2024: The (Reading) Year in Review

It’s been a strange year for reading, and blogging, for me. My husband has been quite ill, and after a serious cycling accident in October, he has required much of my attention. Switching from WordPress to Blogger, as my domain at WordPress was full, was not as smooth as I had hoped. Nor did my relative lack of interaction with all of you help.

But, I have been reading, and fulfilling much of the blogging events I’d signed up for, nonetheless. Here is a list of the books I’ve read this year:

Books read in 2024

~January~

1. Point Zero by Seicho Matsumoto (Japanese Literature Challenge 17)
2. First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston 
3. The Forbidden Notebook by Alba De Cespedes (reread)
4. Don’t Let Her Go by Willow Rose
5. The Final Curtain by Keigo Higashino (Japanese Literature Challenge 17)

~February~

1. Nails and Eyes by Kaori Fujino (Japanese Literature Challenge 17)
2. Life and Death in Shanghai by Nein  Chung (book club)
3. Nowhere Like Home by Sara Shepard
4. A Well-Behaved Woman by Anne Therese Fowler (book club)

~March~

1. The Godwulf Manuscript by Robert B. Parker (reread)
2. God Save The Child by Robert B. Parker (reread)
3. Mortal Stakes by Robert B. Parker (reread)
4. Undiscovered by Gabriela Weiner (IBP longlist 2024)
5. The House on Via Gemito by Domenico Starnone (IBP longlist 2024)
6. Crooked Plow by Itamar Vieira Junior (IBP shortlist 2024)
7. A Dictator Calls by Ismail Kadare (IBP longlist 2024)

~April~ 

1. Not A River by Selva Almada (IBP shortlist 2024)
2. The Silver Bone by Andrey Kurkov (IBP longlist 2024)
3. The Details by Ia Genberg (IBP shortlist 2024)
4. Lost On Me by Veronica Raimos (IBP longlist 2024)
5. The Promised Land by Robert B. Parker
6. The Judas Goat by Robert B. Parker
7. Simpatia by Rodrigo Blanco Calderon (IBP longlist 2024)
8. How Do You Live? by Genzaburo Yoshino, translated from the Japanese by Bruno Navasky (#1937 Club)

~May~

1. Knife by Salmon Rushdie
2. The Hunter by Tana French
3. Looking For Rachel Wallace by Robert B. Parker
4. Early Autumn by Robert B. Parker
5. A Savage Place by Robert B. Parker
6. Ceremony by Robert B. Parker
7. A House Like An Accordion by Audrey Burges

~June~

1. Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland (Paris in July 2024)
2. Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy
3. Long Island by Colm Toibin
4. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (Paris in July 2024)

~July~

1. Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See (book club)
2. Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell (Paris in July, Reading Orwell 2024)
3. Tsar by Ted Bell
4. The Deep Blue Good-by by John D. MacDonald 

~August~

1. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (Classic Club Spin #38/Pulitzer Prize winner)
2. The Empusium by Olga Tokarczuk  (Women in Translation Month)
3. The Other Woman by Therese Bohman (Women in Translation Month)

~September~

1. Emily Forever by Maria Navarro Skaranger
2. Nightmare in Pink by John MacDonald
3. Kristan Lavransdattar: The Wreath by Sigrid Undset
4. Cold Hearts by Gunnar Staaleson 

~October~

1. The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
2. Speaks The Nightbird by Robert McCammon (R.I.P. XIX)

~November~

1. The Other Name by Jon Fosse (Norway in November)
2. Ti Amo by Hanne Orstavik (Norway in November)
3. Professor Andersen’s Night by Dag Solstad (Norway in November)
4. Death Deserved by Horst and Enger (Norway in November)

~December~

1. The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami
2. The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki
3. The Therapist by B. A. Paris

Top Ten for 2024

1. The Forbidden Notebook by Alba De Cespedes (although a reread, it stands the test of time)
2. Nails and Eyes by Kaori Fujino (the imagery still lingers)
3. Not A River by Selva Almada (for a mother’s love)
4. Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy (because friends are found in unlikely places)
5. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (every reread provides fresh insight)
6. The Wreath by Sigrid Undset (it further launched my passion for classics, and Norwegian lit)
7. The Other Name by Jon Fosse (a true favorite, again offering fresh insight each reread)
8. Ti Amo by Hanne Orstavik (I’m always interested in stories of couples)
9. Professor Andersen’s Night by Dag Solstad (offered a perspective on society)
10. The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami (because who doesn’t love reading about cats, and libraries, and loneliness, along with a parallel universe?)

As you can see, I have continued with my passion for literature in translation by reading for The Japanese Literature Challenge 17, The International Booker Prize, Paris in July, Women in Translation Month, and Norway in November. I have also read for R.I.P. XIX, 20 Books of Summer, and Reading Orwell.

I plan to host the Japanese Literature Challenge 18, for which the Review Site will be available tomorrow. I also agreed to host Pride and Prejudice in March for Reading Austen 2025. After that, who knows? Perhaps you will see me from time to time. Meanwhile, I wish you the happiest New Year, and may the quality of each book you read abound in 2025!

Love,

Bellezza