Top Picks of 2024: Books, Films, and Podcasts
In 2024, there was plenty of bad, like November, but there was also a lot of good. So I’m focusing on the positive with this compilation of what I enjoyed in 2024, specifically in popular culture. Not including the obvious things like hot pink sunsets and family moments, here are some of the highlights of my year.
The best books I read in 2024:
– Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
– Master Slave Husband Wife by Ilyon Woo
– Trust by Hernan Diaz
– Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín
– Long Island by Colm Tóibín
– Leaving by Roxana Robinson
– The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
– Miracle at St. Anna by James McBride
– In My Time of Dying by Sebastian Junger
– The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
The best shows I watched in 2024:
– Somebody Somewhere (Max)
– Hacks (Max)
– The New Look (Apple TV+)
– The Bear (Hulu)
– Masters of the Air (Apple TV+)
– Slow Horses (Apple TV+)
– Your Honor (Netflix)
– Trying (Apple TV+)
– The Buccaneers (Apple TV+)
– Industry (Max)
When it comes to music, I don’t pay much attention to current trends. I just listen to what I like when the mood strikes. My top five songs of the year according to Spotify were:
– About Damn Time by Lizzo
– Lovely Day by Bill Withers
– You’re My Home by Billy Joel
– Just Dance by Lady Gaga
– I’m Yours by Jason Mraz
And my top five artists of the year according to Spotify were:
– Johann Sebastian Bach
– The Beatles
– Billy Joel
– Frederic Chopin
– Lizzo
Lastly, a poem that has stuck with me from 2024 is “The Facts of Life” by Pádraig Ó Tuama. The closing lines, “So you might as well live and you might as well love,” continue to resonate with me as we enter 2025.
