My Reading List for 2024

Last year, I read the most books I ever had in a single year, setting a personal best of fifty-three. This year was—er—decidedly not that. In novels, I didn’t even crack thirty. Life got in the way, big time. On the reverse of that, and perhaps because of, I managed to read significantly more graphic novels. Now, I’m not a fast reader, but I can generally finish one graphic novel in a session, and I think that played in their favor. Like every year, I track my reading through Goodreads and would suggest following me there, where I will occasionally leave a review for a book I particularly enjoyed.

Most links below will go to Bookshop.org—now more than ever, support your local bookstore. If possible, I will directly link to each author’s website but occasionally fall back on Wikipedia, professor profiles, or publisher pages.

Novels & Novellas Persepolis Rising (The Expanse #7)
by James S.A. Corey Children of the Dark
by Jonathan Janz The Sheltering Sky
by Paul Bowles Exit Strategy …again
by Martha Wells Sword Catcher
by Cassandra Clare Red Rabbit
by Alex Grecian Essex Dogs
by Dan Jones Tender is the Flesh
by Agustina Bazterrica , translated by Sarah Moses Servants of the Storm
by Delilah S. Dawson The Dragon Reborn (The Wheel of Time #3)
by Robert Jordan The Trip to Echo Springs: On Writers and Drinking
by Olivia Laing Gogmagog (The Chronicles of Ludwich #1)
by Jeff Noon & Steve Beard The Jennifer Morgue (The Laundry Files #2)
by Charles Stross The Tainted Cup (Shadows of the Levithian #1)
by Robert Jackson Bennett 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
by Jules Verne Suspension
by Richard E. Crabbe These Deadly Prophecies
by Andrea Tang Blacktop Wasteland
by S. A. Crosby The Civil War, Vol. 3: Red River to Appomattox (The Civil War #3)
by Shelby Foote Cold Mountain
by Charles Frazier A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot #1)
by Becky Chambers War of the Givens (The Silvers #3)
by Daniel Price The Employees: A Workplace Novel of the 22nd Century
by Olga Ravn Tread of Angels
by Rebecca Roanhorse The Demon of Unrest
by Erik Larson Under the Dome
by Stephen King The Daughters’ War
by Christopher Buehlman The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower #1) …again
by Stephen King The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower #2) …again
by Stephen King Favorite Novel of 2023 Tender is the Flesh

by Agustina Bazterrica, translated by Sarah Moses

When you start a horror novel on the premise of humanity farming other humans for meat after a disease wipes out all animals, you know it’s going to be heavy. But Tender is the Flesh, is less about the consumption itself—though the subtext is there—and more an exploration of how quickly and easily humans will dehumanize others for their own benefit. How we often compartmentalize the horrors as long as we are comfortable. It’s direct and unflinching on the way, pulling no punches, from its horrific beginning in a processing facility to its shocking and brutal end that left my stomach in knots.

Favorite Novel Runners-up of 2023 Red Rabbit

by Alex Grecian

I adore Weird West, but it often never goes weird enough. Red Rabbit leaned in, and the result was a delight. The tale follows two drifters who team up with a witch hunter to answer a call to kill an evil witch in Kansas. Through their journey, they pick up a few more lost souls, and together, this motley outfit experiences the surreal and often supernatural underbelly of an American West drenched in folk horror. I grinned the whole way through.

Essex Dogs

by Dan Jones

In the author’s note, Jones concedes this is a fictional portrayal of Edward III’s 1346 Crécy campaign. Don’t expect the detailed approach of a Wolf Hall-esque historical fiction. The history here is a little thin in places, but the result is a fast-paced, bloody tale that takes you into the front line of medieval warfare and is more akin to a thriller. Told from a unique perspective, the story follows the titular Essex Dogs—a band of gruff men at arms, mostly longbow archers—during the pitched battles across northern France. And if you know history, you’ll understand why Jones chose archers as the subject.

 Honorable Mentions of 2023

I read a lot of enormous books this year. Which slowed me down, and as a result, I don’t have as many honorable mentions this go-around. But a few other great books were vying for my top three, and they all deserve a little more attention.

The Sheltering Sky
by Paul Bowles
Existential despair works as cosmic horror in this bleak and beautiful tale of a young couple’s trip to the North African desert. A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot #1)
by Becky Chambers
A delightful little first-contact road trip story between machine and human as they seek an abandoned monastery in the wilds. The Demon of Unrest
by Erik Larson
I’ve read a lot about the American Civil War. So, it often takes a lot to impress me. Here, Larson found enough new material to write a thoroughly enjoyable history of the events that led up to the conflict. The Tainted Cup (Shadows of the Levithian #1)
by Robert Jackson Bennett
A complex murder mystery set in a fantasy world plagued by kaiju with fun characters, a fascinating world, and intriguing politics all come into play. It’s Bennett doing Bennett things, which is always good—so good that it nearly made my top three. Under the Dome
by Stephen King
Small-town politics become violent when an invisible dome drops over the town, trapping its residences inside. Having grown up in a small town, many characters here, their mindsets, and their decisions all felt eerily familiar. War of the Givens (The Silvers #3)
by Daniel Price
The conclusion of Dan Price’s epic trilogy was as immense as the story itself. I couldn’t help feeling nostalgic throughout as now, with the characters fully fleshed out and the sides drawn, the whole thing has a mid-90s X-Men vibe, and I adored it. Graphic Novels

