My (Favorite) Reads of 2024
“Great books help you understand, and they help you feel understood.” — John Green
A lot can happen in a year, but I guess that didn’t apply to the number of books I could read in 2024.
Maybe next year.
Let’s begin…
1. Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know
by Malcolm Gladwell
I remember I didn’t particularly like this book much, then struggled to finish it and gave it three stars on Goodreads. I didn't particularly get what message this book was trying to convey.
2. Lives of the Stoics: The Art of Living from Zeno to Marcus Aurelius
by Ryan Holiday
A couple of YouTube videos later (I’ll link the YouTube channel when I remember them; they reviewed modern resources on stoicism), I learned Ryan Holiday is the modern-day go-to guy for all things stoic philosophy.
The book is really good. I haven’t read a lot of philosophy books yet, so I don’t have anything to compare it to, but for someone who wants to learn a bit about philosophy, I think this is a pretty decent start.
3. How Europe Underdeveloped Africa
I think it’s wild that I found this book while doomscrolling on Instagram. A video about African history popped up, and I didn’t swipe it away (I’ll add a link if I can find it). An Instagram user suggested reading this book would be a good idea for people who liked the video, and I’m so happy I did. For me, it was a pretty heavy read, but the writer did such a good job that you won’t want to put it down.
A lot of things aren’t covered in school, and History classes were taken out of our curriculum, so there’s so much to cover. I won’t spoil the book; it’s best if you read it. :)
4. Not in Love
by Ali Hazelwood
The above book was so heavy that I figured I could slip in some fiction to get me to read something else after it. Did it help? I think so, I picked up another book right after, but I haven’t finished it.
This novel has the appropriate amount of smut that will leave you raising your eyebrows. I loved it; it’s fun, and it makes no sense. That’s why fiction is great. 😂
Okay, that’s it. I didn’t read a lot this year, so fingers crossed for next year.
You can find books I’ve read from previous years (2019 — present) in this list: Gigi’s Yearly Fav Reads
🎊 Have a wonderful 2025! 🍾
