24 books of 2024

Just finished by a book! I started the year reading a novella from one of my favorite indie authors, Penny Reid. There are absolutely too many romcoms in this list - if that gives you an idea of what my 2024 was like. I wanted something sweet, funny, happy ever after stories to listen and or read to versus all the nonsense dumpster fire that has been work. I don't even know when I downloaded Matthew Perry's memoir and listening to him throughout knowing he is gone, has been a weird mix of nostalgia and gathering his thoughts as sage wisdom that the dead is trying to tell us. I loved his stories; it's a culmination of his life work, his loves, the lens he was looking through as alcoholic, an addict and then the 'glasses' of sobriety. It was a tougher read mostly as he was one of my favorite actors and as he narrates his story, you can hear the hope he has for himself.....and then knowing that in a year's time, he wouldn't be here. 
I am choosing to end the year with two quick reads, because quite frankly, I am running out of days in the year. First, 'the trouble with reality.' It's a quick read and was written during Trump's first Presidency. I was looking through the pages hoping to find something wise as I feel like we are truly living in different realities depending on who you talk to. It reads like a type A friend giving you advice; mix  the realness, bullet points, etc. It's how that "your truth isn't the same as mine" but both are valid and can be true. There is no "your view," "my view," and "the truth," as people would like us to think.....rather, it is here is how your world view shapes your stories and therefore the news that you seem fit to consume would go against or isn't the same as how the world view and stories from my perspective may seem 'too liberal,' 'too conservative,' or 'too extra,' however you look at it. 
So "oh bullshit," to close out the year. Which seems like a fitting send off to the year - its about lying, denial, perceptions....you know, just bullshit. Especially great to read after 'the trouble with reality.'
It's all shit and we are all trying. 
Without further ado......here is my books of 2024. 

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24.) Oh Bullshit by Harry G. Frankfurt - 3.5/5 stars
​23.) The trouble with Reality; a rumination on moral panic in our time by Brooke Gladstone - 3.5/5 stars
22.) Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing; a memoir by Matthew Perry - 4/5 stars
21.) The Dead Romantic by Ashley Poston - 3/5 stars
20.) How to end a love story by Yulin Kuang - 3/5 stars
​19.) Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez - 5/5 stars
18.) The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren - 5/5 stars
17.) The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren - 4/5 stars
16.) My roommate is a vampire by Jenna Levine - 4.5/5 stars
15.) Kissing Galileo by Penny Reid - 3.5/5 stars
14.) Bananapants by Penny Reid - 4.5/5 stars
13.) The Bride Test by Helen Hoang - 3.5/5 stars
12.) The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang - 3.5/5
11.) We deserve monuments by Jas Hammonds - 5/5 stars
10.) True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren - 4/5 stars
9.) The Holiday Mix-Up by Ginny Baird - 3.5/5 stars
8.) Funny Story by Emily Henry - 5/5 stars
7.)  We Shouldn't by VI Keeland - 2.5/5 stars
6.) Totally Folked by Penny Reid - 4/5 stars
5.) Electric Idol by Katee Robert - 4.5/5 stars
4.) Neon Gods by Katee Robert - 5/5 stars
3.) The Christmas Pleasure by Karen Erickson - 2/5 stars
2.) Fool me once by Harlan Coben - 3.5/5 stars
1.) Kissing Tolstoy by Penny Reid - 3.5/5 stars