#2024 goodreads

[steorrahart]

starting my 48th and last book for my 2024 goodreads challenge! I have never been able to complete it before, but here I am. I’ve had this book for a good while and been too scared to pick it up!

[bekah-reading]

115

5/5

I am on a book buying ban- have been on one since September…but my friend surprised me with this on release day. We said we could surprise each other with books during the ban; just not buy books for ourselves.

I loved this. I loved If We Were Villians; and I knew this was gonna be it for me as well. ML Rio has such an amazing writing style; and this is a short novella so I don’t want to say much.

This is about a group who are on a non-smoking campus and they end up meeting in the graveyard in the middle of the night, and it becomes a tradition.

This was so good and I love the cover, the characters were just as fleshed out as If We Were Villains- and it was multiple POV. I really loved it and was so perfect for Spooky Season. So maybe next year or Summerween or the Winterween; put this on the TBR.

[asexualbookbird]

Ah, I read some books in 2024, huh? And eight rereads? Who am I. Tried a lot of new things this year which yay! Go me! Branching out! Not all of those were successes, but I did it and therefore no one can criticise me. But we all know what's important here. So here you go, THE BEST AND WORST OF 2024 (in no particular order)!

THE BEST BOOKS OF 2024

The Adventure of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty - yes, I am still thinking about this, thank you for asking! A full entire adult of a person, a mother even, going on adventures? Fighting and killing and fucking and living? Hell yeah! More of this, please! I would also love to see a prequel of Amina's adventures before the book timeline. Everything about this was so great, I look forward to rereading it.

The City We Became by NK Jemisin - I was wary about this because it was so polarizing to readers. On one hand, even my least favorite Jemisin was still fun, on the other hand, I know nothing about New York. HOWEVER. The audiobook was FABULOUS. I wholeheartedly believe the audio is why I enjoyed this so much. This was FUN this is what reading should feel like all the time.

When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb -FRIEND TO MY SOUL. Again, beautiful audio performance. Beautiful story. I need my own copy so I can reread this to my hearts content. It's cute, it deals with heavy topics, it's gay, it's the friend to my soul.

WORST BOOKS OF 2024

The Novice by Taran Matharu - Ugh. Bought when released, knowing nothing, which seems to be a Theme with books sitting on my shelf I end up not enjoying. Learning about the history of this book made me more angry than the book itself. What do you mean his entire series was bought and published without an editor? It shows, but. Come on. Wattpad born and it shows.

Last Heir to Blackwood Library by Hester Fox- this was only for a summer reading bingo challenge, but come on. There are ways to pull the memory loss, or altered memory plot line and have it work. This did not do that. Wish a library would eat my memories of this book so I never had to think of it again.

Red Sister by Mark Lawrence - Mark Lawrence is one of those authors who writes long books because he thinks it makes him a Good Writer. Mark Lawrence is one of those writers who is afraid to write adult characters because he thinks they won't sell, but continuously puts them in adult situations to show how Hard their lives are and Isn't This Dark And Gritty And Sad without doing the work to actually get there. It toes the line between fantasy in scifi, but not well. It feels more indecisive than anything else.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Firebreak by Nicole Kornher-Stace -more like fireBROKE MY HEART!!!! It was on my tbr list for years, and I finally found a copy and I'm glad I own it so I can reread it at my leisure. It's what Ready Player One could have been if it was actually good.

Godkiller by Hannah Kaner - Okay honestly, this and City were fighting for a spot in the main top three. Either could be there. I do honorable mentions for this very reason. I was surprised to learn this was a tiktok book, because yknow. It's actually Good. Witcher vibes, but with more respect towards women. Why isn't book three in my possession right this second.

Someone You Can Build A Nest In by John Wiswell - I Am Normal About This Book. It was fun to read and annotate it for a friend. It was fun to be around as two friends read it and I loved seeing their reactions to it. Loved cheering on Shesheshen, still think she deserves to eat more people. Friends and I will still share biting goop memes with the caption "Shex3 posting". It's safe to say this has rewritten my brain.

