2024 Book Deep-Dive

Here, I talk through the books I read this year. Again, not very statistics-focused for a blog ostensibly about statistics topics, but it's my blog so I'll write about what I find interesting, in part for my own reference later. First up is a list and discussion of each book, then (if you're in a hurry) there's a list of Totally Official Awards™. If that's interesting to you, read on. 

Chronological Order + Notes

Book Lovers by Emily Henry (fiction)

Fantastic story, fun playing with tropes, a great read. Basically, no notes. Won my wife's bronze award for fiction in 2023 and deserved it, which is saying something. First book of the year to have a Clever Title – something where the name can be appreciated more after reading the book.

Don't Lose Heart: Gospel Hope for the Discouraged Soul by Jason C. Meyer (non-fiction)

This short work was indeed encouraging, but I'll be honest, hasn't really stuck with me. More of a "help in time of need" sort of thing, I think.

Your Fathers, Where Are They? And the Prophets, Do They Live Forever? by Dave Eggers (fiction)

This is the first book in this list that has stuck with me for the rest of the year. Eggers asks great questions in his works, and this is no exception. It's a short, weird story, asking about the role of agency in our lives, about the responsibilities we have to each other, and the "responsibilities" we don't. Feels a bit like some of the short stories I read in 2023 by Ted Chiang, just in an Eggers shell (see what I did there?). As with some other works I've read from Eggers, it's more about the questions than the answers, but I think, as usual, he's asking the right questions.

The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland by Jim DeFede (non-fiction)

This book formed the basis of the Broadway musical Come From Away. This was a true story told very well about the town of Gander, Newfoundland (and surrounding area) that took on hundreds of stranded travelers in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on 9/11. The airport at Gander had been a major stop for transatlantic flights to refuel before planes became more capable of longer flights. As such, it was uniquely able to accommodate dozens of flights that needed to land, unable to continue to their intended destinations until flight restrictions were relaxed.

This book chronicles what happens when a small town has to take on those hundreds of people from all over the world, finding them food, housing, diapers, entertainment, phones, and more. While it's certainly helped that I've been listening to the soundtrack from Come From Away this year – "welcome to the Rock if you come from away // you probably understand about a half of what we say" – this book has certainly stuck with me, holding the tension between the horror, fear, kindness, outpouring of love, and logistics all at play.

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (fiction)

Perhaps I read this too quickly or something, but I was surprisingly underwhelmed by this book. I'd watched the first episode of Good Omens and wasn't willing to invest in the rest of the show (despite it starring David Tennant, so that's really saying something), at least not without a better understanding of where it was going. So, I thought I'd read the book, and it just didn't grab me for whatever reason.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (fiction)

This is the first book in the Reidverse / the "famous women's quartet." I read Daisy Jones & The Six in 2023 and absolutely loved it, and spent 2024 working my way through the other books (admittedly in the wrong order, but they do stand alone narratively). There are certainly parallels between this and Daisy Jones but I found that overall the latter was more compelling. In particular, the narrative in Evelyn Hugo is somewhat split between Hugo's exploits and journalist Monique Grant's life and interview with Hugo. I had to just look up Grant's name because while the narrative wants her to play this bigger, surprise role (somewhat like the interviewer in Daisy Jones who plays a minor role), it was in an uncomfortable middleground – not enough to make her really the star, too much to distract from the main interest in Hugo. The title is the second in the list of Clever Titles this year, with a great way to structure the narrative, but I'll have to leave that there for risk of spoiling a great rationale. Look for more Taylor Jenkins Reid below though, including the one that I've thought the most about this year.

The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis (non-fiction)

For some reason, I thought I'd never read / finished The Big Short so I read it again this year. Fascinating stuff, with enough detail to keep me engaged (and not so much that I got completely lost in finance terms).

Beyond the Wand: The Magic & Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton (memoir)

In which Draco Malfoy tells his story. Highly recommend the audiobook version, for obvious reasons. It's a really interesting look at his life, and is the first of several memoirs I read this year. I read an updated copy that includes some reflections after the book's first publication where people now think of him more as the author of this book than of his iconic role as Malfoy. While there are great stories told well from the Harry Potter years (and each chapter title is a minor work of art throughout the book), this was mainly interesting and helpful as he walked through a surprisingly reflective look at his life with mental health and alcohol. He really explores the depths of despair and what life can look like on the other side of a crisis. This book is funny, heart-wrenching, and everything in between. His narrative of his escape from rehab and journey home is nothing short of haunting.

Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive by Stephanie Land (memoir)

ACC did a book study this year on Class, Stephanie Land's second memoir about her time in college following the events in her first memoir, Maid, so I decided to read Maid first. I wanted to also read Class before seeing a talk of hers at an ACC all-hands, but I didn't quite get there this year. Maid can be a hard read at times, as you feel the anguish for someone trying to do the right things and being stuck in systems that prevent her from getting "out." It's a good read to reflect on the expectations we have of people – pull yourself up by your bootstraps? – and the assumptions we have about our systems and our neighbors.

