My 2024 in Books + Top 10 Reads of the Year & 2025 Reading Resolutions

Reading books, tracking my reading, and discussing them are among the few luxuries in my life that I never tire of over the years. 2024 marks the 14th year since I started tracking my reading via Goodreads, and it still blows my mind that I kept at it for so long. Reflecting on the books I’ve read throughout the years makes me realize how much my taste in literature has changed – and I, along with it. It’s an integral part of how I conduct my life at this point, and I hope it remains this way for years to come.

So, it’s that time of year again for the update that no one asked for, but I continue to do anyway: my Year in Books post!

2024 Reading, In Numbers

Here are my quick reading stats for 2024:

In bullets, these are a couple of patterns and observations I had this year:

• I’ve consistently targeted 24 books year after year since 2022 and I was able to reach that goal mid-year, which gave me a lot of allowance in my reading time during the second half of the year. For 2024, I read 14 more books than the last.
• I tried capturing and computing my actual average rating for 2024, as Goodreads doesn’t do half-point ratings. I came up with an average of 3.82, which I believe is accurate. I’ve read a lot of mediocre books in 2024, and I hope I can increase my average this year.
• Boy, did I listen to a lot of audiobooks last year! I hope to level this stat this year.
• I don’t actively track the other demographic statistics mentioned above, but it’s interesting to see how they turned out this year:
  • I have always been proud of actively reading and seeking out books written by women, so I am really happy with this percentage.
  • Disappointingly, I’ve only read 6 translated books in 2024, and I am keen on remedying that this year.
  • Almost half of the books I’ve read this year are part of a series, which makes sense given the number of cozy mystery series I’ve read in 2024. It’s highly likely that I’ll maintain this trend this year.
• Though there are still a lot of standouts, my non-fiction game last 2024 was not particularly strong. I find that the non-fictions that I enjoy and love the most are essay collections and memoirs, aside from the usual informative ones that I like. This 2025, I want to make an active effort of finding more of them.

I generated my Reading Aura (previously ‘reading vibes’) from myyearinbooks.com again, and I ended up getting this: Whimsical Wanderer! I feel that it’s because of all the cozy fiction I’ve consumed this year, specifically mysteries. I’ve always prided myself on the ability to enjoy reading diversely in terms of genre, but one of the best things that I’ve come across lately were these little cosy mysteries that bring me so much joy when I feel down and mindless fun when I need respite from my busy schedule.

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Books Read

There are all the books I’ve read this 2024 (and linked those which I’ve written short/full length reviews across platforms):

Death at Wentwater Court | The Winter Garden Mystery | Babel | The Rachel Incident | The Cat Who Saved Books | The Exception to the Rule | Snow Country | Worst Wingman Ever | The Pumpkin Spice Café | Requiem for a Mezzo | Murder on the Flying Scotsman | With Any Luck | Drop, Cover, and Hold | Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries | Rosie and the Dreamboat | Royal Valentine | Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers | Dead in the Water | Damsel in Distress | South of the Border, West of the Sun | Butter | And Then There Were Crumbs | Sugar and Vice | Just for the Summer | A Tale of Two Cookies | Drop Dead | Goodnight Tokyo | Blue Sisters | The Cinnamon Bun Book Store | Autumn in Sycamore Park | Publishable by Death | Entitled to Kill | Bound to Execute | Plotted for Murder | The Vegetarian | Tome to Tomb | Scripted to Slay | Ladies’ Lunch and Other Stories | The Fellowship of Puzzle Makers | Any Man | The Honjin Murders | The Christmas Tree Farm | 10 Books That Screwed Up the World | Arrangements in Blue | You’re That Bitch | I Feel Bad About My Neck | Oh Miriam! | The Summer We Crossed Europe in the Rain | The Light of Asia | In the Kitchen | Dear Dolly | The Brain that Changes Itself | The Power of Habit | What I Ate in One Year

This year also marks the first time I’ve made a recap post for every month of the year, which makes me so happy! I’ve written about all the books that I’ve read in each of the post, depending on the month in which I read it and you can view it in this series HERE: Month in Books.

2025 Reading Resolutions

Just to keep the tradition going, here are my 2025 reading resolutions:

• Read more historical non-fiction.
• Read more translated fiction.
• Read more honkaku / shin honkaku novels. (Read: A Brief Introduction to Honkaku and Shin Honkaku Mysteries)
• Read at least one of the “big” fantasy books in my shelf. Possible candidates are Brandon Sanderson’s Rhythm of War and Robert Jordan’s The Eye of the World.
• Maintain an actual book journal. I already started!
• Read more printed books.