DISHONORABLE MENTIONS

Legacy of Ash by Matthew Ward - I was hyped about this book before release. I bought book two before even reading this because I was that sure I'd enjoy it. What a fool. This did NOT have to be 800 pages. It was another example of someone writing many words because they think that's what Good Writers Do, and not stopping to think about what those words even SAY. Which, in this case, was ~Absolutely Nothing~

Ghost Station by SA Barnes - crying sobbing this book was so fucking stupid. Best thing to come out of it was seeing a friend read it and confirming that yes, it was That Fucking Stupid. Learning the author mainly writes YA Paranormal explained why everyone had Too Stupid To Live disease.

I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons by Peter S Beagle - Admittedly only here to make things even and because it's still pretty fresh in my mind. I was soooo excited when this was announced, and now I'm soooo happy I didn't preorder it. More boring than anything else, but I don't wish it was longer because it already felt Too Long.

Once again, ignored rereads because I feel like that's cheating somehow. Let these be for highlighting new and fun books I discovered! I feel like the last few Bricks I've read have been Very Bad so I hope a couple of the bricks I have planned for 2025 are actually good. Considering one of those is Labyrinth's Heart, I think we're okay.

[readnburied]

13 Moons Reading Challenge 2024 — Announcement

So it’s finally time for the announcement of the 13 Moons reading challenge for 2024. Another year, another list of prompts that will make your reading journey exciting. This reading challenge is created by me for the entire reading community. So if you love reading or are looking for a reading challenge to try for the upcoming year, then here is one for you. 

Rules & Levels

The rules for this reading challenge are simple. First of all, this is just for fun so no need to feel pressured into doing anything or reading anything you don’t want to. You can also be flexible with the prompts if you choose to do so. The challenge will run from January 1st, 2024 and till December 31st, 2024.

There are a total of 104 reading prompts divided into 13 categories. There is a list of levels given and you can choose which level you wish to participate in based on your preference. The levels you can participate in are as follows:

Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 13 books — fulfill one prompt from each category 

Partial Lunar Eclipse: 26 books — fulfill at least one prompt from each category

Central Lunar Eclipse: 52 books — fulfill at least one prompt from each category

Total Lunar Eclipse: 104 books — fulfill all the prompts

The reading challenge is given below. I am trying to create a graphic for it, and if I succeed I’ll edit this post and attach the graphic later, but for now I will write it all down here in case you wish to participate and plan your TBR. So without further ado, here is the 13 Moons reading challenge 2024. 

