1. The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel, January 22, 2024.
2. Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong translated by Moss Roberts, February 18, 2024
--Volume 1: December 14, 2023
--Volume 2: January 26, 2024
--Volume 3: February 11, 2024
--Volume 4: February 17, 2024
3. Men Like Gods by H.G. Wells, February 26, 2024
4. Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro, March 15, 2024
5. Tides of War by Steven Pressfield, March 26, 2024
6. The Epic of Gilgamesh translated by Andrew George, April 10, 2024
7. Starlight Enclave by R.A. Salvatore, May 4, 2024
8. Classical Tragedy - Greek and Roman: Eight Plays in Authoritative Modern Translations edited by Robert W. Corrigan, July 16, 2024
--Agamemnon by Aeschylus Translated by Tony Harrison, May 5, 2024
--Choephori by Aeschylus translated by Tony Harrison, May 7, 2024
--Eumenides by Aeschylus translated by Tony Harrison, May 14, 2024
--The Oresteia by Aeschylus translated by Tony Harrison, May 15, 2024
--Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus translated by David Grene, May 27, 2024
--Oedipus the King by Sophocles translated by Kenneth Cavander, June 3, 2024
--Antigone by Sophocles translated by Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald, June 19, 2024 (reread)
--Medea by Euripides translated by Michael Townsend, June 30, 2024
--The Bakkhai by Euripides, July 7, 2024
--Oedipus by Seneca, July 10, 2024
--Medea by Seneca, July 15, 2024
9. The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green, May 13, 2024
10. Robin Hood by Henry Gilbert, June 14, 2024
11. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, July 5, 2024
12. An Oresteia translated by Anne Carson, August 10, 2024
--Agamemnon by Aiskhylos translated by Anne Carson, July 23, 2024 (reread)
--Electra by Sophocles, July 27, 2024
--Orestes by Euripides, August 9, 2024
13. Dark is the Sun by Philip José Farmer, August 12, 2024
14. The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, August 17, 2024 (reread)
15. Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction by Lawrence Boadt, August 18, 2024
16. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, September 4, 2024
17. Tyrant by Valerio Massimo Manfredi, September 22, 2024
18. The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology by Robin Hard, October 18, 2024
19. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, October 21, 2024
20. Race of a Lifetime by John Heilemann & Mark Halperin, October 29, 2024
21. Circe by Madeline Miller, November 9, 2024
22. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, December 02, 2024
23. A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel, December 30, 2024
24. The Bible (unfinished)
--Deuteronomy, January 24, 2024 (reread)
--1st Samuel, April 5, 2024 (reread)
--2nd Samuel, May 1, 2024 (reread)
--1st Chronicles, July 14, 2024 (reread)
--1st Maccabees, December 11, 2024
--2nd Maccabees, December 21, 2024
1. Batman: Knightfall Vol. 2: Knightquest, January 11, 2024
2. Batman: Knightfall Vol. 3: Knightsend, January 29, 2024
3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel by Jeff Kinney, January 31, 2024
4. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School by Jeff Kinney, February 2, 2024
5. Superman: Reign of the Supermen, February 29, 2024 (reread)
6. Persepolis 1: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi, March 11, 2024
7. Finn: Origins by Pat Mills and Tony Skinner, March 29, 2024
8. Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi, April 12, 2024
9. Donald Duck: Lost in the Andes by Carl Barks, May 2, 2024
10. The Sandman Volume 2: The Doll's House by Neil Gaiman, May 11, 2024
11. Astro Boy Omnibus Volume 1 by Osamu Tezuka, July 20, 2024
12. Doraemon's Long Tales Vol 8: Noby And The Dino Knights by Fujiko F. Fujio, August 5, 2024
13. Invincible: Ultimate Collection Volume 1 by Robert Kirkman, August 10, 2024
14. The Twin Knights by Osamu Tezuka, August 18, 2024
15. Swamp Thing: The Bronze Age: Volume 3, September 9, 2024
16. Mighty Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Volume 2: The Micro-World of Doctor Doom by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, October 5, 2024
17. Bone: More Tall Tales by Jeff Smith with Tom Sniegoski, December 20, 2024
18. Avengers: No Surrender, December 23, 2024
19. The New Teen Titans Volume Five by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, December 25, 2024
20. Out from Boneville by Jeff Smith (BONE #1), December 28, 2024 (reread)
21. Bone Adventures by Jeff Smith, December 30, 2024
Abandoned Books (aka DNF):
Notes:
* I'm changing my accounting procedures this year. There are 3 books on my this year list that are actually compilations of different books: Classical Tragedy - Greek and Roman, An Oresteia and the Bible. In past years, I would have counted each of the separate works as a separate book. But this year, I decided that this was unfairly inflating my book count, so now I'm counting them as just one book, and listing the separating works under the heading of that one book. This deflates my number somewhat as opposed to some previous years, but hopefully is a more honest accounting.
