What if books and theater had the power to change lives? Join me, Lluvia, as I promise a journey through my top 10 favorite books of 2024, where stories leap off the page and into your heart. From a whimsical adventure in "Ollie's Odyssey" by William Joyce to the hauntingly beautiful love story in "Swimming in the Dark" by Tomasz Jedrowski, I explore how contemporary literature captures the spectrum of human experience. Expect a special El Paso mention in "Our Towns" by James and Deborah Fallows, alongside unforgettable narratives like "Carrie Soto is Back" by Taylor Jenkins Reid. As I reflect on the representation of queer characters and authors, these books reveal the profound journeys and diverse voices reshaping modern storytelling.
Beyond the pages, I confront the challenges of accessing live theater and share my admiration for those, like Moshe, who navigate these hurdles with creativity and passion. While financial constraints remain a barrier, the transformative magic of theater inspires hope for future experiences and discussions. Plus, I sprinkle in some timeless classics such as "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker, and thought-provoking reads like "We Should All Be Feminists" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, ensuring that your book list is both rich and relevant. Whether you're a literary enthusiast or a theater aficionado, there's something in this episode to ignite your imagination and reaffirm the power of art in our lives.
All episodes of the podcast can be found on our website: https://booksvsmovies.buzzsprout.com/share
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Episode Transcript
Welcome to Books vs Movies, the podcast where I set
out to answer the age-oldquestion is the book really
always better than the movie?
I'm Yuvia, an actress and booklover based out of New York City
, and today I will be countingdown my top 10 favorite books of
2024.
Alright, so before I get intothe countdown, I have another El
(00:25):
Paso shout out.
So I have not done an El Pasoshout out in a while.
As I said, I get so excitedwhenever I see El Paso mentioned
anywhere.
That is my hometown and itdoesn't get a lot of love, so I
always get excited when I see it.
And I don't remember whichepisode I did my last shout out
(00:45):
in, but it's been a while, andthat shout out came from the
Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett,which, spoiler alert, is
somewhere on my list today.
So since I just felt like itwas appropriate that, since my
last El Paso shout out came fromthe Vanishing Half, I should
include the next El Paso shoutout on this episode.
Now this El Paso shout outcomes from Our Towns, a 100,000
(01:11):
Mile Journey into the Heart ofAmerica, by James and Deborah
Fallows.
So I quote for distraction ondays of long flights there's
always the radio.
The air traffic controllerswere busy over West Texas with
its vast stretches of militaryairspace.
There were many calls betweenthe ATCs and Fighter 25 and
Fighter 26, who were no doubt ontraining missions.
(01:33):
I tallied at least five medevacflights in the air that day,
which seemed like a lot until Iconsidered the long, desolate
stretches of road between sickor injured people and medical
attention.
Pilots this day requestedvectoring to get to places with
names that sounded exotic andevocative Amarillo, san Angelo,
dollheart, alpine, el Paso.
When the ATC chatter faded out,we switched to Sirius XM radio
(01:56):
and toggled around" so that istoday's El Paso, shout out.
So let's go ahead and get intomy top 10 favorite books of 2024
.
And I have quite a few rereadson here, which is not surprising
, and I have a few from DuaLipa's book club that also made
(02:17):
it on here.
So, as I said, dua Lipa's bookclub has been hit or miss for me
in terms on whether or not Ilove the book as much as she
does, or I really do not likethe book.
So, and then we have a few inwhich I like it, but they didn't
make I like it and they mightstill be good or might still be
something that I just did notenjoy, but it just wasn't on the
(02:39):
top 10 least or top 10 favoritebooks of this year.
But anyway, starting off withnumber 10 is Ollie's Odyssey by
William Joyce.
I just thought this was areally sweet kid's book and the
illustrations were just sogorgeous.
Like this is one of.
This is the most beautifullyillustrated book that I've seen
(03:02):
in a while.
It's just gorgeous to look atand I really, really liked it.
I liked the story of Ollie'sOdyssey.
I think it's a great way tobring kids on this adventure and
get them excited about therelationships that they have
with their favorite toys andhopefully encourage them to go
on more adventures with theirfavorite toys and really just
(03:23):
soak up as much as they can oftheir childhood.
