And so 2024 draws to a close. It's been another up-and-down year for me, what with moving house (nice big study!), breaking my hand just after we moved in (not my smartest move ever), Dude going into his second year at Uni (I still miss him as much as when he first left) and two books published -
TO SEE TOO MUCH and the box-set
SEASIDE PSYCHOLOGICAL. I've also read a lot.
Which means that it's now time to indulge in the annual blog custom and remember the good books of 2024.
Once again, it's been a great reading year (though I managed ten books fewer than last year), with a nice mix of brand new novels, a lot of books that have languished on my TBR pile for too long, some good second-hand finds (which jumped straight to the top of the pile) along with some welcome re-reads.
My target for the year was to read twelve novelisations and I achieved it - some of them were good, a couple were dire, but some were absolutely brilliant.
As always, the top 20 places were hard fought and, I think, show a nice variety in genre and tone.
So, without further ado, I present the Sixteenth Annual Westies Award - “My Best Fiction Reads Of The Year” - and the top 20 looks like this:
2: E is For Evidence, by Sue Grafton
3: Kill For Me, Kill For You, by Steve Cavanagh
4: Last Night Of Freedom, by Dan Howarth
5: Blacktop Wasteland, by S A Crosby
6: New Blood, by Richard Salem
7: Early Autumn, by Robert B. Parker
8: A Savage Place, by Robert B. Parker
9: French Postcards, by Norma Klein
10: Gregory's Girl, by Gerald Cole
11: Death Walkers, by Gary Brandner
12: One Of The Dead, by Richard Farren Barber
13: Grange Hill Rules O.K.?, by Robert Leeson
14: No Time For Goodbye, by Linwood Barclay
15: Creepers, by David Morrell
16: Han Solo At Stars' End, by Brian Daley
17: Charlie Says, by Neil Williamson
18: The Night Boat, by Robert McCammon
19: The Only Suspect, by Louise Candlish
20: The Shadow Friend, by Alex North
The Top 10 in non-fiction are:
1: Cinema Speculation, by Quentin Tarantino
2: I Am Spock, by Leonard Nimoy
3: The Star Wars Vault, by Stephen J Sansweet
4: Berserker!, by Adrian Edmondson
5: The Devil's Candy, by Julie Salamon
6: Star Trek Memories, by William Shatner
7: The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F*ck, by Mark Manson
8: Cinefex 42, by Various
9: Cinefex 25, by Various
10: The Killers: Destiny Is Calling Me, by Jarret Keene
Stats wise, I've read 79 books - 46 fiction, 13 non-fiction, 14 comics/nostalgia/kids and 6 Three Investigator mysteries.
Of the 73 books, the breakdown is thus:
4 biography
12 horror
14 film-related
5 drama (includes romance)
24 crime/mystery
4 sci-fi
5 nostalgia
5 humour
In case you’re interested, the previous awards are linked to from here:
