Lucy Maud Montgomery, the Canadian author of Anne of Green Gables, a hugely popular children’s novel adapted for stage, screen, and television once said, “I am simply a ‘book drunkard.”
Several years ago, my wife gave me a wooden tchotchke with that quotation on it, which now sits on, well, a bookshelf.
With the passing of the holiday season, and another stack of books arriving as gifts from my family, who understand and share this addiction, I am taking my annual look back on the books I read in 2024. For the past seven years, I have used Goodreads to keep up with the consumed titles. The social media app is useful for that.
I always have one fiction and one non-fiction book going at the same time. For example, at the moment I am reading There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib, a young (to me) poet and essayist who takes on the sport he loves in transcendent fashion. For fiction, I am continuing my deep dive into the work of Attica Locke, a Houston native whose Highway 59 mystery trilogy deftly captures Deep East Texas. Now I am reading Pleasantville, set in her hometown of Houston.
For the record, in 2024, Goodreads informs me I finished 69 books for a total of 26,257 pages read. That is a plethora of page thumbing, though it didn’t feel so at the time. The longest book I read was Reagan: His Life and Legend by Max Boot, weighing in at a cat-crushing 880 pages.
The shortest book read was the Miniature Donkey Owner’s Manual at 110 pages. In a brief moment of insanity, I considered buying a couple.
From that 2024 list here are a few reading suggestions:
What An Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds, by Jennifer Ackerman. The best-selling author of several books about our feathered friends dives into these fascinating creatures in fascinating detail. Not long after reading this last year, my wife summoned me to a window overlooking the front pasture. Standing beneath a tree as dusk approached was a large owl, who stayed there for several minutes. I am fairly sure it was a Great Horned Owl but cannot swear to it.
James by Percival Everett. I read several of this National Book Award novelist’s works last year, with James topping the list. It is a reimagining of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim, the slave and major character in Twain’s 19th-century novel. If I were forced to pick my favorite novel of 2024, this would be the one.
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Raden Keefe. This New Yorker writer’s account of The Troubles in Northern Ireland – a decades-long guerrilla war of terror pitting the British occupiers against the I.R.A. – was recently turned into a compelling television series now streaming on Hulu. My unsolicited advice is to read the book first, then watch the nine-part series. Reading Say Nothing first will greatly enhance your understanding of those terrible times.
Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story by Bono. Speaking of the Irish, the lead singer of the band U2 has written an honest and introspective memoir of his remarkable career, not just as a musician but as a global activist: combatting the spread of AIDS, fighting poverty, meeting with world leaders to push for justice. Bono is remarkably self-aware, able to poke fun of himself with candor and humor and has managed to write one of the few rock star autobiographies I could actually finish reading – and was glad I did.
If you are interested in seeing what other books struck my fancy last year, check out the full list on Goodreads. Happy reading, everyone. It is time for me to get back to my books!