My best reading & watching experiences of 2024
Plus my 2025 goals, because you know how I love them
2023 was a very busy year for me, with a book out and a lot of book-related travel. It was fun, but in 2024 I wanted something very different out of my year. I did not want to get on a plane, and the only place I went was Tennessee for a family vacation. One of my goals for 2024 was to “remember that I’m a human being, not a writing machine,” and I really did.
I also read and watched a lot. Instead of a best books/movies of 2024 list, I thought I’d tell you about my favorite reading and watching experiences. One of the reasons I love reading books and watching films isn’t just to move them onto my read/watched list—it’s because I love the experience of being swept up in them. I love seeing a book years later and remembering exactly where I was when I read it. With that in mind, here were some fantastic reading and watching experiences I was lucky enough to have this year.
Books
Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino. I was already going to read this book, because I’ve been a Bertino Babe (a new thing I’m trying out) since Lauren gave me a signed copy of her first novel back in, like, 2014? A long time ago. But then Dakota Johnson picked it as the first book for her new book club, and I was like, “I gotta get this immediately.” I picked up a copy at Barnes & Noble and they didn’t charge me for it. I didn’t realize it until later, and while I totally would’ve gone back into an indie bookstore to correct the mistake (do you think I would steal, even inadvertently, from one of my beloved indies? I would not!), I figured B&N is doing fine. I mean, I hope they are. The point is, I got this book for free accidentally so it felt like a little gift from the universe.
Next of Kin by Hannah Bonam-Young. I’ve written here about how it can be hard these days for me to get truly lost in a romance novel, since it’s such a big part of my career. Sometimes it’s hard for me to turn my business/social media brain off while reading. But this book totally captured my attention and gave me the same cozy, in-my-own-world feeling I had when I started reading romance.
Interesting Facts About Space by Emily R. Austin. I love Emily Austin’s books and unfortunately I deeply relate to her (VERY) anxious characters. In this book and her previous book, sometimes the characters would say or do things and I would be like, “Wait I’m not the only one…?” I read most of this on a porch in the Smoky Mountains.
A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham. I live for a thriller that consumes my life completely, and this one did. I couldn’t put it down! One morning Hollis was like, “I heard you gasp while reading last night but I was too tired to ask you what happened.” Well, a LOT happened! I love when main characters in thrillers make horrible decision after horrible decision.
James by Percival Everett. Read this one in my favorite reading spot (my parents’ deck, which my dad just rebuilt so now it’s an even better reading spot!) and it was such a great time. It really put me through the wringer, emotionally.
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. Reading this series with my son was one of the great joys of my year. It’s so beautiful and morally complex and it’s a dog book where the dog ends up okay (other dogs do not end up okay, so be warned). Right after we read it, my son said it was his favorite book. We’re about to finish the fourth and final one and I’ve really been drawing it out because I’m not ready for it to be over!
Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe. I always say I have a hard time listening to fiction on audio, and that’s true, but wow this was an amazing audio experience. Elle Fanning narrates and she is so good. I’m glad she’ll be playing Margo in the series because even with only her voice, she really embodies the character and makes you believe she’s real. This was a propulsive, funny, enjoyable read, but it also did some smart and unexpected things with POV. And all of the characters are complex. Also it made me want to go to Arby’s. I just had a great time walking around the neighborhood listening to this.
Alice-in-Between by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. Wow, PRN made the list twice?? Getting to reread one of my favorite Alice books and write about it here was so nice.
Now is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson. I guess I have to stop saying I don’t like fiction on audio because here’s another one, and it might be my number one favorite reading experience of the year. I related to this book deeply and felt, I hate to say it, seen. Even just thinking about it now I’m getting teary-eyed. Were you ever a weirdo in a small town? Maybe you’ll love it as much as I did. Kevin Wilson is one of our best and biggest-hearted living writers. Ginnifer Goodwin narrates this one, and she’s great. My audio copy (which I got through Libby) had an author’s note read by Wilson himself that made me sob. I bought a paperback copy so I could read it again, but it doesn’t have the author’s note! I really wonder what was behind that decision, because it’s beautiful. I listened to basically every interview I could find with him after finishing it because I wanted to stay in the world a little longer. Sometimes when I walk around my neighborhood now I think about the long walks I would take so I could keep listening to this book.
Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen. What could I say that hasn’t already been said, by me, in three very long posts?
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien. Another classic with my son! I loved the calm yet eventful pace of this. We read it before bed every night and I have such good memories of it.
