Books I read in 2024

Hey there! Long time, no see, I know. It’s been over 1,5 years since I last posted anything here. That’s exactly the amount of time since I started being an entrepreneur and building my coaching business … and all my focus went into that direction. Energy-wise, reading-wise, everything-wise.

The end of 2023 and first half of 2024 was all about immersing myself in coaching books. But mid-2024 I started to realize that I was devoting so much of my energy to my business that I was not really doing or thinking of anything else. And I started again, in a conscious manner, to read non-fiction books.

What helped me a lot was that I joined a local book club in Bucharest, which meant I read at least one book per month. Helped with the deadline, with socializing outside of the work-related environment, plus helped with reading outside of my bubble (which is also the main idea of this blog … and it STILL fits in 2025 so damn well!).

Without further ado, in no particular order, here’s the list of fiction books I read in 2024:

The Dream of a Tree by Maja Lunde

Oh, a book I waited for so so much! The 4th and final book of the Climate Quartet series (one of my favourite series of all times). It’s the story of a family that lives in Svalbard (Norway), where the Global Seed Vault is; the action takes place in a future where many species of plants are endangered or extinct. Loved it!

Pieces of Summer by Marieta Arminda Andrei

The author of this book is a friend of mine, so I’ll tell you from the beginning I’m biased here 🙂 The story is about her divorce (which is real) and the complicated facets of what that means for one’s life. I read it in one afternoon, got me totally engaged! I do recommend reading it!

To Go On Living by Narine Abgarian

A collection of short stories about people of an Armenian village, immediately after the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the early 1990s. A sad book overall, sprinkled with funny moments and very relatable customs. Part of the book club list.

The Magus by John Fowles

This is a book I read for the 3rd time, also part of the book club list. The story is set in a remote Greek island. A classic, with lots of psychological games. Long long book. I wouldn’t read it for the 4th time soon.

Yours Truly, Surik (Al dumneavoastră sincer, Surik) by Lyudmila Ulitskaya

I believe this book was not translated into English and this is my translation of the title 🙂 Very happy I discovered this Russian writer as part of the reading club list. Loved her writing style and the whole story, the story of a young man named Surik and the many women in his life. He’s like the opposite of Don Juan, and most probably you’ll feel pity for him.

The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paolo Giordano

Yep, part of the book club read. A story about two misfits and their lives, sometimes intersecting … other times being very apart. A nice and sad read. The writer is a physicist, so there’s lots of mathematics and science elements interwoven in the story.

The Cactus by Sarah Haywood

A light story about a woman and her pregnancy. I liked reading it, but don’t remember much about what happens in the book.

Fresh Water for Flowers by Valérie Perrin

Valérie Perrin is one of my big 2024 discoveries. Fresh Water for Flowers is an amazing and touching story about love and death, with funny parts and unexpected twists. The main character is a caretaker at a cemetery. That’s all I’m sharing for now. I highly recommend this book!

Forgotten on Sunday by Valérie Perrin

After reading Fresh Water for Flowers, I went on reading Valérie Perrin once more. This is also a story that has all the premises to be sad … but it isn’t 🙂 Justine is only 21 years old and she’s a carer at a retirement home. There, Hélène is her favourite resident … at almost 100 years old, she has some very interesting stories to share.

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

I remember this being a sad story, but it did not impress me much. It felt super short, even if it’s around 100 pages.

New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson

The story of New York in 2140, when the whole city is underwater. Every street became a canal. Every skyscraper is an island. And several interesting stories seem to have nothing in common at first. Loved reading it, it’s a mix of climate fiction and politics and a bit of mystery … a good mix for the 600+ pages.

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Here are also some of the non-fiction I read:

Breakthrough Coaching by Marcia Reynolds

The Myth of Normality by Dr. Gabor Maté

Ganbatte: The Japanese Art of Always Moving Forward by Francesc Miralles and Héctor Garcia

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Currently, I’m reading 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson.

What books did warm your bookish heart in 2024? I’d love to get some inspiration for my 2025 reading list!

Have a lovely day and … happy reading!

Georgiana

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PS: as a fun-fact, the experience of 6+ years of writing on this blog proved to be super useful for building my coaching website AND improving my writing skills that I now mainly use for marketing (newsletter, social media, articles); so even though I haven’t written here in a while, I thought quite often about how much I grew in terms of writing ever since I started this blog 🙏