All the Books I Read in 2024

I completed seven books this year. Compared to years past, it was quite an improvement. So, I wanted to write an article talking briefly about each book and also sharing the tips that helped me read more.

1. Blood, Sweat, and Pixels by Jason Schreier

I’ve always loved video games, so learning about how they are made was fun. I especially loved the story behind Uncharted 4, since I’m a fan of that game. Overall, it was pretty easy to finish this book once I started it. I also wrote an article based on a chapter of this book.

2. A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost

Ever since I began watching Weekend Update on SNL, I’ve liked Colin Jost. So, it was interesting to read more about him. The book is a good blend of his story and advice for creative people. And, not to forget, it’s absolutely hilarious.

3. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

I love how David Sedaris writes about life; it’s very honest and funny. This book contains many stories of his life, all of which make for good reading. I read this book many months ago, but still a few of the lines and incidents have stayed with me. Next year, I hope to read Calypso.

4. Growth Hacker Marketing by Ryan Holiday

Marketing is a fascinating field. It’s constantly changing. That is very strongly visible in this book. It shows what our approach to marketing should be like in today’s world (with fascinating examples), and it also highlights some old methods that no longer work. A must-read for any entrepreneur.

5. Salvation of a Saint by Keigo Higashino

I’m not very experienced in reading murder mystery novels. But I found a second-hand copy of this book and decided to give it to go. It felt a bit slow at times, but it was always interesting to read, and the payoff was good. I liked the characters and found comfort in reading about them daily, which is a mark of good writing. Overall, I’m glad I read it.

Whenever I’ve mentioned reading this book, people have always said that The Devotion of Suspect X is also great. So, I’m hoping I read that next year.

6. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

Like most people, I love the Jurassic Park movies. I knew about the novel and thought it would be interesting to read it, and I was right. The book has more story than the movie and goes deeper into the science, which is a lot of fun to read. Just as I was about to finish it, I ordered a copy of The Lost World, but I haven’t begun it yet. I’ll read that in 2025.

7. Freakonomics by Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt

How does the world work? I think many of us wonder about this in our daily lives. This book uses economics to peel away the surface of everyday life and look at the inner workings. It lets go of bias and just looks at the numbers. It’s incredibly smart and highly engaging to read.

After I completed it I immediately began with Superfreakonomics and am currently reading that.

Reading tips that helped me in 2024

Here are some tips if you want to read more in 2025. They definitely worked for me, so they could also be helpful to you.

1. Join a book club (even online ones can work)

I never planned on joining a book club, but after posting my book collection on the r/IndianBooks Subreddit, I received an invitation to join an online book club.

It was new to me since I’d never been in a book club before, but it was simple enough to get into it.

Unlike most book clubs, we didn’t all have to read one specific book. There were online meetings every two weeks, and we just discussed what we were reading and gave each other recommendations.

It may not sound like a lot, but having those meetings to look forward to made me give more time to reading each day. It also added a bit of accountability. Overall, it helped me get back on track with my reading.

2. Share your progress

When I completed reading the first book this year, I posted a picture of it on my Instagram story and created a highlight called “2024 Books”.

After that, anytime I completed a book, I posted a picture of it and added it to the highlight. Sometimes, my friends asked me how the book was, which sparked further conversation about it.

This made reading feel like a more social experience and thus motivated me to read every day.

3. Break down the pages

Whenever you look at a goal in its entirety, it always appears too far and overwhelming. But if you break it down into small, practical steps, it seems achievable. It’s the same with reading books.

If I want to read a 300-page book and complete it in a month, I know that I have to read 10 pages a day. That’s achievable.

Here’s the thing: If you don’t have a set goal, no matter how many pages you read, it feels like you have a long way to go. But with these mini-goals, you can get a sense of achievement and know that you’re on the right track.

For more on this, check out my article about tips to read more books.

Reading List for 2025

Here are some books I’d like to read in 2025:

-Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber
-Red Earth and Pouring Rain by Vikram Chandra
-The Lost World by Michael Crichton
-The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino
-The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt

It’s exciting and refreshing to read new books, giving you a sense of progress when you’ve completed one more book. But sometimes, I think there should also be an emphasis on rereading books.

Every time you read them, you may look at them in a different way than you did in the past, or you may learn something new that you had missed before.

For that reason, I’d like to reread Suketu Mehta’s Maximum City in 2025. It’s one of the best books about my city. I read it back in 2020 when I first shifted here, and with five years completed here now, I feel like a reread is in order.

I’m glad to have put my reading plans for 2025 here. I’ll check back at the end of the year to see if I achieved this!

Conclusion

Thanks for reading this article! 2024 was a great year for me in terms of self-improvement, and I hope to keep the momentum going into 2025. I hope you have a great 2025 as well. 🙌✨