I’d also take this opportunity to do a bit of a recap of my 2024 resolutions, as follows:

• Read more non fiction books – ACHIEVED. I read 7 non fiction in 2023 and I’ve read 12 in 2024. My goal is definitely achieved but I want to keep pushing more this 2025.
• Get back to reading Fantasy books again – ACHIEVED. I read 2 fantasy books last 2023 and this 2024, I’ve read 4. It definitely doubled but I would want to get back to high fantasy again so I am carrying this over (although a bit modified) to this year.
• Maintain an actual Book Journal – NOT ACHIEVED. Carrying this over to 2025.
• Try to read more books in my physical TBR stack – SOMEWHAT ACHIEVED. The stats speak for themselves, but I still pulled a lot from my audiobook catalogue this year. I want to increase this number this year.

My Top Reads of the Year

Interestingly enough, these books are not necessarily the ones I rated 5 stars (though I rated them all highly); rather, they are the ones I can’t stop thinking about. These are my most memorable reads, if you will.

• Arrangements in Blue by Amy Key – This list is not ranked, but if it were, this book would be at the top. I love, love, love this book. It’s my first 5-star read of the year and something that has stayed with me since I finished it. It’s about love, living, contentment, yearning, and everything in between. It’s a complex book to describe in the sense that it focuses on an idea rather than summarizing a life (as memoirs do). The central theme is this: a life lived in anticipation of romantic love, yet finding yourself partner-less and never truly grasping it at the stage in your life when you initially thought you’d have it. I hold this book so close to my heart. I’ve since bought a physical copy and plan to reread it in 2025 so I can highlight to my heart’s content. [short review] – 5 ☕
• St. Marin’s Cozy Mystery Series by ACF Bookens (Books 1 to 6) – Isn’t it nice how some of the best things in our lives come to us through happenstance? I have enjoyed not just one but a whole set of books from this series that I’ve read so far – a consistent 4 to 5-star read. This is classic cozy story where Harvey Beckett moves to a charming town to restart her life. She opens a bookstore, where she inadvertently begins her work as an amateur sleuth. A charming middle-aged female protagonist. A cozy bookstore and café. A lot of pets (including plenty of pups and a cat!). Classic amateur sleuthing tactics. A cast of quirky, fun characters around town. It has all the elements of a cozy mystery that I absolutely love! In addition to having all the elements of a cozy, casual read, I appreciate that they tackle heavy, hard-hitting topics despite the cozy setup. It’s clear that ACF Bookens writes these books with the intention of shedding light on important issues and educating readers. Reading these books has been a learning experience for me—aside from the enjoyment I get from the stories—and I’m really glad I came across this series. – 4.5 ☕ (average)
• Butter by Asako Yuzuki– Unapologetic exploration of the lens through which Japanese society views womanhood, appearance, and being a woman in a working place. The book is engrossing, despite its slow pace and primarily psychological focus. The food writing is a thing of wonder; I’m pretty sure it’s one of the drivers behind the sourdough and butter obsession of 2024 (personal). They’re right: this book is hard to place and hard to describe. [short review] – 4 ☕
• The Vegetarian by Han Kang –  The novel focuses heavily on the societal standards that women are expected to uphold to make others happy and how this grates on their sense of self. The first two parts lean uncomfortably into the absurd, sometimes (personally) reaching the cringe-worthy level you get when trash men’s point-of-views are put at the center. The third part was heartbreaking and probably my favorite emotionally. I wish we could’ve gotten a Yeong Hye (the vegetarian, in the story) POV – but despite this, I feel that the book is still effective in conveying its message and leaving a visceral impact on the reader (it certainly did on me). It was disturbing and uncomfortable. It is… really something (if it’s not obvious enough). I’m still processing that ending (and probably the whole book), so I think I’ll be thinking about it for a while. – 4.5 ☕
• I Feel Bad About My Neck by Norah Ephron – I feel like this is a book that you could read at various stages in your life and, at each time, it will mean different to you. Nora’s writing has always been disarmingly funny, while having a lot of heart – the perfect balance of being humorous and poignant. From the amusing contemplation on ageing in “I Feel Bad About My Neck“, to the very random “I Hate My Purse” – to describing in vivid detail what it feels like to get lost in a book in “On Rapture“; I got absorbed with the hilarious, matter-of-factly way she looks at the world – and writes about it. She has a distinct tone that I can’t get enough of. I can actually hear Nora say all of these things in my head even if I actually have not heard her speak. From maintenance (of yourself) to parenting, Nora has something to say – and listen I did. She made me want to buy cook books and spend my free time recreating recipes from them. She made me want to get a blow out from a hair salon once in a while (because ‘It’s cheaper by far than psychoanalysis, and much more uplifting.’). But most of all, she made me want to write (“Write everything down. Keep a journal. Take more pictures.“). [review] – 4.5 ☕
• Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors –  It was the first hardback and (thick) printed book (339 pages) that I’ve finished in a long time and it counted for something. Even though it was a bulky copy, I lugged it around town everywhere because it immersed me like no other printed book had in a while (at the time). It’s not a perfect book by any means – but whatever people say, it’s a solid 5 out of 5 for me. It touches a lot of things – growing up, sisterhood, trauma, pain, identity, family – but most of all, grief. It might be a polarizing book – I’ve seen a lot of negative reviews about it, which kind of stings a bit, to be honest – but for people with whom this resonates: Hi! I want to be friends if you need someone to talk to. – 5 ☕
• The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo – While I expected to like this book, it is curious that I still think about it even though I only rated it 4 stars. The formula is there, it being a classic whodunnit – but what struck me the most was how deeply culturally rooted it is. The motivations and subsequent actions of the characters are driven by social nuances that are fascinating to read and are, in a way, very different from the Western stories written in the same vein. This book played like a movie in my head, and I ended up devouring it relatively faster than I usually do with a book. This made me curious about a genre that wasn’t initially in my radar at the time – but I think because of this, 2025 will be my honkaku era. – 4 ☕
• In the Kitchen: Essays on Food and Life by Various Authors – I love essay collections, and this book left a special mark on my heart. It features essays written by various authors with diverse backgrounds. The collection discusses food and cooking, highlighting how the kitchen plays a significant role in people’s relationships and shapes our childhoods and lives in general. I’ve read a lot of affecting essays in this and if there’s something that I realized (more) from reading this book, it’s that food and cooking binds us in a unique way. It means different to each of us, but each time, it means a whole lot. One of my favorites is Mayukh Sen‘s essay, Our Grief Books – where he explored how cooking can be a form of release and how food can hold so many memories, especially of those whom we loved but have already passed. (It also inspired one of my newsletters!) If you’re looking for a good essay collection to read, please give this a try. – 4.5 ☕
• Drop Dead by Lily Chu –  There’s something about this book that captured my heart. This book was boxed and sold as a trope-y book (rivals-to-lovers with only-one-bed, or in this case, one house) but I find it genre-defying and exciting even to the end. Misogyny in the workplace, familial and work pressure, legacy, familial obligations, ethics, or just even trying to make a difference wherever you’re at – there’s a lot to be had in this book that the eventual romance just fades away in the background. The emotional payoff was really good – 5 ☕
• The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue – Coming of age in 90’s Ireland, an extremely layered story that presents a protagonist that is both messy and relatable. It’s a story of a young woman confronted by hard choices to keep on living – a story of friendship, and, sometimes, of love. Irish lit fic forever!  – 4.5 ☕

