Happy New Year, friends!
2024 has come and gone which means it’s time for a December reading update and a 2024 Best and Worst of Books Read.
Let’s jump right in.
To wrap up December, I finished off the Harry Potter Series with books 4 through 7!
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
I really enjoyed the Harry Potter series! I will say, if I had read these as a teenager I probably would have related a bit more to the characters. Reading these as an adult made me wonder (more than once) why Harry would never listen to the adults trying to keep him safe. My age is showing, isn’t it? Maybe I’m a bit like Hermione after all.
As I mentioned last month, I watched each movie following the completion of each book and very quickly determined that the books are significantly better than the movies. My deepest apologies to the movie cast and producers, but J.K. Rowling clearly carried the series better than the movies with their limited run times. A lot of pretty vital background details and scenes were skimmed over for the sake of the storyline, which I understood but didn’t care for, like in the final book where they ignored the amount of Polyjuice Potion consumed to keep Harry safe (IYKYK).
In terms of my favorite book in the series, I’d probably go with #5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It felt like a really pivotal portion of Harry’s story and the fight scene at the end was fantastic – of which the movie did zero justice.
So what about the rest of 2024?
Let’s do a quick recap. 50 books read, including 19,473 pages! Of that, my shortest was just 25 pages long, and the longest was 768.
Best Reads of 2024
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Mass was probably my favorite read of 2024, with the whole ACOTAR series in tandem. I was up pretty late reading the whole series, but this one was absolutely solid.
Two runner-ups were The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell – think Great British Baking Show but based in the U.S. and with a murder involved, and The Wedding People by Alison Espach which I devoured within 24 hours because of how relatable it felt in a post-COVID world.
Aside from the ACOTAR series I also read three other book series: Harry Potter, The Thursday Murder Club, and The Empyrean (Fourth Wing) series. And YES, I am pumped for Onyx Storm (#3 in The Empyrean series) coming out this January.
If you’re old at heart and like mystery you must read The Thursday Murder Club. If you’re in need of quick reads with nostalgia read The Harry Potter Series. And if you like fantasy and need your fill of romance and dragons, start with ACOTAR and follow it with The Empyrean (Fourth Wing) series.
Worst Reads of 2024
Thankfully, of the 50 books I read in 2024 only four made this unfortunate list. I’ve included their titles and a quick reason (just be aware of a spoiler or two below).
- The Guest List by Lucy Foley – just because the book cover looks mysterious doesn’t mean the story will be. This one was a waste of my time.
- The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly – a complete snooze fest until the very end. The show on Netflix is better!
- Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez – think of the worst Hallmark movie you’ve ever watched and multiply that by 100%. That’s this book.
- The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah – the weakest female character lead who gains her strength in the last couple of chapters only to die. Rumor has it I need to give Kristin Hannah another chance – we’ll see how I feel about that later this year.
As we jump into 2025, my reading challenge is set to 35 books for the year. I’m hoping we’ll exceed that, but you never know!
Should you have any recommendations, would you pass them my way?
And should you be looking for any gadgets to make your reading even better this year, check out my favorite gadgets here: Unofficial Book Club: Big reader? Here’s my favorite reading accessories (and my September reads).
Happy reading this 2025, friends!
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