2024 In the Books!

It’s time once again for my annual end of the year post about my career and favorite books I’ve read.
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Last year, I wrote a pretty long and gloomy post about how and why I was quitting my writing career. I have not changed my mind over the past twelve months. All I’ve done for my writing career in 2024 has been to continue to make posts on my social media accounts for my existing published books. 

Click on the image to read the story!

The only writing I did was to take a thirty-year-old old fantasy novel manuscript that I wrote back in my twenties that I only have one copy of – on paper – and slowly began to type it into my computer. I revised it as I went, so I guess that counts for some creative writing. Then, I uploaded 10 “episodes” of it onto Kindle Vella, with the intention of putting the whole thing up there.

​Alas, after getting those episodes up, and before I could enter the first episode that would actually require purchased tokens to read, Amazon made the decision to cancel Kindle Vella. So, I quickly gave up that activity, and the book still lingers mostly unfinished on my computer and dangerously in a stack of paper. Will I ever go back to it? Probably not any time soon. If you’re curious, you can still read this story until February. Where I stopped leaves it on a happy, if unresolved ending.

While I’ve had some moments over the past year where I longed to go back to finish writing projects I abandoned or start new ideas, I haven’t regretted my decision to quit writing. That world is over-saturated with indie authors now, and I hate the AI influence on the book world. Also, I simply don’t have the energy to constantly make TikTok videos to sell myself to the world, because it’s clear that authors have to be pretty entertaining and/or fascinating people to get readers interested in buying their book. And now TikTok is probably going away, and I'd have to start all over on another app? No thanks.

​I did have a few new friends discover my writing this year and champion it. That is always lovely. I also had a lot of people sign up to review my 2023 YA fantasy novel release Dragon Surf for the upcoming January 2025 Multicultural Children’s Book Day event, so hopefully I’ll have some new good reviews to share.

​Anything but Graceful, my women's fiction/second chance romance novel, continues to have only one review on Amazon. I can’t get anyone to read or review it, and it has broken my heart.

​On the happy side of things, the theater where I serve as Managing Administrator has had a wonderful year! The Keeton celebrated it’s 20th anniversary in May, and we are halfway through our 21st season. Our shows The Music Man, Footloose, and A Christmas Story the Musical sold out every single performance. In October, we found out that we were voted 3rd Place in “Best Place to See a Play” in the Nashville Scene Best of Nashville 2024 Awards. That was super exciting.

I worked directly with every show this calendar year either directing, costuming or performing - except for A Christmas Story, where I was able to be hands off. My daughter and her fiancé directed Noises Off for us back in April, and it was absolutely hilarious. I was so proud of them! My husband continues to build us gorgeous sets for the shows, and my stepdaughter has choreographed at least one show a year to great raves.

​I’ve just gotten my choices for the 2025-26 season approved by our Board of Directors, so I’m working on getting rights secured. I’m also just at the start of rehearsals for Beautiful, The Carole King Musical, which I’m directing. It goes on in February. So much to do.

I got a new job this year. I left my teaching position, where I had been for almost 19 years, and took a new position as Program Manager for FiftyForward LaVergne Senior Center. I love it! Although, between this job and managing the theater, I feel like I spend all my time planning. I never know what day it is anymore, because my brain is a month or two in the future already.
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Looking ahead, it’s going to be a big year for my family. My daughter is getting married in May! We’ll be getting in the thick of planning all of that soon, too! 

​And now! The question you've been waiting for...

​What have I been reading?

According to Goodreads, I read 46 books this year. As usual, the majority of books I consumed were audiobooks. My work commute is shorter, so it’s taken me a bit longer to get through some of the long ones. I haven’t had as much energy or time to physically read this year. I keep falling asleep holding my Kindle.
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I found myself still moving away from young adult titles. I read a few, but there were only a couple I thoroughly enjoyed. Although, I did read my own Juniper Sawfeather Trilogy series all the way through, which was fun. I hadn’t read them all in row like that before, and I haven’t read Cry of the Sea from beginning to end since 2014, the year it was published. (My previous post is all about that series, I why I was revisiting them.)

