#2024 reading

I read an abnormally high amount of books this year, no one expect this from me in the future lol

The December reading slump hit hard, but I had fun engaging with my other hobbies, and the aug-nov incline was not a sustainable rate increase anyways lol.

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh- took me like five months to finish it, i just don't think it was for me

Ghostbuster's Daughter: Life with My Dad, Harold Ramis by Violet Ramis Stiel- harold ramis is a huge comfort guy for me and feeds the huge daddy-issues hole in my heart, so this book was the best thing ever for me

You Shouldn't Have Come Here by Jeneva Rose- i was looking for trashy romance, and that is what i got. ending was a little dumb, but fed me what i was craving

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson- listened to the audio book, i don't think i absorbed much of it.

Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears by Michael Schulman- super interesting topic, and very well-written! I will say tho that it felt like it glossed over/compartmentalized the role of poc actors/awardees into one chapter

Taste Makers: Seven Immigrant Women Who Revolutionized Food in America by Mayukh Sen- a lovely and quick book, i want to learn more!

This is Your Mind on Plants by Michael Pollan- reads more like a person running up to you and telling you about their first interactions with drugs, a bit unprofessional imo

For God, Country, & Coca-Cola: The Definitive History of the Great American Soft Drink and Company That Makes It by Mark Pendergrast- very well written, super dense, cool when i started to recognize the ads they were talking about

The Brilliant Abyss by Helen Scales- I LOVE THE DEEP SEA AND ALL OF GOD'S FUNNY CREATURES IN IT

How to be a Dictator: The Cult of Personality in the Twentieth Century by Frank Dikötter- read this to prepare for a class that I ended up dropping, but found it a decent introduction to each of the people covered in it. Definitely not a comprehensive history however

The Tale of Genji: Dreams at Dawn (Volumes 1-7) by Waki Yamato- I took a class on japanese lit during my semester abroad this year, and this is so SO good. I like how the old topics (grooming, overall creeping over young women) is actually not explained away as "result of the times" and acknowledged for the psychological damage it gives. Going to defo continue finishing this series in 2025!

The Great Wave: Gilded Age Misfits, Japanese Eccentrics, and the Opening of Old Japan by Christopher E. G. Benfey- this has become an area of history that i've focused a lot on, and was looking forward to reading this book since it's centered in the exact spot i love to learn about. However, after the first section, this book gets so boring and confusing jfc. just not well-written imo

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon- super fun, thrilling, sexy (but also be warned for some super fucked up couple dynamics)

Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche by Haruki Murakami- yup murakami wrote this non-fic , and it's super upsetting

Angels & Demons by Dan Brown- read this so i could watch the movie so i could see hot ewan macgregor as a hot priest so i could see him yank off his priest collar, got exactly what i wanted and then some. this story was insane i actually loved it so so much

Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed by Maureen Callahan- crazy upsetting and super illuminating. would defo recommend

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon- not as sexy as Outlander, but a super solid story. very history heavy

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown- not as exciting as Angels and Demons, felt a bit more like I was being talked down to, but still a fun read

Conclave by Robert Harris- read this bc the trailer for the movie looked super epic, and this book had me in its clutches until the very end. ending was interesting, and i'm choosing to believe (hope) that it's well-meaning and just tainted bc the topic was a bit clumsily handled

Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright- very interesting and dense af. learned a lot more about tom cruise than i thought there would be and a lot less about john travolta than i thought i would

A Woman of Pleasure by Kiyoko Murata- guys like honestly,,,, dare i say fav book of year! (heads up for intense scenes tho)

Deep: Freediving, Renegade Science, and What the Ocean Tells Us about Ourselves by James Nestor- I LOVE DEEP SEA CREATURES PART 2!!! super cool book and very very interesting. a bit of a jack-off near the ending.

Best. Movie. Year. Ever.: How 1999 Blew Up the Big Screen by Brian Raftery- had me watching a ton of 1999 movies, a super great book

these are my standout reads of 2024 including novels, manga and graphic novels

@morathicain @nocturnalgrimoire @ronandreams @haymaepunk @firstkhaoo @tmlssmope @bilights @pearloftheorient @starminesister @aino-minakos @thesouththth131 @kahecki-ken

Started with a kiss, oh how we must stop meeting like this: Read a book that was published this year