Happy New Year All!
How is 2024 over, eh? I blinked and missed it, it feels like. This year has been a weird one – I didn’t do all the things I wanted to, but it was rather out of my hands. I’ve made peace with it, and still have had a good year altogether.
now, I’ve read everything I’m going to – so, it’s time again to settle down with a nice hot drink, and pour over and ruminate on the year that has just been.
Got your drink now?
Good, lets begin. It’s a long one!
The Books
I’ll start with the books, as this is after all a bookish blog (even if I’ve only really been doing wrap ups that I treat more like a little diary – but I consistently post those, which is more than I used to before changing to this format.
My total is 84 books.
This is slightly higher than last year, and absolutely smashes my goal of 52 (as on my goals post [not sure the order I am posting these as I type], 2024 was all about having a nice and chill year).
Stats
I stripped back some of the data I was collecting in my spreadsheet tracker I keep, and I’ve actually maintained it properly all year for the first time ever! I’m a bit of a nerd, and a love seeing all the stats develop and evolve over the year.
On average it took me 12.8 days to finish a book, which is a slower than last year, but I think the year long read of war and peace probably skewed that. 21 of these were in a single day, which is an increase on last year.
I DNF’d only 7 books, I’m not sure if this is a good reflection of my year or if I just slogged through haha. My average rating was 4.1 stars, with a breakdown of:
0 [1 ★] // 1 [2 ★] // 12 [3 ★] // 43 [4 ★] // 27 [5 ★]
My most read genre was fantasy (of course, although only 21% of my reads) with horror, romance, and mystery all tied for second. The gap is closing on all these – I really have read a good mix this year.
I only read 2 non-fiction books, which is less than last year, and my least read genre. I did start more, but they were my most commonly dnf’d genre.
Reading habits-wise, eBooks were king – making up 41% of the books I read this year. Audiobooks were my second most read format. I really need to get working on my physical TBR (I’ve made this is goal for next year, as they only accounted for third of my books this year).
The lengths of the books I was reading went down slightly this year. My average page count decreased by around 20 pages to 330 pages. The average length of the audiobooks I reached for also decreased to 7 hours. This actually surprises me a bit, as again, I would have through War and Peace would skew it… How short have my books been haha
My shortest book was Spent Lives by Ayobami Adebayo. My shortest audiobook was Exit Strategy by Martha Wells.
My longest book was War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy and the longest audiobook was Emma by Jane Austen.
I finished / caught up on a whopping 2 series… it was also one of my goals, so I have once again utterly failed at them haha! Why do I have such a hard time completing series?
Top 10 Books
Probably more interesting to most than the above, are what my top ten reads this year ( in no particular order – and not including rereads) were:
A quick summary of each is:
THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY – MATT HAIG
I knew I’d love this, but put it off for years. This story looks at life’s regrets and gives Nora the chance to change some of them. I of course cried reading this, as I think I do with most of Haig’s book that I’ve read.
HOUSE WITCH 3: WHEN CAT SPELLS WAR – DELEMHACH
A finale in a cosy fantasy trilogy – this series has been so much fun! I adored the characters, and sure it feels totally unbelievable and ridiculous at times how the characters interact with each other, but thats all part of the charm and whimsy. I’m not sure I have ever chuckled so much at a series before – I really need to pick up the next series which follows this main characters daughter.
EMPIRE OF THE DAMNED – JAY KRISTOFF
The middle book in a trilogy, following the tale of Gabriel de Leon – the last of the Silversaints, an order of half vampires that hunts full vampires. This series continues to blow me away, Kristoff as always is ripping my heart out and I love it. Bring on the finale next autumn!
THE FULL MOON COFFEE SHOP – MAI MOCHIZUKI
Japanese-lit that contains three short stories that interweave and rotate around The Full Moon Coffee Shop, which is a pop-up run by talking astrological cats. If that last statement doesn’t hook you in, I’m not sure what else I can say haha.
RED RISING – PIERCE BROWN
Another series I knew I’d love but have put off for literally years. This is the first in a dystopian sci-fi with a universe divided by gold and red blood. The red is rising.