13 Moons Reading Challenge 2024 

Wolf Moon

A Stand Alone novel

A furry creature on the cover

Hair on the cover

The words Straight, Waves or Curly in the title

Hair color in the title

A book about found family

A book about adoption

A book with a hierarchy

Snow Moon

The word White in the title

Blanket on the cover

Read a book while drinking a hot beverage

Read a book while burning a candle

Hat/Cap on the cover

A book about mountains

A book about a fresh start or a new beginning

A book with necromancy themes

Worm Moon

Read a book in a series with more than 5 books

A book about rebirth or reincarnation

A cozy book

Book about insects 

Continue a series

A book that gives you the creeps

A book you’re not sure about

A book you’re thinking of unhauling 

Pink Moon

A book with a princess

Book about women empowerment

A pink object on the cover

Book recommended by a celebrity 

Book that tickles you pink

A coming of age book

A celebrity memoir

Start a book on a new moon

Flower Moon

Book by a BIPOC author

Book about friendship

A book club pick

Book with an animated cover

Book with a character named after a flower

A speculative fiction

A book set in spring

Read a book at any time of the day 

Strawberry Moon

Read a book from your backlist

Read a book with Bubbles on the cover

A book with less than 400 pages

Book you see trending on social media

Read a book from an author which is new to you

A debut novel

Book with the word Leaf in the title 

Book about swimming 

Buck Moon

A book that has multiple editions

A Paperback

A book recommended by a friend

A biography

A book you’re seeing everywhere 

A 2024 release

A 5 star prediction 

Book with a Man on the cover 

Sturgeon Moon

Book with a map

Book that people have been forcing you to read

Book with a title that starts with the first letter of your name

Book you hauled recently

Book with a Tree on the cover

Book with the word Can’t in the title

Book with a dark cover 

A novella

Harvest Moon

An anthology

A book you had to read for an assignment

A book with a movie adaptation

Book you’d recommend to somebody else

A book chosen by somebody else

Book with a Fish on the cover

A fruit in the title

Book about a celebration 

Hunter’s Moon

Book about food

Book set in Europe

Book with an Umbrella on the cover

Book about a topic you’re curious about

An award winning book 

Read the 7th book on your shelf

Book with Buildings on the cover 

book divided into parts 

Beaver Moon

Book about a psychological phenomenon 

Book with the word Five in the title 

Book with a Street on the cover

Start a book in the evening

A book about a specific country 

A book from your monthly TBR

Book with a cover you don’t like 

Book about a single parent 

Cold Moon

Book set in the medieval times

Book with a Spider on the cover

Read a book while wearing a pair of socks

A memoir

Book about a historical event

Book with a character’s name in the title

Book you think you will love

Book from a Goodreads shelf

Blue Moon

Book with a unique format

Read a classic

Book with 3 or more people on the cover

Book recommended by your favorite social media influencer

Book with a dramatic title

Book with a Dagger in the story

Book set in high school

Book about a spy

And there you have it. This is the 13 Moons reading challenge 2024 for you all. Let me know if you like it. If you wish to participate I’d love it if you can comment below to tell me you’re participating in the challenge. If you don’t want to comment, that’s fine as well. As long as you enjoy doing the challenge, I’m happy. 

Happy Reading!!

[actualising-study]

2024 reads!

I know I’m a bit late to the party but wanted to share a bit about my reads of 2024, the year I finally got back into a consistent reading habit (also a reminder that you don’t need to read 50+ books a year to enjoy reading •ᴗ•)

goal vs read: 12, 15 read

favourite: Babel by R. F. Kuang

least favourite: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (sorry lol)

2025 goal: 20 books

what are your reading goals for 2025? and what’s your favourite book? I need some recs!

[blurrypetals]

Secrets of Blackthorn Hall by Cassandra Clare - blurrypetals review

originally posted nov. 9, 2024 - ★★★★★

Um, a whole book about Julian Blackthorn and Emma Carstairs being domestic and trying to break a curse? Sign me up!

I'll admit, I've been it withdrawals almost 2 years now ever since Chain of Thorns was released in January 2023, which I'm sure is not shocking at all to people who know me. The Shadowhunter Chronicles is one of my all-time favorite series and it feels like I'm home whenever I'm reading anything from them. Seasons of Shadowhunters was made for readers like me, and I'm so glad it's here!

I held off reading this on Tumblr, though, and I'm glad I did so I could see everything in print, especially all the gorgeous illustrations by Cassandra Jean. It's also nice I didn't have to wait for each letter to release and could just read them at my own pace without having to wait to find out what happened next.

That said, this took me a bit to get through, but it was such a comfy read I kept it in my purse for anytime I needed a little treat, dragging it out as long as I could to enjoy the sweet, nostalgic vibes of it. This is easily Cassie's coziest book, just a sweet epistolary collection that filled my heart up while making me (impossibly so) much more excited for The Last King of Faerie to launch the beginning of The Wicked Powers.

I definitely enjoyed this all through a season and a half and I'm so stoked for my next Seasons book soon!

[joellalovestoread]

hmmmmmmmmmmmmm

good evening everyone.

I cannot stop posting help.

Anyway. Usually I leave a goodreads review after I finish a book, but after I finished KOTLC Unraveled, they weren’t accepting additional reviews temporarily. I suspect it’s because people were being homophobic 😬😬😬.

And hence, the purpose of this post. There were 2 very **VERY*** minor characters, I’m talking a waitress and a jogger, who had a significant other of the same sex. There is a section of the world making a big deal out of this.

The way I see it, Keefe is in the human world now. People are free to love who they love, and not just who’s on their match list. I think it’s important that Keefe encountered and acknowledged LGBTQ+ existence since he’s still learning about this new world. Maybe it was just trying to insert an agenda into keeper, but I really doubt it. Shannon always has a reason. Just like Artemis Fowl. Trust that she knows what she’s doing guys. Trust.

