Feelings about every single book I read in 2024
A mini review of each, for your perving pleasure
In 2024, I read 67 books.
For reasons of possible insanity, that number seems disappointingly low, even though it’s the highest number I’ve ever achieved.
A decade ago, I decided I wanted to read ‘one book every week’, so 52 for the year. I think this was in my extreme goal-setting era, when I read self-help books and entrepreneurial magazines and wrote a long list of New Year’s resolutions that I pinned to the wall above my desk and, literally, no word of a lie, never achieved.
(Not for want of trying, but that’s an essay for another day: my feelings on the art of not trying; of chasing the feeling, rather than the end goal.)
Speaking of ten years ago, I stumbled yesterday upon a protein powder brand called Happy Way, in a health food store. I’d forgotten it existed and was shocked/humbled/surprised/delighted/embarrassed to see my words staring back at me. I wrote the website and packaging copy for Happy Way when I worked for a creative agency in Sydney, back in the day. See below.
I often forget that I had a whole career as a copywriter before I became a writers’ festival manager/published author, until moments like those: seeing my work in the wild. My point being, is ‘live your best life’ the most 2015-coded phrase you’ve ever seen?! Cute, Amz.
ANYWAY I DIGRESS AS USUAL.
Even though I read 67 books in 2024, the number seems low to me because my entire life and work revolves around books. I’m sent books from publishers every single week, and I have to read or at least dip into many of them when sending invites for the writers’ festival and when I’m hosting author gigs or blurbing an author’s book for their cover. And that’s just the work-related reading! I also read for pleasure, and for inspiration or research when writing my own books.
In more extreme moments (usually around *that time* of the month), I get genuinely depressed to think of all the books I haven’t read yet, and might not ever get a chance to read. In Australia alone, more than 20,000 new books are published each year. And I’m aiming to read a mere 52? Pfft.
*A note on comparisonitis: you might look at this list below and think ‘okay I read 8 books wtf’, and that’s how I feel about the Instagram reel I saw the other day of a woman (mother of three, no less!) who said she’d read 200+ books last year. Let’s all take a breath and remember: each to their own. Everyone has a different speed of reading, a different type of book they read, format in which they read, different ways they prioritise time in their lives. It’s my sister’s goal, bless her, to read ONE book per year. Honestly, if you read one page of a book, I’m cheering for you.
FYI: this post is too long for email, so if you want to get to the end of the whole list, you’ll need to open it in your Substack app, or click ‘open full message’ towards the end.
Ok loveyoubye x
In a future essay, I’ll tell you how I manage to read so much while also maintaining multiple jobs and book-writing and a social life. I have hot tips up the wazoo.
But for now! Let’s get into it —
Every single book I read, and didn’t finish, in 2024
A reminder that Read Your Feelings is about feelings, not formal book reviews you’d see in the weekend paper. I’m too shabby for that shit. I’ve linked to each book so that you can read what it’s *actually* about if you like that kind of thing. Enjoy my ramblings!