How I Read +50 Books in 2024

A list of my faves, plus tips that have nothing to do with losing your job. Maybe.

Before we get to the good book stuff, I need to plug the class I’m teaching at The Porch in Nashville: The Peculiar Magic of Writing Longhand.

We’ll look at what science says about hand-writing to learn and to create, how artists use longhand to think, and even do a bit of longhand exploration of our own.

Sign up here for this in-person session.

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According to my Libby app, I read 68 books in 2024. I cannot count the 15 or so books my husband borrowed on our shared app, or the 5 or so that I didn’t finish reading, so bring that total down to 48. Then consider that I read at least 3 actual paper and ink books, I averaged about a book a week! Woo!

Maybe I was trying to escape the overwhelming sense of impending doom, and maybe I was trying to remember who I am as a person outside of being a corporate pawn.

It wasn’t until I put together this list that I realized that so many of the works I enjoyed most this year were written by women.

Maybe that had something to do with writing my own novel about a woman, or maybe it was the larger political atmosphere that made me subconsciously decide women were the ones to read about.

I mean, look at that list! Only two books by men made it to the final list. The last book I read by a man was in mid-October, The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (also a good book, but just not one of the ones that wowed me so much it made my list).

This list includes new releases in 2024 and older books, so no promises on the “newness” of it. But as Ann Patchett says, “If you haven’t read it, it’s new to you.”

My favorite books of 2024

• Tom Lake by Anne Patchett

• Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

• The Change by Kirsten Miller

• Weyward by Emilia Hart

• By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult

• Yellowface by RF Kuang

• Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

• Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson

• Scythe by Neal Shusterman

• Come and Get It by Kiley Reid

• Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe

• Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

• Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

• Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman

• As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh

Guess what? All of these are available on my Bookshop list for 2024, and you should buy from there because those are all my affiliate links. Look at how easy that is.

How do you find the time?

I'm no #booktok influencer--wouldn't that be a dream?--but I am trying to introduce more reading into my downtime, which means lugging my kindle around everywhere and making sure my holds list is topped up.

Perhaps most importantly of all (to me), I'm trying to show my children what it looks like to read in your downtime.

I recall my mother laying on the couch or up in her bedroom reading, and once my sister and I were at a skill level where independent reading could be a thing, the most common phrase in our house was "turn off the tv and go outside or read a book.”

We are making friends with neighborhood crows. Also, in the foreground is a reliable way to grow avocado trees from pits. Let me know if you want more details on either of these subjects.

So now I bring my kindle into their bedroom when they’re watching their last few minutes of videos before bedtime books. And I open a book when we’re sitting together.

And of course, I read every night before bed. This usually relaxes me into sleep, but sometimes it backfires and I’m up all night reading. Looking at you, Fourth Wing.

8 Tips to read more this year

If that’s something you want to do, great. If not, go ahead and skip this section.

1. Read instead of scrolling during lunch or other meals alone. My idea of a perfect lunch is sitting at a bar with a glass of wine and a book. Actual food not required.

2. Put the book in your bag. Time goes much faster in waiting rooms when you have an engaging story line than social media.

3. Play Libby hold roulette: If you can read books on your devices, take a few minutes and request a bunch of books. Go for the really popular ones, too. The longer the hold line the more fun it is when you finally get it. Then try to read all the holds that come in at once before the time runs out.

4. Use the Libby to Kindle airplane mode e-book hack (technical name). Get a bunch of books sent to your kindle and they’ll be there until you take it off airplane mode. This has the benefit of lining up a bunch of options. And, if you use it in combination with #3, you have the added pressure of holds coming in at some unknown time. Woo!

5. Keep a list of the books you want to read next. I have a running list that I keep in my bullet journal. It’s a scrap of paper that I write book names on from tiktok, instagram, and friend suggestions. Use this list to feed your hold list.

6. Visit the library or a bookstore. I took out a book on how to teach nature journaling recently. I don’t plan on teaching nature journaling any time soon, but it’s something I wanted to do. Seeing books in person can pique your interest.

7. Build reading into your self-care schedule. I read before bed, but I also got up early (like, 5am) for a while this year just to fit some reading in before the kids got up. I’m not saying that’ll work for everyone, but maybe you read in the tub, or on a break from work.

8. Audio books are reading. If you don’t have the time to put your eyeballs on a page, get audiobooks and build that into your daily walk, as you do the dishes, or in the car.

Thanks for reading! Consider sharing this newsletter with a friend who might want to read more this year, or subscribing so you never miss a post!