[tricoufamily]

i come to you as an absent mutual to get your top of 2024 media! movies, shows, books, you name it! biggest flops/what surprised you? need to know it all! assuming the penguin is up there (condolences about the batman 2 postponement. keeping you in my thoughts..)

hello!!!!! and happy belated birthday!!!!!!!!! <3333

2024 was the craziest year of my life (in a good way (mostly)) do i even know what happened in 2024 vs what happened 10 years ago because that's how long it felt let's find out

(yes the batman 2 postponement i am in mourning.....they want me gone)

yes OF COURSE we have to talk about the penguin can i talk about the penguin please i've been dying to talk about the penguin all day. no but it turned out so much better than i thought it was going to omg i was getting nervous about it, considering matt reeves wasn't super involved, and some of the trailers were edited really badly (seriously who was in charge of those....). if that script had been bad it would have been the end for me.....but it was great so we've never been more back!!!! even though the finale left me feeling like shit for like 15 hours after (it was good......but......wow......ok........)

i saw the tv glow. i literally had to go on an hour long walk outside at midnight after i watched that movie. that's all i have to say.

well no actually one thing to say let's throw in the soundtrack too for good measure claw machine and taper my beloved

big surprise in french exit by patrick dewitt, my favorite book i read in 2024!!! not my usual type of book at all like i love pain and misery, what do you mean my favorite book of the year was funny??? still working through all of his other books (someone tell me to stop buying new books though....)

late entry with the band telever because they are insanely underrated. anyone who likes shoegaze you GOTTA listen to them this is my favorite song by them please it only has 6000 streams you'll like it i swear

also listen i know everyone liked nosferatu. the lighthouse is my third favorite movie of all time. and nosferatu (1922) is my second favorite movie of all time. it did not do it for me. i'll never be happy again

i DID get to see the 1922 nosferatu in theaters for the first time in october though and that was magical!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

but the actual biggest flop of the year was me months january to may

but the biggest comeback of the year was me months june to december let's go boys

[bekah-reading]

66 & 67

5/5 & 4/5

Okay so Six of Crows was good. It caught me by my throat and I loved it instantly. I loved being back in the Grishaverse and I loved group of ragtag characters.

Leigh’s writing was really good for this duology. And I got attached to some characters more than others (cough Kaz and Matthias cough) and the first book was really fun and great and I loved it.

No spoilers but a while star got knocked off of Crooked Kingdom just because of a certain emotional traumatic moment that made me cry and feel really sad and depressed.

Overall- I really did enjoy this duology and I can see how the author’s writing got better after the original trilogy and how much she grew.

I’m on the fence about King of Scars and Rule of Wolves- I don’t even own them, but I never liked Nikolai or Zoya so I’m not like super excited to read them.

[trashboatdax]

I finally finished Nona The Ninth and am caught up with TLT!

So now we're gonna get an Alecto the Ninth release date, right?

...RIGHT???

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

Books of 2024: June Wrap-Up.

Okay, y'all have Convinced Me--I'm going to start doing little wrap up posts! Behold: a shelf of what I read in June (not pictured: the bookmark at page 466 of ORDINARY MONSTERS, because despite having read two (2) books worth of book so far, I'm still not quite done with that one).

June was kind of a slow reading month for me (I did a LOT of writing, looking back--nice). I wanted to take OTHER TERRORS and THE ELEMENTS OF ELOQUENCE a bite at a time so the horrors and figures of rhetoric (respectively) didn't all run together. Both of those, much like A SHINING, turned out to be pleasantly leisurely wanders, whereas MONSTERS is kind of a plod.

I already did bigger write-ups for TERRORS and SHINING, linked in the bullets below.

OTHER TERRORS - ★★★★ Great bite-sized horror anthology with a really inclusive mix, as promised! I enjoyed most of these (always nice in an anthology!)

A SHINING - ★★★★ Weird fucked up heavy little book in translation, lit-fic flavored, but very approachable, I thought. Tiny enough to swallow in a sitting, but also kind of exhausting to do it that way? I'll definitely reread this one in the future.

THE ELEMENTS OF ELOQUENCE - ★★★ Fun romp through rhetoric! The examples were fun, and I appreciated the humor, but I also find myself still uncertain what a bunch of the figures actually ARE, definitions-wise, despite having read a book full of so many of them (I did just buy his recommended A HANDLIST OF RHETORICAL TERMS to help with that, at least, which is. almost entirely. definitions by volume). Neat thing to have on my references shelf, but it wasn't as excellent as I was hoping it'd be.

ORDINARY MONSTERS - 466/658 pages read; will report back later (but it's not looking good, folks).

