In Short: 2024

I couldn’t find an End of Year tag I liked, so I invented my own! Because I have way too much fun looking at stats and things.

How much did you read?

I read fewer books in 2024 than I did in 2023 – 215 compared to 241 in 2023. That’s the first time I’ve read less than the previous year since 2017.

At first glance, that’s a little odd, because I was unemployed for the whole of 2024, and you would think that would leave more time for reading. But the lack of routine really did a number on me, which negatively affected all of my Fun Stuff, and there was a ridiculous amount of stress, which, likewise. So a bit of a drop’s not that strange, really!

Not counting books I only tried a few pages of, I DNFed 80 books last year. Which brings my total of ‘books attempted’ to 295. (And means I DNFed 27.11% of all the books I tried.) That seems pretty high, but is a lot lower than I was braced for!

In 2023, I had 57 DNFs – out of 298 (57 241). So, 19.13% of my reads attempted. Significantly less than last year!

When we count books attempted, it was 298 in 2023 – and 295 in 2024. Which is barely a drop at all! Interesting. That seems to suggest I actually read about the same amount in both years – it’s only the DNFs that changed. Did I take more risks in 2024, which didn’t always pay off? Was I a bit unluckier in the books I attempted? Or did a more stressful year = less patience = me DNFing books I might not have a year ago? I know of no way to tell.

What did you read?

Surprising no one at all, Fantasy dominated my reading this year (when doesn’t it?) Honestly I think I’m a bit surprised it was only 3/4s of my reading!

Honestly, I’m very surprised I read that many straight books! Wtf.

Well, this is just depressing. I genuinely don’t know what to do about this – I keep trying to pick up more BIPOC authors, but I’m just not finding ones I enjoy, and I’m not willing to finish books I don’t enjoy just so I can say I’m reading more BIPOC authors. That seems…weirdly dishonest, or something?

I’ve tried all the names on all the rec lists, and I don’t know where to look for more. Suggestions are very welcome!

% of 5 star reads

Of the (215) books I finished reading in 2024, I gave 107 five stars. That’s just under half! (49.77%, to be exact.) Which seems pretty freaking excellent!

(Although I think this has more to do with how quick I am to DNF something I’m not enjoying, than it does my skill/luck in picking up books I’ll love!)

(And of course, if we count it as out of 295 (books attempted) instead of 215 (books finished), it becomes 36.27%. Significantly less!)

Coolest Covers

My favourite covers of last year belonged to books I REALLY didn’t enjoy, for one reason or another! But that doesn’t change the fact that the covers themselves are amazing. I love covers that look like other things (Sky on Fire, which is a mountain fastness and a dragon, or Strange Beasts, which is both a building and a skull) and ones that have tons of tiny, perfect details in them (like Dragonfruit or Emperor and the Endless Palace). And I have a very obvious preference for illustrated covers, thank you!

First book that blew you away

Tainted Cup was so much fun! I’m pretty wary of anything that even vaguely resembles Sherlock, and I got definite Sherlock/Watson vibes from the blurb. But happily it really wasn’t Sherlockian at all, for all that Ana is a genius at putting info and deductions together! Lots of plant weirdness (this might be my favourite of all the worlds that Bennett has created so far) and a murder mystery I actually ended up invested in, which NEVER happens!

My review!

Last book that rocked your world

I got to read an arc of this just before the end of the year, and HI YES IT WAS FIREWORKSICAL!!! I want to read it at LEAST one more time before I review it…because I’m completely speechless and just FLAILING DELIGHTEDLY and what are words??? I DON’T KNOW HOW TO TALK SMARTLY ABOUT IT OKAY???

A book more people should know about

Originally published in the 90s and reissued in 2024, The Fortunate Fall is an amazing far-future sci fi about a woman who is a ‘camera’ – like a streamer, but who streams her senses, thoughts and emotions! She uncovers the messy underbelly of an old war while forming a strangely intense relationship with her newest journalist partner…the writing is amazing and I’m so impressed by all the sci fi concepts I’ve never seen anywhere else before!

Favourite reread

I reread the Very Secret Garden duology and the Master and Mages trilogy every year, and continue to enjoy them immensely – but I was honestly surprised by how much I enjoyed rereading Feast Makers right at the end of the year (I read the arc, ofc, and was then reading the final version). It brought me so much joy! Which shouldn’t have been surprising, but somehow it was. The intensity and vibrancy of it, maybe.

New-to-you authors now on your auto-buy list

Wendy Palmer and Matt Weber are two self-published authors whose work makes me feral; after Pechacek’s debut The West Passage I will read anything he writes ever; and The Mountain Crown was my (appallingly late!) introduction to Karin Lowachee, which has convinced me that I need to read everything she’s ever written as well as anything she writes in the future!

Books you didn’t get to

I did start a few of these, but they all got set aside for one reason or another (reasons all to do with me, not the book itself!) And most I didn’t start at all! Gah.

biggest Letdown

I had such incredibly high expectations for the finale of the Redwinter trilogy…and although McDonald went in very non-traditional directions, which I usually approve of, I absolutely hated it. Such a letdown after how amazing the first two books were!

biggest (positive!) surprise

I’ve spoken a bit about Relics of Ruin before, but I’ll say it again: I picked it up on a whim after not really enjoying the first book in the trilogy, AND IT PULLED ME UNDER LIKE A RIPTIDE. (And when I went back and reread book one, I fucking loved it, so I have no idea what was wrong with past!Sia when she read it the first time!)

best ambush predator book

All three of these were books I didn’t know about and definitely wasn’t anticipating – they all sprang out at me out of nowhere! And I’m so glad they did, because I completely adored them!

(Now I just need The Gathering to get a whole bunch of sequels…!)

Book of the year

OBVIOUSLY I couldn’t pick just one. Obviously. I went into more detail about all of these (Brimstone Slipstream standing in for the whole Street of Flames series, ofc) in my Best of 2024 list!

Review you’re most proud of

I think it’s a three-way tie – between the two reviews I wrote for Metal From Heaven (one, two) and the one for Feast Makers.

(I seriously doubt it’s a coincidence that both those books are by the same author.)

I poured everything I had into all three of those – something I don’t always have the spoons for, and not every book needs a review written in your soul’s blood. But these did, and I managed to write something that felt worthy of them.

(And I was so proud to write an analytical, ‘grown-up’ review for Ancillary Review of Books! Still feels like such an accomplishment to be accepted by them.)

Non-review blogger thing you’re most proud of

My rec list of disability in SFF. I was so surprised by the response to it! It was really touching and made me so happy!

5 star predictions for 2025

The only reason Saint Death’s Herald isn’t included here is because it wouldn’t be a prediction; I’ve already read it, so I KNOW it’s a five star book!

Feel free to use these questions yourself if you feel like it – just link me to your version so I can come check out your answers!

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