The Year: 2024

The Goal: 20 Books

The Total: 20 Books Read out of 20, woohoo!

Goal Completed…by the hair of my chinny chin chin. I finished 4 books in December to reach my goal. I would not say 2024 was a great year for books. I was in a GINORMOUS reading slump, but in the end, I stuck it out.

Here’s the complete lineup.

My Favorite Book: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie ⅘

My grandpa has been gifting me lots of Agatha Christie for the past few years. This was one of my first reads of 2024 and became my favorite. I read it in maybe 3 sittings because I just had to know if I would get this one right.  

As usual, Agatha Christie doesn’t allow the reader to have any clues to solve the mystery, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun. I liked that each murder lined up with a poem line and that you kept wanting to get to the next one to see it play out. 

Would recommend.

The Most Fun to Read: Wrath of the Triple Goddess by Rick Riordan 3.5/5

While not the best Percy Jackson book ever it was my most fun read of the year. Percy Jackson trying to get college recommendations is a much-needed break in the slump of not liking things I read. The extra point five is for making me laugh out loud at some of the character’s ridiculous commentary.

Percy Jackson is a comfort read and never fails. Bonus for me being able to tell my parents I am in-fact reading a NEW book and not just rereading. 

The Worst: Beneath the Sand by Katherine L. Bichler ⅕

Feeling like that Instagram sound where it goes “It is so bad, I want to give you a zero, but that’s not possible, so I give you a one.” 

I hated almost every second of it. I was complaining to my friend about the atrocity of the writing and how much I disliked every character. She said I should just not finish… but I had to see the train wreck to the end. 

-10/10 do not recommend.

The Most Disappointing: Inheritance The Shimmer by Ridley Pearson 1.5/5

The Original Kingdom Keepers series is one of my favorites of all time. I made my mom get up at 5 am to be the first in line for the final books’ book signing if that tells you anything. I even handmade myself a shirt for it, which makes this disappointment all that much more disappointing. The writing was equally as bad as the book above, I need to know who was in charge of editing and why they sucked at their job. It makes me mad just thinking about it. So So disappointed I could cry.  

The One I Learned the Most:  Litanies of the Heart by Gerry Ken Crete 4/5

Litanies of the Heart discusses the therapeutic approach of ‘parts work’ through a Christian lens to uncover the ‘whys’ behind your wounds and anxieties, big and small. I went to a 3 part Young Adult series at my church where we discussed this book and was so intrigued I bought it the first night. It examines how your spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical health are interconnected. I enjoyed learning about ‘parts work’ and the ways our experiences shape every part of our lives. 

The Complete List by Genre:

Historical Fiction:

Beneath the Sand by Katherine L. Bichler ⅕

Counted with the Stars by Connilyn Cossette 3/5

His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik 3.75/5

Faith:

Saint Padre Pio: In the Footsteps of St. Francis 5/5

Restore by Sr. Miriam James Hyland 5/5

Clean Love in Courtship by Fr. Lawrence Lovasik 5/5

Mysteries of the Rosary by Fr. Gabriel Amorth 5/5

The Story of a Family: The Home of Saint Therese of Lisieux by Rev. Fr. Stephane-Joseph Piat 5/5

Saints Who Saw Hell by Paul Thigpen 5/5

St. Raphael by Angela Carol 4/5

Fantasy:

Blade of Ash by C. F. E Black 3/5

Arthur by Stephen R. Lawhead (#3 in the Pendragon Cycle) 3.5/5

The Magician’s Daughter by H. G Parry 3.5/5

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson 3/5

Wrath of the Triple Goddess by Rick Riordan 3.5/5

Inheritance The Shimmer by Ridley Pearson 1.5/5

Fiction:

And then there were none by Agatha Christie 4/5

Table for Two by Amor Towles 3.5/5

Swimming with the Whales by Ella Thorp Ellis 2.5/5

Non-Fiction:

Litanies of the Heart by Gerry Ken Crete 4/5

I didn’t read anything that excited me this year. I enjoyed some of the books, but nothing that I felt “WOW” about. Zero fiction books I would give 5/5 that captivated me to the point where I couldn’t put them down, which is always a disappointment. I am hoping that 2025 will be a better year for books. As always, leave all your recommendations below! 

Tell me what your favorite or least favorite book of 2024 was!

Check >this< out for more of 2024’s book reviews.

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