# The books I've read this year

Fri Dec 20 2024

I'm proud to say that this year, I've read the most books I've ever read in a year.

My newfound drive to read started at the end of 2022 when I realised I hadn't read a single book that year. I set out to read more in 2023 and continued into 2024.

I challenged myself to read more books outside of the two genres I usually gravitate towards: memoirs and queer fiction. I still firmly believe in "read what you like," but I wanted to see if I could get myself to enjoy any other genres.

# Overview

In total, I completed 44 books this year so far. 16 (36%) of which were memoirs, 13 (30%) queer fiction and 15 (34%) other genres.

Out of the 15 books in other genres, six were non-fiction, and the rest were various fiction genres.

Even though the majority of the books I read were still within comfort zone genres, I feel like the rest of the books I read gave me a good idea of which other genres I might want to read more. For example, I would like to read more of science fiction in the likes of Margaret Atwood and mystery/magical realism in the likes of Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore.

# Favourite book

This was an easy choice: Tracers in the Dark: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency by Andy Greenberg.

This book is fiction but reads like a thriller. The chapters build wonderfully upon each other, and the technical concepts behind cryptocurrencies are explained engagingly without becoming tedious.

Note that this book is not only for cryptocurrency fans (I don't count myself as one either). In fact, it may just put you off of crypto.

# Favourite non-fiction book

Other than Tracer's in the Dark, Something That May Shock and Discredit You by Daniel Mallory Ortberg was a close runner-up for my favourite non-fiction book this year.

This book is a wild mash-up of trans memoir and a rewrite of biblical tales.

I skipped past some of the biblical stuff, but I found the sections about the author's thoughts about transitioning profound. It resonated deeply with me as someone for whom transitioning and my experience of gender isn't as clear-cut as it sometimes comes across in other trans memoirs.

I've highlighted many great quotes in this book, but let me leave you with this simple one:

The best reason for transition, as I understand it, is “because I particularly wish it.”

# Favourite fiction book

I absolutely loved The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer. It is a gay science fiction young adult novel, but my fellow Goodreads reviewers and I dispute the "young adult" part of this description. It could just as well have been about two adult characters.

I found both the plot and the format of the book to be unique and wonderfully dystopian. It ties in well with the rise in LLMs like ChatGPT over the last few years.

# The full list

If you're interested, here is the complete list of books I read in 2024, grouped by genre:

Memoirs:
- Black Girl from Pyongyang by Monica Macias
- Turning by Jessica J. Lee
- The Many Lives of Mama Love by Lara Love Hardin
- Good Morning, Mr. Mandela by Zelda la Grange
- Talk to Strangers by Matt Dahlia
- Medical memoirs:
  - When the Air Hits Your Brain by Frank T. Vertosick Jr.
  - When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
  - Prescription: Ice Cream by Alastair Mcalpine
  - Direct Red by Gabriel Weston
- Queer memoirs:
  - Something That May Shock and Discredit You by Daniel Mallory Ortberg
  - Robert by Robert Hamblin
  - Never Silent by Peter Staley
  - Burning Butch by R/B Mertz
  - XOXY, A Memoir by Kimberly Zieselman
  - Always Anastacia by Anastacia Tomson
  - Amateur by Thomas Page McBee
Queer fiction:
- The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer
- Bored Gay Werewolf by Tony Santorella: a close runner-up to my favourite fiction this year.
- The Child by Alistair Mackay
- Heartstopper Volumes 1 to 4 by Alice Oseman
- Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
- Bellies by Nicola Dinan
- Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
- Icebreaker by A.L. Graziadei
- Idlewild by James Frankie Thomas
- I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston
Other:
- Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
- One Day by David Nicholls
- How To Be a Revolutionary by C.A. Davids
- Defending Jacob by William Landay
- Science fiction:
  - The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood
  - The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
  - The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
- Mystery/historical fiction:
  - Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
  - Ajax Penumbra 1969 by Robin Sloan
- Non-fiction:
  - Tracers in the Dark by Andy Greenberg
  - The Body by Bill Bryson
  - Manage Your Money like a F*cking Grownup by Sam Beckbessinger
  - Before We Were Trans by Kit Heyam
  - Bi by Julia Shaw
  - In Search of Berlin by John Kampfner