Favorite Reads 2024
Books that I enjoyed in 2024
I love reading. Books have this magical ability which allows us to travel to other worlds, other times, or inside the heads of other peoples. Reading is a valuable habit that we should encourage. To that end, I thought I’d share some of the best books that I read throughout the year of 2024. They all broadened my horizons and helped me grow as a human. Please support your local library, your local bookstore, and your favorite writers. Light spoilers for the books may be scattered throughout.
Confessions by Kanae Minato
I had already seen the film that the book is based on, so I knew what to expect, but the book, with all its shifting perspectives, is far deeper. A classic of Japan’s iya misu (“ew mystery”) genre which features murder, milk, and AIDS. The book challenges traditional morals of justice, vengeance, and forgiveness in way that leaves you forever unsettled.
A Room With A View by E.M. Forster
Though it’s over a hundred years old, the power of this novel to elicit pure joy in the reader is not diminished. It’s humanist message of following your own heart remains resonant, and its romance is just as sweet.
The Tatami Galaxy by Tomihiko Morimi
I could relate a lot to this book. It’s about a single college student who can’t figure out how to make the most of his time there. The Narrator soon becomes trapped in a time loop where he can experience a variety of different college pathways, but each one ends up with similar inadequate results. It’s almost a reverse version of Groundhog Day. In that film, Bill Murray’s character gradually becomes a better person with each repeated day, but in Tatami Galaxy, the Narrator realizes no matter how many times he does his life over again, he’ll never be the perfect college student. But then, who is?
The Hundred Years War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi
Rashid Khalidi is one of the more thoughtful voices on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In this book, he presents the history from the Palestinian perspective, highlighting the abuse and dispossession that the Palestinians have suffered. Not only from the Israelis, mind, but also from the British before them. Khalidi also doesn’t shy away from chastising the Palestinian leadership for its terrible decisions. While it isn’t the only book you should read on this issue, it certainly makes a persuasive case for long-denied Palestinian justice.
The Borrowers by Mary Norton
As a kid, I had always been fascinated by miniatures and The Borrowers indulges that fascination. The small world of The Borrowers is a very comforting one, but it is not without its dangers, such as being discovered. While the Borrowers are a fantastical lot, one can’t help but believe that there are a few in the house when you’ve lost your keys or spare buttons.
King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard
A rip-roaring adventure from start to finish, King Solomon’s Mines is a great introduction to the character of Allan Quartermain. While its racial politics are dated by today’s standards, it depicts Africans with far more complexity and humanity than other books of the era (e.g. Tarzan of the Apes).
The Content of Our Character by Shelby Steele
Although Shelby Steele’s politics are more conservative than mine, I enjoyed The Content of Our Character as a thoughtful and inspiring perspective on American race relations. Steele acknowledges the historic oppression faced by blacks, and the ingrained sense of inferiority many have acquired as a result. He encourages his fellow blacks, however, the move beyond abusing racial grievance and for whites to move beyond wallowing in their guilt. Steele’s racial philosophy is far more compassionate than Trumpian conservatism and far more optimistic than some modern progressives.
Strangers by Taichi Yamada
Strangers is a light and addictive read. It’s about a divorced screenwriter who encounters the ghosts of his dead parents. While not a particularly scary ghost story, it is a haunting one. At the same time he begins a romance with a neighbor who is self-conscious about the burns on her breasts. Strangers is a moving novel awash with nostalgia and regrets. It asks of us to cherish our loved ones and to be kind to strangers.
Before The Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
This is a time travel novel that’s rather heartfelt and cozy. It is set at a Japanese cafe where customers can travel back in time, but they have to return to the present before their coffee gets cold. The book is divided into four vignettes of different time travel experiences. Given how restrictive the rules are for time travel, little can be done to change the events of the present. What matters, however, is the emotional closure that the customers get by meeting with their loved ones and getting the chance to say then what they couldn’t before. Who among us wouldn’t envy them of that chance?
