A Year in Books: My 2024 Reading Challenge
If you’ve come across this blog before, or you’ve seen my posts on social media (I’m @emmapooleytherapy on Facebook and Instagram if you’d like to be nosy!), you’ll know that I’m a massive bookworm. Libraries and bookshops are sanctuaries for me, and my idea of a top-tier day is being able to do nothing but read.
One of my biggest aims for the last 2 years has been getting back into a regular habit of reading books, rather than mindlessly scrolling on social media with a TV show I’ve seen 1000 times on in the background. For 2024, I decided to set myself a target of attempting to read 75 books in a year, averaging 1-2 books per week.
As I write this at the end of December 2024, I’ve managed to read 63/75 books, which was considerably more than I expected, given that I’d had a couple of very quiet reading months! For 2025, I’ve decided to stick with my original target of reading 75 books in a year, so let’s see how that goes!
You can find the list of all the books I read each month in 2024 below, and I’ve highlighted my favourites with a *. There’s a mixture of fiction, non-fiction and memoir, so something for everyone!
Jan:
Write for Life - Julia Cameron
The Whalebone Theatre - Joanna Quinn
Feb:
Getting Things Done - David Allen
Glass Sword - Victoria Aveyard
*Her Majesty’s Royal Coven - Juno Dawson
The Cloisters - Katy Hays
The Little Paris Bookshop - Nina George
Get Remarkably Organised - Lorraine Murphy (audiobook)
Mar:
*Legends & Lattes - Travis Baldree
*The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches - Sangu Mandanna
Sixteen Souls - Rosie Talbot
*The Romanovs - Simon Sebag Montefiore
Apr:
The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
Girls Just Wanna Have Funds - Emma Due Bitz, Camilla Falkenberg & Anna-Sophie Hartvigsen
Get Me the Urgent Biscuits - Sweetpea Slight
*Enchantment - Katherine May
May:
A Bookshop of One’s Own - Jane Cholmeley
*The Golden Mole - Katherine Rundell
Mina & the Cult - Amy McCaw
The Square of Sevens - Laura Shepherd-Robinson
*Just Sayin’ - Malorie Blackman
Abroad in Japan - Chris Broad
Kemosha of the Caribbean - Alex Wheatle
Jun:
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy- Douglas Adams
The Twat Files - Dawn French
Homecoming - Kate Morton
The Housekeepers - Alex Hay
The Whispering Skull - Jonathan Stroud
Jul:
The Shadow Cabinet - Juno Dawson
The Hollow Boy - Jonathan Stroud
The Creeping Shadow - Jonathan Stroud
*The Empty Grave - Jonathan Stroud
*The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman
A Very Lively Murder - Katy Watson
Ink, Blood, Sister, Scribe - Emma Törzs
*Small Things Like These - Claire Keegan
Bookshops & Bonedust - Travis Baldree (audiobook)
Over My Dead Body - Maz Evans
The Man Who Died Twice - Richard Osman
It Ends With Us - Colleen Hoover
The Bullet That Missed - Richard Osman
The Last Devil to Die - Richard Osman
A Therapeutic Journey: Lessons From the School of Life - Alain de Botton
Aug:
On Writing - Stephen King
Sep:
*Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop - Hwang Bo-Reum
The Door-to-Door Bookstore - Carsten Henn
True Crime Story - Joseph Knox
*DallerGut Dream Department - Miye Lee
A Court of Thorns and Roses - Sarah J Maas
The Dark Wives - Ann Cleeves
Belladonna - Adalyn Grace
Oct:
Travels With My Aunt - Graham Greene
*Tree Stories - Stefano Mancuso
The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch - Melinda Taub
*Other Women - Emma Flint
Nov:
*The Wild Places - Robert Macfarlane
Starling House - Alix E. Harrow
Uprooted - Naomi Novik
Vine Street - Dominic Nolan
Dec:
A Field Guide to Getting Lost - Rebecca Solnit
Sherlock Holmes & the Twelve Thefts of Christmas - Tim Major
*Return to the DallerGut Dream Department - Miye Lee
*Fathomless Riches - Rev. Richard Coles
What do you think of this list, and the ones I’ve highlighted as particular favourites? I’d love to know if you agree or disagree with my choices, and if you have a favourite read from 2024 that I should take a look at!
At the time of writing this post, I’m not currently taking on new clients. I expect to have limited availability again in mid-January 2025, so if you’re interested in working with me, keep an eye on my social media (@emmapooleytherapy on Facebook and Instagram) and my website for the latest updates.