2024 is about to come to a close so now is a good time for reflection and counting how many books you have read this year. This year, I covered a lot of different bases with classics, fantasy, and the modern chick lit. This is my reading list for 2024.
The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
I started the year with a nice easy one, a classic piece of literature. Set in the Jazz Age of New York, the story follows Jay Gatsby as he tries to win the love of Daisy, the woman he loved when he was younger. This is one of those books that you might have read in school as part of English class but it is a great book to re-read as an adult. I’m not sure how many times I’ve read this over the years, but it gets better every time I read it.
Mort – Terry Pratchett
This is my favourite Discworld novel from the mind of Terry Pratchett. The first time I read this, it was as a graphic novel in my high school library. Seeing the pictures really helped my 13 year old mind get around what Discworld is. This book follows Mort as he becomes Death’s apprentice after his father takes him to a hiring fair. Of course, Mort messes up and nearly destroys the universe but at least Binky the horse is cute. And yes, I read the novel and the graphic novel.
Sourcery – Terry Pratchett
This Discworld novel is focused on the Wizards of the Unseen University and the Magic of Discworld. This adventure follows the death of the eighth son of the eighth son, who was a wizard, who then had an eighth son. A wizard squared, a source of magic, and a massive pain in the butt for the people of the Discworld. As usual, the story is filled with jokes, poking fun at life and Death, and why luggage shouldn’t have legs.
Wyrd Sisters – Terry Pratchett
The Terry Pratchett kick continues with Granny Weatherwax and company. Granny, Nanny Ogg, and Magrat Garlick have to join forces when a king is murdered and his baby son needs protecting. This instalment of the Discworld saga has been compared to Macbeth and Monty Python rolled into one. And let’s not forget Greebo, Nanny Ogg’s cat. No, really, let’s not forget about him, otherwise the evilest cat in the universe will eat your face off.
Pyramids – Terry Pratchett
The seventh novel in the Discworld is Pyramids and it introduces us to a few new characters and some new geography of the Discworld. After Teppic had trained with the Assassin’s Guild in Ankh-Morpork, he had to give it up after his father died and he became king of a penniless country. This is another fantastic story by Terry Pratchett about change, following your own path, and how tradition is just peer pressure from dead people.
Guards! Guards! – Terry Pratchett
I’m sure you guys are seeing a trend here, I did in fact read the Disworld novels in order. Now we have some new faces with the City Watch standing guard and trying to protect the city of Ankh-Morpork from dragons, even though they don’t exist anymore. Well, they do, but Errol and his dragon buddies are a bit on the small side to be burning down city blocks. So where did this massive beast come from? Left to Vimes and the City Watch to get to the bottom of this.
Lessons in Chemistry – Bonnie Garmus
It was time to take a break from the Discworld novels and read the book that inspired the Apple TV series and is a multi-million copy best seller. Lessons in Chemistry follows Elizabeth Zott as she navigates the world of chemistry and being a single mother in the 1960’s. At every turn, she is put down and told she belongs in the kitchen. So she becomes a cooking show host using the power of chemistry to empower the women who are kept locked in the kitchen.
Becoming – Michelle Obama
This has been sitting on my TBR pile fore far too long. I think I even had it on pre-order. And still, it has taken me until now to open the pages. if you want a look into what it was like to be FLOTUS, then you should read this book. Michelle Obama tells us how she worked and studied to become a lawyer in Chicago, only to leave it behind to become the first African American First Lady of the White House.
Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House – Michael Wolff
Keeping with the White House theme, I read Fire and Fury. This book was written by Michael Wolff and gives an outsiders look at what was happening within the walls of the White House over the course of the first 100 days of Trump being in charge. There is a lot to unpack with this book, and there were times I had to go back and re-read what I had just read.
Eric – Terry Pratchett
This is one of the shortest books in the Discworld series and probably one of the most difficult to read. This is a parody of the tale Faust, a man who exchanges his soul and his spiritual morals for material gains. In Terry’s version, it is a young demonologist who wants to rule the world, meet the most beautiful woman in all of history, and live forever. This is a classic tale of be careful what you wish for, and Rincewind wishes he had been left out of the whole thing.
