Everything I Read in 2024 (Plus 10 Must-Read Women’s Fiction Gems!)

and the real question: did I hit my GoodReads goal?

In 2024, I set an ambitious goal for myself. As my writing journey ramped up so to did my reading. 2023 marked my first real book binge in decades. While I’d spent the better part of my childhood devouring books—often reading three at a time—as high school started and eventually college, my reading habits fell by the wayside. I don’t know why it’s embarrassing to admit I took almost a decade off reading, but it is. For someone who has always loved writing and who was such a vivacious reader as a kid, it seems absurd that I allowed for such a lapse.

wah wah

When I started writing my book waaaaay back in Nov 2022 (oh god how has it been two years?!) I thought, you know, probably I should start reading again. And so I did. A notoriously finicky reader it took me a long time to get back into it. I can be fairly intolerable about what books I give my time to, and while I’d never publish my DNF list because I’m not a monster, it’s pretty long. I firmly believe that writers who read absorb everything and thus, what goes in eventually comes out on your pages. Because of that, I try to be very careful about what I read while actively working on my novel.

So, with that, 2023 saw my book count creep up, and helped me find some of my all time favorites. I had a modest goal of 20 books and hit 17. Not bad for a girl who spent a decade not reading.

Some favorites: Really Good Actually, Lessons In Chemistry, I Have Some Questions For You.

2024 In Review

Which brings us to 2024 and my now loftier goal. 30 books. I'm going to spoil it for you right now—I didn't make it.

Thirty books was ambitious for me. I try to read for about an hour four days a week, but of course, life gets in the way. This year, quite honestly, sucked. It was horrible in nearly every way and it definitely depleted my creativity along with most of my relaxation time, and my reading suffered. I tried to make up for it by adding audiobooks into my routine and reading on vacation, but it wasn't enough. I was still five shy of my goal. That said, I did read eight more books than last year, and more importantly, I absorbed and loved nearly every one of them. (Thanks to my stringent DNF policy.)

It’s hard to choose a favorite, but you may recognize some from my Substack over the last year, including a few that ended up on these roundups. Most of what I read were four-star reads for me, but among those that have long stayed with me in my every day are The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue, (absolutely amazing), NSFW by

Isabel Kaplan

, Yellowface by R.F. Kuang (Loved this one on audiobook) and Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe (also loved on audiobook). The Husbands by Holly Gramazio is also a delightful audiobook. And I’d be remiss not to mention The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale, which I found beautiful and captivating.

As far as weirdest read of the year, that one definitely goes to Bunny by Mona Awad, which inspired a whole Substack.

I had to stop myself because I’d have just kept going and going with all of my favorites—there were really very few misses this year! Now for the big question: will I aim for thirty next year? Maybe! Or maybe I’ll just stick to twenty-five so I can feel really good when I exceed it. That might be the move.

Ten Women’s Fiction Must-Reads

Making the list this year, are as follows, in no particular order. These are some of my all time favorites and deserve a place on your TBR.

Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue

NSFW by Isabel Kaplan

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang (audiobook—better than written I think)

Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe (audiobook—better than written I think)

The Husbands by Holly Gramazio (audiobook)

The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale

Girls and Their Horses by Eliza Jane Brazier (audiobook)

Dear Emmie Blue by Lia Louis (audiobook)

Ghosts by Dolly Alderton (audiobook)

None of This is True by Lisa Jewell

Bonus: The Idea of You by Robinne Lee (this is NOT romance)

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What was on your list this year? Do you have any recommendations now that you know what I read? I am forever looking for new books so please, feel free to send them my way!