2024 Reading Roundup

This past year’s reading has brought me into worlds and cultures I wouldn’t otherwise know. I have visited Nazi Germany (three times), ancient Palestine, Soviet Russia, Revolutionary Russia, Cold War Europe, South Africa, Victorian Australia, Spanish colonization, Antarctica, even those spheres of oppression, depression, gene editing, scientific research, cosmology, and quantum physics.

These books have taught me more about myself and those around me. I have reveled in the wonders of my own body, and have gained insights into wellness, happiness, and better working and personal relationships.

These books have ignited my imagination through creative storytelling. I’ve entered several classic tales for the first time, and have revisited some inspiring old favorites.

These books have expanded my knowledge in a great many subjects: natural, geologic, and cultural history; economics, public policy, activism; exploitation, greed, commerce, philanthropy; psychology, volunteer organizing, and leadership in philosophical differences and changing cultures. And so much more!

My favorites and recommendations are noted with an asterisk. But here are my special mentions:

·???????? Most satisfying ending: Angel of Vengeance

·???????? Most surprising over what I thought I knew about it: Tarzan of the Apes

·???????? Most over my head: The Physics of Immortality

·???????? Most annoying: HHhH (author reports true things, then confesses he made them up)

·???????? Most wide-ranging scope: Saving the Redwoods

·???????? Most spiritually revealing: New Morning Mercies

·???????? Most enjoyable biography/memoir: Sunday Nights at Seven: The Jack Benny Story

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1.?????? * Destined to Witness: Growing Up Black in Nazi Germany, Hans J. Massaquoi

2.?????? The Handbook for Health: 5 Essential Pillars for Optimized Wellness, Dr. Christopher Turnpaugh with Dr. Cynthia West

3.?????? The 6 Types of Working Genius: a Better Way to Understand Your Frustrations and Your Team, Patrick Lencioni

4.?????? * The Body: a Guide for Occupants, Bill Bryson

5.?????? * Only One Year: How Joseph Stalin’s Daughter Broke Through the Iron Curtain, Svetlana Alliluyeva

6.?????? The Millionaires, Brad Meltzner

7.?????? Name All the Animals: a Memoir, Alison Smith

8.?????? * The Blue Zones of Happiness: Lessons from the World’s Happiest People, Dan Buettner

9.?????? * The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing and the Future of the Human Race, Walter Isaacson

10.?? * From the Earth to the Moon, Jules Vern

11.?? A Sand County Almanac and Sketches Here and There, Aldo Leopold

12.?? * Inkheart, Cornelia Funke

13.?? * Inkspell, Cornelia Funke

14.?? * Inkdeath, Cornelia Funke

15.?? * The Noticer, Andy Andrews

16.?? HHhH “Himmler’s brain is called Heydrich”, Laurent Binet

17.?? Bethlehem, Karen Kelly

18.?? Homecoming, Kate Morton

19.?? The Trail, Robert Whitlow

20.?? Cry, the Beloved Country, Alan Paton

21.?? * The Last Days of Night, Graham Moore

22.?? * Still Life With Crows, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

23.?? * Shackleton’s Stowaway, Victoria McKernan

24.?? The Magician’s Nephew, C.S. Lewis

25.?? White Fire, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

26.?? Three Sisters, Heather Morris

27.?? * Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt

28.?? Murder in the Lincoln Bedroom, Elliot Roosevelt

29.?? * The Scorpion’s Tail, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

30.?? The Leader’s Greatest Return: Attracting, Developing and Multiplying Leaders, John C. Maxwell

31.?? Mayday, Nelson DeMille and Thomas Block

32.?? * The Oath, Frank Peretti

33.?? Community Recreation and Parks Handbook, Sue Landes

34.?? Financing Municipal Recreation and Parks, Sue Landes

35.?? Absolute Friends, John le Carré

36.?? * The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland, Jim DeFede

37.?? Humorous Stories and Sketches, Mark Twain

38.?? Murders on Alcatraz, George DeVincenzi

39.?? * Palisades Park, Alan Brennert

40.?? Skin: Revenge is Beautiful, Ted Dekker

41.?? * A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles

42.?? * Tarzan of the Apes, Edgar Rice Burroughes

43.?? Just Tell Them I Love Them: a Hospice Chaplain’s Invitation to Live Well, Helen Burke

44.?? * Take This Cup, Bodie and Brock Thoene

45.?? The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter, Michael D. Watkins

46.?? * Saving the Redwoods: The Movement to Rescue a Wonder of the Natural World, Joseph H. Engbeck, Jr.

47.?? * Eternal, Lisa Scottoline

48.?? * Sunday Nights at Seven: The Jack Benny Story by Jack Benny and his daughter Joan

49.?? The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Barbara Roobinson

50.?? * Healing Stones, Nancy Rue and Stephen Arterburn

51.?? * Angel of Vengeance, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

52.?? The Physics of Immortality: Modern Cosmology, God and the Resurrection of the Dead, Frank J. Tippler

53.?? * New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional, Paul David Tripp