Any Person is the Only Self by Elisa Gabbert. Oh no, send out the “I felt seen” alert again! Reading these essays in quiet pockets of my day and marking, like, every other page was really lovely.
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. I’ve written a lot about this one, but it kinda saved my mental health post-election.
Movies
20th Century Women. I started the year sobbing to this Mike Mills film and it sure did set a great tone for the year.
The Zone of Interest. Saw this in a packed, completely silent theater at The Gateway. Absolutely captivating and horrifying.
The Thing. Hollis and I watched this together and we were both disgusted/amazed, and then he couldn’t sleep because he was so freaked out, lol.
Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. Watched in an almost empty giant theater at the Lennox with my family and Chad for May the Fourth weekend. It was fun to watch with my son and I barely even fell asleep. I developed a love and appreciation for Jar Jar Binks.
…And Justice For All. I realized for the first time and with sudden, heart-stopping clarity that Al Pacino is hot.
Suspect. Maybe my best movie-watching experience of the year. An 80s legal thriller starring Cher…you just don’t get better than that. I got so scared (for Cher!) that I screamed!
The Parent Trap. SO fun to watch this with my son (although it was during a weeks-long odyssey when he had some mystery virus that made him miss the whole last week of school). Lindsay Lohan was so good.
Matilda. At The Gateway as part of the Book to Film series in the summer (free with a library card)! I almost cried!
Mask. Watched on library DVD and went through every emotion possible. I loved this film.
Some Like It Hot. Loved introducing my son to this innuendo-laden film and Marilyn Monroe.
The Great Muppet Caper. Part of the summer series at the Grandview Theater! It’s so great when you’re watching a film in the theater and thinking, “wow this is exactly where I want to be and exactly the life I want to be living.” I mean, what can be better than watching a Muppets film with your kid and eating popcorn?
It Ends With Us. Sorry, but I had a great time watching this in the theater. Gotta speak my truth!
Little Women (1994). Watching this with my son was genuinely an all-time best moment as a parent.
Okay this list is getting way too long so I’ll just skip to my last film of the year which was…
The Age of Innocence. Can’t imagine a better way to close out the year. At one point my son came downstairs and was like, “What’s this? What’s it about?” and watched about half an hour of this very slow, adult movie just so he wouldn’t have to go to bed. I was moved by this in ways I can’t even properly articulate (great sign for a writer!). Starting to think this Scorsese guy has the juice…
Looking back over this list, I’m struck by how many of my viewing experiences were with other people, mostly my son and husband.1 Movies are bonding experiences. Movies are art. Movies make my life better in every single way.
Last year, I kept my new year’s resolutions pretty light—I wanted to institute a reading hour in my day (did pretty bad at this), do The Criterion Challenge (I never finish this but I still like trying it), and write a book (I did not, but more on that later). This year, I have a few concrete goals in mind. I also have, like, personal health goals but I don’t think you really need to know my specific fitness-related goals (I got an entire fitness planner, you guys). Here are my (mostly) movie and book related goals.
-More classics/old books. I wrote about this here! So far this year I’ve only been reading for work, which necessarily means new books, but in my defense we’re not even halfway through January so I still have a lot of time.
-No numerical book goals. You guys, I don’t know what happened to me. I love setting numerical book goals, and this year I could not care less. It’s like the desire to track my reading completely evaporated, and I know I’m not the only one! It seems like most of the newsletters I read or Instagram accounts I follow or people I see in person are talking about how they’re reading less this year, or reading what’s on their shelves already, or reading old books. I think we’re collectively going through something. I see many people vowing not to buy books, and I couldn’t relate to that less. Part of that is probably my job (you think I’m going to encourage people NOT to buy books?? The very way I make money??), and part of it is that I love our local bookstores in Columbus. Also I got a Gramercy gift card for Christmas. I don’t feel guilty for buying books and no one can stop me!
-I stopped using Goodreads and switched to Storygraph. I think my account is private and I’m not sure I’ll change that. I’ve only read three books this year and that’s just fine with me, but I do like seeing the little graphs Storygraph makes!
-Continue reading short stories. Because I miss Short Story Summer. Also, Rachel Khong started a great new short story newsletter!
-Finish listening to the Werner Herzog memoir, Every Man for Himself and God Against All. I love listening to Werner Herzog in the same way I love listening to David Lynch, but the thing about this book is it’s a lot. I’ll listen to five minutes and there will be so many ideas and shocking things mentioned in those five minutes that sustain me for a month. But I would really like to know what he actually writes about in this book!
