No. 91 — Books of 2024

The end of year list

This year, my reading list has been all over the place. From the dance of starlings to the labyrinthine streets of Paris, from the metaphysics of algorithms to the quiet philosophy of shadows - and I read in Finnish, French, Swedish and English, which I’m really proud of.

As December winds down, I’ve rounded up twentythree of my favorite reads from 2024. I also listed all books read in 2024, along with a few I’m racing to finish before the year’s end. If you’re still hunting for a literary companion for the holiday season, I hope you find inspiration here.

Previous (summer) recommendations: 2024, 2023, 2022 and full reading lists as part of years in review. I’ve got to figure out a system..

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For those looking to find patterns in chaos

For the one who discovers funk in algorithms and jazz in the flight of starlings, who codes by day and contemplates the metaphysics of algorithms by night, and who seeks cosmic wonder in inverted black holes and open-ended universes.

• In a Flight of Starlings by Giorgio Parisi

• Why Fish Don’t Exist by Lulu Miller

• Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About by Donald Knuth

• White Holes: Inside the Horizon by Carlo Rovelli

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For the city dreamers - be the city real, imagined or lost to time

For those who see Paris as more than a postcard and who measure time in baguettes, who wander through half-built cities and find metaphors in construction sites.

• Impossible City: Paris in the Twenty-First Century by Simon Kuper

• Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik

• The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami

• Scaffolding by Lauren Elkin

• Journeys by Stefan Zweig

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For those looking to elevate the everyday

For those who find the extraordinary in the ordinary—who uncover secret histories in fruit, seek clarity in a swim, keep their tea warm and their corners dark, and discover life’s meaning between the notes of a requiem.

• Oranges by John McPhee

• Swimming in Paris by Colombe Schneck

• In Praise of Shadows by Jun’ichirō Tanizaki

• Late Night Thoughts on Listening to Mahler’s Ninth Symphony by Lewis Thomas

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For the architects of the invisible

For those who see bridges as love letters, oceans as playgrounds, and human connection as the ultimate invention; who tend their inner gardens as time slips by and find magic in ink pressed into paper.

• How Infrastructure Works by Deb Chachra

• Playground by Richard Powers

• Reproduction by Louisa Hall

• The Garden Against Time by Olivia Laing

• Contact: Art and the Pull of Print by Jennifer L. Roberts

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For those who wonder

For those who find magic in art, nature, and imagination—who see fairy tales as blueprints, a Wyrm in a lake, and paintings as whispers. For poets who feel grief like water and adventurers enjoying molecular mysteries.

• Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell

• Moonbound by Robin Sloan

• Hockney and Piero: A Longer Look by Susanna Avery-Quash

• Vedestä ja surusta by Salli Kari

• Miracles of Life: Shanghai to Shepperton by J.G. Ballard

• Darkome by Hannu Rajaniemi
  

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All books read in 2024

(Some linked books lead to Bookshop.org, and I earn a small commission each time someone uses the link to purchase a book. And December list still tbd!)

January

• You Are Not Expected to Understand This: How 26 Lines of Code Changed the World by Torie Bosch et co. Lovely essays on computer science.

• The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrel

• Journeys by Stefan Zweig. Zweig is forever my favorite.

• A Dying Breed by Peter Hanington

• Rakennenautintoja by Selja Ahava & Emma Puikkonen. This was wonderful.

• In a Flight of Starlings: The Wonder of Complex Systems by Giorgio Parisi

• How Infrastructure Works: Inside the Systems That Shape Our World by Deb Chachra. I liked this a lot!

• Edith Södergran : Elämä by Agneta Rahikainen

• In Praise of Shadows by Jun’ichirō Tanizaki. Still think about this book almost weekly.

• The Moonday Letters by Emmi Itäranta

• In the Distance by Hernan Diaz

February

• Hajonneen maailman käyttöohje by Ville-Juhani Sutinen

• Oranges by John McPhee. Wrote about this!

• The Secret Lives of Numbers: A Hidden History of Math’s Unsung Trailblazers by Kate Kitagawa and Timothy Revell

• Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum

• Babel, or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution by R.F. Kuang

• Sydänhämärä by Harry Salmenniemi

March

• Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

• Wool by Hugh Howey

• Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik. I ended up reading three books from Gopnik. Love his style. (Alison Gopnik, his sister, also kept recurring in my reading)

• Literary Theory for Robots: How Computers Learned to Write by Dennis Yi Tenen. Wrote about this.

