This was a year which required the reading of 9 (!) books in the Scotland Street series by Alexander McCall Smith, due to Everything. And several audiobooks, due to eye surgery. And 13 children’s/young adult lit, due to both. Two of my reads had the same main title (before the subtitle): “Undue Burden”, due to the assault on reproductive rights. Three of my reads this year prominently featured elephants, due to completely nonpolitical happenstance.
I read 81 books/short stories in 2024. Here’s what I rated excellent, and very good.
Excellent Fiction
Four of these items are children’s lit.
Lust, Caution: The Story By Eileen Chang. Translated by Julia Lovell. 68 pages. 1978. Transl 2007. Exquisite writing. As Melissa said in her comment on the December First Lines post, it’s a wonder that the writing can be so stellar in translation. This is not a happy-go-lucky story.
Ferris, by Kate DiCamillo. 240 pages. 2024. Children’s lit.
I entered this in my Storygraph, but I completely forgot to list it on the blog in First Lines July 2024 edition.
The Overcoat by Nikolai Gogol (a short story). 1842. (Second reading, but the first reading was so long ago.)
The Bedridden Pirates (a short story) by The Common Household Younger Daughter. 7 pages. 2024; unpublished. I will admit I am a biased reader on this one.
The Sword in the Stone, by T.H. White, (abridged; Junior Classics for 7-12 year olds). Audiobook released 2008. Naxos Audiobooks, narrated by Neville Jason.
The Bullet That Missed By Richard Osman. 2022. Just another in the series of these murder mysteries, but I found this one more poignant than the previous ones.
Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling. Audiobook read by Geoffrey Palmer. This is on my “excellent” list because of the narrator. I’ve read it multiple times but this is the first time I’ve listened to an audio recording.
Pink and Say By Patricia Polacco. 1994. Picture book (children’s lit).
Excellent Nonfiction
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, by David Grann. 2017.
Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. 2007.
(I also re-read World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil with Fumi Nakamura (Illustrator) which I rated Excellent last year. 184 pages. 2020.)
David Grann’s writing just carries the story. I hope to read more by him. Thatcher Ulrich is more difficult to read, but I appreciate her chosen topics and just find it wild to read an author who is a Mormon feminist. World of Wonders I highly recommend again.
And some others I found quite enjoyable and/or thought-provoking
Fiction
Fences, the play by August Wilson. 119 pages. 1986.
Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett. 312 pages. 2023.
Nervous Conditions By Tsitsi Dangarembga. 204 pages (my print copy has 298 pages). 1988.
The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax (Mrs. Pollifax #1) By Dorothy Gilman. 208 pages. 1966
The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra (Baby Ganesh Agency Investigation #1)
By Vaseem Khan. 320 pages. 2015.
Jitney (The Century Cycle #8), the play by August Wilson. 76 pages. First performed 1982.
The Book Woman’s Daughter (2nd in a series) by Kim Michele Richardson. 338 pages. 2022.
The Revolving Door of Life (44 Scotland Street Series #10). By Alexander McCall Smith. 281 pages. 2015
Nonfiction
First Principles: What America's Founders Learned from the Greeks and Romans and How That Shaped Our Country, by Thomas E. Ricks. 416 pages. 2020.
Rebel Cinderella: From Rags to Riches to Radical, the Epic Journey of Rose Pastor Stokes by Adam Hochschild. 320 pages. 2020.
Congratulations, The Best Is Over! By R. Eric Thomas. 240 pages. 2023.
Hallelujah Anyway: Rediscovering Mercy by Anne Lamott. 192 pages. 2017.
Undue Burden: Life and Death Decisions in Post-Roe America, by Shefali Luthra. 291 pages of text. 2024.
Undue Burden: A Black, Woman Physician on Being Christian and Pro-Abortion in the Reproductive Justice Movement, by Deshawn Taylor. 204 pages. 2023.
More Than I Imagined: What a Black Man Discovered About the White Mother He Never Knew, by John Blake. 240 pages. 2023.
When in French: Love in a Second Language By Lauren Collins. 256 pages. 2016
A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812 by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. 464 pages (main text is about 400 pages). 1990. Pulitzer Prize winner in 1991 in the History category.
Beaten Down, Worked Up: The Past, Present, and Future of American Labor By Steven Greenhouse. 416 pages. 2019.
Lincoln's Last Trial: The Murder Case That Propelled Him to the Presidency. By Dan Abrams, David Fisher. 320 pages. 2018.
Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America By Heather Cox Richardson. 304 pages. 2023.
Some repeat readings
Books I appreciated reading again:
The Overcoat by Nikolai Gogol (a short story). 49 pages. 1842.
World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments
Aimee Nezhukumatathil with Fumi Nakamura (Illustrator). 184 pages. 2020.
Pink and Say By Patricia Polacco. 48 pages. 1994. Picture book (children’s lit).
Not an easy topic for kids nor for adults.
The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming, by Henri J.M. Nouwen. 162 pages. 1992. Reading for church Lenten study group. The first time I read it was a very long time ago.
The Sword in the Stone, by T.H. White, (abridged; Junior Classics for 7-12 year olds). Audiobook released 2008. Naxos Audiobooks, narrated by Neville Jason. 4 hours? 6 hours?
Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling. Unabridged. Audiobook read by Geoffrey Palmer. 3 hours, 27 minutes • Written text first pub 1902 (editions). Audiobook released in 2005 by Naxos Junior Classics. As noted above, this is a completely charming narration by Geoffrey Palmer.
But I did not enjoy re-reading this:
Mary Poppins By P.L. Travers with Sophie Thompson (Narrator)~ 4 hours. 1934. Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks 2013. Print version 208 pages or so.
My top 5 genres, from thestorygraph.com
That says: Historical, mystery, history, middle grade, and contemporary.
Top authors
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| Keep your eyes open, readers. Looks like wild times ahead. |
