I went through my book list of 2024.

I record all the books I read in a digital list that sits in Google Sheets. The moment I finish a book, I list it in the tab of that year. Being digital, that list is always available on my phone, and so recording my reads is easy.

So far I am at 83 books for the year. This list includes both paper reads as well as audiobooks. As well, it lists each Shakespeare play as a separate book, even though I own all the plays in one “William Shakespeare: Complete Works” collection by Royal Shakespeare Company.

I had a hard time deciding which books I liked best this year. My heart jumped at some that I loved, and mostly it went, yeah that was nice. And there were some that made me go “meh”. There were none that made me shudder, because I don’t finish the books that make me feel that way.

But I have to say, there were a lot of great ones, but not one (or two) that I absolutely loved more than others.

And that’s why my list is not 1 or 2, but more like 7 books this year!

And just to put the disclaimer out there, this list is just my choice. I am not commenting on their general goodness because I am not a professional reviewer. I am only speaking about them from my very personal and humble point of view as a reader who loves books.

So here goes:

The Wonder by Emma Donoghue

Story of an 11 year old girl in rural Ireland in 1800s who refuses to eat. She is being kept an eye on by an English nurse who needs to verify that the child is indeed a Wonder who doesn’t need to eat. The story is beautifully and tightly woven, and mostly set in one small room of the Irish family’s home where the child resides.

All the Colours in the World by C. S. Richardson

Minimal words, beautiful poetic language, woven nuggets of art history, a story set in Toronto against the backdrop of World War II tells us about a man who fights in the war even though he is the most unlikely of soldiers. I read this one twice, because it’s short and so very beautiful, and I was trying to figure out how the author told a whole life story in such short chapters! I met with the author not too long ago, and this obviously made the book richer for me.

Knife by Salman Rushdie

This is Rushdie’s memoirs of his horrific brush with a violent death and his recovery when he was attacked by a knife at an event by a man in the audience in 2022. This book is poignant story of all that Rushdie went through to recover from the attack, and how he came to writing this book. Having heard the audiobook in the author’s voice made it even more special and touching for me. His sense of humor and sharp eye for details makes this story come alive in the hands of this brilliant writer.

Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes

The story of Gorgon sisters, and especially Medusa, this modern telling of the Greek myths is gripping from beginning to end! Again, the author’s reading of the audiobook made it extra special for me. The characters are alive, the untold story of Medusa is both illuminating and touching. I love the author’s stand up comedy podcast, and her humour is just as alive in her novel writing.

Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman

Insightful and eye-opening, this book is taglined “Time Management for Mortals” and could be classified as “self-help” but it’s so much more. Looking at productivity and time management from a humanistic point of view and putting it in perspective for humanity, Mr. Burkeman does it with wit, humour and profound insight. I heard the audio version towards the beginning of the year. I am thinking it may be time to revisit this fantastic book once again.

Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa

I just finished epic translated from Japanese (by Charles S. Terry) audiobook beautifully read by Brian Nishii. Even with its length of 53 hours, this book never slows down or gets boring. Japan of 1600s feels totally alive in this telling. The number of characters and the historical details of feudal Japan of those times never lost my interest. Details are beautiful brought to life in this book, the coming of age of Musashi is subtle and characters are memorable. I would like to read this book again in a few years. The heart and subtle details in this book would only become clearer to me with multiple readings. And I could learn a few things about life from it.

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

This was my second reading of this classic book, a few years later. I took it with me on my solo retreat in the summer. And it was the perfect light summery book I could have asked for. The characters are charming. The adventures are simple, but still put a smile on my face. The characters of Mole, Badger, Ratty and Toad feel like friends…basically I will never outgrow this book because it has a certain lightness we can all do with, and the story told wonderfully by the author. It’s an easy pick, and a delightful read.

Of course, I am not including any of the Shakespeare plays in my list because that could be a whole blog post (or a few!) on it’s own.

I read a lot of wonderful books this year, but the above listed ones are the ones that most stood out for me. I look forward to more good reading in 2025!!