* No video for my year end reading this year. I decided to temporarily stop reading vlogs back on July 21, 2024, and I'm going to count yearly wrap ups as a form of reading vlog. (I may start doing reading vlogs again someday, but for now my priority is to work through filming my backlog of old reviews. Once I finish that project, I'll re-evaluate how much time I have for other projects.)
* I just finished up The Book of Job yesterday (from my readthrough of the Bible project). But I haven't yet gotten around to reviewing it. The review will probably be posted sometime tomorrow: January 1, 2025. Since I've always sorted out these lists by the date of the review, it means that The Book of Job will get counted in 2025's reading list, and not this year's.
Recommendations / Evaluations
In the past years I've tried to do some sort of recommendation or best/worst list. But it strikes me that my reading list this year is so tailored to my individual interests as to make recommendations to other people entirely useless. (Actually, that's probably true of most years. But anyway...)
For example, I absolutely loved Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction by Lawrence Boadt and The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology by Robin Hard. I found both books absolutely fascinating. But you've got to be interested in the subject material, or you're not going to like these books. If you're not interested in Greek Mythology or the Old Testament, these books are not for you.
Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong is an absolutely fascinating book if you're into epics. If you like reading really epic stories, and you have the time and patience to put into this one, it definitely pays off. But again, it's not for everyone.
I also have a huge soft spot for historical fiction, so I enjoyed all the historical fiction books I read this year: The Mirror and the Light, Tides of War, Tyrant and A Place of Greater Safety. Although if you watch my reviews, you can see that I had my issues with each of them. But I always enjoy historical fiction nonetheless.
Klara and the Sun was a fun read--a real page turner--although once you finish the book, I'm not sure if it sticks the landing well enough to justify a recommendation, but I had fun while I was reading it.
Likewise Starlight Enclave and Dark is the Sun were both fun, if you like junk fantasy, but also both completely forgettable.
Despite all the high praise it's gotten, I had mixed feelings about The Song of Achilles, but I was able to praise the follow up book, Circe, without any reservations.
If you like recent political history, Race of a Lifetime is excellent.
And then, there is my Blogging the Canon project, which this year accounts for The Epic of Gilgamesh, Classical Tragedy - Greek and Roman, An Oresteia and the Bible.
After years of putting off reading the Greek playwrights, I was pleasantly surprised to discover how painless and readable they are. Although admittedly, probably half the pleasure I get out of them is the feeling of satisfaction of putting another classic under my belt. But they are very readable.
Now that I've gotten a taste of the Greek playwrights, the next step is on my Blogging the Canon project will be to try to work through them (Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides) systematically. But that's for next year's reading project.
This year for The Bible I read through the historical books, which is my favorite section of the Bible, so I really enjoyed myself. I'm sure I'll be having less fun when I get to the Psalms and the Prophets, but that's all in the future.
The Epic of Gilgamesh was the least readable of the classic books I read this year. I mean, it's readable in the sense it's understandable. But the poetic style and the repetition just make it difficult to keep focusing on. I constantly had to stop my mind from wandering, as I read the book.
On other hand, when it comes to The Epic of Gilgamesh, I found the story behind the story to be absolutely fascinating. In my edition, the introduction and explanatory notes by translator Andrew George was half the book. (The actual Epic of Gilgamesh is pretty small.) And the story of the world that this epic was written in, and how this epic was used in the ancient world, and then lost, and then rediscovered--all of that was really interesting.
So to summarize--the actual epic isn't interesting, but the book as a whole was fascinating.
