Happy 2025! How are we all doing? If you're wondering how things are going over here, let me just tell you that 2024 ended up being the first year in ten(!) years of blogging that I did not get my year-end recap up on December 31st. Cody and I said goodbye to the old year and crawled into 2025 heavily medicated, watching movies, drinking a lot of throat coat tea, and cursing the flu for taking us down.
I've finally rejoined the land of the living though and I'm ready to take a final look back over last year's reading so I can file it away and get cracking on my 2025 reading goals.
2024 was....an interesting reading year for me. It felt a little all over the place. I didn't make much of a list for myself and decided to let a TBR Jar guide my reading life. The TBR Jar didn't work out too well for me in 2019, and it wasn't exactly a success last year either. My secret goal for 2024 was to read twelve titles drawn out of the Jar. Easy, right?
I read a total of 56 books last year.
Six of them were from the TBR Jar. (I'm over halfway through my seventh one and really thought I could finish it by the end of the year, but the flu had other ideas.)
So I only accomplished half of what my secret goal was. Feel free to insert all the laughing/crying emojis right about here. Oh well. You win some, you lose some. On top of that, I didn't complete a single presidential biography in 2024. *shrugs* It is what it is. In spending a little time these past few days looking back at ten years worth of book lists and reading accomplishments, I think I've nailed down what works best for me and some things that just aren't my jam which I'll share more about when I post my 2025 Book List *hopefully* sometime next week.
In the meantime, we've got the 56 books I did read in 2024 to get through so enjoy my quick takes on what I read last year.
January
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (re-read) : completed 1/2
You can never go wrong starting your year off with a little Jane Austen.
The Warden and the Wolf King by Andrew Peterson (read aloud) : completed 1/3
This was carried over from 2023, but we finished it up quickly. Cody and I loved this series.
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett : completed 1/18
Loved this book until I hated it. And then I really hated it.
Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl (read aloud) : completed 1/29
Not my favorite Dahl books in 2024.
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy (TBR jar) : completed 1/29
Started the year strong with my monthly title out of the TBR Jar going quickly for me.
February
The Secret History by Donna Tartt : completed 2/24
Ugh. Another carryover from 2023 and my least favorite book of 2024. I immediately stuck it in a Little Free Library after finally finishing it. You'll notice it's the only book I managed to finish in February so I quickly got knocked off my goal of reading a book from the TBR Jar every month. Ha!
March
Riding Freedom by Pam Muñoz Ryan (read aloud) : completed 3/3
The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare : completed 3/9
The Secret History also managed to knock me off my annual tradition of a Shakespearean comedy in February. The Merchant of Venice ended up being a fun one though.
Bucket List Family Travel by Jessica Gee : completed 3/12
Wasn't planning to read this coffee table book, but enjoyed every word along with all the gorgeous photos.
The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri (TBR jar) : completed 3/23
The second book to come out of the TBR Jar was one I probably wouldn't have gotten to for a long time otherwise (which was the point of the jar in the first place) and it made me want to read more books by Christy Lefteri.
Unveiled by Francine Rivers (re-read) : completed 3/27
I've been wanting to revisit these little novellas for quite some time now, and Teresa's study was the perfect excuse to finally pick them back up.
Unashamed by Francine Rivers (re-read) : completed 3/31
April
Unshaken by Francine Rivers (re-read) : completed 4/12
Only You, Sierra by Robin Jones Gunn (re-read) : completed 4/14
After reading through the Christy Miller books in 2023, I decided to keep going this year with her Sierra Jensen series.
Unspoken by Francine Rivers (re-read) : completed 4/20
While Mrs. Coverlet Was Away by Mary Nash (re-read; read aloud) : completed 4/23
Super fun revisiting this as an adult by reading it aloud with my nieces and nephews.
In Your Dreams by Robin Jones Gunn (re-read) : completed 4/24
You'll notice I did not get to any TBR Jar books this month.
May
Esio Trot by Roald Dahl (read aloud) : completed 5/5
Don't You Wish by Robin Jones Gunn (re-read) : completed 5/6
I'm not usually one to review Bible studies on this blog, but then again, I'm also not usually one to complete a study without missing some of the homework here and there. I did T's study cover to cover and was highly encouraged by it.
Christ From Beginning to End by Trent Hunter & Stephen Wellum (read aloud) : completed 5/8
Excellent.
