2024 is the rearview mirror. The time has come to talk about the things that I liked best (or least) in pop culture. As with last year, I’ll weigh in here and there as I see fit. I might do it a lot, I might do it a little. I’m just following my capricious whims!

First up? Books!

As always, books are the one category where I don’t limit myself to books FROM the year, only books I read in the year.

One of the top 15 books of this year. (Macmillan Publishers)

15. The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton- Not the book the plot description on the inside panel led me to believe, but still a fascinating murder mystery that ends up thinking some big ideas about being human.

14. The Traitor by Ava Glass- I like books about spies.

13. Alter Ego by Alex Segura- I like books about comics, the creation of comics, and conspiracies about comic book characters. I know Alex in that friend of a friend of a friend kind of way, but bias isn’t what puts this on the list, honest!

12. The Future Was Now by Chris Nashawaty- You know that book about movies and 1999 everyone loved? This is that, but for the sci-fi films of the summer of 1982. It builds a strong case that while JAWS or STAR WARS might be the grandfathers of the blockbuster era, the summer films of 1982 are where the new landscape really seized hold. (Also, shhhh, but Nashawaty is a Conn College grad.)

11. Hollywood Pride by Alonso Duralde- Duralde is smart as hell and this book is an exhaustive (but never exhausting) guide to the history of queer filmmaking in Hollywood.

10. Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu- I had qualms about the TV series (while still liking it a lot), so I sought out this book to answer some of them. Very different experience reading this and one I quite enjoyed.

9. Hampton Heights by Dan Kois

8. Medallion Status by John Hodgman- The first of two books on the list that I’ve meant to read for a bit, finally did, and proved I should’ve read them earlier.

7. The Winner by Teddy Wayne- Tennis was SEXY in 2024!

6. Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay

5. Blue Skies by T.C. Boyle- Boyle head til I day!

4. The Big Rewind by Nathan Rabin- This was the second book I’ve meant to read for a long time and obviously should’ve read sooner.

3. The Book of Love by Kelly Link- Short story writer crushes her first novel. People have compared it to King, and not without cause, but Link is definitively her own writer.

2. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

1. Grief is for People by Sloan Crosley- My second Conn alum on the list and Crosley’s second appearance in two years. A genuinely humane work for a year where many of us had more than a little grief to process.

Worst

Revenge of The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell- Defensiveness is not a great shade on a multi-time bestseller who is still considered by many to be a genius.

The Name of This Band is R.E.M. by Peter Ames Carlin- I love R.E.M. My favorite band of all-time, in fact. I was so excited for this. Sadly, it is a “And then this happened. Then this happened. Oh and then this” kind of book, which is what I absolutely did not want.

Awaiting

Show Don’t Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld

The Talent by Daniel D’Addario