8 minute read
I read 65 books in 2024! That’s pretty great if you ask me! No one asks me, and these posts get low low low views, but I don’t care. Reading is a huge part of my life, and one of my favourite hobbies and ways to rest.
Writing about my reading habits is one way I practice writing, and this year that looks like a “Top Nine” post. Y’all almost got a bonus book in there, but I changed my mind. If you want to see the full list of all 65 books, click here.
And away we go!
MY TOP NINE BOOKS IN 2024
Here are the TOP NINE books I read in 2024 in no particular order.
A Prayer for the Crown Shy is the sequel to one of my most favourite books ever, and one I recommend to everyone. Becky Chambers is one of the top SFF authors, and is sadly taking a writing break as of this writing. She has a short catalogue, but every single title is fantastic. This particular book follows a NB tea monk who was questioning their life so they went off into the forest and found a robot! Robots have not been seen by humans for generations, and this robot is very curious. Lots of adorable, wholesome moments. These are books that I would go back in time to read again for the first time.
The Salt Grows Heavy. A 180 degree change from the book above, this one is not wholesome at all! It’s all fangs, and blood, and folklore abominations. Do you want to be kept up at night, but like, in a delicious way? Then yes, this is the book for you. It’s also a love story?! You’ll have to read it to find out! Content note for death (so much death), dismemberment, child abuse. All the books by Cassandra Khaw that I read this year are stellar picks.
Honestly, I read a lot of great horror this year! If that’s your jam, check out my full list. I have the genres listed.
Redemption in Indigo. Karen Lord is a new author for me, and I read all of her books I could get my hands on at the library this year. This book was so close to perfection for me, I don’t know if my explainer will do it justice. So I am going to use the New York Times blurb: “A clever, exuberant mix of Caribean and Sengalese influences that balances riotously funny set pieces with serious drama initiated by meddlesome supernatural beings.” This is Lord’s first novel, and it has a sequel which I did not enjoy.
Loving Corrections. As part of my growth as a human and my vision for Not Ladylike Community, adrienne maree brown is an amazing teacher. I have been working my way through her books (that my library has) and this is her latest. It’s a series of essays and other writing on how we must learn to act in community, and what thay means for our future.
What Moves the Dead. I read both books in this series this year – in the wrong order. I gave this one a higher rating, but honestly they were both lovely in a disturbing sort of way. This is a re-telling of Poe’s Fall of the House of Usher, but I personally found it creepier. Is that even possible?! Anyhoo, fans of Poe will enjoy it, but you don’t have to read the original to appreciate the wackadoodle characters, unsettling plot, and plot twists. Bonus points for one of the best protagonists I’ve encountered in awhile, a nonbinary veteran with a wholesome swagger and a Scottish batman.
The Brilliant Abyss. I adore those non fiction books that have you spouting cool facts to anyone who will listen. And despite a strong thalassophobia, I am obsessed with the deep ocean. This book was not only filled to the BRIM with ocean facts, it also takes a long view on how humans have messed up our interactions with the deep ocean. And offers the advice that if we continue to do so, it will be to our detriment. If you are passionate about the environment or ever wanted to be a marine biologist, you will love this title.
A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety was written specifically for young adults, but I think that folks of every age should read this book. This is a toolkit, a “how-to” guide with practical tips and the research to back them up. Future Climate Chats will benefit greatly from Sarah Ray’s writing.
A Short Walk Through a Wide World. Oooooh boy, did this one stick in my brain. Girl gets sick with a disease that makes her unable to stay for more than a few days in the same place, but she also can’t die?! So of course she has grand and terrifying adventures all over the world thanks to a mysterious (supernatural?) benefactor who is also her arch nemesis?! There were some secret libraries as well, which is always cool, and a gasp-cry ending.
