My reading in 2024

2025-01-19

In 2024, I kept track of my reading in my Hobonichi A5 HON (overview of how is linked here). For most of the year, I did great with tracking, however there was a dip in the middle of year, both in reading and in accurate tracking. It was fun trying to compile of these stats, flipping back and forth and reading my entries!

Reading plan for 2025

This year I'm just aiming to read 100 books. I'm only a week into my school semester and I barely have enough time to read more than ten pages a day. I usually read during my commute to and from work, but now I'm doing homework or reading assigned texts during my train rides. However, I still want to try to read as much as I can! I'm trying to figure out when it's possible.

Some books I plan on reading:

• Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (in progress)
• Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (in progress)
• Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie (in progress)
• Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (in progress)
• Tender Buttons by Gertrude Stein
• A Room Of One's Own by Virginia Woolf
• Steering the Craft by Ursula K. Le Guin
• Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
• Notes from Underground by Fyodor Doestoyevsky
• The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton
• Fangirl by Rainbow Powell
• Mexican Gothic by Silvia Morena-Garcia

The Cold, Hard Stats

• 246 books were read. Before you get too amazed.
  • 181 of them were volumes of manga
  • 26 of them were graphic novels
  • 39 of them are what people usually think of as books

On average, it took me 1.48 days to read a book.

Breaking it down into a different kind of format category:

• 214 fictional books ( 20 graphic novels, 180 manga, and 14 other)
• 14 non-fiction books (1 graphic novel, 0 manga, 13 other)
• 10 memoirs (5 graphic novels, 1 manga, and 4 other)
• 7 poetry chapbooks (all regular books)
• 1 play (a regular book)

On a per month basis (average of ~20 books per month):

• 32 books were read in January
• 17 books were read in February
• 22 books were read in March
• 29 books were read in April
• 26 books were read in May
• 20 books were read in July
• 39 books were read in July
• 2 books were read in August
• 13 books were read in September
• 2 books were read in October
• 3 books were read in November
• 41 books were read in December

My Favourite Books

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

I decided to re-read The Secret History by Donna Tartt while I was on a plane to Toronto. It's one of my favourite books, and it still held up on a second read. It's actually so funny. I love it so much that I'm already reading it again for a third time.

All Darkness Down Wide by Seán Hewitt

A touching memoir that I read in ebook form. I put it on my wishlist to physically own. It's that good. Very raw and honest. Hewitt is a very good writer.

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

I'm a big Woolf fan. This book, to me, is the blueprint. I love how Woolf flits from character to character. How the dynamics between them are so crystal clear, messy, and affectionate all at the same. How the characters interactions with each other and their immediate surroundings says so much. A beautiful book.

Hoshitabi Shounen/Star Tripper (Volume 1) by Sakatsuki Sakana

I think I saw someone on the Fediverse recommend this book, but I forgot who. This is not your typical sci-fi manga. In fact, I forgot I was reading a manga at all, because the art had very Western sensibilities. The universe that Sakatsuki creates here is carefully put together. A lot of mystery is unveiled a bit at a time. The characters met on the way, all have a little spark in them that touches you. I really quite liked this, and I look forward to more.

Bodies of Light by Jennifer Down

I read this book for the Misery May challenge. Boy, was this miserable. But I couldn't tear my eyes from the page. There is a lot, a lot, of trauma in this book. When it was over, I felt a little empty. I wished that there was more to it. It felt that it ended too abruptly, with little resolution. But it's going down as a favourite.