A鈥檚 Year in Books

What did you read this year?

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2024

119,428

pages read

352

books read

1 like Like

Shortest Book

pages

Longest Book

739

pages

Average book length in 2024

339

pages

Most Shelved

5,010,499

people also shelved

Least Shelved

people also shelved

A鈥檚 average rating for 2024

3.0

Highest Rated on 欧宝娱乐

4.61 average

A鈥檚 first review of the year

liked it

Decades ago, the Towers first arrived with no warning or indication of their purpose. Now, the Towers are challenges 鈥� people line up for their chance to enter the tower and fight through each level to gain the top. Arthur Chua鈥檚 goal has always been climbing the Malaysian Beginner Tower, his only chance at changing his life. His goal is merely to survive and make the top of the tower, but Fate has another plan.

I enjoyed that this LitRPG didn鈥檛 g Decades ago, the Towers first arrived with no warning or indication of their purpose. Now, the Towers are challenges 鈥� people line up for their chance to enter the tower and fight through each level to gain the top. Arthur Chua鈥檚 goal has always been climbing the Malaysian Beginner Tower, his only chance at changing his life. His goal is merely to survive and make the top of the tower, but Fate has another plan.

I enjoyed that this LitRPG didn鈥檛 get too heavy into the stats at the beginning of the book, but instead focused on the characters, their interactions, and the parameters of the tower. Then, once we were well situated, it became a bit more focused on the stats and technicalities. This was a great way to get the reader engaged in the story and characters while including the RPG aspects. However, by the last three-quarters of the read, it became much more focused on stats and technicalities to the detriment of the characters, the plot, and my enjoyment.

I also quite liked the interesting cultural aspects that were included in the book and added to the immersion of the world. The book focused on some diverse aspects of games, from monster fighting to building a clan from almost nothing. The protagonist wasn鈥檛 entirely likeable (he was a teenage boy doing and thinking teenage boy nonsense and rhymed a lot), but there was some growth and he was somewhat more tolerable by the end.

Unfortunately, this book began to slow down and become more boring for me around the three-quarters mark. I think this was partially due to the over-focus on stats and technicalities, but also because the characters spent a lot of the time planning and talking rather than things really happening. There were also quite a few instances of awkward wording/phrasing throughout the read.

Overall, this was a good LitRPG that started off stronger than it finished. I鈥檓 still interested to see where the sequel goes and to see if we learn more about the tower, and hopefully the pacing will be a bit more even. My thanks to NetGalley and Tantor Audio for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. ...more

础鈥橲 2024 BOOKS

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

really liked it

The Corset Factory, Book 1 by Valerie Anne Hudson

really liked it

The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place by Julie Berry

The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste

really liked it

really liked it

We Are All the Same in the Dark by Julia Heaberlin

When the Jessamine Grows by Donna Everhart

really liked it

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

The Spice Maker's Secret by Renita D'Silva

A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

really liked it

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

The Summer She Went Missing by Chelsea Ichaso

The Secrets Next Door by Sally Royer-Derr

really liked it

really liked it

The American Daughters by Maurice Carlos Ruffin

really liked it

The Deepest Lake by Andromeda Romano-Lax

This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel

Till Death Do Us Part by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn

Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan

I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue

it was amazing

You Will Never Be Me by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell

Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah 脌b铆k茅-脥y铆m铆d茅

really liked it

A Darker Shade of Magic by Victoria E. Schwab

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

A鈥檚 last review of the year

really liked it

Actual Rating 3.5

I found the plot of this one a little less compelling as well as the worldbuilding to be a little less compelling, but it was still quite good overall. This is mostly just a personal preference because I love the Underdark and this book was in the surface world, which I always find a little less compelling. I did love the ending of this one though, and it鈥檚 made me excited to read the next one!

What did you read this year?