Lie Until It's True by Jessie Weaver : completed 5/14
Another unputdownable YA murder mystery from Jessie. I keep haunting her socials to see if a new book has been announced.
Close Your Eyes by Robin Jones Gunn (re-read) : completed 5/17
The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton (TBR jar) : completed 5/26
Maybe I was going for an every-other-month rhythm with the TBR Jar?
June
The Hunting of the Last Dragon by Sherryl Jordan : completed 6/3
The book that was not meant for six year old ears. Oops.
Unafraid by Francine Rivers (re-read) : completed 6/9
The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk by Donald J. Sobol (read aloud) : completed 6/13
Sisterchicks in Gondolas by Robin Jones Gunn (TBR jar) : completed 6/13
Delighted to see RJG pop out of the jar. And hey! that's two months in a row!
Without a Doubt by Robin Jones Gunn (re-read) : completed 6/30
July
Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary (read aloud) : completed 7/11
I had an absolute blast reading the Ramona series aloud with my niece and nephews this year. They loved Ramona as much as I do.
Ramona the Brave by Beverly Cleary (read aloud) : completed 7/16
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (read aloud) : completed 7/23
Update: Cody and I finally started watching the miniseries last night!
Closer Than a Sister by Christina Fox : completed 7/30
Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy : completed 7/31
Fun reading this with my mom and sister and then all watching the fantastic film adaption together.
August
Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary (read aloud) : completed 8/17
Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury (TBR jar) : completed 8/28
Favorite book of the year.
September
A House Without Windows by Nadia Hashimi (TBR jar) : completed 9/3
Recap still to come, but this was another one I wouldn't have chosen for myself and I'm glad the jar chose it for me.
Timon of Athens by William Shakespeare : completed 9/7
Was a week behind with my tragedy too, but enjoyed Timon despite the lackluster ending.
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd : completed 9/14
Another first-rate book-to-movie reading/watching experience with my mom.
Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance : completed 9/26
Boooooo.
With This Ring by Robin Jones Gunn (re-read) : completed 9/27
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (read aloud) : completed 9/28
Thank you to Hurricane Helene for being the catalyst for some spooky read-alouds with Cody.
Ramona and Her Mother by Beverly Cleary (read aloud) : completed 9/29
We also crushed a lot of Ramona during our week without power after Helene.
October
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary (read aloud) : completed 10/4
Ramona Forever by Beverly Cleary (read aloud) : completed 10/6
Women of the Word by Jen Wilkin : completed 10/11
Recap coming soon.
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Tales of Terror by Robert Louis Stevenson (partial read aloud) : completed 10/13
My other Helene-induced spooky read with Cody.
Tea with Elephants by Robin Jones Gunn : completed 10/19
Tea with Elephants?! Despite sounding tailor-made for me, this one was a little bit of a letdown. Recap coming.
November
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (re-read; partial read aloud) : completed 11/12
The best book (series) of all time, and I will stand by that till my dying day. I've lost count of how many times I've read through the Anne books.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson : completed 11/16
Catch me reading this every Christmas for the rest of my life.
a book by S. Osborne : completed 11/17
I will post a recap soon, and when I do: don't miss it.
The Rural Diaries by Hilarie Burton Morgan (library book) : completed 11/22
Definitely enjoyed.
Grimoire Girl by Hilarie Burton Morgan (library book) : completed 11/26
Could have skipped.
December
Dinner for Vampires by Bethany Joy Lenz (library book) : completed 12/3
Best of the three. Fascinating.
Ramona's World by Beverly Cleary (read aloud) : completed 12/25
We finished up the entire Ramona series, and you better believe we'll be back at it with more Beverly Cleary in 2025.
The Dawn of Redeeming Grace by Sinclair B. Ferguson : completed 12/26
I'll be recapping this, but closing the year with this Advent devotional was exactly what I needed.
***
As you may have noticed, I made a herculean effort to catch the blog up at the end of the year, but there are several recaps "coming soon" because between a hurricane, the holidays, an out-of-state wedding in between Christmas and the new year, and a nasty flu bug: there's only so much a girl can do. Thanks for hanging in there with me. I hope the end of your 2024 and the beginning of your 2025 were a lot more joyful and healthy than mine turned out to be. Tune back in next week for my 2025 Book List and until then....
....keep reading the best books first.