Oh, and I almost forgot, The Jungle Book! The Jungle Book is great. This had been one of my favorite books from childhood, and upon rereading it, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it was every bit as enjoyable as I had remembered. But because this was a reread, it didn't have quite the thrill of discovering a new great book, and instead was more just the pleasant satisfaction of confirming that an old book was as good as I remembered.
Playlist for 2024 Books HERE:
See also my Weekly Reading Vlogs for this year:
January 07, 2024 The Mirror and the Light p.494-498, Three Kingdoms p.780-820, Deuteronomy 3-8 (50 pages)
January 14, 2024 The Mirror and the Light p.498-552, Three Kingdoms p.820-910, Deuteronomy 8-17 (152 pages)
January 21, 2024 The Mirror and the Light p.552-757, Three Kingdoms p.910-1002, Deuteronomy 17-31 (313 pages)
February 04, 2024 Three Kingdoms p.1158-1238, Joshua 7-9 (82 pages)
February 10, 2024 Three Kingdoms p.1238-1646 (408 pages)
February 18, 2024 Three Kingdoms p.1646-1684, p.1723-2340 (655 pages)
February 25, 2024 Men Like Gods p.1-261 (261 pages)
March 03, 2024 Tides of War p.1-142, Joshua 9-19 (154 pages)
March 10, 2024 Tides of War p.142-244, Joshua 19-24, Judges 1-8 (121 pages)
March 17, 2024 Tides of War p.244-270, Judges 8-21, Ruth 1-4, Klara and the Sun p.1-303 (350 pages)
March 24, 2024 Tides of War p.270-386, 1st Samuel 1-12 (127 pages)
March 31, 2024 Tides of War p.386-416, 1st Samuel 12-24, The Epic of Gilgamesh p.i-lv, p.1-34 (135 pages)
April 07, 2024 1st Samuel 24-31, 2nd Samuel 1-2, The Epic of Gilgamesh p.34-176 (150 pages)
April 14, 2024 2nd Samuel 2-9, The Epic of Gilgamesh p.176-221, Starlight Enclave p.1-102 (155 pages)
April 21, 2024 2nd Samuel 9-19, Starlight Enclave p.102-224 (134 pages)
April 28, 2024 2nd Samuel 19-22, Starlight Enclave p.224-324 (106 pages)
May 05, 2024 2nd Samuel 22-24, 1st Kings 1-8, Starlight Enclave p.324-444, Agamemnon p.1-47 (182 pages)
May 12, 2024 1st Kings 8-17, Choephori p.48-82, Eumenides p.83-112, The Adventures of Robin Hood p.1-242 (317 pages)
May 19, 2024 1st Kings17-22, Eumenides p.112-133, The Adventures of Robin Hood p.242-256, Robin Hood p.1-52 (95 pages)
May 26, 2024 1st Kings 22, 2nd Kings 1-11, Eumenides p.112-133, Prometheus Bound p.136-182, Robin Hood p.52-118 (126 pages)
June 2, 2024 2nd Kings 11-22, Oedipus the King p.184-251, Robin Hood p.118-152 (115 pages)
June 09, 2024 2nd Kings 22-24, 1st Chronicles 1-9, Reading the Old Testament p.1-36, Robin Hood p.152-238 (139 pages)
June 16, 2024 1st Chronicles 9-12, Reading the Old Testament p.36-54, Robin Hood p.238-288, A Gentleman in Moscow p.1-22, Antigone p.254-290 (130 pages)
June 23, 2024 1st Chronicles 12-16, Reading the Old Testament p.54-80, A Gentleman in Moscow p.22-76, Antigone p.290-308 (70 pages)
June 30, 2024 1st Chronicles 16-21, Reading the Old Testament p.80-126, A Gentleman in Moscow p.76-250, Medea p.310-365 (279 pages)
July 7, 2024 1st Chronicles 21-23, Reading the Old Testament p.126-184, A Gentleman in Moscow p.250-462, The Bakkhai p.368-445 (349 pages)
July 14, 2024 1st Chronicles 23-29, Reading the Old Testament p.184-234, Oedipus p.448-490, Medea p.492-550 (156 pages)
July 21, 2024--Stopping Weekly Reading Vlogs
Weekly Page Count Average: 194 pages (...although this isn't really representative, because I stopped doing weekly page counts halfway through the year on July 21, 2024. But this is my average for the weeks that I did keep track.)
