arden's asides

reading journey in 2024

For the full list of books I have read this year, you can check my Storygraph account!

favorites

This was a genre fiction heavy year for me with a lot of hits and misses that led me to some of my all-time favorite books. Becky Chambers solar punk series was the perfect cozy, philosophical, light sci-fi to kickstart the year. I found myself copying so many passages down into my commonplace book, especially since the book touched on so many tropes that I enjoy: robots and humanity, what it means to be human, community and found family, introspection, nature, identity.

To go on to read The Employees cemented for me that I do genuinely enjoy science-fiction -- I just haven't been reading the right speculative fiction for me specifically. The poetic style of this book, its abstraction, its existentialism, its exploration on humanity, all of these topics resonated so strongly for me. It made me want to buy a copy immediately so I can immerse myself in its language longer.

Other books offered much needed comfort - a warm hug, a bowl of chicken soup, a purring cat on my lap. This came through books like The Kamogawa Food Detectives, Gourmet Hound (a nearly annual re-read for me at this point), and Ten Thousand Stitches (my perfect threshold for fantasy so far).

Although I read a LOT of horror last year, the standouts were easily Helpmeet and The Spirit Bares Its Teeth. Helpmeet is a haunting novella with such grotesque body horror, but the way it grapples with relationships, love, and power made me feel very seen in a way that I wasn't expecting. There was something beautiful in the disgusting muck of it all. Andrew Joseph White's YA horror entry made me feel seen in a different way through its queer, trans, autistic protagonist. Past the magic and fantasy of the novel, it doesn't flinch from naming the villainy of systemic power structures and its protagonists embrace clawing for justice. The love story at its core was also a 10/10 for me.

I expected Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop to be similar to other cozy books I had read last year, so I was surprised by how meditative and melancholic it was. The book delves into what it means to be happy, satisfied, successful. I related a lot with the main protagonist at this tipping point in her life, and enjoyed how the alternative perspectives that the other characters she meets challenge her understanding of what she wants from life.

At the beginning of the year, I wanted to read more poetry, but I didn't quite follow that goal through. Black Girl, Call Home was a standout chapbook for me during this early adventure. When I read "We Host These Variables", I immediately took a screenshot and sent it to my friend thinking about their relationship to their own mother and daughter: "I don't know all of her pain, or if it can be held with two hands. But she looks back at me, with girlish eyes, wanting to be remembered for something I do not recognize her as."

most disappointing finishes

These three don't represent the "worst books" I read (all of those were DNFed because I am too old to hate read anything), but they each fell short of expectation based on recommendations from other people. I read The Dumb House after Jen Campbell talked extensively about it on her channel, but it just wasn't for me. If you really love unreliable, disturbed narrators like Albert Camus' The Stranger, then you might enjoy Burnsides' novel, too. For me, it was just too uncomfortable.

Remember when I said I don't hate-read anymore? While I didn't hate If We Were Villains, it exasperated me. The Shakespeare quotations were excessive and deeply unrealistic. Would they remember lines from played they had recently performed? Absolutely! That could make sense and reveal something interesting about their dynamics. But some random line from a much more obscure play because it just happens to overlap with the conversation they are having? Pretentious beyond suspension of disbelief.

The plot, character motivations, and angst were also getting in the way of my enjoyment of the story in general. I finished because I was curious enough about where the mystery was going, but it's not something I would either recommend or return to again of my own volition.

I really, really wanted to love Most Ardently. Queer/trans retelling of Pride and Prejudice? Sounds lovely! But there were too many things that fell short for me. Some of the stakes didn't quite line up (Oliver's own pride, financial security), the dialogue was a bit off for me (too contemporary, insta-lovey banter without enough tension.) The shining light was Mr. Bennet's relationship with his son and the biggest spot was the entire Collins/Whickham plot.

plans for 2025

#2024 #books