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A year in reading: 2024

Posted on December 31, 2024June 29, 2025 by amypeveto

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

More from my site

  • A year in reading: 2023A year in reading: 2023
  • 2017 End of Year Book Survey2017 End of Year Book Survey
  • 2017 State of the Blog and Wrap-Up2017 State of the Blog and Wrap-Up
  • 2016 End of Year Book Survey2016 End of Year Book Survey
  • 2016 State of the Blog and Wrap-Up2016 State of the Blog and Wrap-Up
  • 2015 End of Year Book Survey2015 End of Year Book Survey

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