-Do a David Lynch rewatch. My son and I watched The Straight Story and it reminded me of everything I love about Lynch, who has been one of my favorite directors since maybe college. I really want to rewatch Blue Velvet, but I’m also thinking of doing a Twin Peaks rewatch. And I never even saw The Return (it came out right after my son was born and I was, uh, not in the right headspace).
-Keep socializing. Okay, little rant time! I truly hate how the internet has misinterpreted the definition of the word “introvert.” I’m a true introvert in that I recharge by being alone. I need a pretty decent amount of solo time to feel like myself, and I do get drained if I have some kind of event every night (like after a book release, I typically just stare at a wall for days). But I still need to be around people, and so do you. The pandemic taught me that too much isolation (or relying on the two people I live with to fulfill every single social need I have) is the worst possible thing for me. Being introverted does not mean that you don’t like people. It doesn’t mean you stay at home all the time. And it certainly doesn’t mean you cancel plans repeatedly. That last one is just being rude and flaky. I hate those memes that are like, “I love it when people cancel plans.” If you cancel on me once, I get it, life happens. If you cancel on me a few times, I’m not inviting you anywhere any more. You’re unreliable!
ANYWAY. The point is this: I’ve seen firsthand what isolation and loneliness can do to you, your physical health, and your mental health. I don’t want that to be my future, and as someone who works alone, it could be if I’m not careful. I build a lot of little interactions into my day by going to coffee shops, the library, the bookstore, etc. And I try my hardest to get out and see friends or acquaintances whenever I can. I joined two book clubs and I’m probably gonna join another! Do you want me to come to your book club? I probably will! I set the bar very low for myself when it comes to socialization (like, I basically just have to be out in the world and that’s it…I don’t have to be a social butterfly, because that’s not who I am). The worst depression I’ve ever felt has coincided with the times I’ve been most alone, and I don’t want to repeat that.
-Reduce negative self-talk. Up until embarrassingly recently, I would repeat what were basically anti-mantras to myself when I felt bad. I take a lot of comfort in being hard on myself. It just feels kinda safe and normal to be overly critical of everything I’m doing. But pretty recently, I had the thought that maybe it was bad to be constantly repeating “you’re a giant loser and everyone hates you, even the people who you think are your friends are pretending to like you, you’re a giant failure and everyone knows it!” in my head whenever anything goes slightly wrong. Like, maybe that is…not helpful. Over the past year I’ve been trying to redirect those thoughts. When something is hard or scary to me, what if I thought, “I can figure this out” instead of “you can’t do this”? What if I reflected back on the hard things I’ve done and remembered that I’m capable? What if I assume everyone doesn’t think I’m terrible? What if every mistake is just a reminder that I’m human instead of a confirmation that everything I touch is doomed because I’m an inherently awful person? I don’t know, it seems worth trying. I bought an e-book on positive affirmations (lol). In case you couldn’t tell, I’m dangerously close to that Transcendental Mediation workshop again. In 2025, I will not spend a lot of money learning about TM but I will reduce negative self-talk and even replace it with positive self-talk. How’s that for an affirmation?
-Make time for non-writing creativity. I miss my creative, non-money-making hobbies! I know they add a lot to my life, so this year I will make time for things like sewing, embroidery, knitting, drawing, etc.
-Okay but actually write a book. Last year I did complete a decent amount of work on my next book, but frankly I enjoyed taking time off. I needed it. Now I’m back in work mode and it feels great. I love writing. I had an energizing conversation with my agent and I’m so excited to be working for real again. Maybe I’ll write a whole post someday about why I took time off and how helpful it was for me.
I would love to hear all about your new year’s resolutions. Are you trying to avoid mentally beating yourself up? Did you buy a fitness planner? Are you working through a director’s films? Are you also burned out by reading goals? Please let me know, and I’ll see you soon. xo
Okay but seriously, if you want to go see a movie with me let me know! Most of my movie-watching friends live far away.
Hello from a fellow Bertino Babe! Beautyland was my favorite read last year so I kicked off the year with Parakeet. So good! Also, welcome to Storygraph - I'm a sucker for some great bookish visuals!
Your Dad did a great job on that deck! What a nice spot to read! I'm so excited you're working on a new book and can't wait for more details! One of my 2025 goals is to model healthy smartphone behaviors in front of my kids. I think I do a decent job already but always room for improvement. Thinking of this a lot lately because I'll have a seventh grader this fall and he will probably be getting his first phone then. We're going the route of "no internet/no social media type phones". I'm open to any advice if anyone has done this type of kid's phone before because there's a lot to consider (phone brands, cell providers, parental controls etc) It's overwhelming!