Reading for Me

The end is getting close and I’m honestly ready to turn the page on this year. 2024 hasn’t been the worst year ever, but the end has been challenging. Yesterday morning, I was pulled out of bed at 3:30am to the news that my dad was being transported to the hospital by ambulance with chest pains. While everything turned out to be okay and he was released, it made for a very long Sunday with lots of heavy eyes. That meant that I wouldn’t get to make as much progress in my current read as I had hoped and probably will not finish it before the calendar turns. Nevertheless, it has been another productive reading week and I am pleased with the final results for the year.

What I Finished This Week

The Thief Who Saved Christmas by Angela Casella. This was an absolutely charming read that I stumbled on while looking for another read for the year’s end. A reformed thief falls in love with a B and B owner who is on the spectrum. Simple love story, right? Throw in some lovable friends and the burglary of prized Christmas decorations for a read that you won’t be able to put down! The “sexy Santa” references and the inner thoughts of our unlikely lovers will also keep you chuckling throughout as well. (By the way, Casella settles the question once and for all….Die Hard is NOT a Christmas movie!)

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter. A couple of mystery writers swept off to a mysterious English mansion just a few days before Christmas. Shortly after their arrival, their host — a revered author herself — goes strangely missing. With lots of twists and turns as well as poisonings, fires, and shots fired, our duo must discover what is going on before the holiday is over. As a reader who does not enjoy mysteries for the most part, I found this book quite entertaining with its mix of mystery, suspense, and romantic comedy. It was a nice final read for the holiday season for me.

What I’m Currently Reading

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke (p. 119 of 312). The last Saturday of the year rolled around and I had completed all of my planned reading, so I was looking for something simple that I could plow through before the end of the year. It really was about just getting in another book to add to my tally and not a search for high quality writing. Yep, it’s another mystery. (What is wrong with me?!) Yep, it’s as bad as you would imagine. (Again, do I have a fever?) I doubt I get through it before Wednesday, but I’m not going to fret about it too much. It can replace one of the books I selected to meet the 2025 reading prompt that I wasn’t terribly excited about.

2024 Reading in Review

So it’s time to tally the results of this year’s reading. By the numbers, I have read

• 45 books
• 16,851 pages

I’m really happy with those stats! Those are personal highs for me in both categories. December was a really productive month for me, adding 10 new reads to my overall list.

I like to break down stats a little more before going to my best of 2024 list. If you aren’t into all of the stats, feel free to jump to the next section.

• 9 DNF’d (Did Not Finish) books
• 37 novels
• 1 classic (The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot)
• 7 non-fiction titles
• 5 audiobooks
• 15 romances

As you can see, I tend to read a lot of fiction. Surprisingly, this turned out to be the year of the romance. I think that number got boosted slightly by my holiday reading. 9 of the 10 books I read in December were Christmas romances. Not typical, but I guess that was where my reading interests were taking me this year.

The Best of 2024

I decided to keep my list to only my top 3 reads of the year….well, I also had to throw in an honorable mention because it was such a fun read! Here they are for your consideration.

What’s Ahead?

Look for a special post to appear tomorrow (December 31, 2024) that will outline my reading plans for 2025 and will include my scheduled reading list for January.

Posted in update, Year in Review

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