West Heart Kill by Dann McDorman (fiction)

An interesting whodunnit with an inventive narrator who repeatedly lets the reader in on the structure and history of whodunnits. I'll leave that one as an exercise for the reader.

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid (fiction)

Certainly my favorite Reidverse novel this year, and on any given day, I do think about it a lot more than I think about the phenomenal Daisy Jones & The Six. The setting is simple: tennis star Carrie Soto retires as perhaps the greatest of all time, but when her records are threatened by a newcomer, she decides to earn back her place on the leaderboard. The path to get here there and how she moves forward isn't all that complicated either, but man did this book stick with me all year. It's a story of family, sacrifice, and success. Maybe more than anything, it's an insightful narratively-driven discussion of the fixed mindset, along with some related topics in self-talk. It brings up things that can be so easily overlooked but matter so much.

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry (memoir)

Could it be any sadder? This book will make you cry, at least, it made me cry. I'm not sure why I ended up reading both this and Tom Felton's Beyond the Wand in the same year, but their stories share a lot. The rise to fame, the addictions, the mental health struggles, the desire to help others. It was heartbreaking to read this book, knowing that he passed away just a couple years later. As you'd expect, Perry finds humor even in the darkest places of despair, but also doesn't shy away from dealing with real struggles. I hope (and think) that this book has what's needed to help shift some of the conversations on mental health. In it, Perry describes one episode in particular, where for some reason, he starts slamming his head in a stairwell. Not a premeditated suicide attempt, not a pathetic plea for more attention, but a person in overwhelming, unrelenting, unpredictable pain. It's a chilling reminder that our hopes and dreams are fragile indeed, giving all the more reason to enjoy the good and help when we can.

Bossypants by Tina Fey (memoir)

While this memoir did make me laugh out loud at times, it's not really a comedian-writes-a-comedy-memoir. Fey finds humor in things – it's a gift she has and a skill she's honed – but also speaks candidly about tough things. As is typical for memoirs, try the audiobook, she made it that much better by reading it herself.

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid (fiction)

I completed the Reidverse by reading third novel in the "collection," Malibu Rising. All four books focus on a central woman's past in reference to a newer development, but each pulls in a different creative direction. Evelyn Hugo reflects a star's late-in-life tell-all interview. Daisy Jones looks at love separated by a marriage. Carrie Soto asks what it means to be the GOAT. (though these paltry summaries don't do those books the justice they deserve, for what it's worth)

Malibu Rising might be the weakest of the four, but was still certainly worth the read. The book centers on Nina Riva, a famous child of famous siblings with a famous father. We see their story, and the hardship when people make poor choices. The main action focuses on a single party on one fateful night, but that narrative extends throughout the book. It's a bit of a stretch, but mostly works. It deals with a lot of grief, pain, anger, and lies. 

The Rivas (Nina specifically) maintain a family restaurant in Malibu. It's an unusual angle for those who otherwise have made it big, but related to a real-life story I recently heard from a friend who was in a popular band. He shared that he received a call one time at 10pm, from someone who had looked in a phonebook to discover that his number was listed publicly! Turns out, this fan was calling all the way from Australia. When he said he needed to get to bed to go to work, he was met with shock that such a star would need to work. When he said that his job (at the time) was mowing lawns, the fan became flabbergasted. That's really neither here nor there, but that story reminded me of Malibu Rising so now you can know that story too.

Birds Aren't Real: The True Story of Mass Avian Murder and the Largest Surveillance Campaign in U.S. History by Peter Mcindoe and Connor Gaydos (fiction)

I had really hoped this book would be good. For those not familiar, there's a tongue-in-check Birds Aren't Real movement, making fun of conspiracy theories with a construction that birds have been replaced by government drones. This book could not figure out what it wanted to be. Any other obvious choice would have been great – a takes-itself-seriously alternative history, a bait-and-switch to talk about research on conspiracy theories and the history of Birds Aren't Real, or a sassy I Am America (And So Can You)-style work of laugh-a-minute satire. Instead, it's just kinda bland. Sometimes it leans one way or the other, but lands disappointingly flat.

One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories by B.J. Novak (fiction)

The past couple years, I've gotten (little by little) into shorter works (looking at you, John Green's The Anthropocene Reviewed or Ted Chiang). This collection has some great comedy, some interesting ideas, and some good questions. The audiobook version is fantastic, with lots of voice actors familiar to The Office and other comedy fans. Frequently, Novak uses the absurd to create some genuine laughs, and I hope he continues to explore this format.

11/22/63 by Stephen King (fiction)

This was a loooooonnnnngggggg book, clocking in at a whopping 31 hours for the audiobook. That said, I only rarely felt like it should have been shorter. It's a twisting tale, mixing history with fiction, deduction with (essentially) magic, and love with responsibility. C'mon it's a well-executed time-travel book, what more do you want?

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling (memoir)

A fantastic read, broken into small sections of stories and lists and funny anecdotes. There's real heart there too, and good storytelling.

