A new year is here, and with it comes that magical moment of possibility—the chance to reflect, refresh, and start new adventures. There’s something so satisfying about looking back at the chapters we’ve closed, especially when they’re literal chapters (hello, bookish wrapped!). As 2024 turns into 2025, I’m excited to share the highs, the surprises, and the twists in my reading journey. Whether you’re here for recommendations, relatable opinions, or just to talk books, let’s kick off the year with a celebration of stories!
Let’s talk about my 2024 reading year because, wow, I was deep in book series and couldn’t stop myself from chasing that “just one more instalment” feeling. Let’s geek out on some stats for a second: I read 46 books, totalling about 18,900 pages, which means I averaged around 410 pages per book. Assuming a reading speed of 200-300 words per minute, that’s approximately 630-650 hours of reading—or nearly 27 days straight—if we assume my reading speed is average, which is questionable because some of these books were devoured. My genres were all over the map: fantasy dominated (thanks, Sarah J. Maas and Deborah Harkness), followed closely by romance, memoirs, and a sprinkle of horror.
As a disclaimer, there’s always this weird societal pressure in the new year to show off achievements—“I ran 5 marathons,” “I finally learned to bake sourdough,” or “I read 100 books!” And while I’m all for celebrating wins, everyone is different and a win is a win, this post isn’t about showing off my page count or how “productive” my reading was. It’s about sharing the books I loved (and maybe didn’t love) in 2024. If anything here resonates with you or adds to your TBR, that’s a win (see what I did there) in my book!
This was the year of deep dives. I didn’t just dip my toes into worlds—I cannonballed in. Deborah Harkness’ All Souls series took up a good chunk of my brain space with its mix of magic, history, and love triangles, and Kate Mosse’s The Burning Chambers series scratched my itch for epic historical fiction. Then there was my Bridgerton binge: Julia Quinn’s Regency-era romances were frothy, fun, and filled with drama—Anthony Bridgerton, you handsome idiot, how dare you?
On the contemporary front, Ana Huang kept me hooked with her Kings of Sin series (King of Greed and King of Sloth), proving that angst and flawed characters are my love language. Meanwhile, Coco Mellors’ Cleopatra and Frankenstein felt like the literary equivalent of watching your artsy friends spiral into beautiful, destructive chaos. It was brilliant and messy in all the best ways.
But let’s get real: Sarah J. Maas owned me this year. Her Crescent City books (House of Sky and Breath and House of Flame and Shadow) are basically emotional warfare. No one can sucker-punch me with a plot twist quite like Maas can, and I love/hate her for it. On the flip side, R.F. Kuang’s Babel was pure genius—a dense, dark academia masterpiece that made me feel smarter just by osmosis.
For nonfiction, I hit a streak of celebrity memoirs that gave me all the drama. Britney Spears’ The Woman in Me was raw, heartbreaking, and unforgettable. Jada Pinkett Smith’s Worthy felt like a therapeutic heart-to-heart, and Prince Harry’s Spare brought the royal tea (but also made me appreciate him in a new light).
I didn’t just stick to series or memoirs, though—I also made time for some eerie, atmospheric reads. T. Kingfisher’s What Moves the Dead had me sleeping with the lights on, and Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher (a reread!) reminded me why he’s still the king of gothic horror. And speaking of classics, Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park was a nostalgic, science-y thrill ride that holds up even after all these years.
So, a quick round up. Here are my favourite reads from each genre I read this year:
Fantasy
Historical Fiction
Contemporary
Short Story
Romance
Memoir
The statistics don’t lie: I clearly thrive when I’m marathoning books with shared worlds, broody love interests, or compelling ensemble casts. Was everything I read perfect? Nope, but even the misses were fun to rant about. So, here’s to 2025—where I’ll probably start (and finish) three new series and read even more about dinosaurs, romance, and magic. What were your top reads this year? Share them with me—I need to start stacking my TBR for 2025!
