2024 Reading List
In 2017, I first tracked how many books I read. I shared the list on the personal finance website I was running at the time, The Bumbling Millionaire. I enjoyed the experience so much I’ve tracked my annual reading every year since.
As I rolled into the last week of December, I took time to look back on 2024 and learned I read 27 books.
I should’ve felt a sense of accomplishment. Reading twenty-six books is nothing to sneeze at, after all. However, the total number of books I read was also down in 2023 (38). Unfortunately, this was on the heels of 2022 when I read 51! My goal has always been to read 52 books a year—one a week for those who are mathematically challenged.
So what happened? How did I slip so far off my pace?
Before I did some soul searching, I went down a rabbit hole and look at how the rest of America fares with its reading habits.
According to a December 21, 2023, article by David Montgomery, Senior data journalist at YouGov, nearly half of all Americans read no books in 2023. According to a 2022 Gallup Poll, that number is more in the 17% range, a number they’ve found to be roughly the same as previous polls.
Even being generous and going with the lower number, 17% of Americans didn’t read a single book last year.
This 17% helps make up juries of our peers. This 17% may vote. This 17% are the ones claiming to do their research on the internet whenever a controversial topic is introduced into our lives.
Yet, they proudly cling to the fact they haven’t read a book since high school. Ugh.
In that same 2022 Gallop poll, they reported the average American reads 12.6 books a year, down from 15.6 in 2016. Considering the mathematical drag of the 17% nonreaders, that’s saying something for our super readers. Kudos to them.
Circling back to the David Montgomery/YouGov article, he provided a list of where a reader’s annual number of books read would rank against the rest of the country. Based on 2023 numbers, I read almost more than 92% of the population.
Not bad.
Still, I was down over the last two years. Patting myself on the back for beating the 17% of nonreaders would not figure out why I dropped the ball.
Problem #1. No defined goal.
Oh, I know I want to read 52 books a year, but I didn’t write it down. The previous years I used Goodreads handing tracking tool to manage my reading list.
Basically, I treated my 2024 reading goal as a wish.
In previous years, I had a reading plan. One non-fiction book for every fiction book I read. In other words, one book for learning followed by one book for pleasure. I didn’t adhere to that plan at all this year.
Solution: Enter my goal into Goodreads early and track it often. Get back on my reading plan—one for learning, one for fun—and stick to it.
Problem #2. Too much TV.
This might loop back to Problem #1, but every night when I had some free time, I chose television and movies over reading. I’m not saying I can’t watch the occasional movie or get hooked on a crime drama TV show, but it shouldn’t be my priority.
Reading serves a dual purpose for me. Not only does it feed my soul, it helps me learn how to be better at the craft I love so much. I’m an active participant when I’m reading, feeding my brain and growing as a person.
When I’m sitting in front of a TV, I’m a passive participant—slack-jawed and wide-eyed.
Solution: Kill my TV. Okay, I will not break the TV, but you get the point. I need to treat it like it’s trying to kill me.
Problem #3. Too much time playing video games.
I really don’t play that many video games because I know how much time they can suck from me. I’m an addict and I treat the games as such. Now and then, however, I think I can try a game. Just a little taste. It won’t hurt me.
Until the wasted hours stack up and I realize days’ worth of productivity has been wasted trying to kill zombies. The fun is always fleeting and never satisfying long-term.
Solution: Stop playing video games. If I want a distraction, go outside for a walk/run with Rose the Office Dog. It’s better for us both.
That’s it. Pretty simple problem and solution. I should be able to get closer to my goal in 2025. Check back in next year and let’s see how I did.
Problem #4. Not listening to many audiobooks.
In previous years, I listened to a lot of audiobooks. I enjoyed them while I went for daily walks of four to six miles. I listened to them while in the car driving around town. Consuming books that way really helped ramp up my reading.
Some folks might cry foul and say audiobooks aren’t reading, but I disagree. It requires paying attention and following a linear train of thought. If I allow myself to get distracted, I must go back and replay the section I missed. It’s no different from when I read a book.
Last year, I didn’t walk as much. I started running again, which was a fun change of pace, but I don’t listen to audiobooks while doing it. I either run with music or in complete silence (the pounding of my shoes and the ragged breathing I’m doing not withstanding).
I think not walking as much got me out of the habit of listening to audiobooks. It affected what I did while driving. I often drove in silence instead.
I’m not overly upset with myself for not walking as much since I was running instead. Identifying this as one source of my lack of reading productivity, though, really surprised me.
Solution: Look for opportunities to listen to audiobooks more. Driving, occasional weekend walks, mowing the lawn, etc.
Now for the list.
2024 Reading List
Fiction (in no particular order)
Call Down the Thunder—Dietrich Kalteis
Think of Laura—Frank Zafiro
Nor Shadowed Heart—Frank Zafiro
Kemper’s House - Frank Saverio
Mr. Majestyk—Elmore Leonard
Lost Luggage—Wendall Thomas
The Cold Millions—Jess Walter
Hard Cold Winter—Glen Erik Hamilton
Fatherland—Robert Harris (previously read)
The Green Mile—Stephen King
Ready Player One—Ernest Cline (previously read)
Vision Quest—Terry Davis (previously read)
LaBrava—Elmore Leonard
Blade Runner—Philip K. Dick (previously read)
Have Space Suit—Will Travel—Robert A. Heinlein (previously read)
My favorite new fiction book of the year was Wendall Thomas’s Lost Luggage. It was a fun romp and I’m looking forward to reading the next in the series.
PS. It’s not fair to put any of the new books against the books I reread. I obviously enjoyed them so much to give them a second go. I disqualified any rereads.
Non-Fiction (in no particular order)
Three Days in January—Brett Baier
All the President’s Men—Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward
Be Useful—Arnold Schwarzenegger
The Courage to be Disliked—Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga
Recounting the Anthrax Attacks—Scott Decker
Tokyo Vice—Jake Adelstein
The Alaskan Blonde—James Bartlett
The Comfort Crisis—Michael Easter
Off Balance—Matthew Kelly
Living with a Seal—Jesse Itzler (previously read)
Power Author—Ben Wolf
Promophobia (anthology)—Edited by Diana Vallere
I can’t pick just one favorite this year. I loved Tokyo Vice, Recounting the Anthrax Attacks, and The Comfort Crisis. All were amazing in their own ways. Check them out if you get a chance.
Like above, I couldn’t count Living with a Seal which was a reread. This is a great book and worth a read if you get the chance.