Books I enjoyed in 2024

Without intention, a majority of the books that I want to remember reading this year were written more than a decade ago. One is more than a hundred years old. Yet, they were all new to me.

Here are the books I enjoyed most and what I want to remember from 2024:

Fiction

Frozen Heart - When I moved to Spain, I went looking for books from well known Spanish authors, and several people recommended Almudena Grandes. This is a family story through three generations and the Spanish Civil War in Madrid. Huge sweeping story: the best of reading fiction for me, the intensely personal side of an epic historical event that helped me appreciate living in Madrid that much more.

Echo Maker - I pre-ordered Playground by Richard Powers because his last two novels (Overstory and Bewilderment) are all time favorites for me. Unfortunately, the new book didn't connect for me. Something was lost in the main character. I went to listen to the author at City Arts in SF this fall, and Echo Maker was recommended repeatedly by Kim Stanley Robinson during the interview. I hadn't discovered Powers in 2006 when Echo Maker won the National Book Award, but the book holds up well and has what I love about Powers - intersecting storylines from complex, 'regular' people figuring out how to best show up in our uncertain world.

Table For Two I've been waiting for this book for several years, as Amor Towles is one of my favorites and he teased this in a podcast more than five years ago. The continuation of Eve's story from the end of Rules of Civility (which I re-read just before Table for Two came out to get ready) was fun. I loved being back with that character. But, the vignettes from different periods of New York City were the real treat - they reminded me most about what I loved from Rules of Civility, the loving portraits of everyday New Yorkers from another era.

Bone Clocks - I may have to update my self view that 'I don't like Fantasy' because I thought this was terrific, just as I liked Cloud Atlas (also by David Mitchell) and the recent books of Emily St. John Mandel. I raced through Bone Clocks, including the emotional ending after following the main character through her whole life.

Margo's Got Money Problems - No idea how I found this, but I did while still living in Spain and I laughed and connected with Margo and this terrifically fun story of contemporary America.

The Moon and Sixpence (49 cents on Kindle!) - I heard on some podcast that the painter Paul Gauguin was a stockbroker living a 'normal' business life before leaving it all to become a painter. I looked for the best biography to learn more, and found this novel, a fictionalized version of the story written by Somerset Maugham in 1919. It's a great read, with beautiful writing and an extended portrait of Strickland (the Gauguin character) through his transformation. This is also the first novel I read with ChatGPT - I stopped reading several times to do side research on the real Gauguin's life, painting and contemporary opinions of his work. A fun way to read a historical novel, I expect to make that a regular practice.

Non-Fiction

How To Know a Person - I'm a sucker for David Brooks books, and this one kept up the form. I like his reminders to live a better life - this book provides some practical tips and a convincing argument to extend yourself more with other people.

Cities & The Wealth of Nations - Jane Jacobs wrote this in 1984. It reads as insightful and true today - with clear prose and arguments. I wish her thinking was picked up more in discourse today, especially as cities like SF are struggling. We need greater focus on what makes cities work and how they drive better livelihoods for people and countries.

Congratulations, by the Way Many people recommended A Swim in the Pond in the Rain to me and I loved it at first but never made it all the way through the long Russian stories. On the other hand, this is a concise, 10min read, dense with wisdom and optimism. Including in this list as a reminder to myself to revisit often.

Slouching toward Bethlehem - I always wanted to read more Didion after only having read Year of Magical Thinking and these essays are terrific. I couldn't stop thinking how amazing it was that she could capture stories so well in the 60s in SF, with clarity and a not unkind honesty.

The Happiness Hypothesis - This is older Jonathan Haidt, who was so prominent this year with Anxious Generation. I resisted reading that after listening to him discuss the book in several talks, but found this 2021 book of his on my Kindle when I merged libraries with my wife. It's a fun read - linking ancient philosophy and religion with model psychiatrists views on how to lead a good life.

Unfinished: A Love Story - Audio version read by Bryan Cranston was great. I'll read most anything Doris Kearns Goodwin writes, but found this personal story and reflections on her life and marriage especially enjoyable. I also learned a lot more about the nature of the Kennedy - Johnson relationship through the Goodwin marriage.

Not the End of the World - always love a data dense, optimistic take on the future. Hannah Ritchie reads the audio. I dropped off several times but kept coming back when looking for positive view on major world challenges.

Agatha Christie

Re-read Agatha Christie consistently through the year, while in between books. Peril at End House was a favorite, even though I actually remembered the murderer on this read, which is unusual for me.