Books I Read in 2024

What follows is a list of all the books I read in 2024.

(What follows that is a series of statistics regarding this list, and some other things.)
  1. The Babysitter at Rest (2016) by Jen George (Jan. 1–8)
  2. Cartesian Sonata and Other Novellas (1998) by William H. Gass (Jan. 9–12)
  3. Middle C (2013) by William H. Gass (Jan. 13–17)
  4. Eyes (2015) by William H. Gass (Jan. 18–21)
  5. Down and Out in Paris and London (1933) by George Orwell (Jan. 22–24)
  6. Burmese Days (1934) by George Orwell (Jan. 25–30)
  7. A Clergyman’s Daughter (1935) by George Orwell (Jan. 31–Feb. 4)
  8. Keep the Aspidistra Flying (1936) by George Orwell (Feb. 6–8)
  9. *Fudge (2023) by Andrew Weatherhead (Feb. 9)
  10. Our Strangers (2023) by Lydia Davis (Feb. 9–11)
  11. Alphabetical Diaries (2024) by Sheila Heti (Feb. 12–15)
  12. The Fawn (1959) by Magda Szabó (Feb. 17–20)
  13. The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934) by James M. Cain (Feb. 21–22)
  14. The Little Sister (1949) by Raymond Chandler (Feb. 26–29)
  15. The Long Goodbye (1953) by Raymond Chandler (Mar. 1–6)
  16. Playback (1958) by Raymond Chandler (Mar. 7–8)
  17. The Hamlet (1940) by William Faulkner (Mar. 9–11)
  18. Go Down, Moses (1942) by Williams Faulkner (Mar. 12–15)
  19. Intruder in the Dust (1948) by William Faulkner (Mar. 16–18)
  20. Knight’s Gambit (1949) by William Faulkner (Mar. 19–20)
  21. Collected Stories of William Faulkner (1950) by William Faulkner (Mar. 21–24)
  22. *Child of God (1973) by Cormac McCarthy (Mar. 25–26)
  23. The 42nd Parallel (1930) by John Dos Passos (Mar. 27–31)
  24. 1919 (1932) by John Dos Passos (Apr. 1–6)
  25. The Big Money (1936) by John Dos Passos (Apr. 7–13)
  26. The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, and Other Sketches (1867) by Mark Twain (Apr. 14–16)
  27. *Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) by Mark Twain (Apr. 17–20)
  28. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1889) by Mark Twain (Apr. 21–24)
  29. Pudd’nhead Wilson (1894) by Mark Twain (Apr. 25–27)
  30. James (2024) by Percival Everett (Apr. 28–30)
  31. Erasure (2001) by Percival Everett (May 1–3)
  32. Oreo (1974) by Fran Ross (May 4–6)
  33. Big Fiction (2023) by Dan Sinykin (May 7–11)
  34. Telex from Cuba (2008) by Rachel Kushner (May 12–15)
  35. The Flamethrowers (2013) by Rachel Kushner (May 17–20)
  36. The Strange Case of Rachel K (2015) by Rachel Kushner (May 21)
  37. The Mars Room (2018) by Rachel Kushner (May 22–24)
  38. The Mayor of Leipzig (2021) by Rachel Kushner (May 25)
  39. The Hard Crowd (2021) by Rachel Kushner (May 26–28)
  40. Shy Ann (2002) by Michael Frederick (May 29–30)
  41. Conversations with Friends (2017) by Sally Rooney (May 31–June 2)
  42. Normal People (2018) by Sally Rooney (June 3–4)
  43. Beautiful World, Where Are You (2021) by Sally Rooney (June 13–15)
  44. When We Cease to Understand the World (2020) by Benjamín Labatut (June 15–16)
  45. The MANIAC (2023) by Benjamín Labatut (June 17–19)
  46. All Fours (2024) by Miranda July (June 20–23)
  47. Martyr! (2024) by Kaveh Akbar (June 24–26)
  48. Second Place (2021) by Rachel Cusk (June 27–28)
  49. Parade (2024) by Rachel Cusk (June 29–30)
  50. *Peru (1986) by Gordon Lish (July 1–2)
  51. To Have Written a Book (2024) by Gordon Lish (July 3)
  52. Annals and Indices (2024) by Gordon Lish (July 4–5)
  53. Housekeeping (1980) by Marilynne Robinson (July 6–8)
  54. Gilead (2004) by Marilynne Robinson (July 9–11)
  55. Home (2008) by Marilynne Robinson (July 12–14)
  56. Lila (2014) by Marilynne Robinson (July 15–16)
  57. Jack (2020) by Marilynne Robinson (July 17–19)
  58. *Ninety-Nine Stories of God (2016) by Joy Williams (July 20)
  59. Concerning the Future of Souls (2024) by Joy Williams (July 21)
  60. Lost Illusions (1843) by Honoré de Balzac (July 22–29)
  61. Brat (2024) by Gabriel Smith (July 30–31)
  62. Madame Bovary (1857) by Gustave Flaubert (Aug. 1–3)
  63. Sentimental Education (1869) by Gustave Flaubert (Aug. 5–10)
  64. Swann’s Way (1913) by Marcel Proust (Aug. 11–16)
  65. *The Wapshot Chronicle (1957) by John Cheever (Aug. 17–21)
  66. Ourselves to Know (1960) by John O’Hara (Aug. 25–29)
  67. Cold Dogs (2024) by Zan de Parry (Aug. 30)
  68. The Tumbler (1969) by Joan Brossa (Aug. 31)
  69. My Life as a Man (1974) by Philip Roth (Sept. 1–4)
  70. The Ghost Writer (1979) by Philip Roth (Sept. 5–6)
  71. Zuckerman Unbound (1981) by Philip Roth (Sept. 7–8)
  72. The Anatomy Lesson (1983) by Philip Roth (Sept. 9–10)
  73. The Prague Orgy (1985) by Philip Roth (Sept. 11–12)
  74. The Counterlife (1986) by Philip Roth (Sept. 13–18)
  75. The Facts (1988) by Philip Roth (Sept. 19–21)
  76. Deception (1990) by Philip Roth (Sept. 22–23)
  77. Patrimony (1991) by Philip Roth (Sept. 24–26)
  78. Operation Shylock (1993) by Philip Roth (Sept. 27–30)
  79. The Coin (2024) by Yasmin Zaher (Oct. 1–3)
  80. Creation Lake (2024) by Rachel Kushner (Oct. 6–9)
  81. Intermezzo (2024) by Sally Rooney (Oct. 10–14)
  82. Let Me Try Again (2024) by Matthew Davis (Oct. 15–18)
  83. Army of Giants (2024) by Matthew Rohrer (Oct. 21)
  84. If Only (2001) by Vigdis Hjorth (Oct. 25–Nov. 6)
  85. Interventions 2020 (2020) by Michel Houellebecq (Nov. 7–10)
  86. *Submission (2015) by Michel Houellebecq (Nov. 11–13)
  87. Annihilation (2022) by Michel Houellebecq (Nov. 16–22)
  88. Selected Stories (2024) by Franz Kafka (Nov. 23–25)
  89. The Trial (1925) by Franz Kafka (Nov. 26–30)
  90. The Castle (1926) by Franz Kafka (Dec. 1–5)
  91. Rejection (2024) by Tony Tulathimutte (Dec. 6–10)
  92. An Image of My Name Enters America (2024) by Lucy Ives (Dec. 11–15)
  93. The Message (2024) by Ta-Nehisi Coates (Dec. 17–19)
  94. Reading Genesis (2024) by Marilynne Robinson (Dec. 22–24)
  95. A Christmas to Remember (2024) by Brandon Brown and J. Gordon Faylor (Dec. 25)
  96. Health and Safety (2024) by Emily Witt (Dec. 26–29)
  97. Sweet Days of Discipline (1989) by Fleur Jaeggy (Dec. 30–31)