Number nine is Swimming in theDark by Thomas Jodorowsky.
This was one of Dua Lipa's bookclub picks and this is one of.
Let me see one of one, two,three, four, four out of my 10
(03:44):
favorite books of 2024 are queeror like.
Um have to deal with like queercharacters or queer authors
wrote them.
This is I.
I read a lot of like books thisyear with with like queer
characters, which is I.
I didn't realize that until Iwas making this list.
So that's really cool and Imajority of them made it onto
this list.
So there you go, and I thinkthat's why these deathless
(04:08):
shores which is that queerCaptain Hook, peter Pan
reimagining was just sodisappointing because I had so
many solid, like queer books tochoose from.
But anyway, number nine isSwimming in the Dark by Thomas
Jodorowsky, and this book is setin the early 1980s in Poland
and it follows a.
(04:29):
It tells a tender andpassionate story of first love
between two young men whoeventually find themselves on
opposite sides of the politicaldivide.
It's really heart-wrenching tosee our two main characters fall
in love and still have a lot oflove for each other and think
(04:50):
that they're doing the rightthing, but they disagree
ultimately in terms of theirpolitical beliefs.
One of them is definitely verymuch fighting for his right to
love anybody and the other oneis, well, he does want to have
the ability to love who he wants.
He's more okay with being inthe closet and staying in the
(05:14):
closet.
And yeah, it's just a really.
It's a really beautifullywritten book and I really,
really enjoyed reading it andit's it is difficult to read,
obviously, but I absolutelyloved it.
Number eight is the Ballad ofSongbirds and Snakes by Suzanne
Collins.
This is the Hunger Gamesprequel, you could say.
(05:36):
It follows Coriolanus Snow whoturns into President Snow in the
original trilogy, and Iabsolutely loved it.
I was very hesitant to read itand come back into this world,
but I loved it and I enjoyed mytime back in the arena and
getting a look at one of thefirst Hunger Games and how it
(05:57):
was so close to not existing hadthis one failed.
So for more detailed thoughtsagain, visit the Ballad of
Songbirds and Snakes episode ofBooks vs Movies.
Number seven is Keri Soto isBack, by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
This one I read to fulfill oneof my reading challenge prompts
(06:18):
about reading a book about or bya female athlete.
So, and I just want to say thiswas the first year I read
Taylor Jenkins Reid and I readtwo of her books.
Both of them are on this list.
She's quickly becoming one ofmy favorite authors.
So really, really, reallyenjoyed this book.
But Keri Soto is back, followsKeri Soto, who is the goat of
(06:43):
tennis back in the 70s or 80s, Ibelieve.
Don't remember off the top ofmy head, but this is one of the
books that I listened onaudiobook.
I don't usually like readingvia or listening via audiobook.
I prefer to read just becausethe book sticks with me better.
(07:04):
And, yeah, I just get more outof visually reading as opposed
to hearing it being read.
But this one I just reallyreally enjoyed the story that I
was able to listen to it justfine.
But it follows Keri Soto.
She went into retirement andthe record she set for the most
Grand Slam Swan has just beenbroken and she wants to keep
(07:28):
that record.
So she comes out of retirementto defend that title.
And this is a book about tennis.
There's really not much thathappens outside of the tennis
world, but I still found thebook to be really engaging and I
really enjoyed Keri Soto.
Now, this is an example of howKeri Soto is like one of the
(07:49):
most unlikable characters.
She is so cocky and conceitedand just full of herself and,
yeah, she's Just not a likablecharacter.
But this speaks to TaylorJenkins Reid's ability to get
you invested in the story.
I usually don't like if themain character is unlikable.
(08:09):
You will not see me rooting forthem.
I hope everything bad happensto them.
And again, this just speaks toTaylor Jenkins Reid's ability of
making a compelling story andfinding a way to make even the
most unlikable character someonethat you enjoy reading about.
I wasn't necessarily rootingfor her per se, but I did enjoy
(08:30):
reading her story, and thatdoesn't always happen with
unlikable characters.
Number six is the Seven Husbandsof Evelyn Hugo by Taylor
Jenkins Reid.
So this is the other TaylorJenkins Reid book I read this
year.
I really, really enjoyed it.
