This was my worst reading year (in terms of number of books read) since 2018 (and I didn’t even track my reading consistently then). 0% surprising given I had a baby and started grad school but I am still bummed! Also this was my least enjoyable reading year. I really hated mostly everything I read this year which is extra sad!
You can read the full (26 book) list here but I’ve included the highs and lows below.
Books I enjoyed (with my ratings and the Goodreads average rating):
Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong (5 stars! / 3.74 stars)
A tender topic written with an irreverent and deadpan sense of humor - my favorite type of read!
Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll (5 stars / 4.01 stars)
Thriller that will make you want to set yourself on fire because men are TRASH!
The Guest by Emma Cline (4 stars / 3.29 stars - Clearly I am in the minority on this one. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t read a book with such a low GR score but I’m glad I did!)
Another thriller but this time the protagonist is a woman who sucks!
Exit Interview: The Life and Death of My Ambitious Career by Kristi Coulter (4 starts / 4.17 stars)
I love memoirs about people who worked soul-sucking jobs - does this mean I have issues?
Private Equity: A Memoir by Carrie Sun (4 stars/ 3.61 stars)
Another work-takes-over-my-life memoir!
All Fours by Miranda July (4 stars / 3.70 stars)
A wild romp with an overly anxious protagonist having a mid-life crisis - sign me up!
Books I hated:
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett (2 stars / 3.97 stars)
I usually enjoy Ann Patchett but this stunk! Cheeseball city.
Wellness by Nathan Hill ( 2 stars / 3.99 stars)
This book was 611 pages too long.
Splinters by Leslie Jamison (2 stars / 3.83 stars)
My most liked GR review (59 and counting, soon I will be famous!) so I know I’m not alone!!
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (2 stars / 3.66 stars)
I have no clue why but I thought this would be like an Isabel Allende novel. WARNING - this is a horror book - and a bad one at that!
Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner (2 stars / 3.78 stars)
This was especially disappointing because I LOVED her first book, Fleishman Is in Trouble)
And my least favorite book of 2024 was…
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney (1 star / 4.03 stars) !!!
My only 1-star review of the year! Goodreads is the worst website ever and you have to be a software engineer to add gifs to your reviews but if I was technical enough I would have used my favorite gif:
This review nailed it for me:
Under the guise of ambitious prose that aims to contribute to the discussion on grief lies a book about two brothers complaining about life and banging inappropriate women.
While Ivan's (the younger brother's) storyline is somewhat readable, Peter's (the older brother's) arc is an utterly unbearable narrative mess that promotes toxic patterns. Both storylines feature criminally underdeveloped, two-dimensional female characters. In short, the entire book is over-intellectualized, offers no deeper reflections, and simultaneously provides a deceptively happy ending. The pacing is good, but that’s no advantage.
I’m sad to conclude that Sally Rooney’s novels are getting worse with each new release. One should truly draw the line and stop reading them.
All I want in life is to have an app or a website that gives me spot-on book recommendations. Amazon owns Goodreads. Amazon knows how to show you related content that you might enjoy! Why won’t they use this technology to improve Goodreads??
I know a lot of people will disagree with my thoughts and I am here for it! Let’s fight about it discuss in the comments. Tell me what you loved (and hated) reading this year!
Motherhood update:
Sorry if my last post was unintentionally cryptic - my son is thriving! He just had a rough start.
I love having a kid! People have been kind of weird when they ask how it’s going and I tell them it’s easier than I expected. There is so much parental fear-mongering. It’s like people only want to hear complaints about parenthood! Is it insanely tiring? Yes! But having a tiny nugget that is half you, half your favorite person is the best! Also when people ask how it’s going, those who have kids don’t actually care how it’s going. They just want to tell you how it went for them - LOL. So I do a lot of nodding and listening even though I didn’t ask!
Hey Kendall, glad you asked how parenting's going for me. Pretty well, too! I mean, objectively worse on a day-to-day basis than not having a money-, sleep-, independence-sucker, but big picture better.
I'm with you on book recommendations. Have you tried using AI? Maintaining a list of your favorite books and why (and maybe least faves and why), then asking for recs?
You should be famous for your scathing reviews! I will never tell you about the book I'm writing out of fear of ending up on this blog LOLLLL
In my mind because of what people tell me, having a baby is completely and utterly devastating on multiple levels so it's intriguing to find out that maybe it is not completely horrible??? Tell us more when you like!