​Here’s this year’s list!

Favorite Big Publisher Book of the Year: The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson. This book skirts the edge of being a young adult and new adult novel, as one of the main characters is in high school, while the other is in college. It’s a historical novel set in the early 1950s where two young black women are living very different lives that become connected through a facility that takes unwed teenagers and houses them until they give birth. It was a powerful story that had me following every word. Two different narrators read the audiobook as the chapters bounced back and forth between them. I highly recommend this book.

​Runner up would be Bluebird by Sharon Cameron. This is also a historical fiction YA novel. Cameron never ceases to disappoint me, and this story about a German immigrant girl who was the daughter of a man who was a doctor at a concentration camp at the end of WWII is absolutely thrilling.

​Favorite Indie or Small Press Book of the Year: The Power of Three by Teri Polen. This is by far my favorite book by this author yet. It is also YA, and it’s a great ghost story. It’s absolutely perfect for Halloween season, and I think anyone who likes a solid haunted house story will enjoy it. I also loved that the main characters are three brothers with very different personalities who all come together like a team to fight off the evil spirit cursing their family.

​Runner up would be Blindsided by D.E. White. I’ve also read several of White’s books. This book had me on the edge of my seat the entire time, and I thought the main character’s feelings and motivations were very believable.

​Most Surprising Book: The Long Walk by Stephen King. Okay, don’t  come at me. I know that you know Stephen King has long been one of my absolute favorite authors. BUT I didn’t know this book existed. I got it on a super sale, and I devoured it. I simply couldn’t put it down. The concept of boys volunteering to walk for days on end without stopping, and the last survivor winning riches is so intense. This book was one of the first stories King ever wrote, and it reads like that. However, you can see the great writer he would become. In our world of reality shows getting ever darker, this dystopian book written nearly 50 years ago was pretty powerful.

​Best Audiobook: Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I’m sure reading the book would be good too, but the full cast of narrators on this novel made it perfect. I simply don’t think I would have enjoyed it nearly as much if I hadn’t listened to this audiobook. I haven’t watched the TV show yet. I loved loved loved this book!

​Runner up: The Best Man’s Ghostwriter by Glen Powell. This is an Audible only audiobook, and one of those that I get free with my membership. I enjoyed it so much, I insisted my daughter listen to it too. It is read by a full cast of well-known actors. It’s a comedy that will have you laughing out loud, but it has some real things to say about the nature of friendship that hit me hard.

​Best Non-Fiction Book: I read a number of biographies this year. I want to say that the one by my favorite singer of all time Barbra Streisand was the best. It was fascinating but really long. I want to say that the one about Carole King was my favorite, because I’m about to direct a musical about her. Alas, it got a little dull in the second half. The one I enjoyed the most was As You Wish by Cary Elwes. His stories about the making of The Princess Bride were delightful. I enjoyed every second of this. And of course, since I love a full cast audiobook, I delighted in all the guest appearances from other actors and people involved with the film.

​Favorite Thriller/Horror Book of the Year: Sorry Stephen King. I know I read three of your books this year, but I’m going to have to give this one to The Housemaid by Freida McFadden. Yep, this one had me. Twisty and turny to the point where I was holding my breath and gritting my teeth. I will definitely be picking up more of her books.

Book that Didn’t Live Up to the Hype: Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross. I really wanted to like this. I may go on to read the sequel, but I just couldn’t get into it. The characters were great, but it felt like a jumble of genres. It didn’t move me like everyone said it would.

​Runner up: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros. Come on, people. Why do you all like these books? 

​Favorite Book of the Year: Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. If you go by the description, this books sounds like nonsense. And yet, it is so beautiful. I’m not much of a crier, but this book got me. So. Many. Feelings. If you haven’t read it yet, please go get it right now. The audiobook was narrated brilliantly.

I'd love to know what you've been up to and what your favorite books of the year were. Please leave a comment! And I hope you find some amazing books to escape into for the new year!