Cloud Cuckoo Land. Holy crap folks, this book was so good, but also so sad. It centers around 5 characters and their experience with an ancient Greek book. They each have their own adventures, but everything feels connected somehow. It’s a mystery! It’s speculative fiction! It’s a love story to humans in all of our messiness. The writing is magical, and I never lost track of the various plot lines despite it jumping around through time, which is a miracle for me. I feel like if I write too much about it, that will spoil the slow revelation that the book does so well. Don’t go looking for more details online, just get this book!
To note: this author also wrote All the Light We Cannot See, which I was not a huge fan of, but like, millions of other people were.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
It was hard to choose “only” nine books, as I had a lot more with 5 star ratings as well. Just goes to show that rating systems are kinda silly while still being useful! Here are a few “honourable mentions” that were also excellent.
Easy Steps to Mindfulness Walking Meditation by Nguyen Ann-Huong & Thich Nhat Hanh
We Will Not Cancel Us and Other Dreams of Transformative Justice by adrienne maree brown
Breath Prayer: An Ancient Practice for the Everyday Sacred by Christine Valters Paintner
Bloodchild and other stories by Octavia Butler
Under a White Sky: the Nature of the Future by Elizabeth Kolbert
The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord
NEW AUTHORS
I “discovered” a few new-to-me authors in 2024, and I love that for me! And these are ones that I will continue reading – if I haven’t already read all that they’ve written so far.
- Cassandra Khaw – horror, novella
- Karen Lord – Caribbean speculative fiction, folklore, beautiful world-building
- T. Kingfisher – horror, fantasy, folklore, novella, great characters
- Genevieve Cogman – fantasy, long series about an invisible library
READING GOALS
I like setting goals and so I set reading goals. These are low pressure, low expectation for me. In the past I used this to change the types of authors I read from white men to not that. And it worked beautifully and I never looked back.
Did I achieve my 2024 goals? Mostly! But to be honest, I didn’t set many. I did not reach my book count — in fact I was 10 books shy. And I missed the non fiction mark by 1. I wanted to read three books of poetry and I read none! Oops!
I wanted to add more ratings, content notes, and thoughts to my tracking sheet, but I lost momentum as the year went on. This continues to be difficult for me.
And while I was hoping to join a book club, I am not organized enough for that. And I’m okay with it.
What are my goals for 2025? I would love to read more books in translation, but they are hard to find and every time it has happened it was more of a coincidence than anything. So that will not be a specific goal. It works better when I choose authors who are not white, so I will continue doing that…it is not a goal per se, it’s just how I read now.
I am going to take my own advice, and try to read 80 books.
I’ve kept the goal for 15 non fiction, and while I don’t feel the need to stray from my preferred genre, I’d like my list to have more than just science fiction and fantasy on it. Perhaps some historical fiction and romance can hit the TBR this year. One of each at the minimum. And more titles by LGBTQ authors or with LGBTQ characters.
You can follow along on my IG (notladylike_lisa while it lasts) and on my tracking sheet. Here’s that link again. Do you have any reading goals?
FURTHER READING AND RESOURCES
Here is my tracking sheet if you are interested in seeing what I read from 2020 through 2024.
Not Ladylike Community 
The only book I’ve read so far in 2025 is the Hunger Games, out loud to Evan at bedtime. There aren’t any public libraries in Bahrain and I can’t bring myself to pay new-book prices. I think there are a few second-hand bookshops but then you are limited to only what they have on the shelf. I appreciate you sharing your favourites; it encourages me to look for more diverse authors and genres.
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I also struggle with second hand book stores. I have started a list on my phone of all the books and authors I want to watch for. This has been super helpful for me, so I don’t just wander the stacks and then leave disappointed (and empty-handed). I hope you have some luck!
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Our chats hiking really got me back into reading. Adding some of the books in your spreadsheet to my TBR. And I’m reading A Sorceress Comes to Call right now, for all I know the rec came from you (I use the EPL Shelves feature to track my TBR and for the most part I have no idea when/where I found books to be interested in).
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