I'm looking forward to readingmore from her.
As I said, this is the firsttime ever reading a Taylor
Jenkins, any kind of Taylor, anybooks by her but I really,
(08:53):
really enjoyed both of them.
And the Seven Husbands ofEvelyn Hugo follows a classic
film actress named Evelyn Hugo.
She is telling her story to oursecondary our supporting
character, I guess you could sayand so that this supporting
(09:14):
character can write EvelynHugo's biography and she
reflects on her rise to the top,the risks she took, the loves
she lost and the long-heldsecrets the public could never
imagine, and I don't want toreveal what those secrets are,
but this is, yeah, I don't wantto say too much because I feel
(09:38):
like spoiling.
That just spoils everything.
It just spoils so much.
But you will really, reallylike this book Evelyn Hugo is
fascinating.
Her story is fascinating.
Hearing about all seven of herhusbands and how she ended up
married to each one of them andwhat she gained and lost by
marrying each one of them is.
It's just a fun journey.
(10:00):
This was another one, I believe,that I read to fulfill one of
my reading challenges I don'tremember which reading challenge
but I really enjoyed it and Ihighly recommend it.
Number five is the VanishingHalf by Brit Bennett.
Now, this one is like I said,that was the one that prompted
me to start El Paso Shoutouts,because El Paso was mentioned in
(10:23):
there.
And yeah, this story followsthe Vignes or Vines.
It's pronounced, it's spelledV-I-G-N-E-S.
So I'm going to say Vignes, theVignes twin sisters.
They are identical twins butthey grow up to have completely
different lives.
They grow up together in asmall southern Black community
(10:45):
and run away from that communityat age 16.
And they end up becomingseparated at some point after
running away, and this is whatleads them to have completely
different lives.
One of the Vignes sisters endsup returning to her, the small
Black community that she grew upin.
She now has a Black daughterand her.
(11:07):
This is the.
This is a Black community whereyou're aspiring to become
lighter and lighter skinned, asas you can.
So, even though you're stillmarrying other Black people in
this community, you're marryinglike the lightest Black skinned
person so that you can hopefullyhave light skinned children
(11:28):
that then proceed to have theirown light skinned children and
so on and so forth.
Like this is what this blackcommunity is aspiring for.
This twin goes against that andshe ends up marrying a really
black, like dark skinned blackman and she ends up giving birth
to a really dark skinneddaughter, and so that brings
(11:48):
about a lot of prejudice whenshe comes back to this community
towards her daughter, but shedoesn't let that stop her from
raising her daughter and tryingto give her as many
opportunities as she can.
The other twin sister runs awayand gets married to a white man
and she and her sister are.
They are up until the sisterends up returning with a really
(12:10):
really dark skinned daughter.
They are like what everyone inthis community is aspiring to be
because they are so lightskinned that she ends up the
sister that ends up marrying thewhite man.
She's passing as white.
Everyone believes that she iswhite.
She's married to a white man.
This white man has no idea thatshe's actually black because
she is passing as white.
(12:31):
But their lives become, eventhough the sister that ran away
and ends up marrying the whiteman.
She's completely cut off herfamily, including her twin
sister.
Marrying the white man, she'scompletely cut off her family,
including her twin sister.
Their lives continue to beintertwined because then their
daughter's storylines startintersecting.
It is just a really reallyfascinating book.
(12:52):
I really enjoyed reading it.
This is also part of Dua Lipa'sbook club and I really enjoyed
it and I recommend it.
Number four is the Color Purpleby Alice Walker.
I don't think it's any surpriseto anyone that it's on this
list.
I mentioned in the podcastepisode that this was my third
time rereading it, my third timereading it, second time
(13:14):
rereading it, and I still reallyreally love it.
Every single time I read it Ilove it even more, so of course
it's going to be on heresomewhere.
Number three we have A ThousandSplendid Sons by Khaled Hosseini
, and Khaled is one of myfavorite authors.
If I read something by him,it's definitely going to be on
(13:37):
my favorite books list.
It's just how it works.
I absolutely love all of hisstories, all of his books.
A Thousand Splendid Sons is hissecond novel and I read the
Kite Runner first.
Absolutely love the Kite Runner.
