December 2024, a bookish year all wrapped up

I really wish I’d sent this out yesterday instead of today because I’m a little freak, and sending something that is called “December 2024” irks me because it is now January 2025, and we’ve ALL COMPLETELY MOVED ON FROM 2024, RIGHT?

Just kidding. It was literally yesterday. I rang out the old year by having a nice dinner out with my boyfriend, getting drinks at our bar that was too loud but still fun to see faces that sustained my 2024, and then watching Gilmore girls while I wrote about how much Jason Digger Stiles sucks. I was asleep before midnight, as I almost always am.

In January, I’m embarking on all of the things people swear they’ll do in January and throughout a new year. I actually love “new year, new me,” probably because I don’t hold myself super accountable and don’t give a shit if I don’t actually do the thing. For example, last year I boldly declared that I would eat an apple a day, you know, to keep the doctor away! I did it pretty well for about six weeks and then basically never ate an apple again the rest of the year. I should have ended the year at 365 apples, but instead, I ended it at nearly 40 apples, which is still a really funny and fun thing to know and say I did. I’ll discuss more in a month to let you know how my January went. As of now, I’m going to not drink alcohol, walk 10k steps a day, and wash my face every night and morning instead of feeling guilty when I wake up in the morning because my mascara is still on.

Anyway, here’s what I read to close out the year 2024.

[What I read]

The Hive and the Honey by Paul Yoon (2023) | Quick summary: A collection of strange little stories about belonging, identity, and culture.
I’m not super familiar with Paul Yoon’s writing, or I wasn’t before this, but I really appreciated how he constructs sentences and creates tiny worlds for me to temporarily live in. I feel like I say this anytime I read a book of short stories, but some of these were wonderful, some were forgettable, and some I didn’t care for. Short story collections are a gamble, but this one paid off. I believe I picked this up as an ARC (advanced reader copy) as a very-very-parttime Third Place Books employee.
[fiction, short story collection, written by a korean american fiction writer, medium-length read]

This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories That Make Us by Cole Arthur Riley (2022) | Quick summary: Stories and reflections on healing justice, trauma, bodywork, and the coming-of-age.
This is one of those books so heavily dog-eared that I could never lend out my copy, and also one of those books I will probably buy again to lend out my copy. My therapist recommended This Here Flesh after listening to Riley on a few podcasts, and though I purchased it relatively shortly after her recommendation, I just now picked it up. One of the millions of beautiful things about books is that they always ask you to pick them up right when it makes the most sense. There’s a difference between Riley’s book and the other books in this subject matter that I’ve read or am aware of — and that’s christianity. The addition of Riley’s love and belief in god is something I found interesting to read about, even as a non-atheist.
[nonfiction, spiritual growth and healing, written by a Black american writer and poet, medium-length read]

Jenny and the Jaws of Life: Short Stories by Jincy Willett (1987) | Quick summary: A short story collection about the dark comedy in humanity.
A Little Free Library find, originally published in 1987 is a true treasure. I was previously unfamiliar with Willett, but I consider myself a fan now. Willett is hilarious, dark, funny, sharp, and honest. I am delighted to have come across this book and its fabulous cover. (My copy was published in 2002.)
[fiction, short stories, satire, written by a white american author and writer teacher, medium-length read]

[What I heard]

The Bright Hour: A Memoir of Living and Dying by Nina Riggins (2017) | Quick summary: Nina Riggs was diagnosed with breast cancer and, within a year, knew it was terminal.
I loved this memoir so deeply. I read a lot about grief and death and am just as interested in hearing from people who are dying as from people experiencing the death of a loved one, especially when the writer is so strong, funny, and honest. Riggs’s memoir is such a gift for anyone who loves and has lost someone to cancer. I admit when I was 3/4 of the way through the book, I googled Riggs to see if she was somehow still alive, and of course, she isn’t. She died before this book was even published. I hope her family is well.
[nonfiction, memoir, medical memoir, written by a white american writer and poet, longer read, read by cassandra campbell and kirby heyborne]