CAMP DAMASCUS – CHUCK TINGLE
Standalone horror revolving around a gay conversion camp. Tingle has published LGBTQ stories for years, but never in a market I particularly wanted to read (besides I have got to read one just for the titles haha). I meant to read this when it released last year, and it’s another I just cannot believe I put off.
WHERE THE FOREST MEETS THE STARS – GLENDY VANDERAH
Revolving around a mysterious girl called Ursa, this story unravels the mystery of how she came to wander the woods, and is full of the exploration of nature as well. The chapters are on the shorter side so I felt like I flew through it, I cried by the end, and totally fell in love with the characters.
TALES OF A MONSTROUS HEART – JENNIFER DELANEY
I don’t think I have forgiven the end yet – and I am still obsessed with Emrys. This is a gothic-romantasy inspired by Jane Eyre. I can totally see myself rereading this next year, and I cannot wait to see what Delaney writes next.
THE SAD GHOST CLUB #3 – LIZE MEDDINGS
This is another graphic novel that I will forever be in love with and am quietly making my way through the series. The Sad Ghost Club focuses on mental health and volume three sees the sad ghost community expand.
THE VANISING OF AVELINE JONES – PHIL HICKES
The finale in a middle grade spooky trilogy – this one has Aveline delving into some family history and uncovering a local mystery surrounding a barrow. I have adored this series so much, and I can’t wait to dive into more from Hickes.
2024 General Reflection
Well, a health crisis was not on my bingo card for this year – but I’m out the otherside. Besides that blip, this year has been a good one – just not full of as many things as I was hoping.
The headline is probably that I embraced live performances, beyond just going to see comedians, this year. There were still plenty of comedians as well – but during our trip to London in Feb we saw two shows, we’ve seen two live bands throughout the year (including my partner’s first proper gig experience – we are now hooked), and I managed to also drag him to see the live version of one of my favourite podcasts. A round up is:
- The Mousetrap – play
- Realms of Fantasy – book exhibition
- The Book of Mormon – musical
- Hamilton – musical
- Ed Gamble – comedian
- Alasdair Beckett-King – comedian
- Tom Davis – comedian
- Jimmy Carr – comedian
- Uncanny – discussion/podcast
- Casey Abrams (and Jack Amblin) – music
- The Vicar of Dibley – play
- Reginald D Hunter – comedian
- Rhod Gilbert – comedian
- Everything Everything (support, Prima Queen) – music
- Sleeping Beauty – pantomime
I’ve also got a few planned in for next year too – I cannot wait!
I was hoping to explore more, and started the year off so well. We did some trails around Betws-y-Coed and Llangollen. Being out for a few months post-surgery put a stop to it, but as soon as I was able I was back to wandering National Trust properties etc. – basically anywhere flat-ish and will plenty of places to stop and facilities. This is something I really want to get back to and focus on next year, especially as the residual aches and twinges are minimal at long last.
Despite staying close to home, and not travelling the world any further this year like I hoped – I was still treated to a Northern Lights display! I have wanted to see them ever since learning about their existence, but always thought it was something I may end up never witnessing. The fact I could see them with my own eyes (rather than via any equipment) from my front door still blows me away. It certainly will be a night to remember to the rest of life.
The cats, Pumpkin and Nutmeg, have really settled in this year – and I cannot imagine life without them. Although I wish they wouldn’t steal the baubles off the christmas tree haha. You can no longer pee in peace, as Nutmeg literally sprints to the bathroom. It’s her favourite room, and she begs at the door to go in. Pumpkin is just a cuddly boy, and constantly on the prowl for a lap to sleep on.
But that is probably all I have to report on – it’s been a funny old year. I have focused on some of my hobbies – even so far as getting to level I am happy gifting some of my knits! But I’ve rather been a bit of a homebody for most of year. It has resulted in my falling back in love with cooking though, which is nice! As it was part of why my blog is named such haha. Maybe I’ll start throwing in a little food segment to my wrap ups – favourite recipe of the month or something 😄
How has your 2024 been?
Wishing you a wonderful New Year, I hope 2025 is kind to us all.
The Bookworm's Feast 
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