It's time to look back on my reading for 2024. I have no set goals in reading. I go with the flow. Quite a few of the books I picked up because someone else liked them. Others were sparked by an interest of mine. And well, I did have all those Cadfael books on my shelf... So what did I end up reading this past year?
My reviewer criteria. I like light, entertaining novels. I like smaller scale stories rather than epics. I like character focused novels featuring pleasant characters, with a minimum number of unpleasant ones. I greatly value clever and witty writing. I like first person, or close third person narratives. I dislike a lot of "head jumping" between POVs and flashbacks. I want a story, not a puzzle. While I am not opposed to violence, I dislike gore for the sake of gore. I find long and elaborate fight, action, and battle sequences tedious. Plot holes and things that happen for the convenience of the author annoy me. And I fear I'm a born critic in that I don't mind pointing out what I don't like in a story. However, I lay no claim to be the final arbitrator of style and taste, you need to decide for yourself what you like or dislike in a book.
Your opinions are always welcome. Comment below.
So How Many and What Did I read?
It looks like I started to read 53 books in 2024. This compares to 108 books in 2023, and 40 in 2022. I think it is a very reasonable number. The fact that it is half of what I read in 2023 can perhaps be explained by the fact that I also wrote two novels this year, so I had less time and need to read this year, since I had my own stories to fill my time. I also read a number of long books & non-fiction books that take more time to read. But hey, a book a week ain't nothing.
Of the 53 books I started, I did not finish 5, this compares to 15 DNFs of the 108 in 2023 and the 15jk of 40 in 2022. A good year in reading, in other words.
As any regular reader of this series will easily guess, Ellis Peters Brother Cadfael historical Mystery series was the highlight of my 2024 reading. I read 11 of them and they were all good, with most scoring A's. I think that on rereading my criteria, it describes these books to a T. As a writer, I tend to value writing rather heavily in how much I enjoy a story, and while these books aren't "witty" they are written in a clear, yet, atmospheric style and recreates the time and the characters in my imagination. I can't ask for more than that, especially for characters that I enjoy spending time with.
My most anticipated book Jasper Fforde's Red Side Story turned out to be a shade too dark for my taste, but not the disaster that a sequel to one's favorite book could be - always a real danger. I still did give it an A grade as it had all the writing elements I liked, it was just the story that I was far less fond of. He promises a third book, but I'm not holding my breath. The fact of the matter is that I consider Shades of Grey a standalone book, its sequel not the real story, since I have a strong feeling that in compressing two books into one a decade later, he changed the direction of the story.
The fantasy The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo is the only non-Cadfael, non-P G Wodehouse, non Jasper Fforde book that earned an A from me, though a A-. I recently read her other two books. As you can see, they were not quite as good, (reviews coming) but interesting. I'll certainly read her next one.
So, here is the list of books I read this year, with its Saturday Moring Post issue number and grade. As you can see, you'll be reading reviews of my 2024 books into February 2025. Which is probably good, as I doubt I will be able to find 52 books to read in 2025. We'll just have to see.
My 2024 books (52 Books) (And one TV serial)
Blog Post # - Title - Author - Grade
89 The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo B
88 The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo C
87 Summer of the Danes by Ellis Peters A
86 Miira by A C Flory B
85 Rivals in the City by Y S Lee C
84 Joy in the Morning (Jeeves in the Morning) by P G Wodehouse B+
83 The Potter’s Field by Ellis Peters A
82 The Traitor in the Tunnel by Y S Lee C+
81 Celia’s House by D E Stevenson C+
80 A Spy in the House by Y S Lee B
79 The Ops Room Girls by Vicki Beeby C+
78 The Riddle of the Sands by Erskin Childers A-
77 The Heretic’s Apprentice by Ellis Peters A-
76 The Confession of Brother Haluin by Ellis Peters A
75 Return to Paradise by James A Michener DNF 28%
74 A New World Begins by Jeremy D Poplin C+
73 Revolutionary Summer by Joseph J Ellis B+
72 The Hermit of Eyton Forrest by Ellis Peters A
71 The Rose Rent by Ellis Peters A-
70 Three Men on a Bummel by Jerome K Jerome B
69 Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson A-
68 Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome B
67 To Say Nothing of the Dog By Connie Willis C
66 Raven in the Forgate by Ellis Peters A
65 Fusiliers by Mark Urban C
64 A World on Fire by Amanda Foreman B
63 The Fall of the House of Dixie by Bruce Levine B+
62 Fateful Lightning by Jeff Shaara B
61 The Smoke at Dawn by Jeff Shaara B
60 Gooseberry by Michael Gallagher C
59 Gods and Generals by Jeff Shaara C+
58 An Excellent Mystery by Peters Ellis A
57 The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng DNF 20%
56 The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo A-
55 Bride by Ali Hazelwood B-
54 Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson DNF 26%
53 The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson C+
52 The Small Bachelor by P G Wodehouse C
51 Junkyard A Fractured Stars Novella by Lindsay Buroker C
50 Divots by P G Wodehouse B+
49 The Pilgrim of Hate by Ellis Peters A
48 The Devil's Novice by Ellis Peters A
47 Damsel in Distress by P G Wodehouse B
46 The Girl on the Boat (AKA Three Men and a Maid) by P G Wodehouse A-
45 Jill the Reckless (AKA The Little Warrior) by P. G. Wodehouse A-
44 (movie) Fall Out Amazon Prime 8 part season one C+
43 North of the Tension Line by J. F. Riordan B-
42 Red Side Story by Jasper Fforde A
41 Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde A+
40 Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd C+
39 The Sanctuary Sparrow by Ellis Peters B+
38 11/22/63 by Stephen King DNF (pg 131)
37 Shogun by James Clavell C+
36 Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt DNF 12%
35 The Leper of Saint Giles by Ellis Peters A
The Numbers
A+ 1
A 10
A- 7
B+ 4
B 9
B- 2
C+ 8 (one of which is Fallout, the TV show that I review)
C 7
DNF 5
Ten of the A's were contributed by Ellis Peter's Brother Cadfael books, who was by far my most popular author this year. I have only one more omnibus to read. I will be sad when I finish it. I don't have the faintest idea how I will replace her books, as they were my go-to books whenever I didn't have anything on hand to read.
All in all it was as good reading year.
I'm looking forward to reading your review of "Miira" by A.C. Flory. I read it years ago and I enjoyed it. She wrote another book called "Vokhtah" that is one of my favorite sci-fi books, although it is very different than "Miira", or indeed almost anything else out there.
ReplyDeleteI also have a recommendation for when you finish with the Cadfael books. Zachary Shatzer is one of my favorite writers. He writes light, humorous fiction. My favorite book of his is "The Beach Wizard". I don't make this comparison lightly, but he is probably the most Wodehouse-esque current writer that I am aware of. (Besides yourself, that is. :) )
Thanks for commenting, Berhold. Because you're such a big Shatzer fan and have reviewed many of his stories, I have, indeed, sampled several of them. I'm afraid to say his type of humor doesn't work for me. It is, I think, too flat out zany, too over the top, too absurd. I need some grounding in the real world, and real characters. Wodehouse plots are certainly pretty silly, but they still operate in a world that I can recognize as real, if idealized. I'll save my thoughts on Mira for my review. No spoilers.
DeleteHa, yes, I can see that. He does like zaniness, with sorcerers, magic etc. :) But, thank you for giving them a try.
DeleteOh, you are really building the suspense! Now I'm even more interested to read your review.
Your blog is one of my sources for new books to try, Berthold. I usually look into all the books you review. Thank you!
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