Hey there. It’s Annie, your friend from the internet (or, more likely, real life) who keeps asking you what you’re reading. Welcome to what I hope will be the first of many meandering emails about books. Let’s dive.

For the last few years I’ve been setting fairly lofty reading goals in the Goodreads challenge. In 2022, I set a goal of reading 52 books and missed by two. So in 2023 I set the same goal and surpassed it, hitting 63. At this point, reading that much has just become habit. This past year I was aiming for 60 and hit 63 again. The competitor in me says I have to up the goal to 65 for 2024.

However, I’ve been extremely hesitant to assign myself an ambitious New Year’s resolution like “read X number of books” when I’m expecting our first child later in less than a month. Who knows if I’m going to have the same drive to lose myself in a new story after many sleepless nights? Can I count repeat readings of Make Way for Ducklings? So instead of putting any real pressure on myself to hit a specific goal, I’ve decided to engage more meaningfully with what I’m reading.

I’ve been asking myself: What if I was simply more intentional about sharing what I read and discussing it with others? Will that be just as satisfying as hitting an arbitrary number? I don’t know all the answers, but this feels like a good start.

I work in newsletters and media full-time so sending an email feels like a natural outlet for me (ask me about #content). Frankly, I don’t care if anyone reads this but thank you for being the first members of my weird little book club.

This is me committing to at least one post a month with reviews of what I’ve read. First up is a quick recap of my favorites from 2024. January’s reading list is coming soon! (As soon as I finish digesting Onyx Storm fan theories on TikTok.)

Special thank you to Maggie Pyle of Out East Art for the logo design.

Favorite Books of 2024

The Women - Kristin Hannah

I wrote about how much I loved this book for Digg. I didn’t think Kristin Hannah could top The Nightingale for me. I have read several of her others books which never hit quite the same way as that one. But Hannah has got a sweet spot for writing about nurses, clearly. I cried multiple times throughout this book (in a good way).

City of Girls - Elizabeth Gilbert

This one was so good that I actually wrote out a Goodreads review after finishing it. I’ll paste it here:

Red Rising  - Pierce Brown

2024 was the year I took fantasy a little more seriously after dipping my toes into the genre thanks to the BookTok romantasy craze (more on that later). On my husband’s suggestion, I started the Red Rising series. This first installment will likely remind you of The Hunger Games, but the next two take a very different route so the story still felt fresh and enthralling to me. I should warn you though that the fourth book fell off in a big way and now I am taking a break before diving back in to what I’ve been told are best in the series (books 5 and 6).

The People We Meet on Vacation - Emily Henry

A classic Emily Henry comfort read — romantic without feeling cheesy. Reading her books feels to me like biting into the perfect, buttery chocolate croissant. Lightly layered, mass appeal and you don’t feel guilty about it. In the same sort of vein as…

Part of Your World - Abby Jimenez

I wish someone smacked me over the head and told me to read Abby Jimenez earlier. She’s another author doing the modern romance, beach read thing right. She writes romance in a way that makes you want to kick your heels and giggle. I read a couple of hers last year and will no doubt be diving into the back catalogue for a boost of serotonin during the late winter months.

Crying in H Mart - Michelle Zauner

This has been on my list since it came out to great acclaim in 2021 and I just finally got around to reading it. Simply put: Wow. It’s a really gorgeous exploration of grief, identity and culture. It makes total sense that Michelle Zauner (of Japanese Breakfast fame) would be a natural storyteller, but it’s actually sort of unfair to have all that talent to be able to do so through both music and words like this.

The Bullet That Missed - Richard Osman

The Thursday Murder Club series, which follows a group of ragtag group of rambunctious retirees as they solve mysteries, never fails to make me laugh. It reminds me of the retirement community that my grandfather was a part of for many years — full of rich characters with incredible life experiences and personality in spades. I read two of them last year.

Iron Flame - Rebecca Yarros

I first heard about The Empyrean series when my local bookstore was posting Instagrams about people lining up for the second novel, Iron Flame, in late 2023. I haven’t really seen that kind of excitement since the Harry Potter days. So I bought copies of the first two books for my husband thinking it would be a good mix of fantasy for him and romance for me and then we’d have a book in common to talk about.

It didn’t take long to get me hooked. You can see why it’s super popular — magic, dragons, college drama, steamy will-they-won’t-they sexual tension; it ticks all the boxes.

If we’re continuing with the romantasy genre (and yes, the smut is good for your health,) I also enjoyed the Crescent City novels by Sarah J. Maas (more so than ACOTAR to be honest) as well as Bride by Ali Hazelwood.

Tom Lake - Ann Patchett

I’m also late to the Ann Patchett fan club. Tom Lake reads like the ultimate “what if?” novel as told through the eyes of a woman who is extremely cognizant of how the choices she made for herself were actually the right ones. She could have become a massively famous actress and been a part of a Hollywood It couple. Instead she settled down, had a family, bought a farm in Michigan and makes it sound so incredibly appealing. As I struggle with balancing career ambition and my own personal goals for a family, this one was sort of reassuring that there’s true beauty in the quiet life.

The Villain Edit - Laurie Devore

If you know me, you know I love reality TV and dating shows, particularly The Bachelor. This is a fictionalized version of what many contestants say they deal with — from meddling producers, interpersonal drama and the blurred lines between the show and reality. It’s dramatic and fun and probably exactly how I would behave if I ever ended up on one of these shows.

11/22/63 - Stephen King

Did you know Stephen King does more than just horror and suspense? Here he tries out historical fiction to ask the question: what if you could go back in time and stop a major cultural event from happening? This is the story of one man who tries to stop the JFK assassination. This is a tome if you’ve ever seen one but it’s so compelling you will forget immediately about how long it is. Shoutout to Julia and Brad who recommended this to me.

Let me know your thoughts on any of these books by replying to this email or posting in the comments on the blog so others can weigh in. Follow me on Goodreads if you want real-time updates.