January Reads and Favorites: 2024
Did I start the year off strong? Did I begin with fierce determination and steadfast dedication to making this a memorable year of reading? Well, kinda...
Recap for Busy Folks
All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1) by Martha Wells
Artificial Condition (The Murderbot Diaries, #2) by Martha Wells
The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II by Iris Chang
Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
2666 by Roberto Bolano
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy
Boys in the Valley by Philip Fracassi
Things I Learned from Falling by Claire Nelson
The Writing Life by Annie Dillard
Ward D by Freida McFadden
My Favorites
I wanted to kick 2024 off by tackling a book that has been on my TBR for a while now and one that I have been avoiding. 2666 by Roberto Bolano, coming in at over 1,000 pages, was a book I have been putting off solely due to the length. I don’t like to bash books, so all I will say about this book is that I spent the entire time confused as to how it has such high praise on Goodreads. It isn’t bad, but with that many pages, I had expected far more of a plot than what I got.
Do not read Greenlights. You have to listen to it.
For those of you who have been blessed enough to watch Edtv, the 1999 film starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harelson among others, then you can quickly gain a sense of what the audiobook version of Greenlights is like.
There is a scene in Edtv where the film crew is focusing on Ray, played by Woody Harrelson, and in the process, they inadvertently discover Ed, played by McConaughey. The story about the mobile dog grooming business is very much the same energy and animation McConaughey applies to Greenlights. Which makes it fantastic.
The Rape of Nanking, by Iris Chang, is one of those books that is hard to say, “Oh, this is an awesome read. Check this one out!” What happened in Nanking is an important part of history that many feel largely overshadowed by the Holocaust. I have read numerous books on the Holocaust and they are all overwhelming. I have no plans to read anything further. It is a heavy topic. If the Holocaust events are too much for you to read, what took place in Nanking is going to turn your stomach, or worse. It is a well-researched and written piece of work, worthy of reading, and more importantly, a part of history that needs to be forever remembered. If you are venturing into the waters on this, proceed with caution.
Overall, solid month of books and I am just as surprised as you are that I finished 10.