Runner-ups

• The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
• Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries (Emily Wilde, #1) by Heather Fawcett
• Dear Dolly by Dolly Alderton
• Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers (Vera Wong, #1) by Jesse Q. Sutanto
• A Cookie House Mystery Series by Eve Calder [review]

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Relatively not being as active on social media as before has changed the way I approach books and reading. I’ve talked about this before, but it’s crazy how exposure to social media can shape or break your reading habits. I am still attracted to books with pretty covers, but I no longer feel the need to hoard them (that ship has sailed waaay before, and I am glad I got over it). The need to track my reading is still in my veins, but it’s more about who I am rather than competing with other people’s stats. Looking through the sites and the accounts that I’ve maintained that are so rooted in my love for books – it’s still a comfort to maintain them and come back to them whenever I want without the added pressure of fitting in. It is very clear to me that reading has always been my comfort hobby. But another thing I realized through the years is that I equally love talking about books and reading. I hope I never get tired of it. 🌼

If you (still) want to follow along in my reading journey, you can find me at: Bookstagram, Goodreads, and Storygraph (which I am trying to revive, so please add me if you are also there!).

Note: Stats and reading vibes analysis care of Goodreads and myyearinbooks.com (respectively) + own calculation (accurate rating average, and some demographic stats)

Read my previous annual wrap-up here: My 2023 in Books + Top 10 Reads of the Year & 2024 Bookish Resolutions

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HOW WAS YOUR 2024 READING YEAR? WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE READS THIS 2024? LINK UP YOUR WRAP-UPS IF YOU HAVE ANY! COMMENT UP AND LET’S TALK!

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