Crazy Rich Asians Trilogy by Kevin Kwan
Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians Trilogy is a moving, hilarious, and satisfying read from start to finish. Kwan, an Asian-American who spent his childhood in Singapore and has traveled a lot around Asia. He intimately knows the culture and the foibles of its upper-classes. The story starts off with Rachel Chu, a not so rich Asian-American who is swept into the world of ultra-rich Singapore by her boyfriend Nicholas Young. Though the more intriguing story is that of Nick’s sister Astrid and her ex-boyfriend Charlie. Kwan satirizes as much as celebrates the lifestyles of these aristocrats, but he also reveals that for all the privileges afforded to them, these people can’t easily escape the expectations of their parents or the judgments of high society.
The Best of I.F. Stone by I.F. Stone
The late journalist I.F. Stone has the sort of incisive, free-thinking commentary that is sorely needed now. As a leftist, Stone effectively skewers to injustices of his day, the racial segregation of Jim Crow, the savagery of the Vietnam War, and the intimidation of McCarthyite blacklisting, but he also opposed the race riots, the cruelty of Joseph Stalin, and found Dr. King saccharine compared to A. Phillip Randolph. As an American patriot, he supported World War II and praised FDR’s leadership, but he deplored the Allied bombing of civilians and the nuclear arms race. As a Jew, he advocated for the Jewish refugees from Europe and was optimistic about Jewish immigration to Palestine, but he was also disturbed by the creation of a Jewish state that failed to take native Arab rights into account. Stone’s writings not only provide a frank snapshot into defining historical moments, but they also reveal an intellectual honesty that many in politics should aspire to.
Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
I will never forget my first encounter with Audre Lorde’s poetry in college. She wrote a poem about Senator Jesse Helms in which she described “safe-sex dripping from your tongue/into avid senatorial ear-holes.” It was only later that I learned about Helms’ homophobia and realized that this poem was her cheeky revenge. Lorde’s essays in Sister Outsider are essential for anyone who wants a complete understanding of American feminism. Like bell hooks’ Ain’t I Woman?, Sister Outsider tackles the strengths and shortcomings of feminism from the perspective from a black lesbian. A common theme in her essays is the need to bridge differences and find our common humanity, as she wrote in “The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action”: “That we not hide behind the mockeries of separations that have been imposed upon us and which so often we accept as our own. For instance, ‘I can’t possibly teach Black women’s writing — their experience is so different from mine.’ Yet how many years have you spent teaching Plato and Shakespeare and Proust?”
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
This was my third re-read of The Lord of the Rings, which is still my favorite book. This novel gets better every time I read it and I always uncover a new detail I never noticed or a new adventure I had forgotten.
Short Fiction by Robert E. Howard
This one is a bit of a re-read. This collection contains a lot of Conan the Barbarian stories, of which I had read a few. These are delightful pulp adventures which still make for easy escapism. My favorite stories are “The Queen of the Black Coast”, “The Shadows of Zamboula” and “Red Nails.”
Anpanman by Takashi Yanase (Japanese)
The 1973 children’s book that launched a phenomenon. Anpanman is a superhero with a head made of anpan. This is a Japanese pastry made filled with red bean paste. He flies around and lets hungry people eat off parts of his head, but not to worry, he has a baker who can always make a new head for him. It’s a fun book that comes from a serious place. The author, Takashi Yanase, fought in the World War II and nearly starved to death, so he created a hero who could feed everyone. In Japan, that dream lives on.
The Silk Road (Part III) by Kishin Shinoyama (Japanese)
The late Kishin Shinoyama was one of Japan’s premier photographers. I bought this book during one of Japan’s local spring festivals. In it, Shinoyama chronicles his journey through the Silk Road that made trade possible between Asia and Europe. In this volume, he visits Syria, Egypt, Turkey, and Greece. Reading the book now, it’s a little sad to hear him speak of how beautiful Syria’s Palmyra was before the civil war.
War In Japan (1467–1615) by Stephen Turnbull
This is a breezy overview of samurai warfare during Japan’s Warring States Period by one of the world’s premier military historians. Good stuff if you’re in a hurry.
Surfing on the Internet by J.C. Herz
Surfing the Internet is a good time capsule into the early days of the Internet in the 1990s. Those who spent all their time on the Net were called “netheads”, but we’re all “netheads” now. Writer J.C. Herz explores chatrooms with anti-Barney jihads and role-playing sites that send her through dungeons. Anyone who waxes nostalgic of a pre-4chan, more respectable Internet will quickly find themselves disabused of this myth. From the very start, there were always nasty people online, but Herz reminds us that there’s also a lot of cool stuff too that keeps us coming back.
Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Silver Nitrate is a fun horror novel for film buffs that is set in 1990s Mexico. It reminded me of Grady Hendrix’s pop culture horror My Best Friend’s Exorcism, which was set in the 1980s. Silver Nitrate is about a sound editor named Montserrat, and her friend Tristan, a struggling soap actor, who both come face-to-face with a Nazi cult that uses film itself for magic rituals. The book was a real thrill, filled to the page with so many facts about cinema and the occult, that it almost seems plausible. If done right, Silver Nitrate would likely work better as a film than as a novel, but if you’re looking for an introduction to the Golden Age of Mexican Horror, I couldn’t think of a better place to start.
A Beautiful Mind by Slyvia Nasar
This book was given to me by a relative. It’s about the life of mathematician John Nash, who made major contributions to game theory, struggled with schizophrenia, and eventually won the Nobel Prize in Economics. It’s a long one, but I’ve always found the quirky lives of geniuses appealing.
Ninja Attack! True Tales of Assassins, Samurai, and Outlaws by Hiroko Yoda and Matt Alt
Some of you NHK viewers may remember Matt Alt from the documentary series Japanology. Alt has teamed up with his translation partner and wife, Hiroko Yoda, to bring the stories of ninja to a wider, international audience. Those expecting something academic like Turnbull will find themselves disappointed, but the book is pretty informative about the history of ninja and how they came to populate both Japanese and global pop culture. The book made me realize how much of Naruto is an amalgamation of so many earlier ninja stories.
A History of the Samurai by Jonathan Lopez-Vera
If you have to read only one book about the samurai, this is it. It is a concise history told in a very readable language. It may be the best Japanese history book I’ve yet to read. It tries to stick to the facts and not to the myths of the samurai, while also exploring unique periods in their history, such as the Imjin War with Korea and Tsunenaga Hasekawa’s long expedition to meet the Pope.
American Addresses, with a Lecture on the Study of Biology by T.H. Huxley
T.H. Huxley was famously known as “Darwin’s Rottweiler” and here you can see why. He argues in plain English why evolution by natural selection is the most reasonable theory to explain how life came about. His advice to those who deny evolution echoes what Theodosius Dobzhansky was would say almost a century later: “Get a little sound, thorough, practical, elementary instruction in biology.”
Unshackling Intimacy by Ralph Leonard
This essay by Marxist columnist Ralph Leonard, is not only an unabashed defense of sexual liberty, but is also celebration of sexual desire was one of the greatest traits of human existence. My favorite quote is Leonard’s humorous defense of the male gaze: “I confess to having this wretched disease called the ‘male gaze’, which amounts to nothing more than the sin of being attracted to beautiful women.”
45 Years of Reason Magazine Interviews, Vol. 1
I wouldn’t consider myself a proper libertarian, but Reason magazine is an essential part of my daily media diet. This cheap volume has informative interviews with Frederich Hayek, Ronald Reagan, and Christopher Hitchens, among others. I can’t wait for Vol. 2!
Shogun by James Clavell
It took me two months to finish James Clavell’s Shogun. It’s a fictionalized epic of Japan’s Sengoku Period, which was defined by almost continuous civil war. The meat of Shogun, however, is driven mostly by political ambitions, cultural differences, and forbidden romance. Anyone expecting a grand reenactment of the Battle of Sekigahara will be disappointed, but no matter. Shogun has stood the test of time as an impeccably researched, character-driven, Byzantine and yet intimate epic of Japan. Shogun reminded me of Shusaku Endo’s Silence, which is about the Portuguese Jesuits who enter Japan amidst the persecution of Christians during the Tokugawa Period. Both novels entertain serious questions as to how well Westerners and their ideas can adapt to Japanese culture. A question which remains relevant to this day.
The Samurai Invasion of Korea (1592–98) by Stephen Turnbull
Another entry by historian Stephen Turnbull, which covers Japan’s two invasions of Korea that were ordered by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. An enthralling book that highlights the courage of the Korean people, as well as the brutality of the Japanese samurai. Foreign fans of the Korean film The Admiral: Roaring Currents, would do well to learn more about this historical background.
