Books I Read in 2024
Jump to end of list, to most recently read books.January 2024
The Best Short Stories - The O'Henry Prize Winners eds. Lauren Groff and Jenny Milton Quigley
- Collection of stories: some good, a few even better.
- A masterpiece. History writing at its finest.
- Dig some real cool baby boomer nostalgia, up close and personal - a real page turner from a very involved insider.
- Very fine, sensitive, delicious stories. 2021 PEN/Faulkner Award winner.
- Authentic characters deal with family dysfunction. Well done.
Two Nurses, Smoking David Means
- Collection of great stories by a master.
- Beautiful, heartbreaking piece, based on the tragic Malaga Island story. Shortlisted for the 2023 Man Booker.
- Brilliant. The Irish 'Troubles' of circa 1920 as lived by WWI Major Archer and associates at the dying Majestic Hotel. At once hilarious and heartbreaking. Winner of he Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize and the Lost Man Booker Prize.
- Misadventures of seventeen year old rather impulsive young lady runaway.
The Emotional Lives of Teenagers - Raising Connected, Capable, and Compassionate Adolescents
Lisa Damour, Ph.D.
- Valuable guide for parents and teens. Lots of practical suggestions.
- Memoir. Newly divorced, new Mom. True and deep. Good stuff.
- Profoundly moving. Gripping page turner. Essential read for our time. Booker Prize winner, 2023.
- Fine, entertaining review and analysis of selected cancel culture attacks. Recommended reading.
- Review of the colorful history of copyright, now a multi-billion dollar enterprise. "Copyright is an edifice of words resting on a complicated string of metaphors and double meanings." We can to do better.
The Recovering - Intoxication and Its Aftermath Leslie Jamison
- Excellent. Best of breed. Memoir and literature review with insightful analysis of the complex relationships among addiction, sobriety and creativity. Highy recommended.
The Sentinal State - Surveillance and the Survival of Dictatorship in China Minxin Pei
- Good detailed explanation of how China has developed the best surveillance state of any other dictatorship in history. Its future is uncertain.
- Brilliant analysis by the renowned professor.
- Important read for all or us. Starting by 2010, healthy play-based childhood was largely replaced with phone-based childhood leading to big increases in anxxiety and depression. Some ways to help: no smart phones before high school, no social media before 16, phone-free schools, more unsupervised childhood play. See: AnxiousGeneration.com.
Lucky Jane Smiley
- Tainted by political bias.
The End of Everything - How Wars Descend Into Annihilation Victor Davis Hanson
- Excellent historical analysis of the ends of Thebes, Carthage, Constantinople and the Aztec Empire (Tenochtitlan); and a warning for our world today. Scary stuff.
- Entertaining page-turner.
- Entertaining read from a master of the sarcastic put-down. No one is left unpunished. Avoid if too snow-flaky.
- Thoroughly elegant work by the brilliant, award-winning Chinese dissident.
"I am you a stranger on the sidetracks
waiting for the season to harvest blades of light
sending letters though tomorrow has no address"
The Wrong Man - The Final Verdict on the Dr. Sam Sheppard Murder Case James Neff
- Excellent. Thoroughly researched and annotated. Cogent demonstration that Sam Sheppard is innocent.
- Outstanding! Excellent up close and personal primary source honestly and openly showing us what life was really like in China, especially during the 1950's through the 1970's.
Truths - The Future of America First Vivek Ramaswamy
- A must-read for all Americans.
The Book of Eels - Our Enduring Fascination with the Most Mysterious Creature in the Natural World Patrik Svensson
- Enchanting read! Science, history, philosophy, memoir, and more.
Seven Pillars of Wisdom T.E. Lawrence
- Incredible pimary source, detailing much of the 1917-18 arab involvement in World War I. Memoir, analysis, and introspection by the extraordinary, inimitable "Lawrence of Arabia."
- Problematic, passionate affair during time of problematic, passionate poltics in Germany. International Booker prize 2024 winner.
- Interesting memoir by our gracious First Lady. "Our nation stands at a pivotal moment. We have a choice: to be torn apart by violence, hatred and division, or to unite in a spirit of love, kindness and shared humanity. It is critial that we choose the latter before it is too late."
The Details Ia Genberg, translated (Swedish) by Kira Josefsson
- Good close look into four relationships. Winner of the 2022 August Prize.
- Importamt historical fiction masterwork: 20th century Korea from the laborer's perspective.
- Powerfully poignant. Very well done by the winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Books I Read, by Year:
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 All
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 All
