On Reading Lists

And why I love keeping them.

Welcome to the very first post of 2024, all about the books I read last year and why I love keeping track of them. On Friday, paid subscribers will receive a recipe for broiled grapefruits, which sounds a lot more boring than they actually are.

I love lists, but my favorite lists are the lists of books I’ve read in each year. Last night, ahead of our New Year’s Eve celebration, I read through my list and thought about each book and the value of keeping this record.

Sure, Goodreads is a thing, and there are countless apps to use to track this particular statistic. But I like a simple list. Finish a book, type the title, hit enter. Start another book. Rinse and repeat. No star ratings, no shelves, no picture of the cover. Just a list of the books I read, plain and simple.

I love these lists because it helps me remember—of course, some books will live forever in my memory, either because they were especially good or they were especially bad. But others, mostly the ones that are just fine, fade. In some cases, I’ve accidentally started re-reading a book, not because it was so wonderfully re-readable, but because I forgot that I had read it in the first place.

When I read through the list, there are standouts. Good books, bad books, books I was reading when something important happened, books I read on vacation and books I read at home. Reading through this list makes me realize that there was a theme to my favorites (travel) and a trend away from the murder mysteries I turn to for easy comfort.

I became a more critical reader this year, in part, I think, because I have focused more on my own writing. There were more than a few books that I started and abandoned within a few chapters, which is something I used to pride myself on not doing. In tracking what I’ve finished reading this year, I noticed that there were more books that I couldn’t sell myself on quite loving. Maybe I just don’t favor fiction anymore. Maybe my tolerance for unbelievable dialogue is lower. Whatever it is, I’m curious to see how it evolves in 2024. Part of what I’m planning to change up is seeking out books (fiction in particular) that come well-endorsed. I love, for example,

What to read if

. I also love getting recommendations from friends and fellow food lovers. If you have some, please send them my way!

I used to aggressively pace my reading, trying to finish as many books in a year as I could. There was a time where I would read 70-80 books every year, flying through them so fast I could barely remember what I was reading. More recently, I’ve struggled to hit 50. This used to be something I would beat myself up about. Now, I’ve learned that it doesn’t matter how many books you read or how fast you read them. The goal isn’t to read X books every year. The goal is just to read.

I’m off to work on my Books to Read in 2024 list. Wishing you lots of happy reading in 2024!

See you back here on Friday for broiled grapefruits! This easy recipe is one of my favorites for the month of January. As always, if you want to learn more about me and what I do in my work life, check out www.pageandplate.com.