2024 was a wonderful year for reading - a year in which I was introduced to new authors, spent time with a few favourites and learned much about the world.
My
reading goal for 2024 was 30 books, which I surpassed
reading 34 titles this year. When
planning for 2024 at the start of the year, I had a stack of books on my to-be-read pile, and managed to read only a handful before I got distracted by other titles. In January I updated my reading bingo card to diversify my reading. While I didn't read all categories, I succeeded in most of them (highlighted) but failed to read a poetry collection, short story collection and a handful of other categories.
So here's what I read in 2024:
Fiction
Reflecting on my novel reading for 2024, I can see that I was influenced by a couple of key factors:
- Hearing authors speak at festivals encouraged me to seek out their work.
- Favourite authors releasing new novels or series sequels.
- Award longlists introduced me to books and authors I did not know.
- Film/TV adaptations based on novels which I wanted to read before I saw the adaptation.
- Recommendations from friends, family and fellow book bloggers.
In March I attended the
All About Women festival at the Sydney Opera House where I was able to meet Mary Beard, Anne Enright, Anna Funder and other authors I admire. It was wonderful to talk with Irish author Anne Enright about her latest novel,
The Wren, The Wren (2023) which I absolutely loved. I followed it up by reading
The Gathering (2007) which had languished on my shelf for far too long. These two novels, read back-to-back alongside Enright's audiobook recording, made me wonder why I had not read her work before. I now have her back catalogue and look forward to reading more of her novels.
Another author I read multiple books by in 2024 was Colson Whitehead. I met him at the
Sydney Writers' Festival in 2023 where he signed many of his books for me. I had previously loved his novel
The Nickel Boys (2019), so this year I read
Harlem Shuffle (2021) the first in a planned trilogy about Ray Carney, a furniture salesman and fence of stolen goods. I read this alongside the audiobook brilliantly performed by Dion Graham. Whitehead is an amazing genre-switching author and I was keen to read his early novel
Zone One (2011) about a zombie apocalypse. While I didn't love that novel, I certainly appreciate Whitehead's thoughtful prose.
Sequels I was looking forward to this year did not disappoint. Colm Toibin's
Long Island (2024) was the long awaited sequel to his novel
Brooklyn (2009), which tell the story of Eilis Lacey, a young Irish woman who moves to New York and then twenty years later returns home to visit her family. Toibin's storytelling is magical and it was wonderful to revisit this heroine. Pat Barker's trilogy retelling Homer's
Iliad from the perspective of women concluded with
The Voyage Home (2024) focussing on Cassandra and Clytemnestra. This novel was a worthy successor to
The Silence of the Girls (2018) and
The Women of Troy (2021). Highly recommended.
Two books I chose because I wanted to see the film adaptations, but prefer to read the book first. Robert Harris'
Conclave (2016) was a gripping thriller about the selection of the Pope. It has been made into a brilliant film starring Ralph Fiennes. Kazuo Ishiguro's
Never Let Me Go (2005) was adapted into a film with Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield in 2010. I wanted to see the film but was sparked to re-read the book when it appeared on a list published by the
New York Times of the
best books of the 21st century. I didn't love it as much as the NYT readers and the film was uninspiring.
Recommendations from friends, families and fellow readers led me to many of my favourite reads of the year. Alba de Cespedes
Forbidden Notebook (2023), originally published in the 1950s, focusses on an Italian housewife who records her inner life in a diary.
Elizabeth and Elizabeth (2021) by Sue Williams explores the friendship between two women who were instrumental in the early days of Sydney. Claire Keegan's novella
Foster (2010) is a gem of a story about a girl who spends a summer away from home. Lisa See's wonderful
Lady Tan's Circle of Women (2023) transported me to the Ming Dynasty. Miranda July's brilliant
All Fours (2024) was a delight that I have recommended to many friends. Unlike the other novels which focus on women, Alice Winn's gripping
In Memoriam (2023) explores the lives of men at war in a novel I will not soon forget.
Crime thrillers always make their way into my reading cycle. Aussie noir shows no signs of stopping and this year I read two great novels by some of my favourite writers in this genre.
Chris Hammer's The Valley (2024) is his latest in the Lucic/Buchanan series and was a ripping yarn!
Garry Disher's The Way it is Now (2021) is a standalone crime thriller set in the Mornington Peninsula. Journalist Louise Milligan made her fiction debut with
Pheasants Nest (2024), a page-turning novel about a journalist who goes missing.
Of course Aussies aren't the only crime writers around. Tana French continued her western-style crime series with
The Hunter (2024), a sequel to
The Searcher (2020) which follows retired American detective Cal Hooper, now residing in a small town in Ireland. I also read another novel in the Simon Serrallier series by Dame Susan Hill,
The Vows of Silence (2008) in which the detective has to track down a potential serial killer targeting newlywed women. Finally, I read Dorothy B Hughes'
In a Lonely Place (1947) which has been on my shelf for years! Hughes is an amazing writer and this was an interesting take on the genre, told from the perspective of the killer.
Non-Fiction
This year I didn't read as much non-fiction as I had planned to and will need to rectify this in 2025.
I really enjoyed the
Quarterly Essays this year. I have subscribed for the past decade and each year there are usually one or two on topics that I am not that interested in.
This year I read three fantastic essays. Alan Kohler's
The Great Divide focussed on the housing crisis. Don Watson's
High Noon was all about the 2024 Presidential election. Lech Blaine's
Bad Cop showcased the opposition leader Peter Dutton. All were well written and worth reading.
Memoirs and biographies always intrigue me. I love learning about real people, their lives and how they became who they are. Journalist Paddy Manning explores the life of Lachlan Murdoch, media scion, in
The Successor (2023). I heard Manning speak about this at the
2023 Sydney Writers' Festival and was keen to read it against the backdrop of the Murdoch family dramas. Richard Flanagan's
Question 7 (2023) is unlike any memoir I have ever read as he blends genre and takes readers on a strange journey which links the author's existence to HG Wells and the atomic bomb. I love Flanagan as a novelist and while
Question 7 didn't work for me, I admire his twist on the genre.
Sarah Firth's graphic essay collection
Eventually Everything Connects (2023) is a beautiful exploration of life. I loved the way Firth tackled big topics and everyday activities in illustrated form. Claire Dederer's book
Monsters - a Fan's Dilemma (2023) looks at art and how to balance works of genius created by people who are contemptible. This was a fascinating way to consider what we consume and whether we can seperate the work from its maker. Finally, I absolutely loved journalist Nick Bryant's
The Forever War (2024), an exploration of American political history and how to make sense of what is happening today in the United States.
Best of 2024
I read so many great books this year. I loved and highly recommend:
If I had to choose my absolute favourites for 2024, without any hesitation I would pick Percival Everett's
James and Nick Bryant's
The Forever War.
Well, that's my year of reading! A new year starts tomorrow and I cannot wait to discover new books and rediscover old favourites. Happy New Reading Year!
I really enjoyed the Quarterly Essays this year. I have subscribed for the past decade and each year there are usually one or two on topics that I am not that interested in. 
Memoirs and biographies always intrigue me. I love learning about real people, their lives and how they became who they are. Journalist Paddy Manning explores the life of Lachlan Murdoch, media scion, in The Successor (2023). I heard Manning speak about this at the 2023 Sydney Writers' Festival and was keen to read it against the backdrop of the Murdoch family dramas. Richard Flanagan's Question 7 (2023) is unlike any memoir I have ever read as he blends genre and takes readers on a strange journey which links the author's existence to HG Wells and the atomic bomb. I love Flanagan as a novelist and while Question 7 didn't work for me, I admire his twist on the genre.