Mine!: How the Hidden Rules of Ownership Control Our Lives by Michael Heller and James Salzman (non-fiction)

This book was a wild ride from start to finish. While it could technically be described as "a book about the philosophy of property law" it was compelling, engaging, and fascinating. It gives a lot of food for thought on how ownership and property actually work in practice. Is it really that "possession is 9/10ths of the law" or that "first come, first served?" Where do those rules break? Where do they come into conflict? This is definitely the most "just trust me" but I'd recommend it wholeheartedly.

Sex on the Moon: The Amazing Story Behind the Most Audacious Heist in History by Ben Mezrich (non-fiction)

I join other readers in that this book oversells its own story. The heist was not particularly "audacious" in the grand scheme of things, and the story isn't especially "amazing." Mezrich put in a lot of work to get the full story and tries to ask questions about the central figure behind the heist, but this likely would have been better as a long-form article than a book. I wanted it to have the level of intrigue of a spy thriller or The Cuckoo's Egg, but it just isn't that. Not quite anyway.

American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin (non-fiction)

This book formed the basis for Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer film, chronicling the life of the "father of the atomic bomb." While it does artfully tell the story of the atomic bomb, it tells an even more compelling story of Oppenheimer himself. He's a curious figure, not easy to summarize. You get a sense of humanity in this book – sometimes good, sometimes bad, sometimes right, sometimes wrong, sometimes leading, sometimes following, sometimes holding convictions, sometimes flip-flopping. This book is thorough (27 hours for the audiobook, which was not the best quality I've listened to but certainly made for interesting commutes), with interviews and letters from many who interacted with Oppenheimer, telling a complete story about his upbringing, his rise to power, his challenges with Robert Downey, Jr. Lewis Strauss. This book is final entry in the Clever Title club for the year in a way that's hard to appreciate outside of reading the book, but the key lies in his never-wavering commitment to America as being an inextricable part of his complicated identity.

Higgs Discovery: The Power of Empty Space by Lisa Randall (non-fiction)

This was a surprisingly intense discussion about the discovery of the Higgs boson. I'll be honest, some of it was beyond my current knowledge in physics, but it was very interesting anyway, for the obvious reason (physics is cool) and for a non-obvious reason: the book includes material from before and after Higgsdependence Day (July 4, 2012, the formal announcement of the discovery of a Higgs-like particle by the ATLAS and CMS teams at CERN). It's somewhat shocking to have in one volume a discussion about "if the Higgs exists, they ought to see it right away, and if it doesn't, the scientists will finally say, 'there is no Higgs! We need new physics to account for why things have mass. Something in our standard model went awry" while also including a discussion of what the experimental results mean (at least, in an early response). It was science at work! 

Also, throughout, she drops these nuggets of wisdom with the simplicity only a true expert can attain. What is mass, you ask? "Mass is what provides resistance when a force is applied." Simple, almost a truism, but provides incredibly useful insight for understanding the Higgs. One day I'll understand symmetry breaking. Maybe.

Totally Official Awards™ 2024 Edition

Rather than directly copy my wife's format of awarding gold, silver, and bronze for fiction and non-fiction, I'll award books for specific types of merit.

Most Likely to Read Again

Mine!: How the Hidden Rules of Ownership Control Our Lives by Michael Heller and James Salzman

There was so much here to chew on, I think I'd gain a lot by reading again, though I'll likely wait a while.

Honorable mentions: 

• One More Thing because short stories can be enjoyed again and again
• Beyond the Wand and Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing for both dealing with difficult topics so well, and
• The Big Short since I'll apparently forget that I read it in a few years.

Not Worth the Calories

Birds Aren't Real: The True Story of Mass Avian Murder and the Largest Surveillance Campaign in U.S. History by Peter Mcindoe and Connor Gaydos (fiction)

Not much more to say here, I wish it weren't winning this award, but it definitely is.

Honorable mentions:

• Good Omens there just wasn't enough "there" there for me, and
• Sex on the Moon for making a fairly short story too long.

Notably absent from this category: American Prometheus and 11/22/63, both of which are quite lengthy but worth it if they interest you.

Most Impactful (Tied)

Beyond the Wand: The Magic & Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry

These books rhyme so well with each other, it was too difficult to pick just one. Felton's is a bit more reflective, putting on a pompous tone for effect when needed, just to help break the tension. Perry's is ultimately a tragedy knowing what we know now, but serves as a wonderful way to remember a person who was truly funny while being truly in pain.

Most Challenging

Higgs Discovery: The Power of Empty Space by Lisa Randall

I have some physics background, but this really pushed me. This year, this award doesn't go to one that challenged my beliefs / perspective the most, but it may in future years. Dr. Randall wins this by being on a whole other planet in terms of how deeply she understands her subject.

Honorable mention: 

• Maid for challenging a lot of my expectations

Best Value

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Worth it just to get a glimpse at what living with a fixed mindset is like, and how much damage it causes to the person living with it as well as to their families. At a minimum, it's the best value of the list – takes the least time/investment for the most dense gain.

Most Heartwarming

The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland by Jim DeFede (non-fiction)

What's not to love on "an island in between there and here?" Go down to Shoppers and buy the book, or at least listen to the Come From Away soundtrack.