2024 Mid-Year Review and Favorite Books

Hello and welcome to my 2024 mid-year review! I am discussing what I read in the first half of the year, what my second half plans are, and what my favorite books of the year are so far.

[@badbettybooks4001]

Links to my reviews mentioned:
Ennead vol 1: ruclips.net/video/yvSDPpflzHo/видео.html
A Letter to the Luminous Deep: ruclips.net/video/TEf6_IhfXXE/видео.html
Why We Sleep: ruclips.net/video/hbPZ7X2cMk4/видео.html
Inanna Lady of the Largest Heart: ruclips.net/video/JNb5SVPaMbw/видео.html
Haikyū!!: ruclips.net/video/nW_Rzml6sr4/видео.html
Lake Superior Secrets: ruclips.net/video/NfQxDh3vwQA/видео.html
Return to Fukushima: ruclips.net/video/t0Ldy7EoiBQ/видео.html
Worlds Beyond Time: ruclips.net/video/lCZYe04FUgk/видео.html
The Remarried Empress: ruclips.net/video/U_tCODJcYuY/видео.html
Flatland: ruclips.net/video/N3vVCslHKsM/видео.html
Goblin Quest: ruclips.net/video/VX5JPEqxHbg/видео.html
My Pancreas Broke, But My Life Got Better: ruclips.net/video/3738qFAQVSM/видео.html
Euler's Gem: ruclips.net/video/J2WkG1xbzTk/видео.html
A Stroke of the Pen: ruclips.net/video/PGys3KAbTcw/видео.html
Mathematics for Human Flourishing: ruclips.net/video/-qQ2C9pvWU4/видео.html
The Cancer Factory: ruclips.net/video/2_JQxXDMWPA/видео.html
Failure of Justice: ruclips.net/video/sLVyleBbA1A/видео.html
Dinosaur Art II: ruclips.net/video/CcO5jUl8jEI/видео.html
Shin-Hanga: ruclips.net/video/ClyUe_ct-1Q/видео.html
Faces of Power and Piety: ruclips.net/video/260ATBExz-4/видео.html
Magic in Medieval Manuscripts: ruclips.net/video/YZnoW49gLkM/видео.html
The Nocebo Effect: ruclips.net/video/yxQkrLO5FCM/видео.html
Shin Hanga: The New Print Movement of Japan: ruclips.net/video/_P5CDRG1pJY/видео.html
Legends of the Nahanni Valley: ruclips.net/video/9UKhQaVKn8g/видео.html
The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp: ruclips.net/video/TDz71NSHULw/видео.html
Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms: ruclips.net/video/tXtG8BPdLKI/видео.html
the gods lie.: ruclips.net/video/Vql1oPHCXLY/видео.html
Beasts Factual and Fantastic: ruclips.net/video/pVlzJxyCkXI/видео.html
The Unstrung Harp: ruclips.net/video/TZHwRiKGG28/видео.html

[@adamkarnbrink1210]

Very interesting! I had never heard of any of these books, I seem to have different tastes to you, but I feel inspired by you to pick up some non-fiction at least, something I've been bad at doing! Been a good reading year for me thus far. Some highlights include: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, by no means a flawless book, in fact the ending is quite bad, but I really loved it anyway; Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn captured the mildly depressing American small town feel really well for me; The Voyeur by Alain Robbe-Grillet had an interesting and very beautiful feel of time where memory, experience and daydream intermingle. Currently I'm reading If on a Winter's Night a Traveller by Italo Calvano, and it could certainly become one of my new favourites if it keeps it up.

[@badbettybooks4001]

I'm glad to hear it's been a good reading year so far! It sounds like you have found some good books. I read a pretty even split between fiction and non-fiction, but what I actually read is usually all over the place! This year has been a lot of scifi, manga, and non-fiction centered around the medieval world. I've also forayed into the Shin-Hanga art movement in Japan, Fukushima, Linguistics, and some American history. My "read" list of the year is a mess haha. Do you have particular topics in non-fiction you would like to explore?

[@adamkarnbrink1210]

@@badbettybooks4001 Hmm, probably something historical. Do you have any recommendations for books about monasteries? My local library isn't very big so it's unlike they'll have what you recommend, but if it seems interesting I might buy it!