Billy books 2024
I love a list. Some people who fancy themselves fancy think they’re vapid, but I love them.
I have been writing on the internet for a long time, and one thing I carry with me as I write is a respect for busy people. I’ve heard copywriters dismissively say, “People don’t read,” and to that I say, “People are busy.” With three kids of my own, I know what it’s like to stare down the internet, resigned that I’ll never read everything I “should.” Lists deliver quickly, so I can get to the good stuff: the books.
Several short lists:
Books published in 2024
James - Percival Everett
Honestly, retellings aren’t my thing, but I can’t deny there’s a lot of history that needs a rework: like the Civil War. My bookclub convinced me to read James, and I'm thankful they did. James is full of rage and it moves quickly, so it's perfect for the reader with little time and a lot of pent up frustration.
All Fours - Miranda July
Apparently this is the book for a group chat. Somehow, I don’t know anyone else who has read it, but if I did, I would start a group chat and the first thing I would talk about is the tampon scene. If you've read this, please reach out. I need to talk about it.
Martyr! - Kaveh Akbar
Martyr! holds the best, most deeply flawed, and undeniably human characters I’ve read all year. Drop these humans into a world of violence, illness, epic love, and art, and you get a book that leaves you with a hangover. Martyr! pairs well with James if you're interested in shattering American exceptionalism.
Best non-fiction
Cue the Sun: The Invention of Reality TV - Emily Nussbaum
I feel no guilt when I say I love reality TV. I read hard books, but I watch shit TV. Regardless of the medium, I am overly analytical. Nussbaum's Cue the Sun provided the behind-the-scenes information that fuels my reality TV obsession. Now I can be even more obnoxious in my arm-chair psychological analysis of reality tv people.
Wifedom: Mrs. Orwell’s Invisible Life - Anna Funder
Wifedom isn't non-fiction in the strictest sense of the word. It's deeply researched and includes non-fiction parts, but Funder brings Eileen Blair (George Orwell's wife) to life in imaginative snippets that feel very true.
Gator Country: Deception, Danger, and Alligators in the Everglades - Rebecca Renner
What would happen if we took "Florida Man" seriously? – the book.
Best audiobooks
There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension - Hanif Abdurraqib
Hanif Abdurraqib narrates his book on basketball and what it means to have a hometown hero like LeBron James. Abdurraqib, a celebrated poet, brings the perfect cadence to his book, making it a unique listen full of emotion and rhythm. Even if you aren’t a huge fan of audiobooks, I recommend trying There’s Always This Year as a listen.
Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World - Naomi Klein
Political books stress me out so I don't read many of them. But I do listen to a lot of news podcasts, so that's probably why I enjoyed Naomi Klein's Doppelganger. Ostensibly a book about Klein's lookalike, Naomi Wolf, this book provides the beginnings of a roadmap to dealing with a highly polarized political world.
Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma - Claire Dederer
Monsters was the book I recommended most frequently this year. "What do we do with the art of bad men?" is such a zeitgeisty question, and Dederer offers an elegant and personal way of thinking about the answer. The book is mostly about bad men, but the Doris Lessing chapter is exceptional and deeply relatable to a working "divided" mother such as myself.
Best old books
The Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri (2003)
Jhumpa Lahiri has been on my list of authors to read for a long time, and the first book I read by her, The Namesake, did not dissappoint. A family story, an immigrant's story, flawed characters, vivid settings–it has a lot of the elements I love.
The first three in the Ripley series, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Ripley Under Ground, Ripley's Game - Patricia Highsmith (1955-1974)
This summer was my first “cuff-it” summer. I cuffed myself to Patricia Highsmith and had an excellent murder-filled summer in Europe. Then I watched all of Ripley with Andrew Scott and had to wrestle with what it means to fall in love with a murderer.
An Apprenticeship of the Book of Pleasures - Clarice Lispector (1969)
Clarice Lispector's words are the epigraph in too many of my favourite books for my ignorance of her work to continue. It's no wonder so many of my favourite authors respect her enough to quote her. She is a genius sentence writer.
Books I’m excited to read in 2025
Audition - Katie Kitamura
The Third Realm - Karl Ove Knausgård
Taiwan Travelogue - Yáng Shuāng-zǐ
Two of these (Kitamura and Knausgård) are authors on my list of always-buy-their-next-book writers. Yáng Shuāng-zǐ is new to me but I’m really excited to read her book about food, translation, and Taiwan.
Mea Culpa: I had intended to publish every month, but life happened and many months were missed. I'm back now. See you in January.