Hi. I hope you’re doing well. Given that it’s the last day of 2024 and I haven’t written on here in awhile, I wanted to keep it light and share some of the books, music, and other media I enjoyed in 2024.
2024 in books:
I read 22 books this year. My goal for the year was to read 30, but considering my AO3 history, it’s safe to say I read far more than 30 books worth of fics on that platform alone. (Yes, I’m aware that there are people in the world who would deem that cringe. Thankfully I’m too old to care about that.)
Here are some of my notable reads of the year:
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto – This was my favorite book of the year. It touched on grief and found family, but the heart of this story was the relationships between the characters and the idea that joy can be found even in the midst of grief and suffering and that if anything, suffering is what allows us to be able to experience true joy in the first place.
In Five Years by Rebecca Serle – I adored Serle’s One Italian Summer and hoped that In Five Years would feel as profound, and it didn’t disappoint. This book touched me in a way that no other book has. It’s not a romance, but it is a love story, and not at all the one I’d expected.
Garden by the Sea by Mercè Rodoreda – This was a slow read for me. Honestly, when I first finished it, I didn’t love the book, but it’s grown on me over time. I think I’ve thought more about this book than any of the others I’ve read this year. I love Rodoreda’s writing. She has a way of describing scenes that makes you feel like you’re inside a painting.
Autumn by Ali Smith – It took me a month and a half to finish it, but I’m so glad I did. This book was a tapestry of memories, moments in time, and emotional landscapes, centered around the unlikely friendship between a centenarian and a woman decades his junior. The present-day storyline took place in the first couple of months post-Brexit and Smith did an amazing job of capturing the essence of that era (even as someone from the US, as the political rhetoric was similar here during that time).
Everything’s Fine by Cecilia Rabess – I bought this book on a whim, knowing nothing about it. I’m glad I went into it with no prior knowledge because apparently it’s quite controversial. It was apparently marketed as a romance between a Black woman and a conservative white man (which, I mean, it was), but it read more like a thriller to me. The ending of this book left me floored and feeling very uneasy because spoiler alert: everything is not fine and it never was!!
Split or Swallow by Lindsay Straube – This book was absolutely insane, and quite the departure from the other books I’ve mentioned. What can I say? I have range. But I’m not at all exaggerating when I say it was an unhinged fuckfest from start to finish. If that sort of thing appeals to you, I recommend going into it knowing nothing else because it’s best read that way. It may not have been the best or most profound book I read this year, but it was certainly one of the most memorable.
Unsphere the Stars by cocoartist – Okay, hear me out. This isn’t a book, but it’s a Hermione Granger/Tom Riddle (pre-Voldemort) time travel fanfic. Insane, I know. I would never condone this pairing in canon but this fic altered my brain chemistry and I’ll never be the same.
My 2025 goal is to read 25 books (30 felt a little lofty considering how much AO3 I read), and I want as many of them as possible to either be from the library (via Libby) or books that I already own. Whoever said collecting books and reading them are two entirely separate hobbies wasn’t kidding. My bookshelves can’t take anymore!
2024 in music:
2024 was an absolutely amazing year for new music. In 2024, I listened to more of the same music I’ve had in my ears for the last couple of years, which is mostly glitchcore/hyperpop/digicore with a dash of emo and pop-punk.
Here are some of my favorite albums I listened to this year:
Brat by Charli xcx – Given that Charli xcx has been my top artist on Spotify for 3 of the last 4 years (and in my top 5 for all 4), this was no surprise to me. After falling in love with How I’m Feeling Now back in late 2020, I was hoping that the album that followed would deliver in a similar way. Crash was good and had some amazing tracks on it, but it was poppier than I’d have wanted. Brat was the album I wanted from her. This will probably remain one of my top albums of all time.
Favorite Tracks: Sympathy is a knife, Club classics, Everything is romantic, B2b, I think about it all the time, 365, Spring breakersBrat and it’s completely different but also still brat by Charli xcx – Okay, are you surprised? You had to know it was coming. I spent all summer waiting for this remix album to drop and it didn’t disappoint when it did. There were a couple of remixes on here that I actually prefered to the originals, but I mostly enjoyed how she took these songs and transformed them into something new.
Favorite Tracks: Rewind (feat. Bladee), Talk talk (feat. Troye Sivan), Everything is romantic (feat. Caroline Polachek), I think about it all the time (feat. Bon Iver), B2b (feat. Tinashe), So I (feat. AG Cook), 360 (feat. Robyn and Yung Lean)Pang by Caroline Polachek – I started listening to some of the songs off of Desire, I Want to Turn Into You: Everasking Edition and liked a handful of them, but I started poking around her catalogue and decided to listen to Pang and, well, I fell in love. It’s a beautiful, ethereal album that can easily be listened to in a single sitting.
Favorite Tracks: Pang, Look At Me Now, Ocean of Tears, Hit Me Where It Hurts, Go As a Dream, Hey Big EyesA Kiss for the Whole World by Enter Shikari – I’ve been listening to Enter Shikari since I was in high school. When they announced a handful of US tour dates, I had to get tickets to see them, even if the show was all the way in Nashville. I’d had a couple of the songs from the album turn up on my Spotify Release Radar, but didn’t listen to the entire album until this earlier this year, mostly in preparation for the show. Somehow, they’ve been able to keep putting out amazing, cohesive albums over the years while both changing up the vibes and keeping their unique sound.
Favorite Tracks: Dead Wood, (pls) set me on fire, Jailbreak, Bloodshot, Giant Pacific Octopus (i don’t know you anymore), Leap into the Lightning, the whole album tbhFeeling Not Found by Origami Angel – I don’t know how they do it, but Origami Angel also continues to put out banger after banger while staying true to their style but also mixing it up enough to feel different from album to album.
Favorite Tracks: Viral, AP Revisionist History, Wretched Trajectory, Sixth Cents (Get It?), HM07 Waterfall
Also, here’s a obligatory top songs 2024 playlist plug:
2024 in films/shows:
I don’t typically watch a ton of films or shows. I don’t watch much of anything, unless you count me rewatching The 100 over and over again because somehow it’s become my comfort show.
Past Lives – I absolutely adored this film. The cinematography was absolutely gorgeous and I loved the story. It was a beautiful homage to those what-if relationships that keep us wondering what could’ve been in another life.
The Courtship – I stumbled upon this by mistake and decided to give it a chance. It’s a period film, Hungarian I believe, and is a super lighthearted strangers-to-lovers story between a woman who simply wants to be independent and a well-to-do artist who needs the dowry.
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story – I’ve tried to watch Bridgerton and I haven’t been able to get into it for some reason. But Queen Charlotte? I absolutely adored and was sobbing by the last scene in the final episode. I also rather liked how the side characters’ stories were woven into the main storyline. If that’s the case with Bridgerton as well, maybe I’ll give it another shot in 2025.
Anyway, that’s all I have for this installment of unraveling. One of my tentative goals for 2025 is to write more here, so I’ll certainly be back soon, perhaps with some thoughts about the year that’s passed and hopes for the year to come.
Wishing you a Happy New Year and safe celebrations!
Until next time,
Hannah