Interview With The Vampire by Anne Rice
Interview With The Vampire is haunting in that it treats being a vampire as a tragic, painful state. I had also started reading Kim Newman’s Anno Dracula around the same time I read this. Rice’s book is the superior, if only because it is more personal. While I held nearly all of the protagonists in disgust, I felt that Rice gave us an intimate look into how the condition of vampirism perverts the psyche and the soul.
The Vegetarian by Han Kang
The Vegetarian is the novel that helped Han Kang win the Nobel Prize in Literature. I am relieved that South Korea’s first Literature Laureate was her and not the oft-discussed predator poet Ko Un. The Vegetarian is a bizarre and disturbing book that reminded me of Albert Camus’ The Stranger. In both stories, we have a protagonist who decides to rebel against the expectations of society. The small act of refusing to eat meat, which escalates into more extreme acts, has ripple effects throughout the whole family. The tale is ambiguous enough to offer a variety of interpretations, but I see it as a critique of the stifling nature of society, and how little acts of refusal can undo its aging structures.
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin
This heavy biography inspired Christopher Nolan’s equally grand film. J. Robert Oppenheimer is among America’s most controversial heroes. He was a brilliant mind who helped complete the atom bomb in order to defeat the Nazis. The bomb, however, was eventually used used on thousands of Japanese civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and despite Oppenheimer’s best efforts, a nuclear arms race ensued which we are still living with to this day. The most surprising part of the book was how thoroughly Oppenheimer enmeshed himself in the progressive politics of his day. That a man responsible for so catastrophic an act of war, could be so left-wing will seem to some readers a contradiction, but perhaps that makes for a good cautionary tale: Having the “right” ideology will not keep you from doing morally suspect acts. An interesting tidbit from the book is the suggestion that Oppenheimer seemed to agree (at least in part) with Gar Alperovitz’s revisionist text against the decision to bomb Japan.
The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
The 1933 film adaptation with Claude Rains is a favorite of classic horror, but at times, this novel reads more like a comedy than a horror. The Invisible Man himself, however, is still very much a frightening egomaniac.
The Stand by Stephen King
The Stand has acquired a new relevance in a post-COVID world. It opens with a pandemic that spreads across America, wiping out much of the population. In the aftermath, the survivors have to rebuild what’s left, as two competing visions of the future compete for dominance. The best bits of The Stand relate to the early stirrings of the pandemic and how every one reacts to it. After that, the novel goes into bizarre and religious territory which I ultimately didn’t care for, but Randall Flagg as a good a Stephen King villain as Kurt Barlow or Annie Wilkes. I unfortunately read the extended edition, which convinced me that King’s editor was right the first time around.
Tales of Mystery and Horror by Edgar Allan Poe, Narrated by Christopher Lee (Audiobook)
I think I listen to this every October. Edgar Allen Poe is very much the father of mystery, horror, and short stories in American literature. This collection includes two of my favorites: “The Masque of Red Death” and “The Tell-Tale Heart.” And who better to read horror than Count Dracula himself?
Super Real Japanese by Valiant Japanese Language School
This is a useful book that no Japanese language learner should be without. It lists a lot of the Japanese phrases and slang common to most conversations, but often lacking in college textbooks and JLPT practice tests. These are words you hear a lot in anime and dramas. They include yabai ne (that’s crazy), wakewakaran (I have no idea), and my favorite, fuzakenna (don’t mess with me).
Struck by Black Rain by Keiji Nakazawa
Most manga readers know of Kenji Nakazawa’s masterpiece, Barefoot Gen, but his one-volume Black Rain also deserves attention. It catalogues the survivors of the Hiroshima bomb who try to going living in a society that would much rather forget them. Nakazawa sets his aim at the Americans who dropped the bomb, his fellow Japanese who discriminate against the survivors, and the warmongers across the globe who seek to build new atomic weaponry.
