Reading Roundup 2024

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Will Hunt

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Apr 16, 2006
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What did you read in 2024 that you would recommended to others? I'm sure there will be duplication between this and the Books thread but thought it would be nice to summarise with the benefit of hindsight.

I had my busiest reading year since becoming an adult. 31 books (that's a lot for me)!

All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy
I read all of the Border Trilogy over the course of the year but the other two didn't shine as brightly. A beautiful coming-of-age story of two boys who saddle up their horses and ride into Mexico to seek out life.

Any Human Heart, William Boyd
The fictional biography of Logan Mountstuart told through a series of intermittent journal entries spanning his final days of public school in the 1920s to his death in the final decade of the century. Along the way there are triumphs and there are tragedies. A mix of the incredible and the banal. When it ended I wanted it to go on.

The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas (Buss' translation)
A larger-than-life tale of betrayal and revenge. A daunting tome but an enjoyable romp.

The Scar, China Mieville
The follow-up to Perdido Street Station is even better. It's got anus-faced mosquito men; need I say more?

James, Percival Everett
The tale of Huckleberry Finn, told from the perspective of "Jim". Will probably piss off anti-woke snowflakes.

The Narrow Road to the Deep North, Richard Flanagan.
An extraordinary romance and brutal documentary of the dehumanising effects of war and nationalism: a tragedy within a tragedy within a tragedy. The story is of Dorrigo Evans, an Australian army colonel and surgeon - the commanding officer of a group of POWs sentenced to work on the Burmese railway. Harrowing, yet so well-written, and with such complex and intriguing characters that it makes for compulsive reading.

Open Throat, Henry Hoke
Not stellar, but it left me wanting more and it was a fun, short read. The story of a lonely, gay mountain lion who lives just under the Hollywood sign. He listens to the passing humans who talk about their therapists and ponders whether he might eat them.

I Who Have Never Known Men, Jacqueline Harpman
A group of women and one girl are held in an underground cage with no idea why and very little memory of how they got there. Some stuff happens which I shall not divulge here. Not a book that you should read if you'd like it all neatly tied up at the end. The plot is a vehicle to make you think about life, the purpose of it, and all sorts of other things. It's a good'un.
 
All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy
I read all of the Border Trilogy over the course of the year but the other two didn't shine as brightly. A beautiful coming-of-age story of two boys who saddle up their horses and ride into Mexico to seek out life.

Agree with this. The other two books in the trilogy didn't work nearly as well for me as All the Pretty Horses, which is a really fantastic book. Probably the 'nicest' of McCarthy's books I've read. I think Blood Meridian is probably his best (of the ones I've read) but definitely a pretty dark and harrowing tale.

Need to try to do more reading this year. I've really fallen off lately. Too much other stuff going on.
 
Out of the Border Trilogy, I found the last part, 'Cities of the Plain' the most powerful.
Even on the 2nd and 3rd reading, I found the conclusion devastating.
My book of the year was probably 'Butter' by Asako Yazuki, with honourable mentions to 'Boy Parts' and 'Penance' both by Eliza Clark.
Penance in particular is a deeply disturbing tale of the media and social media in the aftermath of the murder of a young girl by her friends. Compelling.
 
Cool idea for a thread. 31 books is a strong effort Will! Im pretty bad for getting bogged down in books I think I should finish, whereas I'd probably be better off going on to something else rather than flogging myself with something Im not really enjoying.

The Narrow Road to the Deep North

Quality recommendation. I think it was described in the books thread as being McCarthy-esque but Im not a big fan of his so was glad to find it more similar in theme than style. Not much to add so I'll just re-iterate how deep all the characters are. It was particularly nice that significant time was spent on many of the 'baddies'. It's so easy to fall into the trap of thinking the baddies are evil, whereas there's more to it in (fictionalised) reality.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Another UKB recommendation I think? The quality of the prose is just outstanding. A book you could read again and again just to enjoy the way the words flow off the page.

With the Old Breed

More WWII suffering, but this time in the pacific. If it was ever needed, more reading to convince you that going to war is pretty shit for everyone involved and probably a bad idea in general.

One Step at a Time, Fran Giacommizzi

Pretty biased as this was written by a friend, but I hadn't appreciated she had written a book and it was wonderful to stumble on it. Probably not going to be winning the booker prize, but what is life if you can't appreciate something cool a friend has done? Even more impressively english is not her native language.

Royal Robbins: The American Climber, David Smart

Bored of the Stonemasters rhetoric? This is a great look into the preceding period and is really good for giving a flavour of Yosemite, it's walls and it's characters in the 50s and 60s.

Breakdown

A very factual account of an Irish woman who has a breakdown and, on the drive to work one day, turns the car around and starts a new life in the UK. Somehow the lack of embellishment in the account makes it all the more affecting.
 

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