2024 Reading List & Review: Installment 1

A curated list & review of what I have read in 2024.

May 12, 2024

book lot on table — Photo by Tom Hermans on Unsplash

I told myself at the beginning of the year that I was going to read at least one book per month and keep track of everything in a pocket journal or Apple Notes. That was fun for a time. But, I decided I want to share it with you all on Substack. My hope is to create habits that allow me to remember more of what I read in an attempt to recall the information and share with others. I really love talking about books. I have recently been on a path to replace “doom” scrolling with something that actually fills my cup. I’ve grown tired of the constant checking of notifications and scrolling that leaves me empty at the end of the day. Cal Newport, in his book Digital Minimalism, put it this way, “Simply put, humans are not wired to be constantly wired.” So, here we are. My new attempt at eliminating some screen time, being creative, and using my time doing something with my time that “feels” more valuable. Writing and thinking. I mean, at the end of the day, writers aren’t necessarily the greatest wordsmiths. They’re really good thinkers who know how to put their thoughts to pages. All the other stuff comes with time, repetition, and practice.

Books:

A River Runs Through It - Norman Maclean: I’ll admit that I watched the movie years before I ever picked up the book. I’m an avid outdoorsman and a sucker for anything related to the outdoors. The first line in the novel, and movie, is “In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing.” The movie implanted my first desire to visit rural Montana. The book heightened that aspiration and has me itching to fly fish out west. Maybe one day I’ll get to visit Montana and wet a line in the Big Blackfoot River. I just hope I can do Norman’s father proud. It was he who said, “Nobody who did not know how to fish would be allowed to disgrace a fish by catching him.”

The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O’Neil’s America - Joe Posnanski: I want to start by saying this is my first time diving into anything written by Joe Posnanski (arguably one of the greatest sports writers ever). I was not disappointed. I have no clue what has gotten into me over the past 3-4 years, but I have completely fallen, head over heels, in love with the game of Baseball. Because of that, and my recent desire to read more, I was turned onto Joe’s Substack. Through reading his newsletter, I learned about this book and figured I would give it a go. Joe’s first-hand experience with Buck was captivating. Every story had me grinning ear to ear. I enjoyed the stories of the Negro leagues and Joe’s ability to capture Buck’s charisma with his words. I think what I loved most, was Buck’s unwavering positivity. A man who had every right to be bitter and angry, shined a light that could not be put out. There are a ton of life lessons in these pages… “It isn’t how long you live,” Buck said. “It’s how well you live.”

Edge of Collapse (Book One) - Kyla Stone: Sheesh. I’m all in on a post-apocalyptic thriller. I was searching through my Kindle store and found Edge of Collapse by Kyla Stone. Figured I would give it a try and boy am I glad I did. This book was awesome from cover to cover. There were a few times I sat in my car while waiting for food and decided to read instead of scroll on Instagram. Kyla has this ability to give us a first-hand experience of the trauma and struggles of her characters and how they go about persevering through those. Hannah Sheridan is a crazy cool character that will have you cheering her on the whole way. You get to see how she deals with being given her freedom after years of captivity. How she grows to learn how to lean on others after having to rebuild a trust that not all humans are evil. Liam is an ex-soldier who is dealing with a life of being the hero, but failed to save the ones he loved the most. Never mind the fact that I’ve thought on numerous occasions about what we as a society would do if the power grid ever went down… This book is great and I highly recommend.

Edge of Darkness (Book Two) - Kyla Stone: Well, I had to read this one because of stupid endings that leave you wanting more. It did not disappoint. I am already starting book three!

The Giver - Lois Lowry: (SPOILER ALERT) Did I mention how much I hate ambiguous endings? A long time ago I googled “Novels to read before you die.” The Giver was on that list, and a copy of it ended up in my classroom because a student of mine left it in there. Well, I picked it up, and didn’t put it down for two days. That’s a good sign, right? WRONG!!!!!!!!! What a great book, but man oh man, did they kill me with that ending. I hate having to interpret my own ending. I just want to know if my boys Jonas and Gabe made it. I can’t imagine they did. All signs pointed to their demise, but still a fantastic, quick, and easy read. Be aware, you’ll be making up your own interpretation of the end.

Welp, that’s all for my first installment. I’ll be back in a few months when I have some more books to share with you. For now, let me know in the comments what you’re reading. Also, let me know if you’ve read any of the books above and what you liked/disliked about them.

Adam’s Substack

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