Before writing this, I read my “End of Year Book Survey” posts from 2023 and 2022. I like consistency in my posts, especially those I write every year. For these posts, I follow Perpetual Page Turner’s Book Survey questions. I love this blog tag and if you aren’t currently following Perpetual Page Turner, you should. Her blog tags always have a series of questions and I like to pick and choose which questions I want to respond to. I’m doing something new that I haven’t done in prior posts. I’m going to share my library savings. My library savings are the money saved by renting books and audiobooks from the library rather than buying physical copies. 2024 was a solid reading year for me and I can’t wait to dig into it in detail.

2024 Reading Stats

Number of Books Read: 73

Number of Re-Reads: 1

Genre You Read the Most From: Historical Fiction

Library Savings: $300

I read 73 books in 2024. This is my third-highest reading year according to Goodreads (In 2022, I read 104 books and in 2021, I read 99 books). I’m happy with how this reading year went. I only re-read one book this year which was Snotgirl Volume #1. I read the first issue of Snotgirl several years ago and discounted the series, but ended up giving it another chance. I’m glad I did because this series has grown on me. I think my number of re-reads next year will be higher as I have already pulled books off my shelf that I want to re-read.

It’s tough to say what my most-read genre is since Goodreads focuses on the number of books read. I have started utilizing StoryGraph which does provide more data than Goodreads does. However, I only started using this a month or two ago, so I can’t say much more than that. I decided to highlight Historical Fiction not because it was my most-read genre, but because it’s the genre I rediscovered this year. I’m not sure why I was sleeping on Historical Fiction, but what a waste. I have already added more Historical Fiction books to my TBR to read in the coming years.

Finally, I wanted to talk about my library savings. In 2024, I rented 20 books from the library. On average, the cost of a brand-new paperback book can be anywhere from $10 – $18, so I decided to go with a middle-ground cost of $15. I multiplied 20 books with $15 per book and came to a savings of $300. That’s a lot! My go-to was to always buy my books, but knowing I can save hundreds of dollars by using my local library, makes a difference. I’m going to calculate my library savings in future reading years.

Best In Books

Best Book You Read in 2024?

The best book I read in 2024 was How To Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin. This was Knives Out in book form. I loved the premise, the mystery, and the flashbacks. I liked how there was a partnership between the main character and the detective, but not a forced romance between them. This feels hypocritical of me to say since I love reading romance, but not everything has to be romantic. The second book in this series is set to be released next year and I cannot wait.

Best Series You Started in 2024

Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine is the book I chose for this prompt. I loved this book. I liked Gwen and how protective she was of her kids. I liked reading about the town Gwen moved to and all the people she met. I felt this book set up the second book perfectly and created enough suspense to make me look forward to continuing the series. This was a book I rented from the library, but now I plan on buying the physical copies instead.

Favorite New Author You Discovered in 2024?

Fiona Davis is the author I love right now. Her book, The Spectacular was the last book I read this year. It’s a Historical Fiction book taking place in New York City in the 1950s. Marion is a young woman who auditions for the Rockettes but gets involved in a police investigation after she’s a witness to a bombing at a theater. This book was an emotional read and gave me a lot to think about. I added more of Fiona Davis’s books to my TBR. I’m not sure why I haven’t read more Historical Fiction in previous reading years.

Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

Out of all the books I read this year, I chose Murder In The Family by Cara Hunter. This book was so addicting, it was on the back of my mind while I worked from home. I looked forward to reading this book each night and ended up reading close to 200 pages in one sitting. I stayed up way too late to figure out what was going on and it was worth it. This was unlike any book I have ever read and I would recommend this book to anyone who has struggled with reading in the past.

Most Thought-Provoking / Life Changing Book in 2024?

My Body by Emily Ratajkowski was an honest and refreshing take on women’s bodies. I appreciated how honest Emily was and how her body propelled her career. There were certain quotes from this book that were thought-provoking and beautifully written. I listened to My Body as an audiobook and I’m glad I did because I felt Emily’s voice to be soothing. In most audiobooks, the narrator doesn’t get emotional, but since Emily narrated her own book, I could hear her voice breaking at parts which felt authentic and real. This is a book I would want to own as a physical copy on my bookshelf.

OTP Of The Year (You will go down with this ship!)

OTP (stands for One True Pairing) is the couple who you’re most rooting for. This was an easy choice for me. Alexis and Daniel are the couple that will be together forever. Their chemistry was off the charts and I liked how this was an age gap with a woman being older than a man. I find that to be less common in romance books. It’s interesting because these two had great chemistry without having a lot of smut. I love smut, but if you don’t want to read about the two characters having graphic sex with each other, Part Of Your World by Abby Jimenez would be a good book for you.

Favorite Book You Read in 2024 From An Author You’ve Read Previously?

For several years, I have started my reading year by reading a book by Lucy Foley. It’s become a tradition now and one I plan on continuing. I read The Paris Apartment and as always, I loved it. I think Lucy does a great job at capturing suspense and I tend to finish her books quickly. I have another book of hers that I will read in January.

Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

The Serpent & The Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent was interesting from a world-building perspective. I liked reading about the different vampire houses and what the vampires looked like. It reminded me of The Raven Queen from Dungeons & Dragons lore. While it took me a bit to get through the book, the world that Carissa created kept me going. I hopefully will read the second book sometime next year.

Your Blogging / Bookish Life

Best Bookish Discover (book-related sites, book stores etc.)?

One of the most memorable book-related memories in 2024 was discovering Tropes & Trifles. Tropes & Trifles is primarily a romance-only bookstore in Minneapolis. Each section of the store is a different type of romance trope. There is a dark romance shelf, contemporary, and paranormal romance. Books have stickers on them if they feature an LGBTQIA+ romance which I think is an added bonus. I have taken several of my friends there. One of the easiest ways I can support a local business is to go to a local bookstore. Tropes & Trifles is a store I look forward to visiting.

Looking Ahead

One Book You Didn’t Get to in 2024?

This is a trick question. I read all my unread books in my “to be read” pile on my bookshelf. This might be the first year I have ever done that. I will have new books to read in 2024 that I purchased recently or books I received as presents from friends and family. I have been committed to not buying more books when I haven’t read what I already have.

Books You Are Most Anticipating For 2025?

I have so many! I saw Goodreads had a list of all anticipated 2025 book releases, so I added a bunch of them to my shelf. I’m going to create a list of all my 2025 book releases I’m waiting on

• How To Seal Your Own Fate by Kristen Perrin.
• The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis
• The Amalfi Curse by Sarah Penner
• Critical Role: Tusk Love by Thea Guanzon

One Thing You Hope to Accomplish or Do In Your Reading / Blogging Life?

I have two things I want to accomplish. The first would be to continue listening to audiobooks. I want to listen to at least one audiobook in a month. The second would be to continually review my Goodreads TBR. My reading interests have changed a lot and some of the books I added back in 2019, I don’t see myself reading. I want my Goodreads TBR shelf to reflect all the books I want to read and I’d rather have fewer books on my shelf than have so many that I can’t keep track of them. I’m notorious for starting books and never continuing the series and I want to be better at committing to the book series I start.

This was a solid reading year for me. This was the year I rediscovered audiobooks and started renting books from the library regularly. I am looking forward to my reading year in 2025.