former Kentucky and NBA player who has struggled with addiction.
finished March 30, 2024
First to the Front by Lorissa Rinehart
This was about another unsung journalism hero of the 20th century, Dicky Chappelle, who was the first woman journalist and first journalist period to do many impressive feats as a war correspondent. Like with The Correspondents, this book also taught me a lot about 20th century history.
finished April 5, 2024
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
I’ve been meaning to read this for a long time because of its popularity and because the typewriter keys on the cover match my necklace. The book feels slightly underdeveloped at times, particularly in regard to world building— multiple times while reading, I thought, “No world building, just vibes.” But it was a really fun read with compelling characters. It was funny that I read this right after First to the Front— two very different books that both involve war correspondents.
finished April 5, 2024
Groundskeeping by Lee Cole
I enjoyed this novel, but I remember thinking during the latter half of the book that how it ended would have a big impact on how I felt about the book overall, and the ending was lackluster for me.
finished April 6, 2024
Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross
A really good conclusion to the duology. I am so on board with the duology trend right now. There were weak parts of these two books, but there’s something really special about them—I would definitely return to them.
finished April 8, 2024
The Fake Boyfriend Fiasco by Talia Hibbert
I didn’t love the characters the way I have loved other Talia Hibbert characters, but this was a fun romance novel.
finished April 9, 2024
Jazz by Toni Morrison
Obviously, Toni Morrison is a genius. I really loved this novel.
finished April 11, 2024
Young and Restless: The Girls Who Sparked America’s Revolutions by Mattie Kahn
This book was interesting, well-reported and written in a very conversational tone, which was a good teaching experience.
finished April 13, 2024
Graceland, At Last by Margaret Renkl
This is a collection of really excellent essays, originally published in The New York Times, about the South—plants, people, culture, and much more. It was a great read.
finished April 14, 2024
Medea by Eilish Quin
I enjoyed this retelling of the myth of Medea.
finished April 15, 2024
What Is Love? by Jen Comfort
This Jeopardy!-inspired romance was a very fun read. Perfect for all romantic dorks. Reading about these rivals-to-lovers main characters greatly increased my trash talk while playing pickleball against Loui that day.
finished April 15, 2024
The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks by Shauna Robinson
This was a fun novel about community and coming into your own in your 20s—with books and romance!
finished April 16, 2024
Every Time You Hear That Song by Jenna Voris
This book swung pretty wildly from cute, poignant moments to really stupid details (like the names Decklee, Mickenlee, and so on). Back and forth, over and over. I would still say it was a fun read overall.
finished April 21, 2024
The Power of Her Pen: The Story of Groundbreaking Journalist Ethel L. Payne
This is a children’s book, but just as much care and research and craft go into a children’s book as any other book, so it counts. Ethel Payne was a contemporary and friend of Alice Dunnigan. Anilah, the middle schooler I tutor, and I read this together; when we finished, she said, “Amen!”
finished April 24, 2024
Grimoire Girl by Hilarie Burton Morgan
The witchy practices of this book went beyond what’s interesting or useful to me, but I love the premise: that we should all construct a grimoire that chronicles our life and can be passed down. For me, my journals are grimoires.
finished April 24, 2024
The Age of Magical Overthinking by Amanda Montell
I went in expecting this book to be fantastic—because of recommendations and because of the gorgeous cover. It was good, but it wasn’t life-changing.
finished April 27, 2024
This is Happiness by Niall Williams
From the very first page, I loved this book. A novel about a town in rural Ireland getting electricity for the first time, this might find its place among my favorite books.
finished April 28, 2024
How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang
This was a romance novel with some pretty heavy topics. It was good.
finished April 28, 2024