2024 Reading Challenge ✅
I originally wanted to read 30 books this year and managed 38 in the end.
At first, I was gutted that it wasn’t 50, but with a busy teaching job and a lot of books being 650+ pages, I’m content with the reading list for this year.
I hope to manage to do this again.
#38
The Gunslinger by Stephen King.
One of my sisters got me The Dark Tower series for Christmas - clearly I’ve spoken highly of King over the last two months.
If this first book is anything to go by, I’ll enjoy this series. An excellent protagonist to follow.
#reading #fiction #fantasy #king
#37
The Adulterous Woman by Albert Camus.
A really interesting exploration of intent vs act and lost youth.
I enjoyed these three stories, although The Stranger is the story which still stands out for me. I should return to that, it’s been a fair few years.
#reading #fiction #classics #camus
#36
The Stand by Stephen King.
This is my personal favourite book that I’ve read this year. A masterclass of storytelling with the widest range of fully-formed characters.
This is a 1,300 page mammoth.
This makes for interesting reading in a post-Covid world.
#reading #king #fantasy #thirller
#35
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas.
I hold my hands up, I read this because everyone in the department was talking about it. I stuck with it, but they’re all now on the fifth book or something and I don’t think I can read beyond this one.
#reading #fantasy #romance
#34
The Maniac by Benjamin Labatut.
This is comfortably one of my favourite books read this year, which is evident from reading it so quickly with a busy work schedule.
A fictionalised biography of John Von Neumann. This is cerebral though and through.
#reading #historical #labatut #literary
#33
The Bachman Books by Richard Bachman (Stephen King).
There are three stories contained within this book, but ‘The Long Walk’ is by far my favourite and easily my current second favourite King story.
It is brutal - then again - so was the last one.
#reading #mystery #king #fiction
#32
Pet Sematary by Stephen King.
I had never read Stephen King before. I’ve gone down a rabbit hole and read 5 stories in quick succession. This is the first King story I’ve ever read and at the moment my third favourite.
“Sometimes dead is better.”
#reading #fiction #horror #king
#31
Farmer Giles of Ham by J. R. R. Tolkien.
I was intrigued to finally read something by Tolkien that wasn’t LotR related. This was a wonderful British folklore fairytale-type story.
It’s the perfect book to read to children, much like The Hobbit.
#fiction #tolkien #fantasy #shortstories
#30
Solaris by Stanislaw Lem.
My reading of sci-fi is limited, although I did enjoy Dune a few years ago.
For such a small book it explores consciousness, love, and the limitations of human understanding exceedingly well. This one will need a re-read.
#reading #classics #lem #sciencefiction
#29
The Other Side by Alfred Kubin.
Another recommendation by @awellsbury.bsky.social.
In all honesty, I didn’t think literature could get more weird than the last book, and then I read this. His only novel (as he was an artist, and illustrator for Allan Poe).
#reading #fiction #kubin #fantasy
#28
Antkind by Charlie Kaufman.
I’m a huge fan of Kaufman films, so this one went down a treat. Had many parallels to Synecdoche, New York, which is my favourite film of his.
It is a very, very weird book. My only criticism is it’s 100 pages too long.
#reading #fiction #kaufman #contemporary
#27
The Other Wind by Ursula K. Le Guin.
I had to read this book to finally complete the set. I’m glad Ged, Tenar and Tehanu got the endings that they needed.
A wonderful little series.
“I’d rather get bad news from an honest man than lies from a flatterer.”
#reading #fiction #leguin #fantasy
#26
Tales from Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin.
Le Guin had a wonderful prose style which is befitting of the fantasy genre. She relies on the reader just believing things to be true (without prior information), which helps to immerse one within the stories.
#reading #fiction #leguin #fantasy
#25
Earthsea: The First Four Books by Ursula K. Le Guin.
I think I craved more fantasy after the previous book, and by this point it was the summer holidays (time for a series).
You always know it’ll be good when there’s a map at the beginning of the book.
#reading #fantasy #leguin #fiction
#24
Unfinished Tales by J. R. R. Tolkien.
Tolkien’s son manages to finish or tweak existing stories of Middle-Earth covering the First, Second, Third Ages.
Loved the etymology at the end; shows how thorough Tolkien is with creation. No wonder he was a lexicographer.
#reading #tolkien #fantasy
#23
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed this; however, it didn’t come close to Wind-Up Bird. Perhaps I expected more as this seems to be the book that everyone seems to talk about in regards to Murakami.
Still worth a read.
#reading #fiction #murakami #romance
#22
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy.
Where The Road has some of the most heartbreaking writing I’ve read this year, this one has the most disturbing. Make no mistake this is a brutal, brutal novel.
“Men of God and men of war have strange affinities.”
#reading #fiction #mccarthy
#21
The Road by Cormac McCarthy.
I’ve been meaning to read this one for years - and I wanted to read it before watching the film.
Every sentence is an image. Every image is statuary. Some of the most heartbreaking writing I’ve read this year.
#reading #fiction #mccarthy #dystopian
#20
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig.
A recommendation by @awellsbury.bsky.social - and a good one at that.
Written as a fictionalised autobiography, Pirsig explores and discusses his concept of Quality…
… and gumption.
#reading #classics #philosophy #pirsig
#19
The Art of War by Sun Tzu.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s super interesting.
It’s a little outdated but I imagine that’s a by-product of being written 5th century BC. An interesting Chinese military treatise that has clearly influenced military theory.
#reading #nonfiction #classics #philosophy
#18
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k by Mark Manson.
I was recommended this years ago by an ex-colleague. Focuses on you only engaging in values you can control - works differently from other self-help books.
It was fine. Can’t imagine I’d return.
#nonfiction #manson #selfhelp #psychology
#17
Notes from Underground & Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
Stories that stand out just by thinking back a few months:
- Notes from Underground
- White Nights
- The Crocodile
This is probably my 6th Dostoyevsky in 24 months. No regrets.
#reading #dostoyevsky #philosophy #classics
#16
21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari.
The book itself is fine; if anything it offers clarity on global issues that society faces. But I’ve read them in the wrong order. I never finished Sapiens and should have before tackling this.
#reading #nonfiction #history #science
#15
Making It So by Patrick Stewart.
Just as enjoyable as Judi Dench’s autobiography, especially when it gets down to their experiences with Shakespeare.
An authentic recounting of humble, working-class beginnings to Hollywood endings.
#reading #stewart #autobiography #nonfiction
#14
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.
A stark contrast to the previous book on my list.
A poignant reminder of the necessary rights that need to be afforded to women, especially in light of the Roe v. Wade issues plaguing America these last few years.
#fiction #classics #atwood #dystopian
#13
Chapters by Tim Key.
An excellent recommendation by @burnunit.bsky.social.
Probably the only humour-filled book I’ve read this year.
Key’s humour is beautiful and lands every time. If anything, this book is anarchic - and that’s what makes it so perfect.
#reading #poetry #timkey
#12
The Black Prince by Iris Murdoch.
A wonderful novel that centres itself around Hamlet - so was understandably a favourite of mine.
This is easily one of the best novels to use unreliable narrators to keep the reader questioning the true nature of events.
#reading #murdoch #philosophy
#11
Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami.
A collection of short stories often about men that have lost women in their lives, obviously.
Murakami has a beautiful writing style, but I preferred the last book in all honesty. However, I read this at a difficult time.
#reading #murakami
#10
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami.
It’s clear from the outset that Murakami has a thing about wells. And this was another masterpiece using magical realism as a means to convey an unusual narrative.
And that scene. Woah. Visceral/disgusting/beautiful.
#reading #murakami #fiction