In the past, this tended to be the “here are those other things I’ve read” section. (Usually, this also contains short stories as well.) But this year, I read a lot of graphic novels, nearly as many as regular books, and I got hooked on a few series in particular.

Department of Truth, Vol. 1: The End of the World
by James Tynion IV (Author), Martin Simmonds (Artist) The Magic Order, Vol. 1
by Mark Millar (Author), Olivier Coipel (Illustrator) Hailstone
by Rafael Scavone (Author), Rafael de Latorre (Illustrator), and Wesllei Manoel (Illustrator) The Magic Order, Vol. 2 (Amazon Link)
by Mark Millar (Author), Stuart Immonen (Artist) The Cloven: Book One
by Garth Stein (Writer), Matthew Southworth (Artist) Ice Cream Man, Vol. 1: Rainbow Sprinkles
by W. Maxwell Prince (Writer), Martín Morazzo (Artist) Ice Cream Man, Vol. 2: Strange Neapolitan (Amazon Link)
by W. Maxwell Prince (Writer), Martín Morazzo (Artist) Newburn, Vol. 1
by Chip Zdarsky (Writer),  Jacob Phillips (Artist) Kaya, Vol. 1
by Wes Craig (Writer & Artist) Ice Cream Man, Vol. 3: Hopscotch Mélange (Amazon Link)
by W. Maxwell Prince (Writer), Martín Morazzo (Artist) Ice Cream Man, Vol. 4: Tiny Lives (Amazon Link)
by W. Maxwell Prince (Writer), Martín Morazzo (Artist) Wayward, Vol. 1: String Theory
by Jim Zub (Writer), Steve Cummings (Artist) Ice Cream Man, Vol. 5: Other Confections (Amazon Link)
by W. Maxwell Prince (Writer), Martín Morazzo (Artist) Royal City, Vol. 1: Next of Kin
by Jeff Lemire (Writer & Artist) Royal City, Vol. 2: Sonic Youth
by Jeff Lemire (Writer & Artist) Royal City, Vol. 3: We All Float On
by Jeff Lemire (Writer & Artist) Kill Six Billion Demons, Vol. 1 (Image Comics Link)
by Tom Parkinson-Morgan (Writer & Artist) Ice Cream Man, Vol. 6: Just Desserts (Amazon Link)
by W. Maxwell Prince (Writer), Martín Morazzo (Artist) Ice Cream Man, Vol. 7: Certain Descents
by W. Maxwell Prince (Writer), Martín Morazzo (Artist) Public Domain
by Chip Zdarsky (Writer & Artist)Ice Cream Man, Vol. 8: Subjects & Objects
by W. Maxwell Prince (Writer), Martín Morazzo (Artist) Ice Cream Man, Vol. 9: Heavy Narration
by W. Maxwell Prince (Writer), Martín Morazzo Satellite Sam, Vol. 1
by Matt Fraction  (Writer),  Howard Chaykin  (Artist) Adventure Man, Vol. 1 (Image Comic Link)
by Matt Fraction  (Writer),  Terry Dodson  (Artist) Undiscovered Country, Vol. 5: Bounty
by Scott Snyder (Writer), Charles Soule (Writer), Giuseppe Camuncoli (Illustrator) Favorite Novel of 2024 Public Domain

by Chip Zdarsky (Writer & Artist)

A family strives to wrest back control over The Domain, a popular comic character created by the father and sold before it became a multimillion-dollar property for an enormous studio. It is a story of creation, capitalism, family, and the wild nest of egos that populate all three. At times funny, at times heartfelt, and always thoroughly enjoyable.

Favorite Graphic Novel Runners-up of 2023 Undiscovered Country, Vol. 5: Bounty

by Scott Snyder (Writer), Charles Soule (Writer), Giuseppe Camuncoli (Illustrator)

I read a lot of this series last year, and the first few early trades reminded me a lot of the Morrison-era of Vertigo. So very weird. The latter books slipped, but volume five is a return to form. It looks like it’ll conclude with the sixth book, and I look forward to seeing how this all ends.

Ice Cream Man (Series)

by W. Maxwell Prince (Writer), Martín Morazzo (Artist)

Anthologies are hard to do. Maintaining quality through each entry can be tricky—every anthology will slip up. Ice Cream Man is no different, and there wasn’t a book I loved through and through. But there was something there. The sometimes dark, something comedic stories about life and loss and the human condition just worked for me. And all of them tied to the malevolent figure of Rick, the Ice Cream Man, only made it all the more intriguing. As you can tell, I couldn’t stop.

