Saturday, January 4, 2025

Books I Read in 2024

 Unfortunately I had a substantial downtick in total books read, but I think that is primarily because I tackled some lengthy works this year.  I totaled 37 books this year, down 13 from the year before.

 

January

 

The Last Druid – Terry Brooks

Leadership is Language – L. David Marquet

The First Part of King Henry the Fourth – William Shakespeare

Early Mesopotamia: Society and Economy at the Dawn of History – J.N. Postgate

 

February


The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey – Candice Millard

Dragon Wing – Margaret Weiss & Tracy Hickman

 

March

 

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea – Jules Verne

 

April

 

The Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas

Reflections of a Scientist – Henry Eyring

The Book of Mormon – Various

Ender’s Shadow – Orson Scott Card

 

May

 

A History of Ancient Egypt – Marc Van De Mieroop

The Doctrine and Covenants – Various

 

June

 

Elven Star – Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman

The Power and the Glory – Graham Greene

The Complete Far Side, Volume 1 – Gary Larsen

The Johnstown Flood – David McCoullough

The Pearl of Great Price - Various

 

July

 

Destiny of the Republic – Candice Millard

The Second Part of King Henry the Fourth – William Shakespeare

Shadow of the Hegemon – Orson Scott Card

The Sacred Geography of the American Mound Builders – Maureen Korp

 

August

 

Fire Sea – Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman

Summer – Edith Wharton

The Complete Far Side, Volume 2 – Gary Larsen

A Brief History of the Dynasties of China – Bamber Gascoigne

 

September

 

Shadow Puppets – Orson Scott Card

Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All – Michael Shellenberger

The Book of Mormon – Various

Serpent Mage – Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman

 

October

 

None.

 

November

 

Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy

The Complete Far Side, Volume 3 – Gary Larson

The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure - Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt

 

December


Shadow of the Giant – Orson Scott Card

The Revolutionary Samuel Adams – Stacy Schiff

The Book of Mormon – Various

The Hands of Chaos – Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman


My thoughts—particularly about a couple of projects I have long put off and am finally getting to, reading the Death Gate series by Weiss and Hickman and the Ender’s Shadow series by Card.  I’m not finished with either, but they are fantastic.  Really enjoying them.

 

I think that every American should read Apocalypse Never and The Coddling of the American Mind.  Important books on tough issues that I think illustrate that we are not so disparate as social media and current popular culture would lead us to think.  The former is particularly interesting to me because the author and I could not be more different in background and outlook, and yet have come to the same conclusions.  Perhaps it is just bias confirmation.  The book will also always have a soft spot for me as the last book Dan recommended to me before he passed away; he knew that I would like it and he was right.

 

My rereads and history books did not disappoint.  It was in a lot of ways a very satisfying year as I can’t point to a book that I loathed like I have in years past.  Probably my least favorite was Summer, although I think it is elegantly written.  Here’s to a year getting closer to the goal of 52!

Hey, Friend, how’s it going?

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