In the Service of the Shogun: The Real Story of William Adams by Frederik Cryns
This is a perfect complement to anyone who has read Shogun. Frederik Cryns has written a very readable biography of William Adams, the first foreign samurai, whose exploits inspired Shogun’s John Blackthorne. Cryns does a good job explaining the historical context of the Anglo-Spanish wars which drove Adams’ disdain for the Catholic Church, as well as the fruitful relationship between Adams and Tokugawa Ieyasu, both of whom shared an interest in foreign cultures. Adams’ love of Japan was sincere, and his ability to seamlessly adapt to its language and customs remains an ideal for many gaijin across Japan.
Manga Yokai Stories: Ghostly Tales From Japan by Lafcadio Hearn (retold by Sean Michael Wilson with illustrations by Inko Ai Takita)
This volume is a good introduction to the Japanese ghost stories collected by Lafcadio Hearn, but is now updated to a creative manga format. The black and white sketches of Inko Ai Takita are great at visualizing the magic and mystery of these tales. I liked the ghost story of the floating heads the most.
A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler)
I never got around to reading these books as a kid, but I did watch the Nickelodeon film with Jim Carrey. This book is charming. As the title implies, the events of this series are rather unfortunate, but Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler) laces them with black humor and clever wordplay. The Bad Beginning is a good model for how to make a compelling plot: constantly put your protagonists in near inescapable danger until the very end.
Japanese Popular Culture and Globalization by William M. Tsutsui
A handy read for anyone interested in the roots of Japanese pop culture and how it came to dominate the globe. William M. Tsutsui’s book recognizes the international and indigenous influences on “Japan Cool” products, but it also asks provocative questions, such as this: If Japanese pop culture product becomes so localized as to be virtually invisible within a foreign culture, how much of it is still Japanese?
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
Pippi Longstocking was for girlhood what Tom Sawyer was for boyhood. Astrid Lindgren’s classic still holds up because its celebrates the inventive chaos of children. Don’t expect a clear moral at the end of the book, other than this: follow your imagination bravely and boldly.
The Girl with the White Flag by Tomiko Higa (Translated by Dorothy Bratton)
This a true story of Tomiko Higa, who grew up in Okinawa amidst the terror of the Pacific War. She was once memorably photographed holding a white flag as she approached the American soldiers. This book is the story of how she came to hold it. Like Grave of the Fireflies and Barefoot Gen (both partially autobiographical), The Girl with the White Flag is a brutal, unflinching look at the costs of the Pacific War for Japanese children. One can’t help but be in awe of little Tomiko’s resilience with the depths of unspeakable hell.
March by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
An autobiographical epic inspired by The Montgomery Story comic, March is a comic book re-telling of John Lewis’ life and how he became involved with the Civil Rights Movement for racial equality. I thought I knew a lot about the history, but the comic format makes these brave activists feel more human and real than ever before. It really hammers home just how scary and lethal it was to protest for equality, and all Americans owe a deep debt of gratitude to their discipline, compassion, and fortitude.
Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle (Translated by Xan Fielding)
Planet of the Apes is about a scientist who lands on a planet where apes are the masters of civilization and humans are savages that are hunted for sport or tested on in cages. Even if you’ve seen the 1968 classic or the 2010s Caesar Trilogy, this book still stands apart as more cerebral and disturbing than its more action-based adaptations. There is an implication that since humans and apes are siblings of the same common ancestor, that the line between them is thin. Not yet have any of the films depicts the ape society at its zenith, nor have they shown the graphic experiments to which the humans are routinely subjected. The novel also seems to imply that humans are not the end result of evolution, but will inevitably be surpassed by another species, such as the apes. Furthermore, the apes, now the masters of planet, are blinded by this very same delusion. Monkey see, monkey do.
Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli
Don’t let the brevity of this book fool you. It is still quite difficult to wrap your head around and may require multiple readings for laymen such as myself. Carlo Rovelli’s excellent work of pop science brought me back to reading Isaac Asmiov’s Building Blocks of the Universe, Dan Q. Posin’s Giants: Men of Science, and Peter Atkins’ Four Laws That Drive The Universe in college. The book covers Einstein’s theory of relativity, black holes, and the nature of heat, among other things. The quantum mechanics part gave me some trouble, though. In the end, Rovelli does well in conveying his love of physics and the importance of science education.