 Poems

I highly recommend subscribing to The Poetry Foundation’s Poem of the Day mailing list if you like poetry. It’s a great way to be exposed to more literary arts in your daily life and a nice way to spend a few moments a day to dip into the world of poetry. Here are the poems I read this year.

“The Exorcism”
by Joyce Sutphen “In an Unrelated”
by Elaine Equi “Dream of the Raven”
by Ada Limon “Peach”
by Jennifer Tonge “Anthem for Doomed Youth”
by Wilfred Owen “Ghost Prisoner”
by Heid E. Erdrich “In Kyoto …”
by Bashō , translated by Jane Hirshfield “The birthday of the world”
by Marge Piercy “Today”
by Victoria Change “Southern Gothic”
by Ricky Laurentiis “Snow”
by Frederick Seidel “The Sky Keeps Surprises”
by Ahmad Almallah “The Elevator Man Adheres to Form”
by Margaret Danner “She Walks in Beauty”
by Lord Byron “ Fire and Ice”
by Robert Frost “Hinotama”
by Brandon Shimoda “Black Earth”
by Marianne Moore “We Lived Happily During the War” …again
by Ilya Kaminsky “Tall Lyric for Palestine (Or, The Harder Thinking)”
by Rickey Laurentiis “O God of Cuba”
by Jordan Pérez “ANTENNA”
by Yahya Hassan , Translated by Jordan Barger “The Grave-Digger”
by Kahlil Gibran “ASMR”
by Corey Van Landingham “Lady Day”
by Frank Marshall Davis “Reciting the Holy Book”
by Mo H. Saidi “Stunt Double”
by Tomás Q. Morín “My Son the Man”
by Sharon Olds “Your Fade-out is a Tiny Philosophy But No Less True for That”
by Chad Bennett “From Space”
by Katharine Coles “jasper texas 1998”
by Lucille Clifton “Duplex”
by Jericho Brown “The Anactoria Poem”
by Sappho , Translated by Jim Powell “Nocturnal Tripping”
by Raza Ali Hasan “A DeafBlind Poet”
by John Lee Clark “Poet’s work”
by Lorine Niedecker “The Fountain”
by Charles Baudelaire , Translated by Anthony Hecht “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”
by T. S. Eliot “Invictus”
by William Ernest Henley “Old Men Pitching Horseshoes”
by X J Kennedy “Dreams”
by Nikki Giovanni “Gotham Wanes”
by Bryan D. Dietrich “I Imagine My Father’s Death”
by Bryan D. Dietrich “I Swear, Next Time I See You I’ll Be Funny”
by Clementine von Radics “Ceasefire Haiku”
by Faisal Mohyuddin Favorite Poem of the YearGilbran in 1897 “The Grave-Digger”

by Kahlil Gibran

Honorable Poetry Mentions of 2023

Poetry, to me, is a lot like music. Some days a poem will hit you just perfectly, and on others it’ll fall flat. The poems below all struck a nerve when I read them this year. Perhaps you’ll find your own emotional connection to them as well.

“The Exorcism”
by Joyce Sutphen

“Anthem for Doomed Youth”
by Wilfred Owen

“Southern Gothic”
by Ricky Laurentiis

“The Anactoria Poem”
by Sappho, Translated by Jim Powell

“In an Unrelated”
by Elaine Equi

“Today”
by Victoria Change

“jasper texas 1998”
by Lucille Clifton

“We Lived Happily During the War”
by Ilya Kaminsky

Therein concludes my year with books, comics, and poetry. All in all, it was a pretty good year. There are a few books I DNFd, but overall, it was an enjoyable year of reading. Interestingly, my top three were all read one after the other. That was a good chunk of reading. Here’s hoping I can get more of those chunks in the future. My e-reader is chock full of new books, 2025 is just around the corner, and I’m excited to see what it brings.

How about you? What were the standout books, graphic novels, short stories, or poems you read this year? I’d love to hear about it. Leave a comment and let me know!

Are you looking for a good book? Want to see my reading lists from previous years? Check any of the links below and see what I was reading in the bygone days of yore.

• 2023  • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 •
• 2017 •  2016  •  2015  •  2014 • 2013 •

Next year, why not join me? Goodreads does a reading challenge every year, and I am an active participant. First, follow me on Goodreads (leave me a review while you’re there), and once the New Year arrives, participate in the Goodreads Reading Challenge for 2024.

Want to stay in touch with me? Sign up for Dead Drop, my rare and elusive newsletter. Subscribers get news, previews, and notices on my books before anyone else delivered directly to their inbox. I work hard to make sure it’s not spammy and full of interesting and relevant information.  SIGN UP TODAY →