Book Report: Best of Q2 2024
My reading was all over the place in Q2. I read 20 books that spanned many genres, and my favorites weren't even in my typical genres. I'm sharing my top seven books of Q2 2024 today—not because I couldn't have narrowed it down to a reasonable number like five, but because I couldn't resist giving you more good options!
I didn't intend to make the quarterly Book Report a regular part of this blog-newsletter (it was just a random idea I had last quarter and something I've done in previous years), but maybe I should (???). Please do let me know what you think. Okay, on to the books!
1. Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self: Stories
This short story collection is probably the most typical-of-me book on this list. The writing style very much spoke to me as a literary fiction fan, and the story themes were right up my alley as a Black woman who loves reading about Black women.
Most notable about this book, though, was the author's ability to develop compelling characters, establish meaningful plots, and write sharp, significant stories within the length limitations of a short story. These stories aren't just about race; they're about the naivety of girlhood, toxic family dynamics, complicated relationships, and more. I'll go ahead and give this one the title of my favorite fiction read of Q2.
2. How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing
I've mentioned How to Keep House While Drowning before, but there was no way I was leaving it off of this list. I said that it was life-changing, and I stand by that. I read it before I knew what was causing me to struggle and live in a constant state of drowning (more on that later), but it kick-started my current journey of paying a little less attention to what's piling up and paying more attention to what I actually need to survive.
If you could use a new approach to cleaning and organizing, I highly recommend reading this book. I borrowed it from my local library on a whim in a moment of desperation, but I'm definitely going to get my own copy to keep around one day.
3. Monday's Not Coming
Every now and then, I need to get sucked into a good mystery or thriller. Monday's Not Coming didn't disappoint. This is a dark and unsettling mystery about a young girl's search for her missing best friend, whom no one else seems to be concerned about or even notice is missing. The suspense had me hooked.
The story's angle is creative, and the writing style is easy to read, but I advise checking the trigger warnings if there's anything you try to look out for. I've listed all of the content warnings that I noticed in my full review here.
4. Black Liturgies: Prayers, Poems, and Meditations for Staying Human
I don't think I'm quite smart enough to review Cole Arthur Riley's work, but I tried. Here's an abbreviated summary of why I loved this book: Although Riley clearly writes from a primarily—though not fundamentalist—Christian perspective, her writing is inspiring, wise, deeply thought out, and accessible to people at different places on their spiritual journey. Her mind is incredible.
5. Mary Jane
I randomly read Mary Jane for a book club that I ultimately didn't make it to, but I enjoyed it so much more than I expected! The main character is a fourteen-year-old girl named Mary Jane who is growing up in Baltimore in the 1970s. She takes a summer job babysitting a local doctor's daughter, which takes her away from her rigid and religious parents, expands her world, and opens her mind.
It felt closer to the types of books that normal people (not me) read during the summer. If you like coming-of-age stories, historical fiction, books that incorporate music, books about family dynamics, etc., you'd probably like this.
6. woke up no light
Leila Mottley authored Nightcrawling, one of my favorite fiction reads of 2022. I'm so impressed that she can also pen a very solid poetry collection! I recently found out that she's the former Youth Poet Laureate of Oakland, CA, so it all makes sense.
As with most poetry collections, it's hard to summarize what these poems are mostly about. They address growing up as a Black girl to entering Black womanhood from various angles, but that's not nearly all. Anyway, they're great.
7. How to ADHD: An Insider's Guide to Working with Your Brain (Not Against It)
Ah, yes, here we are. We have arrived at the reason How to Keep House While Drowning was so revelatory for me. Because I'm a writer, and I'll inevitably write something about this journey in the future, I'll just leave you with a little bit about this book's impact on me. How to ADHD was a validating, easy-to-digest read that has set me up well to keep exploring how my brain works and what I can do to work with it. It's light-hearted, practical, and overall super helpful.
If this is relevant to you, the audiobook is available on Spotify, and the author got her start with her popular How to ADHD YouTube channel, which I'm watching non-stop until further notice.
Happy reading, friends! I invite you to follow me on Bookstagram and BookTok (if you don't already) for day-to-day bookish thoughts, closer to real-time reading updates, and a bunch of reviews.
Did you find something new to read here? Do you think these quarterly wrapups are worth my time? (lol) I'd love to hear about it in the comments. (You can also reply to this email, and it will come to my inbox!)