• Shift by Hugh Howey

• Dust by Hugh Howey

• Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton

April

• Wellness by Nathan Hill

• Liv! by Helmi Kekkonen

• Hyeenan päivät by Saara Turunen

• Äidin oma by Pihla Hintikka

• Impossible City: Paris in the Twenty-First Century by Simon Kuper

• Rakas Eeva Kilpi. Nämä juhlat jatkuvat vielä by Anna-Riikka Carlson

• Rouva C. by Minna Rytisalo

• Through the Children’s Gate: A Home in New York by Adam Gopnik

• Tappio tai kuolema by Tuukka Sandström

• Reproduction by Louisa Hall. One of my favorites of the year.

• Marijan rakkaus by Joel Haahtela

• You Are Here by David Nicholls

May

• The Garden Against Time by Olivia Laing. I enjoyed this a lot!

• The Membranes by Chi Ta-wei

• Sellainen mies by Erkka Mykkänen

• Clock Dance by Anne Tyler

• A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis

June

• Brave New Words: How AI Will Revolutionize Education by Salman Khan

• Long Island by Colm Tóibín

• Our Share of Night by Mariana Enríquez

• Moonbound by Robin Sloan. Loved this! (And especially the mini site.)

• Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

• Swimming in Paris by Colombe Schneck. This was wonderful - I’ll try reading more Schneck, maybe in French next time..

• All Fours by Miranda July

• Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe

July

• The Table Comes First: Family, France, and the Meaning of Food by Adam Gopnik

• There Are No Grown-ups: A Midlife Coming-of-Age Story by Pamela Druckerman

• Kirjailijoiden salattu elämä by Guillaume Musso

• Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About by Donald Knuth. I bought this years ago, but read only now. Happy to have picked it up.

• Why Fish Don’t Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life by Lulu Miller. A favorite!

• The Reunion by Musso, Guillaume

• At the Strangers' Gate: Arrivals in New York by Adam Gopnik. I read a lot of Gopnik and loved all his books!

August

• In Ascension by Martin MacInnes

• Hockney and Piero: A Longer Look by Susanna Avery-Quash

• Viimeinen yhteinen leikki by Riikka Pulkkinen

• Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

• Speak by Louisa Hall

• The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

September

• Playground by Richard Powers. I liked this too!

• Luottamisen taito - Rakkaudesta ja muista tunteista by Merete Mazzarella

• Aulikki Oksanen: hyppy syreenien tuleen by Helena Ruuska

• Iltatähti by Laura Malmivaara

• Jäämeren laulu by Ingeborg Arvola

• Valvoja by Maisku Myllymäki. Liked this a lot - and figured out the genre I’m very prone to - fiction that describes real-world art!

October

• Darkome by Hannu Rajaniemi. Wrote about Darkome!

• Scaffolding by Lauren Elkin

• The Rings of Saturn by W.G.Sebald. I should have loved this - so many writers I love are deeply inspired by Sebald, but.. no?

• Mon premier Picasso by Heinz Bergrruen. Found my reading-in-French-groove with this little book.

• White Holes: Inside the Horizon by Carlo Rovelli

• The Upside-Down World: Meetings with the Dutch Masters by Benjamin Moser

• The Gentleman From Peru by André Aciman

• The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami

• Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

• Contact: Art and the Pull of Print by Jennifer L. Roberts. Love love loved this!

November

• Death and Croissants by Ian Moore

• Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell. A favorite.

• Late Night Thoughts on Listening to Mahler’s Ninth Symphony by Lewis Thomas. My first, but not last, Thomas

• Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne by Katherine Rundell

• Twelve Words for Moss by Elizabeth-Jane Burnett

• hetkinen by Saku Tuominen

• Rakel by Satu Rämö

• Eftermiddag i augusti by Philip Teir

• Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

December

• La vie est un roman by Guillaume Musso

• Miracles of Life: Shanghai to Shepperton: An Autobiography by J.G Ballard. I absolutely loved this - will be reading much more Ballard next year.

• The Anthropologists by Aysegül Savas

• Vedestä ja surusta by Salli Kari. Same for this - hope this gets translated.

• The Position of Spoons: And Other Intimacies by Deborah Levy

• The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer

• Question 7 by Richard Flanagan (have not finished)

• Powerhouse by James Andrew Miller (have not finished)

• Dangereusement douce by Antoine Laurain (have not finished)

• Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (have not finished)