2024 was a tough year. It was the year I developed chronic sciatica pain that will now require surgery. More importantly, it was the year I lost my dad. Which makes reading feel pretty unimportant — but it’s also my comfort zone. So here’s my 2024 reading wrap-up.
My reading habits haven’t changed much over the last few years. In 2024, I read 106 books, compared to about 90 in 2023 – but 12 of those were Oz books, which are fairly quick reads. You can read about some of my favorites here.
I read 47 new-to-me authors. I read 32 books that were part of series, and 7 of these were series I started this year. I read 18 books that were primarily set in countries outside the U.S. and U.K.
I only read 10 nonfiction books, something I hope to increase in 2025 (I’m already reading two). My most-read genres were contemporary fiction, romance, fantasy, and historical fiction.
I read 37 books published in 2024, and 22 of those were advanced review copies (ARCs). Over half of what I read was published in either 2023 or 2024, and only 40 books were published in 2022 or earlier. The books I read that were published 25 years ago or more were Animal Dreams, Tales of the City, The Woods in Winter, Passing, and the Oz series.
Two of my goals this year were to re-read more books and to read more paper books on my shelves. In addition to the 12 Oz books, I reread three books, Tales of the City, Animal Dreams, and Uglies. I read 24 books in hard copy. The remainder I read about half as audiobook and half digital books, though occasionally I switched between formats mid-book.
I got most of my audio and digital books from the library, and my paper books tend to come from used book sales, indie bookstores, ARCs, and occasionally my neighborhood’s Little Free Library.
My longest book was Tana French’s The Secret Place, and my shortest book was Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These.
I participated in Ozathon 2024, the Nonfiction Reading Challenge, Nonfiction November, 20 Books of Summer, the Backlist Reader challenge, and The 52 Book Club.
I wrote 88 posts, and reviewed 44 books in 2024. Wordpress tells me I have 1,809 subscribers. Here’s a thank you to some of the bloggers who have been most supportive. Please check out their fantastic blogs:
- Entering the Enchanted Castle
- JaneGS
- BookerTalk
- Liz Dexter
- Hopewells Library of Life
- Bookshelf Fantasies
I’ll post soon about some of my goals and challenges in 2025. I want to keep things pretty light in 2025, but I’d also like to leave space for reading events that come up during the year.
