Books on a shelf from left to right: N.K. Jemison's "The Fifth Season," Liane Moriarty's "Three Wishes," "Truly Madly Guilty," "Apples Never Fall," " The Last Anniversary," "Big Little Lies," "The Husband's Secret," "What Alice Forgot," and "The Hypnotist's Love Story." On top of these books is Barbara Kingsolver's "Demon Copperhead." Photo by Mary Warner, January 1, 2025.
reading

Books Read in 2024

by Mary

Happy New Year!

I’m kicking off 2025 with a list of books I read in 2024.

On April 7, 2024, I reported on this blog that I had read 11 books, including a binge of books by John Scalzi, after having a couple of light years of reading due to life circumstances. I typically average 20-25 books per year.

So, how did I do over the course of the year?

Well, I surpassed my usual average, and discovered that John Scalzi wasn’t the only author I binged. I also read a whole lotta Liane Moriarty. After finding her book “The Hypnotist’s Love Story” in a Little Free Library in 2023, I looked for more of her work in 2024. I think at this point I have read all but two of her books. “Truly Madly Guilty” is the one on my shelf that I still have to read, and there’s a new one I’ve seen in bookstores.

Books on a shelf from left to right: N.K. Jemisin's "The Fifth Season," Liane Moriarty's "Three Wishes," "Truly Madly Guilty," "Apples Never Fall," " The Last Anniversary," "Big Little Lies," "The Husband's Secret," "What Alice Forgot," and "The Hypnotist's Love Story." On top of these books is Barbara Kingsolver's "Demon Copperhead." Photo by Mary Warner, January 1, 2025.
Books on a shelf from left to right: N.K. Jemisin’s “The Fifth Season,” Liane Moriarty’s “Three Wishes,” “Truly Madly Guilty,” “Apples Never Fall,” ” The Last Anniversary,” “Big Little Lies,” “The Husband’s Secret,” “What Alice Forgot,” and “The Hypnotist’s Love Story.” On top of these books is Barbara Kingsolver’s “Demon Copperhead.” Photo by Mary Warner, January 1, 2025.

Here are the books I read in 2024, numbered in the order read.

  1. Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam Grant
  2. Walking the Ojibwe Path by Richard Wagamese
  3. Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
  4. The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty
  5. Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask by Anton Treuer
  6. The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi
  7. The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Eddie Campbell
  8. Starter Villain by John Scalzi
  9. Head On by John Scalzi
  10. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
  11. Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
  12. Lock In by John Scalzi
  13. Unlocked by John Scalzi
  14. Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell and Know by Alexandra Horowitz – only read part of this book, couldn’t bring myself to finish
  15. The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley
  16. Fish Food: A Feminist Moby Dick by Grace Hayden
  17. What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
  18. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
  19. Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker by Kevin Mitnick with William L. Simon
  20. A Total Waste of Makeup by Kim Gruenenfelder
  21. The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty
  22. Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty
  23. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
  24. Sociopath: A Memoir by Patric Gagne
  25. Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn
  26. The Courage to Write by Ralph Keyes
  27. Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
  28. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
  29. The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living by Meik Wiking
  30. Where the Past Begins: Memory and Imagination by Amy Tan – I’m two-thirds of the way through this book, having read most of it in 2024, so I’m counting it here.

Of these books, 20 are fiction and 10 are nonfiction. Of the nonfiction books, 5 are memoirs, with one of those (Fish Food) written by a long-time friend of my husband and me, Grace Hayden. It was fascinating to get a new look at our hometown through Grace’s lens.

I tend to read fiction faster than nonfiction, so it’s not surprising I read so much with this year’s list slanted heavily toward fiction.

John Scalzi’s books are action-packed, fast-paced, humorous/snarky romps. Liane Moriarty’s books are character-driven, examining the complex relationships in families and small social circles. I like both types of stories … obviously!

Piranesi was on my list to read after having been delighted by Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. Clarke has an amazing imagination. In Piranesi, the title character lives in a house that goes on forever and is filled with the sea and tides.

Three books I read this year were for a book group: Sociopath by Patric Gagne, Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn, and Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. All were excellent, but I may not have picked them myself. Which is the beauty of book groups.

The big surprise for me was how much I liked Demon Copperhead. I’ve been aware of Kingsolver’s books for years but never managed to read one until now. The surprise comes in that Demon Copperhead is a take on Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield. I swore off anything by Dickens after having Great Expectations assigned in eighth grade English. I was the only one in the class reading this book as part of the talented and gifted (TAG) program, having somehow been put into a separate class from the other TAG students. It felt overly complicated and I had no one to discuss it with, so I hated it. That was the end of Dickens for me. Kingsolver’s story drew me in and kept me engaged, particularly with the Appalachian history and social commentary told through the main character. Having never read David Copperfield, I looked for a summary online and noted some of the ways Kingsolver was inspired by the original. I’m not sure that’s enough to get me to read Dickens, but I may look for more of Kingsolver’s books.

What was your favorite book in 2024?

What are you looking forward to reading in 2025?

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