Tell Me Everything You Don't Remember: The Stroke That Changed My Life by Christine Hyung-Oak Lee (2017) | Quick summary: A memoir about survival and reinvention after a life-changing stroke.
Spoiler alert: Lee is still alive, and thank god because after getting to know her so well in Tell Me Everything, I would have been devastated to read that she’d since passed. Listening to Tell Me Everything right after The Bright Hour was interesting because of the similarities and devasting differences. Both women wrote memoirs about their medical experiences, their near-death experiences, their children, families, and partners during said medical traumas, and yet, they stand out so distinctly from one another. They’re both excellent memoirs that help put life into perspective, which we all need occasionally. Lee’s memoir was born from this excellent essay if you want to read it.
[nonfiction, memoir, medical memoir, neuroscience, written by a korean american writer, longer listen, read by emily woo zeller]

Better Faster Farther: How Running Changed Everything We Know About Women by Maggie Mertens (2024) | Quick summary: How women broke into competitive running, even when we’ve been running since the beginning of time.
I probably wouldn’t have read this book if it weren’t for the fact that the writer is a friend of my dear friends, and I’m always highly likely to read the book of someone from my corner of the country. Though I’m not a runner (I do a mile on the treadmill if I’m in the mood sometimes, and I’ve run a handful of 5ks and one 15k, but I’m not A Runner), I found a lot of value in Mertens’s excellent journalistic research on how women have been perceived and treated in the running world. I enjoyed learning about things like the first boundary-breaking marathon in Greece in 1896 or the runner who later became a low-key famous social worker. Excellent read, and if you’re a runner of any gender, I’d highly recommend it!
[nonfiction, sports history, sociology, written by a white american journalist and writer, medium-length listen, read by the author]

The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop (2024) | Quick summary: The dancer and actress Kelly Bishop’s memoir.
Wow, wow, wow. Y’all know I consume a lot of celebrity memoirs, but as soon as Bishop started speaking, I knew this would top the list. Bishop has lived a full life at 80 years old and takes us through feelings about her father’s passing, her relationship with her mother, how a conversation she had as a child ended up as a scene in A Chorus Line, and, of course, how she feels about Gilmore girls. Spoiler: she absolutely loves and adores the show, the cast, and especially the creator, Amy Sherman-Palladino. I have to mention how fucking awesome it is that Bishop is so unapologetically pro-abortion and always knew she never wanted kids. I revere women like her, especially growing up in the era she grew up. I know I really, really loved a memoir when I cry at the end for no other reason than the appreciation of hearing someone talk for seven hours about their life. I will buy this because I want it on my shelf, but listening to Bishop is definitely the way to go. I could have listened to another 15 hours of Bishop talking to me.
[nonfiction, celebrity memoir, written by a white american actress and dancer, medium-length listen, read by the author]

[What I recommend]

• If you enjoy short story collections: The Hive and the Honey and Jenny and the Jaws of Life
• If you’re also on your healing journey: This Here Flesh
• If you read about grief, death, and life reflections: The Bright Hour and Tell Me Everything You Don’t Remember
• If you need or want to read about cancer: The Bright Hour
• If you need or want to read about strokes: Tell Me Everything You Don’t Remember
• If you run or are a non-man in the sports world: Better, Faster, Farther
• If you are a Gilmore girls person: The Third Gilmore

As always, I would love to continue to make this little bookletter, which I deeply enjoy writing and creating, a small source of income. If you have yet to upgrade your subscription and have the extra income, it would mean the world to me if you subscribed! Subscribers get more pop-culture-focused letters as well as slightly more personal writing (from me, obviously) and the occasional shit-talking about books that really sucked. If you can’t afford to upgrade, don’t! And enjoy the free stuff, which is also very fun to read, if you ask me.

Thank you for the support for completely booked as we enter our fifth year together. Read the very first post here.