*Previously read

# books read: 97
# books read for the first time: 90
# books reread: 7
# books read on average per month: 8.083
# books written by men: 65
# books written by women: 32
# distinct authors: 48
# male authors: 32
# female authors: 16
# novels: 65
# novellas: 2
# novella collections: 2
# short story collections: 12
# memoirs: 5
# essay collections: 4
# books of nonfiction: 2
# books of poetry: 5
# books translated from another language to english: 15
# books published in 2024: 22
# books published in 21st century: 51
# books published in 20th century: 39
# books published in 19th century: 7

Standouts:
Cartesian Sonata (1998) by William H. Gass
Our Strangers (2023) by Lydia Davis
The Long Goodbye (1953) by Raymond Chandler
Go Down, Moses (1942) by William Faulkner
U.S.A. (1930–36) by John Dos Passos
Big Fiction (2023) by Dan Sinykin
Telex from Cuba (2008) by Rachel Kushner
When We Cease to Understand the World (2020) by Benjamín Labatut
Gilead (2004) by Marilynne Robinson
Brat (2024) by Gabriel Smith
Ourselves to Know (1960) by John O'Hara
Cold Dogs (2024) by Zan de Parry
My Life as a Man (1974) by Philip Roth
The Counterlife (1986) by Philip Roth
Operation Shylock (1993) by by Philip Roth
Let Me Try Again (2024) by Matthew Davis
If Only (2001) by Vigdis Hjorth
Selected Stories (2024) by Franz Kafka
Health and Safety (2024) by Emily Witt

Takeaway:
It was the worst and best year of my life. I kept reading regardless. For example, while I was in the mental hospital, I read Big Fiction and Telex from Cuba. On my final night/morning, I couldn't sleep. My roommate had shit his pants in his bed and the room they moved me to had a white light on permanently in it. I sat up at 4am and read by the window as the sun rose. For example, after [redacted], as the sun set over the afternoon, I started reading If Only. I fell asleep. Over the following weeks, I read sometimes only a paragraph or two a day. I was overwhelmed. Eventually I started reading at my regular pace again. For example, when I drove across the west, I kept Beautiful World, Where Are You in my bag. Despite not reading, it reminded me that when I had time, I would read it. On the plane back to Rhode Island, I read 130 pages. For example, Philip Roth changed my life. I sold my first novel to Arcade Publishing. It's titled Don't Step into My Office. As much as I like writing, I prefer to read. It allows me to understand how I would articulate my chaotic, ineffable consciousness, to ground myself and put shape to the horrors of irrationality, violence, and emotion dysregulation. I read 100 pages a day on average all summer, miserably stuck living with my parents, and even after I started antidepressants. Reading makes me feel human. It makes me feel more than that. I will try to keep expanding. I will try to keep learning. I will try to accept everything. I will try to prioritize having fun. I will try to keep reading this much.

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