As 2024 is winding to a close, I thought I’d share the list of books that I read. The process of reviewing what (and how much) I read left me with a few interesting takeaways.
Here they are in chronological order. At the end of this post, I’ll touch on what I thought were the best and works books in the list.
- Deep Work by Cal Newport
- All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries 1) by Martha Wells
- Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
- The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
- Wilderness: A Journal of Quiet Adventure in Alaska by Rockwell Kent
- The Pastures of Heaven by John Steinbeck
- To a God Unknown by John Steinbeck
- Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne
- Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
- The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham
- Slow Productivity by Cal Newport
- Eragon by Christopher Paolini
- The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger
- Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
- A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean
- The Adventure Zone Part 1 by Clint McElroy
- The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper by Roland Allen
- Awareness: The Perils and Opportunities of Reality by Anthony de Mello
- Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
- I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
- Outlive by Peter Attia
insights and surprises
I was surprised at how few books I read in 2024 (spoiler: 21). Let me start by saying that I don’t like making a big deal out of counting the number of books that I read in a given period. That can lead to some poor habits, like churning through books as fast as you can to maximize the number that you read, so that you can brag to your friends or Instagram followers (or blog readers) about how well-read you are. Reading is sacred to me, and I don’t want to violate that sanctity by reading for performative reasons.
That said, I do wish I had read more this year, if only for the simple fact that I know I’ll never be able to read all the great books that I’ll want to in my lifetime. I read every single day, but I could still stand to dedicate even more time to it.
If I keep this pace until I’m 80, that’s only 1020 more books (20 books * 51 years). I guess that sounds like a lot, and don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for every book that I’ll get to pick up. Regardless, I want to be really conscious of which books to which I choose to devote my time. I’ve only got so many left. (See The Tail End for more existential inspiration.)
A list of books is a really personal thing, I think. You can guess a lot about a person by what they choose to read. In fact, I bet you could reconstruct a pretty accurate resemblance of a person if you had a list of all of the books they’ve read, music they’ve listened to, and other content they indulge in (TV shows, podcasts, YouTube videos, etc.). Google and Meta are probably doing this for us already.
So anyways, I copied this highly personal dataset and fed it to ChatGPT, then asked it to infer my character traits based on said list. Here are the edited takeaways.
Firstly, it identified a set of genres and themes for some of the books:
1. Intellectual Curiosity and Philosophical Inclination
- Deep Work by Cal Newport and Slow Productivity by the same author focus on productivity and deep thinking.
- Meditations by Marcus Aurelius and Awareness: The Perils and Opportunities of Reality by Anthony de Mello delve into philosophy and self-awareness.
2. Appreciation for Fiction and Storytelling:
- All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries 1) by Martha Wells is a science fiction novella exploring themes of artificial intelligence and autonomy.
- Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry and Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy are Western novels that delve into human nature and morality.
- Eragon by Christopher Paolini is a fantasy novel set in a richly imagined world.
- Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov is a controversial classic exploring complex human emotions.
3. Interest in History and Real-Life Adventures:
- Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne is a historical account of the Comanche tribe.
- The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger recounts a real-life maritime disaster.
- A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean is a semi-autobiographical work reflecting on life and nature.
4. Engagement with Creative and Artistic Processes:
- The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper by Roland Allen explores the role of notebooks in the creative process.
5. Exploration of Personal Well-being and Longevity:
- Outlive by Peter Attia focuses on health, longevity, and well-being.
Then, in typical ChatGPT fashion, it summarized my entire being in a short paragraph:
In summary, this eclectic reading list suggests a person who is intellectually curious, open to new experiences, reflective, and deeply interested in understanding both the internal and external worlds. Such individuals are often characterized by a high degree of openness to experience, a trait associated with creativity, imagination, and a broad range of interests.
I think it’s a pretty good look into my character growth and interests in 2024.
my worst book of 2024
Probably the worst book that I read this year was I Am Legend. I’m sure it was a very novel and creative piece for its time (1954), but I really couldn’t get into the writing style. There was nothing inspiring about the prose, and the use of alcoholism as a crutch for the protagonist felt heavy-handed and amateurish. I’m usually good about putting down a book that I don’t like, but it was relatively short, and I wanted to see exactly how different it was than the movie (which I remember really enjoying). (Spoiler: in the book the apocalypse is due to a disease that turns people into literal vampires, versus in the movie they resemble more classical zombies.)
It probably also didn’t help that I read this after re-reading Blood Meridian. No book can really stand up to being compared to that masterpiece.
my best books of 2024
Speaking of, Blood Meridian has to be in my top 10 books of all time. I re-read it this year and loved it even more than the first time. I’ll disqualify it from this discussion since it was technically a re-read.
The Razor’s Edge was visceral for me. I absolutely loved this book. It tells the story (spoilers ahead) of a young Larry, born in Chicago, who should have been destined for a life with the affluent and elite. He is engaged to a beautiful young wealthy girl, Isabel, but breaks it off when he realizes that the life she wants is far different from his own. She desires luncheons and galas and parties, a simple life of entertaining and being entertained. Larry, having fought in WW1 as a pilot, sees things differently. He struggles for years with questions about life, meaning, God, and the like, and eventually gives up all of his material possessions and disappears, never to be heard from again.
Some favorite quotes:
“I don’t think I shall ever find peace till I make up my mind about things,” he said gravely. He hesitated. “It’s very difficult to put into words. The moment you try you feel embarrassed. You say to yourself: ‘Who am I that I should bother my head about this, that and the other? Perhaps it is only because I’m a conceited prig. Wouldn’t it be better to follow the beaten track and let what’s coming to you come?’ And then you think of a fellow who an hour before was full of life and fun, and he’s lying dead; it’s all so cruel and so meaningless. It’s hard not to ask yourself what life is all about and whether there’s any sense to it or whether it’s all a tragic blunder of blind fate.”
…Everyone doesn’t feel like me. Fortunately for themselves, perhaps, most people are prepared to follow the normal course; what you forget is that I want to learn as passionately as – [my friend] Gray, for instance, wants to make pots of money. Am I really a traitor to my country because I want to spend a few years educating myself? It may be that when I’m through I shall have something to give that people will be glad to take. It’s only a chance, of course, but if I fail I shall be no worse off than a man who’s gone into business and hasn’t made a go of it.
Empire of the Summer Moon was a top read as well. What stood out most to me was the description of the Comanches (and other plains Indians) as truly “primitive” humans. I think it’s meant not in a derogatory way but as an indicator of how different they were than other Native Americans of the time, like the Eastern Indian tribes. Comanches had no religion to speak of, no ritualistic dances, no buildings, no fishing, no crafting. Their “culture” was war and survival, and they excelled at it, so it should have been no surprise to white settlers that war is what they would get. We learned about the Texas Rangers and their efforts to fight the Comanches. We also learned about just how backstabbing and unreliable the US government was in dealing with the Comanches. The unsavory truth is that both sides signed hundreds of peace treaties, and both sides never had any intention of upholding them.
All in all, a fascinating history of Comanches and other Native Americans that my conventional education sort of glossed over.
I guess that’s it for 2024. Thanks a lot for reading along, and happy holidays!
Walker
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