Gosh, maybe 2024 really was a challenging reading year. As you may know, I didn’t reach my goal of reading 200 books last year, so after falling short, I set the same goal for this year.
I felt like I dropped a lot of books last year. I’m unsure if I was harder on books I read or if I really didn’t enjoy what I was reading as much as usual.
Either way, I only gave five nonfiction books perfect grades in 2024. That’s far fewer than in previous years.
My 5 Favorite Nonfiction Books of 2024
I guess there’s one positive thing about giving fewer books perfect grades (aside from having to write fewer reviews). It means you can trust even more than usual that these books truly are game-changers.
Here are my reviews of my five favorite nonfiction books in 2024.
100 Ways to Change Your Life
I love personal and professional development! There’s no project I enjoy working on more than myself. That’s probably why I enjoyed the book 100 Ways to Change Your Life so much.
Liz Moody’s book gives you 100 practical tips and tricks (many from her podcast episodes) to improve various parts of your life. It includes advice from 50 experts and lots of research to back up the claims.
When I was reviewing the book to write this review, I realized I need to revisit it already. It’s likely a book I’ll pick up occasionally to review my highlights.
I was trying to choose some of my favorite advice to share with you, but it’s so difficult to do because it’s that packed with great stuff. I loved the sections on how to meet your goals, be more productive, and be happier and calmer. I already need to go back and read more about how to wake up better. Goodness, I love my sleep and my bed!
If You See Them
Many people in the U.S. are one disaster or missed paycheck away from being without a home. This issue is compounded for children who typically aren’t in control of their environments and can do little to create stability for themselves.
Not every child has parents who can or will provide a roof over their heads.
If You See Them: Young, Unhoused, and Alone in America by Vicki Sokolick is the woman’s story about discovering the youth home insecurity problem and making it her mission to help these kids.
The book shows how many of these young people are just looking for one person to believe in them and how finding that person truly can turn their lives around.
Slow Productivity
I nerded out so hard over Cal Newport’s book, Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout.
The book is about how the concept of productivity we use today is more suited for the industrial revolution worker than the knowledge worker. Because our work isn’t measured in the number of hours we’re in the office or emails we send but what we know and how we apply that expertise.
Therefore, our work is about three concepts:
- Doing fewer things
- Working at a natural pace
- Obsessing over quality
Newport writes about why productivity measures for knowledge work are broken and how to adhere to these three concepts.
The Genius of Judy
Gen X women grew up on Judy Blume. And if you loved her books as much as I did, you have to read The Genius of Judy by Rachelle Bergstein.
Blume writes a lot of her books based on things happening or that have happened in her own life. This book was able to tell the story of Judy’s life and publishing career, complete with excerpts from her books that help the reader understand context and advance Blume’s story.
Reading this book made me love the feminist icon even more. It also made me want to reread all her books from my childhood.
The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture
Many of you may know that I study emotional trauma, so the subject isn’t new to me. The Myth of Normal by Gabor Mate´ and Daniel Mate´ is the best look at the complexity and misunderstanding of trauma that I’ve read.
Two things I really loved about this book. First, it explores the idea that just because you’re offended, or something bad has happened to you, it doesn’t mean you’re traumatized. People experience various traumatic events in their lives that they process and move forward from. However, that also doesn’t mean that you should compare your trauma or responses to those of others. We all have different thresholds of resilience for different experiences at various times in our lives.
Second, trauma is all around us in varying levels and from different sources. Learning to recognize trauma responses in yourself and others is important. Caring for yourself in ways that make you less prone to the impact of trauma is critical.
My Favorite Nonfiction Books of 2024
There they are! My favorite nonfiction books of 2024. You can take a look at my full reading list here, if you’re curious about other books I read and enjoyed. I hope you find something here or on the list to read and love.
As always, happy reading!
