For much of the past two decades, both my writing and my reading have been tied to my advocacy work. This past year, however, marked a huge shift for me.

Aside from a piece I wrote for Poets & Writers on book sanctuaries (which came about only because the editor reached out to me), I didn’t do any journalistic work in 2o24. And while in previous years, I read a ton of narrative journalism on sexuality and social justice, all I wanted to do this year was… chill the eff out. In fact, 81 percent of the 177 books I read this year were fiction, most of them in the horror and fantasy genres.

Why this huge shift? I think a huge part of me felt burnt out. Dispirited. Helpless. Hopeless. By both the state of the world and the state of the journalism industry.

In focusing on fun, however, I was able to reconnect with my creative self, returning to a writing practice that had been missing for quite some time. I love this for me.

How has this looked on the writing and editing front?

Writing-wise, I’ve been playing around with genre and form in a way I never have before. Because of that, I had my first fiction piece ever (a long-ass horror story titled “The Infestation”) go up on Coffin Bell on January 1, 2024. I also had a flash sci-fi/horror piece (“Night Sounds”) go up on Litmora just a few days ago. And I have a hermit crab essay forthcoming in Cutleaf Journal. I’m hoping to get more of my work out there in 2025.

I also continue to bring other folks’ work into the world as Essays Editor at Hippocampus Magazine, occasionally moderating author chats.

Not to say that I’m completely disconnected from social justice work. I became a mentor for Girls Write Now, a nonprofit organization that works with youth of marginalized genders to help them develop their writing, multimedia, and leadership skills. Right now, I’m in the midst of my second season with them, co-facilitating sessions on advocacy journalism and also meeting regularly with my mentee, a high school senior. And I’ve become more involved in my work with Feminist Book Club, which is transitioning into a worker-owned co-op. (Support us here!) I’m now the Chair of their new Board of Directors, and am acting as their interim Editor-in-Chief.

So, all in all, a good year for bookish-type things.

Now, I know you’re here for the book list. But if you’d like to keep up with what I’m doing throughout the year, please do subscribe to my Thunder Thighs newsletter.

And now, my 29 favorite reads of 2024, out of the 177 books I managed to finish.

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I just looked back at my favorite reads posts from 2020 and 2021 and, my god, I’ve been a downer, haven’t I?

This past year hasn’t been much better. But when I hone in on my literary life, I have to acknowledge that things have actually been looking up.

Back in March, I attended my very first AWP conference, appearing on a panel about female friendships in literature, doing a book signing at the Hippocampus Magazine booth, and engaging in general conference shenanigans. I doubt I’ll attend again, but I came out of the experience with a brand new writing group.

In August, I returned to my favorite writing conference, HippoCamp, for the first time since 2019. It felt like coming home.

At around the same time, I stepped in as the interim Editor in Chief of the Feminist Book Club blog and that, in addition to my work as Essays Editor at Hippocampus, really drove home to me that I quite enjoy editing others’ work.

Hmm… what else? I got bumped up to Senior Contributor status at Book Riot. I found out that a piece that was published last year was listed as a Notable Essay of 2021 by Best American. And even though I find that I rarely have the time for my more creative, personal work, I had personal pieces published in under the gum tree and The Offing. This in addition to my regular writing for Book Riot, the Feminist Book Club, Pure Romance, Giddy, and the Rewire News Group.

Good stuff, right?

And on top of all that, I enjoyed some damn fine reads.

On that note, here are the 34 books (out of the 173 I managed to read to completion) that made life worth living this past year. Hope you find some new reads in there for your own TBR pile.

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I was just reading the intro to my 2020 post and, my god, it reads like a twisted version of one of those holiday newsletters sociopaths send out every December. Like, here’s this terrible thing my child had to deal with because of the pandemic. Here’s a story about how I left my job and lost my main source of income. Here’s this thing I launched that has not been monetized, but which brings me joy. Hopefully it will be sustainable? LOLOLOLOLSOB.

Anyway. Not much has changed since last year beyond getting vaccinated and boosted and sending my child back to in-person schooling. I’m still making significantly less money than I have in previous years. I still haven’t monetized this thing that nevertheless brings me joy. I’m still leaning heavily on genre fiction because super-serious nonfiction makes my head hurt. (Seriously. I have a low-level headache right now.)

At least I’ve taken up embroidery?

Anyway.

Here are the 34 books (out of the 172 I managed to read to completion) that made my heart sing this past year. Hope you find some gold nuggets in there with which to fill your own days.

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This year has been a weird horrific one. A global pandemic that’s killed over a million people. Rampant bigotry that’s risen to a boil. A near-miss with what was starting to look like an autocracy. How could one possibly have the wherewithal to read? And for pleasure?

And in fact, many readers reported that they couldn’t focus on books this year, what with all the anxiety and grief and fear swirling about.

As for me, I found that I could no longer read serious cultural commentaries about how terrible life was for women / minorities / everyone ever. I mean, if I wanted that, I could just look at my various social media and news feeds.

Instead, I leaned hard into genre fiction.

Other than that, it’s been quite the year. My 6-year-old daughter has been fully remote from school since March. I left a long-term part-time editing job — my primary source of regular income — in July. I launched a sex ed site in September. I ramped up my freelance writing again, despite having felt like I was in a writing slump for the past two years. And in the midst of all this, I still managed to read 150 books.

My favorites are below. As per usual, this list includes both new publications and backlist bumps. I hope you discover something new here that knocks you out of your own reading slump!

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