Moving Pictures – Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett shows us the glamour of Holy Wood Hills in this Discworld novel. When the Holy Man in the remote hills dies, an ancient magic stirs, inviting people to come and take part in the Clicks. But when the creation of the Clicks starts to impact reality, it is up to Holy Woods biggest stars to get the magic back where it came from. As usual with Terry Pratchett, he pokes holes and fun at the things we take for granted, and makes you wonder how much magic there is in the movies.
The Unadulterated Cat – Terry Pratchett
At some point earlier in the year, my dad had asked me if I was still reading Terry Pratchett books and asked if I would like some more. A friend of his had passed away and he had a massive collection of Terry Pratchett books and his wife decided that she would like to give them to me. Of course, I said yes, completely honoured that I would be trusted with a book collection that meant so much to this man. Tucked away in the middle of the boxes of books was The Unadulterated Cat, a silly little cartoon book that was popular in the late 80’s and early 90’s. It’s about real cats. I loved every page of it.
5 am Club – Robin Sharma
Did anyone else try to get their life together at some point? Yeah, me too. The 5 am Club is written differently from other self help books because the steps are presented as a story rather than a how to list of steps. The idea is simple, use the first hours of your day to develop your life goals and develop yourself. I did try my hand at the 5 am concept and it was a tough one. If you do plan on doing this, make sure you are organised the night before and know what you are going to do in this time. There is nothing worse than waking up at 5 am and going “now what?”
Stardust – Neil Gaiman
Stardust is one of my favourite movies, I think it was on repeat when my eldest daughter was little. Finally, and it’s only taken me about 15 years, I got a copy of the book. If you are a fan of the movie, then this might fall a little flat for you, but it does explain certain aspects of the movie better. It was a great weekend read when you have a few hours to kill, but not one to read the kids.
Coraline – Neil Gaiman
This is one of the few occasions when I have read the book but haven’t seen the movie (I know, I know) so I didn’t know what to expect with this. For a kids book, it was pretty scary, so I won’t be reading this to the little ones anytime soon. I was hoping my teenager would give it a spin but he wasn’t interested. The Other Mother is something you don’t want to deal with, and Coraline is a girl with nerves of steel, especially how she handles everything in the end. Also, stay away from wells boys and girls.
Good Omens – Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
One of my favourite TV shows in recent years has been Good Omens. Michael Sheen and David Tennant are the perfect Angel and Demon combo on screen. As I read the book, I couldn’t help it, I had to picture the characters as their on screen counterparts. And just as a side note, I read these Neil Gaiman books before the rumours appeared about his behaviour. And I have a few others that I had already picked up, so don’t hate me if they end up in next year’s reading list.
Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding
Finishing off the year is Jones, Bridget Jones. This mess of a thirty-something single woman is trying to be better during the 1990’s, and her diary gives us an insight into what she gets up to. The novel is written as a diary and over the course of the year, we learn a lot about the woman that Bridget is. It’s unfiltered, funny, and a bit too relatable at times. This is the first book of four where we see Bridget start as single before moving into marriage and motherhood.
All in all, I read 17 books, which isn’t too bad. I could have read more. I also could have read less, so, sliver linings and that. However, I was in the middle of reading A Promised Land by Barack Obama and didn’t get to finish before New Year’s Eve so I’ll just roll that one into 2025’s reading list. Some of the books from this year were a lot longer than others with a lot of information to process within the pages. Becoming was a long read with 448 pages and a lot of insight to consider. Fire and Fury wasn’t as long at 336 pages but there was still a lot to process. This list does not include the number of textbooks that I had to read (I honestly don’t know how many textbooks I have about English, the English language, and named “Creative Writing Handbook”) or the books which I read to my children at bed time. As 2025 rolls around, I know I will have more time at the end of the year for reading for pleasure after I have finished my Masters. Unless, though complete insanity, I decide to take on another university course. No, unless it is my PGCE, I’m done with studying.
What was your favourite book from 2024? And what will we be reading in 2025?
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