# The Books I Read in 2024

I'm proud to say that I read the most books I've ever read in a year in 2024.

My newfound drive to read started at the end of 2022 when I realised I hadn't read a single book that year. I set out to read more in 2023 and continued into 2024.

I challenged myself to read more books outside of the two genres I usually gravitate towards: memoirs and queer fiction. I still firmly believe in "read what you like," but I wanted to see if I could get myself to enjoy any other genres.

# Overview

In total, I completed 45 books this year. 16 (35.5%) of which were memoirs, 13 (29%) queer fiction and 16 (35.5%) other genres.

Out of the 16 books in other genres, six were non-fiction, and the rest were various fiction genres.

Even though the majority of the books I read were still within comfort zone genres, I feel like the rest of the books I read gave me a good idea of which other genres I might want to read more. For example, I would like to read more of science fiction in the likes of Margaret Atwood and mystery/magical realism in the likes of Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore.

# Favourite book

This was an easy choice: Tracers in the Dark: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency by Andy Greenberg (opens new window).

Although this book is non-fiction, it reads like a thriller. The chapters build wonderfully upon each other, and the technical concepts behind cryptocurrencies are explained engagingly without becoming tedious.

Note that this book is not only for cryptocurrency fans (I don't count myself as one either). In fact, it may just put you off of crypto.

# Favourite non-fiction book

Other than Tracer's in the Dark, Something That May Shock and Discredit You by Daniel Mallory Ortberg (opens new window) was a close runner-up for my favourite non-fiction book this year.

This book is a wild mash-up of trans memoir and a rewrite of biblical tales.

I skipped past some of the biblical stuff, but I found the sections about the author's thoughts about transitioning profound. It resonated deeply with me as someone for whom transitioning and my experience of gender isn't as clear-cut as it sometimes comes across in other trans memoirs.

I've highlighted many great quotes in this book, but let me leave you with this simple one:

The best reason for transition, as I understand it, is “because I particularly wish it.”

# Favourite fiction book

I absolutely loved The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer (opens new window). It is a gay science fiction young adult novel, but my fellow Goodreads reviewers and I dispute the "young adult" part of this description. It could just as well have been about two adult characters.

I found both the plot and the format of the book to be unique and wonderfully dystopian. It ties in well with the rise in LLMs like ChatGPT over the last few years.

# The full list

If you're interested, here is the complete list of books I read in 2024, grouped by genre:

• Memoirs:
  • Black Girl from Pyongyang by Monica Macias (opens new window)
  • Turning by Jessica J. Lee (opens new window)
  • The Many Lives of Mama Love by Lara Love Hardin (opens new window)
  • Good Morning, Mr. Mandela by Zelda la Grange (opens new window)
  • Talk to Strangers by Matt Dahlia (opens new window)
  • Medical memoirs:
    • When the Air Hits Your Brain by Frank T. Vertosick Jr. (opens new window)
    • When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi (opens new window)
    • Prescription: Ice Cream by Alastair Mcalpine (opens new window)
    • Direct Red by Gabriel Weston (opens new window)
  • Queer memoirs:
    • Something That May Shock and Discredit You by Daniel Mallory Ortberg (opens new window)
    • Robert by Robert Hamblin (opens new window)
    • Never Silent by Peter Staley (opens new window)
    • Burning Butch by R/B Mertz (opens new window)
    • XOXY, A Memoir by Kimberly Zieselman (opens new window)
    • Always Anastacia by Anastacia Tomson (opens new window)
    • Amateur by Thomas Page McBee (opens new window)
• Queer fiction:
  • The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer (opens new window)
  • Bored Gay Werewolf by Tony Santorella: a close runner-up to my favourite fiction this year. (opens new window)
  • The Child by Alistair Mackay (opens new window)
  • Heartstopper Volumes 1 to 4 by Alice Oseman (opens new window)
  • Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart (opens new window)
  • Bellies by Nicola Dinan (opens new window)
  • Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin (opens new window)
  • Icebreaker by A.L. Graziadei (opens new window)
  • Idlewild by James Frankie Thomas (opens new window)
  • I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston (opens new window)
• Other:
  • Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (opens new window)
  • One Day by David Nicholls (opens new window)
  • How To Be a Revolutionary by C.A. Davids (opens new window)
  • Defending Jacob by William Landay (opens new window)
  • Science fiction:
    • The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood (opens new window)
    • The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (opens new window)
    • The Testaments by Margaret Atwood (opens new window)
    • The Circle by Dave Eggers (opens new window)
  • Mystery/historical fiction:
    • Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan (opens new window)
    • Ajax Penumbra 1969 by Robin Sloan (opens new window)
  • Non-fiction:
    • Tracers in the Dark: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency by Andy Greenberg (opens new window)
    • The Body by Bill Bryson (opens new window)
    • Manage Your Money like a F*cking Grownup by Sam Beckbessinger (opens new window)
    • Before We Were Trans by Kit Heyam (opens new window)
    • Bi by Julia Shaw (opens new window)
    • In Search of Berlin by John Kampfner (opens new window)