2024 Book Challenge: Read Along With The Connected Reader Each Month!
We had some really fun moments at The Connected Reader in 2023 . Unicorn Space Book Club with @smtlovestoread? Delightful. Reading getaway weekend on Lake LBJ in Texas? Life-giving. And in between, we messaged about books on the blog and on Instagram.
As we move into 2024, I was thinking about how we can create more authentic conversations in these virtual spaces. To that end, I’m excited to share The Connected Reader 2024 Read Along!
This year, I’m sharing one book I’m reading each month, and I invite you to read along with me. I’ll share on Instagram stories throughout the month, and then do an Instagram live and a blog and Instagram post at the end of the month that you can join in on to share your thoughts. My hope is that we have even more authentic conversations about books together in 2024!
Without further ado, here are The Connected Reader 2024 Read Along books!
The Connected Reader 2024 Book Challenge Books
January
Feel Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters to You by Ali Abdaal
2023 was all about figuring out how I want to spend my time. And I realize that it will be a constant evolution, which is why I’m interested in this book. I’m hoping it will be a bit different than the average productivity book written by a white man. I mean, the author is a doctor and a part-magician, so it’s worth a shot.
February
Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange
I read Orange’s debut novel There, There in 2020 and it has stayed one of my all-time favorite books. I’m excited that 2024 brings another novel from this author.
March
The Widely Unknown Myth of Apple and Dorothy by Corey Ann Haydu
I just read this book in November and I’m obsessed. It is one of the most resonant depictions of grief I have ever read and it was in my top three books of 2023.
April
Pay Up: The Future of Women and Work by Rechma Saujani
This book came up in our closing meeting for the Unicorn Space Book Club @smtlovestoread and I did this summer. The subtitle is a topic I’ve been grappling with personally for the last few years and I look forward to reading this and hearing others’ perspectives.
May
Come and Get It by Kiley Reid
I read Kiley Reid’s debut, Such a Fun Age, back in 2020 and this is a much anticipated follow up novel. I’m looking forward to more of Reid’s humorous commentary and depiction of the world we live in. Also, Reid and the publishing team behind her books are seriously winning the book cover game.
June
Congratulations, The Best Is Over by R. Eric Thomas
Somehow, I have never read any of R. Eric Thomas’s work, which I need to change in 2024. I’m going to start with his most recent collection of essays since everyone in my book world raves about it.
July
Aniana Del Mar Jumps In by Jasminne Mendez
I read this in July and I can’t stop shouting about it; it was one of my top three books of the year. It’s a beautiful depiction of a young girl navigating coming of age, chronic illness, and family trauma. It’s a novel written in verse, so it’s easy to race through, but worth taking the time to sit in and savor.
August
The Last Karankawas
I saw this recommended by someone in The Connected Reader community and it seems like it checks all the boxes for me. Epic family drama? Check. Texas setting? Check. Depiction of Hurricane Ike, a storm I lived through in the recent past and am interested in processing in this way? Check.
September
School Moms: Parent Activism, Partisan Politics, and the Battle for Public Education
I feel paralyzed by what is happening in our public school system, both as a parent and as an educator. I know reading isn’t action, but I’m hoping that this will give me time to think and reflect and come to some concrete actions to take, because y’all, this just isn’t it.
October
The Wolves Are Watching
I cannot think of a better spooky season read than this one. From the first paragraph, I was creeped out and unsettled, and from there, Lund mixes a little bit historical fiction, a little bit magical realism, and a little bit young adult mystery to keep you turning the pages.
November
Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H.
This book rounds out my favorites of 2023. It is a memoir, written by a queer, Muslim author, writing under a pseudonym. It has a brilliant structure and the writing is so clear. It’s a privilege to be invited in by Lamya H. to hear how she has made sense of her identity, her religion – her everything.
December
A Holly Jolly Ever After
Last December, I read A Merry Little Meet Cute – the first in this romance series by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone – and I thought it was such a fun way to end the year. I look forward to ending 2024 with this, though, beware – it is spicy!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, meaning I get a small commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Even if you don’t use the links, I highly recommend checking out Bookshop.org and Libro.fm for access to tons of titles while still supporting an indie bookstore.
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