[supitsgdo]

Book review: Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Rating: 4⭐️

Howl’s moving castle is one of my favourite movies of all time. And now I read this, a source of inspiration for Miyazaki’s work. Of course, it’s different, and I don’t mind it. The movie has more war elements attached to it, while in the book it was just mentioned; Howl in the book is a drama queen, while in the movie we idolise him as our future husband ahahah; I loved both of Sophie’s versions, she’s such a boss lady; and I liked how in the book we have more connections with her family. I wish that at the end it wasn’t so rushed and we had a bit more of romance.

[megaeralwrites]

Honestly? 100% accurate. This may not be the most rave review my book has gotten so far, but it's definitely one of my favorites. Read the whole thing here.

[blurrypetals]

Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan

originally posted sep. 5, 2024 - ★★★★★

Goddamn it. It's books like this that make reading worth it. Fuckin' A. I'm speechless, but I'm going to try to say words about it all.

First of all, I fucking knew this was going to have a cliffhanger after a little while, but I kept hoping I wouldn't need to wait a year or more for the next book, and alas, here I am, struggling not to scream beside my sleeping husband about that fucking ending.

I am absolutely bananas for every single one of these characters, I love the isekai fantasy premise, everything about the setting and plot is just absolutely fantastic. It's exactly how I felt about In Other Lands a few years ago, one of my favorite books. It was unexpectedly wonderful, and I find this to be the same.

I think one of the more enjoyable things about this book was how Rae behaves here. First, I loved that she didn't know or remember everything about the book series, and that Eric read a different version of the story, so neither of our "real world" characters know 100% of what happens, or they misremember details, leading to a much more interesting story from there.

More importantly, however, I think most lesser authors would have taken this premise and not only have the protagonist be an expert superfan of the book series, but they would likely also try playing along with the story as they knew it, fearing the changes they might cause, ruining the story in the process.

Instead of any of this, Rae embraces the fact that she's playing as a villain sentenced to death and decides to be reckless, evil, and it's an absolute delight to see her modern sensibilities and manner of speech colliding with everyone else's medieval accents and confusion about how Rae and Eric behave. I most especially adored Key and Rae's relationship and I absolutely can't wait for more of it whenever I get to devour the next book.

In all, this book was everything I wanted and then some. I am so stoked we get to have more of it someday, even if I do have to wait several months for more. Until then, I'm definitely going to read more of Sarah's back catalogue to tide me over!

[libertyreads]

Book Review #58 of 2024--

Graveyard Shift by M. L. Rio. Rating: 4 stars.

Read on October 2nd.

This gothic novella was exactly the vibe I was wanting to get me into the spooky mood. As usual, M.L. Rio does an amazing job setting the atmosphere and getting the reader into the story right away. The only thing that could have made it more spook-tacular for me is if I read it very late on a dark and stormy night. In Graveyard Shift, we follow a group of people who have somehow all met in this graveyard on their smoke breaks in this college town. They started meeting there at midnights since none of them have any sort of regular sleeping pattern. But one midnight they discover a secret and start looking for answers. I loved getting everyone's POV chapters. I think the author also did a great job keeping the characters distinct from one another and making them stand out. It was dark and gritty and goes there which is something I say a lot of Horror doesn't do--at least not enough for me. And all I really want is to spend more time with these characters. The writing style is also really good but at this point I just expect it from this author.

So, what is the thing that brings down the rating for me? If you've guessed it's too short for me, ding-ding, you win. I liked this so much and one of the two things that could have made it so much better for me is getting to spend more time with these absolutely mad people. When I like something, I want more of it. I also didn't realize this was a novella until it arrived on my doorstep so I guess part of that is on me. The thing M.L. Rio likes to do is leave the ending wide open. No definitive answers. No real, solid resolution. Just a question lingering in the air. Which I don't love. I think it works well here despite me wanting an answer. I know that it allows for a more hooking ending this way. I just hate not knowing.

Overall, this was an amazing autumn read. Perfect for this time of the year. So, if you have the chance to pick this one up soon, please do. On your next dark and stormy night.

[borealopelta]

@ferrame tagged me to share 9 books i'm looking forward to reading in 2025! thank you!

so much nonfiction from my nonfic tbr, exciting christmas presents, and my "of course i can read a novel in italian without learning italian" delusion book purchase.

i'll tag uhh @marcusagrippa @vedrividia @daughterofhecata @smolsleepyfox @derry-rain and @gnfard if you want to do it!!