The Kite Runner definitelyfocuses on a relationship
between father and son and hewanted his second novel to focus
(14:01):
on the relationship betweenmother and daughter.
Now I will say the relationshipbetween father and son and
mother and daughter doesn't meanthey're literally father and
son and mother and daughter.
That's just kind of therelationship that the characters
have with each other.
There's like an older one who'sa mentor to the younger one.
So you can argue it's amotherly daughter relationship,
(14:23):
even though they're not literalbiological mother and daughter.
But A Thousand Splendid Sonsfocuses on this, really on the
relationship of two women,mariam and Layla, and it
chronicles 30 years of Afghanhistory in a deeply beautiful
story of family, friendship,faith, and I just love it so
(14:47):
much.
I love this book.
This is one of my all-timefavorite books ever and I just
really, really love it.
Number two we have Pretty, aMemoir by KB Brookins.
So this was another book that Iwon in an Instagram giveaway
and I fell in love with it.
This is written by a youngblack trans writer and this is
(15:11):
their memoir about transitioningfrom female to male and it
talks about queerness,masculinity, race, their
experiences, since they haveexperience being female and now
they're male presenting.
They have experience with howwomen are treated versus how
(15:31):
they were treated when they werea woman versus how they're
treated now that they're malepresenting.
There's just so many goodquotes in this book.
I could just fill a notebookwith all my favorite quotes, all
the things that I took awayfrom this book.
I really really recommend itand I learned a lot and I
(15:51):
applaud KB for just theirvulnerability and their ability
to tell their story and not beafraid to call out the people
that, the way they've beentreated in the past, and just
everyone, that everyone shouldread this book.
I think number one we have weshould all be feminists by
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
Again, chimamanda Ngozi Adichieis one of my favorite authors.
(16:16):
Anything that she writes isgoing to end up on my favorite
books.
I just love all her books andthis is actually a really short
essay.
That was so.
She actually gave this weShould All Be Feminists speech
as a TEDx speech, speech as aTEDx speech, and then from there
(16:42):
it was transcribed and alteredinto an essay.
That in this little pocket-sizedbook.
It really is the littlepocket-sized book that you can
carry with you anywhere and pullout as needed and share with
anyone that needs to read it,and it's really, really, it's
really, really short.
Like I said, it's really small.
It's small, it's pocket-sized,so you can read it in 20 minutes
or less, 30 minutes or less,and it's just a really, really
(17:08):
good introduction to feminismand what it is.
In case you're not familiarwith it, and if you are familiar
with it, it's just a goodrefresher on why we should all
be feminists and why feminismbenefits everyone.
It is not feminism is notman-hating, and feminism should
include everyone, regardless ofgender identity and race.
Because unfortunately, we dohave a lot of what's called
(17:30):
white feminism, in which wefocus on the victories given to
white women, and sometimes thosevictories exclude Black women
and other women of color.
So I absolutely love it, Ihighly recommend it and you
should check it out for yourself.
So those are my top 10 favoritebooks that I read in 2024.
Be sure to keep listening formy top 10 least favorite book,
(17:54):
least favorite films that I sawin theaters, and my top 10
favorite films that I saw intheaters, and I will explain in
those episodes why I'm focusingon just films that I saw in
theaters, as opposed to everysingle film that I watched in
2024.
And, who knows, maybe Moshi cansend me his list of top 10
(18:15):
theater that he experienced in2024.
We'll see if he's interested indoing that.
And, yeah, he watches so muchmore theater than I do.
He's very passionate aboutwatching as much theater as he
can.
I am very passionate aboutwatching theater.
I love watching theater as well, but if I don't get comps,
(18:36):
which are free tickets to see ashow, I am probably not going to
watch it.
And it's not because I don'twant to, it's just that theater
going to the theater is soexpensive and more and more
there are affordable ways to gettheater tickets.
But even then then, with howmuch I spend on Orlando and I to
(18:57):
go to the movies, it's stillusually less than just one
theater ticket to go myself.
Yeah, so it's just not asfinancially accessible to me.
But Moshi finds a way to watcha lot of theater and I really
applaud him and commend him forthat.
So we'll see if he wants to dothat.
But that is it for this episodeand I'll see you next time.
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