In 2024 I set out to read books. I was not sure how many I wanted to read, probably something close to 20, but what I did, somewhat unintentionally set out to do was read books written by women. Whatever the topic and however long, I wanted to read female written literature, and that is what I did (and I intend to do in 2025 as well).
I read roughly 15 books in 2024, give or take a few that I forgot, and most of which were not on my “To Be Read” list from last year. I wanted to recap the books as a summary of my year, and memorialize my thoughts in these pixels for future reference.
Jephte’s Dauhter - Naomi Ragen
As the first book of the year, this was amazing. At the time I had been on a streak of reading Naomi Ragen’s novels after starting with “The Sacrifice of Tamar.” A series of Ragen’s books center around women in different orthodox (and ultra orthodox) Jewish communities across the world, that face some sort of hardship. While her books do contain extremely tough material (rape, domestic abuse) they are extremely deep in their writing. Ragen’s characters are extremely layered and multidimensional. While they do endure tough challenges that no one should have to experience, they cover topics and give insight into communities where sadly these events are not uncommon occurrences. While giving a voice to these women and validating their experience, Ragen does not diminish the other traits that make them human, and more importantly, make them Jewish women. Her writing for The Land of Israel is romantic, and Batsheva, the protagonist of Jephte’s Daughter, maintains a connection and lover for Judaism and spirituality that I highly resonated with.
These novels are a breath of fresh air for many reasons, the one nearest to my heart is the portrayal of Jewish women as spiritual leaders and simply as human beings that ar far from the stereotypes and tropes we are often put into. While the novel could use some work on it’s description of Sephardic Jews, I do believe it is a step in the right direction.
Funny Story - Emily Henry
I love Emily Henry’s novels. Each of her books (minus PWMOV which I have not read), is some of the best romance literature I have come across. The male characters are the epitome of men written by a woman, and I think that many authors could take a few notes from Henry on how to flesh out male characters and write them as people and not objects. I look forward to every book she releases, and am done reading before I can start
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Me Times Three - Alex Witchel
This is the Sex and The City of books. A random library pickup, I was glued to the pages of this book and finished it in a day. It starts with a girl who thinks she has the ideal life, but finds out that her boyfriend has been dating three other girls simultaneously.It is funny, dimensional, thoroughly relatable, and a perfect capsule of a special era for young women in New York.
Quintessential and cliche, but will still keep you on your toes throughout every part
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Black Swans - Eve Babitz
Good Times Fast Company - Eve Babitz
Black Swans and Good Times Fast Company were two of three books I read in the week span of my spring break. Her writing and story telling is the perfect accompaniment to the poolside and a high UV. As someone who has always been fascinated with old Hollywood and L.A., mixed with the format of short stories and essays, this book was one I ate up right away. Her story telling is so romantic and she writes with such an infatuation for life and for California. I immediately added every other book of hers to my list
The Woman Destroyed - Simone De Beauvoir
I absolutely wanted to love this book, but could not finish it. I liked what I read, connected with certain parts of the stories, but overall found it to be a little difficult and hard to read. The third book on my spring break bender, I was hoping it would be another lovely read, and perhaps because it was not is precisely why I should give the book another chance.
Israel - Noa Tishby
Noa Tishby’s Israel is meant to be a beginner’s guide to understanding the Israeli Palestinian conflict. Of course, from an Israeli perspective, it is incredibly insightful and give a well rounded context of everything that has happened from start to bottom. At times she is a little to comfortable with the reader, which I don’t think is the best choice, but besides that is a great read. Although I was already (what I thought to be) well versed in the history and current events of the conflict, this book taught me more than I could have expected. 20/10 would recommend
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The Lemon Tree - Sandy Tolan
Another great and necessary read regarding Israeli and Palestinian people. The Lemon Tree tells the story of two people on opposite sides of the same conflict. Not a before and after, or a history, but a story of here and now. It is a great book that has sympathy for both sides of the story, while giving educational and real accounts of things that happened on both sides. Will it solve the problems of the conflict? No, but it is a place to learn and start working towards peace.
Tehran Children - Mikhal Dekel
During the summer I had an deep fascination with the Israeli and Middle Eastern literature sections of my local library. Some of the books I picked up were never cracked open, or were simply unreadable (glossaries, indexes, and commentaries of novels I had never heard of ). Tehran Children by Mikhal Dekel was one of the pieces of gold I struck upon. It tells the often forgotten and untold story of young children, known as Tehran Children, escaping the holocaust through an untraditional route - the middle east. By way of Russia, Uzbekistan, Iran, andmuch sacrifice from their parents, these children were able to reach the land of Israel, and saved from persecution by the Nazis. Mikhal Dekel, whose father was a Tehran child, retraces the steps of her late father, posthumously learning the story of his life. A necessary read for this generation, and for preserving the history of not only these children, but of the Bukharian and Persian jewish communities, and their contributions to their people during the second world war.
Everything I Know About Love - Dolly Alderton
This book is one that I think I will, and should return to read throughout every year of my 20’s. Written as a guidebook for her younger self, Dolly Alderton does not shy away from the ugly and messy parts of growing up. She touches of themes of love and heartbreak, loss and happiness, how to make the most of what you have, and that ultimately it’s just you, your family and your friends against the world, figuring it out together
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I Didn’t Know I Needed This - Eli Rallo
This book was a bit different from the rest of those on this list. I am not one much for self help books, which I assume this to be in some form. Eli is a Dolly Alderton in her own sense, and this book is one I believe will be a classic book for girls in their 20’s. The stories of dating and loving, and having your heart broken are so reassuring to hear.
Conversations With Dvora - Amia Leiblich
By far my favorite, and by far one of the longest rads on this list is Conversations With Dvora. It’s a book with a difficult premise, but once you look past that is one of the most beautiful books. It travels through the life of Dvora Baron, the first female writer of Israel. Her story is so beautiful, and deeply jewish; growing up jewish in another country, and not truly realizing how different you are until you are older, and later in life, yearning for the jewish homeland. Her life is not one of triumph over a victor, but actually one painted with so much difficulty and perseverance. I have rarely felt so connected to a character as I have to Dvora Baron. This is a unique take on a book, not so much autobiography, but in some ways it is; regardless, this is a book that will make you think, cry, smile, and so much more.
I could go on for days about this book, which took me weeks to finish, but I will leave it at this: you need to read this book.
Carrie Soto Is Back - Taylor Jenkins Reid
If you are someone who likes reading fiction, but also loves a good novel, then Taylor Jenkins Reid (TJR) should be the top author on your list. Her books are so captivating and well written, with fully fleshed out characters and narratives. While her novels are not in any ways a series, they is an invisible string threaded throughout them all, that makes them especially exciting to read. Carrie Soto is an extremely well written character from top to bottom. Everything about this book is interesting, even down to the explanations of the tennis process, which I am now fully invested in. The story is written so much like a biography that you will forget it is fiction.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was a book that came highly recommended, and I was excited to read, but for me personally was not my favorite of TJR’s writing. While still well written, I personally it felt a lot on the table in the story. It was enjoyable and exciting, telling a beautiful story, but for me it was not a personal favorite.
The House of The Spirits - Isabelle Allende
This list is not written in any chronological order, however The House of The Spirits was my last read of 2024. I had heard the name Isabelle Allende for so long, and when I finally picked up a book, I immediately knew why. This book, although lengthy, and definitely not a day read, this novel paints a story, one that is not all that far from the truth, that is both beautiful and gut wrenching. Mixing the spiritual aspects of these characters along with the very harsh realities of living in Chile during the 20th century.
All books can be found here
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