My 2024 Books List

So, I’ve been reading a bunch this year, and I want to talk about that for a bit. In this post I’ve listed all of the books I’ve read this year, and, more importantly, which ones were my favorites.

Most of my reading this year was on a Kobo Libra Colour. I wrote a few posts related to my Kobo experience, for example my post about Carta and Kaleido screens, and patching fonts for Kobo devices.

I’m also working on a comprehensive review of the Libra Colour, which I intend on publishing early next year.

It’s definitely been fun to get back into reading. Especially my journey through the Cosmere has been fun. Anyway, here’s the list:

Non-Fiction

• How To Not Die Alone by Logan Ury
  • A helpful guide on modern dating. I did end up meeting someone this year, so I guess some of the advice worked?
• The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel van der Kolk
  • A fascinating read on trauma and how it affects people in the long-term, with helpful suggestions to dealing with said trauma.
• Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? by Dr. Julie Smith
  • A fantastic book about some fundamentals to improve your mental and physical health, without being a typical self-help book. Includes a built-in workbook.
• Rubicon by Tom Holland
  • A more expanded historical take on the end of the Roman republic.
• The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday
  • I can’t say I actually finished this one yet, but unfortunately the message of each month seems a tad bit repetitive at times. You’re probably better served by reading a random quote and associated interpretation for any given day, rather than following the sections.

Fiction

Non-Cosmere

• The Duke and I by Julia Quinn
  • The first Bridgerton novel. I read this one before I finally watched the third season of Bridgerton. I’m not sure if I will be reading the other ones. Like the show, this is, at best, a guilty pleasure.
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
  • Finally reading this after it’s been on my Kobo for like a decade… was pretty great.

Cosmere

All of these are stories that are loosely related to each other. All of these have been written by Brandon Sanderson, who is incredibly fast at writing all of these. I read them in the order listed below, after having read Elantris two years ago.¹

• Warbreaker
  • It was fun to finally get around to reading my second Sanderson book. I enjoyed this one, but I really have a hard time taking the name Siri seriously as a big Apple fan. Vivenna and Vasher were my favorite characters, and I was happy to see them reappear in other cosmere books. I enjoyed the magic system but I feel like the ending was a bit anticlimactic.
• The Final Empire
  • Mistborn, Book 1
  • It is remarkable how well this book holds up as a standalone story, but also as part of a larger trilogy. Kelsier and Vin are iconic characters, and the Ocean’s Eleven vibe was very present. The magic system of allomancy was fantastic.
• The Well of Ascension
  • Mistborn, Book 2
  • Sanderson slowly unveils more details about the meticulously thought out world of Scadrial. Sanderson knows how to do pacing, and his Sanderlanches sure make it hard to stop reading. I could not put this book down and after finishing it, I immediately continued with the third book, as there were plenty of questions that needed answering.
• The Hero of Ages
  • Mistborn, Book 3
  • An epic conclusion to the trilogy… and the end of the Mistborn era 1. That’s all I will say. This one was an epic conclusion. But wait, there’s more Mistborn out there, in the form of the Way and Wayne books. Those I haven’t gotten to yet.
• Arcanum Unbounded
  • I read the Mistborn: Secret History and The Emperor’s Soul novellas, which are part of the Arcanum Unbounded collection. I really enjoyed The Emperor’s Soul, I think it is one of Sanderson’s best stories.
• The Way of Kings
  • The Stormlight Archive, Book 1
  • The scope of the Stormlight Archive is a totally different beast. This entire first book, which is massive, feels like the beginning of a much larger story. It took me about two weeks to get through this one, and like many, I really enjoyed Kaladin in this book.
• Words of Radiance
  • The Stormlight Archive, Book 2
  • The second book in the series feels like a direct continuation of where the first book ended, and is the highest rated one on Goodreads. I can see why: it was more epic in every sense of the way than the first, while also raising the stakes and bringing various revelations.
• Edgedancer
  • A Stormlight novella about Lift, an eternally young Edgedancer, and her quest for pancakes.
• Oathbringer
  • The Stormlight Archive, Book 3
  • Oathbringer is the Shardblade that belonged to Dalinar in the first book. It is only fitting that the book with Dalinar flashbacks is named after the Shardblade he was known for. This one got a bit slow in the middle, so this book was the one that took me the longest to finish. It did have a spectacular ending, and cemented Dalinar as one of the greats.
• Dawnshard
  • A Stormlight novella about Rysn and her familiar, Chiri-Chiri, going on an expedition.
• Rhythm of War
  • The Stormlight Archive, Book 4
  • I finished this one in less than a week. Rhythm of War reveals many Cosmere secrets, which is why I really enjoyed it. This one feels a little smaller in scope due to the nature of the conflict in the book, but I had a great time. Truthfully, my least favorite part were the Venli and Eshonai flashbacks, but that is actually a general complaint.
• Wind and Truth
  • The Stormlight Archive, Book 5
  • A phenomenal and thrilling conclusion to the end of the first half of the Stormlight Archive. This book certainly was not what I had expected, in both thrilling and less thrilling ways. This book is a great highlight of Sanderson at his best (excellent worldbuilding, character arcs, magic systems) and worst (fairly plain prose). I look forward to the rest of the series, although I am sad it will be a long wait.