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Check out these books on Amazon. (These are Amazon Associate's links, so if you buy anything through these links, I get a commission.)
* The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel: https://amzn.to/4gBAN9Y
* Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong translated by Moss Roberts: https://amzn.to/41DANSu
* Men Like Gods by H.G. Wells: https://amzn.to/3DgOoFc
* Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro: https://amzn.to/4gAc8CA
* Tides of War by Steven Pressfield: https://amzn.to/4iDLVEP
* The Epic of Gilgamesh translated by Andrew George: https://amzn.to/41xvK67
* Starlight Enclave by R.A. Salvatore: https://amzn.to/3OVMMmX
* Classical Tragedy - Greek and Roman: Eight Plays in Authoritative Modern Translations edited by Robert W. Corrigan: https://amzn.to/4gD4Z4l
* The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green: https://amzn.to/4ghz5e7
* Robin Hood by Henry Gilbert: https://amzn.to/4ghzc9x
* A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles: https://amzn.to/41Dhn0e
* An Oresteia translated by Anne Carson: https://amzn.to/4fkrABU
* Dark is the Sun by Philip José Farmer: https://amzn.to/3DfPD7r
* The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling: https://amzn.to/3Bjqics
* Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction by Lawrence Boadt: https://amzn.to/3ZXz9cY
* The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller: https://amzn.to/3Zyo5Sm
* Tyrant by Valerio Massimo Manfredi: https://amzn.to/3DfQ6Xf
* The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology by Robin Hard: https://amzn.to/3BJd6gS
* The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle: https://amzn.to/3DfQrsZ
* Race of a Lifetime by John Heilemann & Mark Halperin: https://amzn.to/4gfWUmh
* Circe by Madeline Miller: https://amzn.to/4fgzQTm
* The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins: https://amzn.to/4iFsLPa
* The Jerusalem Bible: Reader's Edition: https://amzn.to/4fbgM92
* Batman: Knightfall Vol. 2: Knightquest: https://amzn.to/4gDYC0Q
* Batman: Knightfall Vol. 3: Knightsend: https://amzn.to/3ZBW4cx
* Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel by Jeff Kinney: https://amzn.to/4gDAQCc
* Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School by Jeff Kinney: https://amzn.to/3ZSWBbw
* Superman: Reign of the Supermen: https://amzn.to/49ClwmV
* Persepolis 1: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi: https://amzn.to/4gAvO9f
* Finn: Origins by Pat Mills and Tony Skinner: https://amzn.to/3VIFCGq
* Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi: https://amzn.to/4fq2vFs
* Donald Duck: Lost in the Andes by Carl Barks: https://amzn.to/3BzPv2j
* The Sandman Volume 2: The Doll's House by Neil Gaiman: https://amzn.to/3ZXe8iI
* Astro Boy Omnibus Volume 1 by Osamu Tezuka: https://amzn.to/4gD6IXg
* Doraemon's Long Tales Vol 8: Noby And The Dino Knights by Fujiko F. Fujio: https://amzn.to/4gD6M9s
* Invincible: Ultimate Collection Volume 1 by Robert Kirkman: https://amzn.to/41JbBtE
* The Twin Knights by Osamu Tezuka: https://amzn.to/4forFEm
* Swamp Thing: The Bronze Age: Volume 3: https://amzn.to/4iCsVqu
* Mighty Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Volume 2: The Micro-World of Doctor Doom by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby: https://amzn.to/3OXdYBx
* The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language by David Crystal: https://amzn.to/3OYzZAc
* The Grammar Book: An ESL/EFL Teacher's Course by Marianne Celce-Murcia and Diane Larsen-Freeman [Second Edition]: https://amzn.to/4gftIw0
* Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language by Christine Nuttall: https://amzn.to/3Dg3Dy9
* Bone: More Tall Tales by Jeff Smith with Tom Sniegoski: https://amzn.to/49GCTTI
* Avengers: No Surrender: https://amzn.to/4iXbK38
* The New Teen Titans Volume Five: https://amzn.to/4ft0B6Z
* Out from Boneville by Jeff Smith: https://amzn.to/49RsJQd
* Bone Adventures by Jeff Smith: https://amzn.to/4iXJVHW
* A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel: https://amzn.to/41VoUax
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