2025 January 4: Reading Review of 2024
In which I present a chronological list of the 100+ books I read last year with a few general observations.

According to the count on my StoryGraph, I read 112 books in 2024. I tapered off towards the end of the year, but by then I had already reached my goal and didn't want to strain myself unduly. As wonderful as it is to get through so many books, it is also wonderful to spend the time you need with a story, and not rush through it. There are many books on this list I feel like I could do with a re-read. Many were fine to simply get through; many warranted much more focus than I gave them at the time.

I am proud of having been able to read so much, much more than I have ever in the past, but there is that possibility it was too much; at the end of the day I would prefer to read with focus and intention, even if that intention is merely to enjoy the story. I feel like I might have consumed too many of these without digesting their contents. I would prefer not to think of myself in terms of a content consumer; that crass air of shallow internet-era consumerism.

One of these years maybe I should write up quick reviews of each one. Might help me remember them better. While I did not do that, you can see all my stats for the year on my StoryGraph page for 2024. They break it down by genre, moods, pace, page number, audio book length, format, and more if you upgrade to a paid plan.

Somewhere over 80% of these were audiobooks. I had a lot of basic manual labor at my full-time job that allowed for listening to nearly 1000 hours worth of audiobook (although the actual number is much lower, considering I generally listened to the audiobooks at 1.5-2x speed). Having a job that allows this is a privilege for sure. There were a handful of re-reads. Some comics. Some audio adventures that were in StoryGraph's database, so I included them in my count. December of course was hectic on a personal level, but I think I listened to The Wind In The Willows about three times, actually. Love that book. Good for any season.

Highlights were reading all of Jane Austen (I think my favorite was Northanger Abbey, and you'll notice I also read The Castle of Otranto shortly after), reading all of The Dark Is Rising series by Susan Cooper, and reading a bunch of highly anticipated new releases. Usually there's not so many new releases that I'm excited about, but I think I read just about every one that I really desperately wanted to. The top three authors I read the most of were women: Susan Cooper, Jane Austen, and Catherynne M. Valente, which I am quite pleased about.

The question presents itself for 2025: do I set a goal for 100 books again, or not put so much pressure on myself. Do I make some sort of vague plan for the books I want to read this year. I had thought for this past December to tackle ONE BIG book (instead of one very short book several times), like The Count of Monte Cristo, but clearly that didn't happen. It might be nice to approach the year with more intention than usual, though.

Let's face it: it's always gonna be a game of catch-up. There will always be more classics that I want to get around to, and always more contemporary books that beg to be read. How does one reach an equilibrium of acceptance about how much can be read. Mind you, I wouldn't want to read 99.9% of what has been published throughout history, but that stills leaves enough reading material for many, many lifetimes.