My favourite reads of 2024
- December 23, 2024 -I don’t know why I keep up with my yearly favourite reads. For someone who is decent at writing, I find that I suck at writing about books. I could just make this blog post super short with just one line per book. But I concluded that in the end, it’s for me. I sometimes go back to my old posts and read back why I liked a book all those years ago.
Half of the books I read this year are in the mystery/thriller/suspense category. For some reason general fiction is not holding my attention as much as I would like it to. Every year the amount of newly released books grows, making it a choice paralyses about what to read. I can only read so many books in a year.
Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop – Hwang Bo-Reum, Shanna Tan (Translator)
A book about a bookshop, my favourite kind of book. Yeongju leaves her life and career in Seoul behind and starts a bookshop in a quiet neighbourhood named Hyunam-Dong.
We meet a diverse bunch of neighbour people who drop by the bookshop, the part-time workers and Yeongju’s best friend who runs a coffee roaster.
The book is slow-paced but not in a frustrating way. We learn a bit about every character, several books are mentioned, and there is almost a whole chapter on coffee roasting which I found fascinating.
This is the best kind of book to slow down with and enjoy.
“To read is to see things from someone else’s perspective, and that naturally leads you to stop and look out for other people, rather than chase after success in the rat race. If more people read, I think the world would become a better place.”
— Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop – Hwang Bo-Reum
Dit wil je écht niet weten – Huib Modderkolk
A Dutch non-fiction book by de Volkskrant journalist Huib Modderkolk. This is his second book. In this one, he exposes the truth about the cyberwar that goes on daily behind the scenes which most citizens are completely unaware of. The main plotline of the book is his investigation into the Stuxnet operation in Iran in 2007. Modderkolk discovers that a Dutch spy was the key person in this operation. Alongside he delves into how the Dutch secret agency operates and several cases in the Netherlands that one may have missed in the news.
A necessary read, especially now that we have entered turbulent times.
If you want a short resume about his Stuxnet investigation, a PhD candidate from Erasmus University wrote a short piece about it, The Stuxnet Operation: Why it is not plausible that Dutch intelligence and security services acted independently.
Murder Road – Simone St. James
I devoured St. James’ latest book in less than two days. Her go-to recipe of ’90s nostalgia, ghosts and small towns sucks me in every time.
Coldlake Falls, July 1995, newlywed April and Eddie take a wrong turn and end up on the wrong road at the wrong time.
Weird things happen on Murder Road, deadly things. April and Eddie are suspected by the police and are dead set on solving what’s happening.
Not a book for the faint of heart.
“And on that long-ago summer night, my mother had taught me that in order to survive, you sometimes have to cut and run. Leave people behind. Just go.”
— Murder Road – Simone St. James
Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead – Emily R. Austin
This is one bonkers story, in the most real way. Gilda, an atheist lesbian 20 years old something girl who suffers from depression and anxiety, accidentally gets hired to work as an admin at a church. A Catholic church. Gilda kind of needs a job so she sticks with it which aggravates her anxiety even more.
I think a lot of us can identify with some parts of Gilda. Her loneliness, depression, anxiety, overthinking nature and dysfunctional family.
“We are all just floating in space, okay? Think about it, we’re just ghosts in skeletons, inside skin bags, floating on a rock in space. If there is anything that would make you feel happy to do, please do it.”
— Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead – Emily R. Austin
Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore – Robin Sloan
I first read this book exactly 10 years ago. I have re-read it a couple of times since then. And again just recently. It still holds up as one of my favourite books.
There is something so comforting about the Penumbra verse that Robin Sloan created. Again a bookshop. This time in San Fransisco Bay area. Clay Jannon, an out-of-work graphic designer ends up working the night shift at Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. He soon realises it’s not a run-of-the-mill bookstore.
The things that I love about this book are the mix of old skool bookstore, internet and technology. All rolled into a moody vibey story. Is that a valid sentence? It’s what I think of about this book, moody vibey.
“After that, the book will fade, the way all books fade in your mind. But I hope you will remember this:
— Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore – Robin Sloan
A man walking fast down a dark lonely street. Quick steps and hard breathing, all wonder and need. A bell above a door and the tinkle it makes. A clerk and a ladder and warm golden light, and then: the right book exactly, at exactly the right time.”
Letting Go of Physical Books
I started shifting more and more to e-books. Part due to it being easier on my eyes and partly because I’m running out of space to store books in my apartment. From the list above I own 3 books in physical copies including Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, but I have been re-reading it in e-book format.
Am I the only one who has a hard time parting with books to make room for new ones? I wrote a blog about clearing out space for newer books and my Kobo Libra.
Checkout my previous favourite reads
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