Another year in the books. Time to review the data, choose my favorites, and psychoanalyze my reading choices!
Show me the numbers
- Total books read: 80 (+14 DNFs)
- Total pages: 25,784
- Fiction/Non-fiction: 55/39
- Physical/Audiobook: 79/15
My Top 10 of 2024
I can’t possibly rank these, so they’re in the order I read them.
The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister’s Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine (Lindsey Fitzharris) – A stomach-churning look at Victorian surgery, germ theory, and the pioneering Dr. Lister.
The Facemaker: A Visionary Surgeon’s Battle to Mend the Disfigured Soldiers of World War I (Lindsey Fitzharris) – Clearly Fitzharris is a favorite. I knew a little about the improvements to cosmetic surgery that came about as a result of WWI, but had never heard of Harold Gillies. Amazing history, details, and photos.
The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels (Janice Hallett) – A twisty mixed media mystery. Perfect for a buddy or book club read.
The September House (Carissa Orlando) – A book that left me questioning my sanity in the best possible way. Freaking terrifying, plus also a discussion-worthy focus on themes around abuse and rage.
The Red Tent (Anita Diamant) – A heartbreaking, empowering retelling of the story of Dinah. Everyone should read this.
The Icepick Surgeon: Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science (Sam Kean) – People have done a lot of terrible things in the name of science. Some of those terrible things resulted in breakthroughs that have gone on to save thousands or millions — but at what cost?
The Bandit Queens (Parini Shroff) – A deeper and darker read than I expected, which was perfect. I loved Geeta’s journey and learning about what feminism can look like in a culture very different from my own.
The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon (David Grann) – My second Grann book, and confirmation that he should be on my auto-buy/read list. Great writing about the magnetism and danger of the Amazon.
The Tainted Cup (Robert Jackson Bennett) – A perfect balance of murder, magic, and monsters. An excellent introduction to a world I can’t wait to get back to in 2025.
The Last House on Needless Street (Catriona Ward) – Just two words: holy shit. I picked this up because it was on sale, then stayed up hours past my bedtime because I couldn’t stop reading. Possibly my favorite book of the year.
Observations and thoughts
- According to ChatGPT, various combinations of my top reads share 7 themes (listed below). Most of these feel right in my wheelhouse, but “Isolation and alienation” was an interesting curveball that’s worth thinking about.
- Medical and scientific innovation
- Murder and crime
- Historical exploration and obsession
- Mental and psychological struggles
- Gender and identity
- Obsession and transformation
- Isolation and alienation
- I read 15 more books this year than in 2023. One of my goals was to read more, so I’m calling that a success.
- Also, more DNFs. Life’s too short!
- My fiction/non-fiction split was about 60/30 — a wider difference than last year. I’m attributing this to needing more escapism than history.
- I still do more physical than audio reading. Most of my audio time is spent on podcasts.
- I picked up a couple short story collections in December and found them unfulfilling. I’m cool with giving those all a pass in the future.
- I started using StoryGraph and Fable — mainly as a way to track my books and get more recommended reading. I want to keep exploring those apps/communities in 2025.
- I became a Bookish Friend of the Currently Reading Podcast! I started listening to the show last year, and have enjoyed the hosts and content so much that I knew it would be worthwhile to join. Plus, their reading tracker spreadsheet is sick.
Here’s to books!
Photo by Eugenio Mazzone on Unsplash
