2024 Wrapup Post: WHAT A YEAR Y'ALL WHY//I GOT MARRIED????
by
R.F. Gammon
- December 30, 2024
Hey, everybody! 'Tis I, back with a life and music and book wrapup of 2024! Let's leap straight into this. I am SO excited to share my stats and my life this year!
Music of 2024
This hasn't been a super music heavy year for me compared to a lot of others, because I've done a lot more podcasts/audiobooks/that kind of thing. Especially audiobooks.
Every year, though, I do a playlist that is a song that defined each month for me. It's always pretty inaccurate, but fun to look back on after a while. Here's the lineup of artists that Defined my 2024:
- Paris Paloma. I got to see her in concert by happy coincidence in June, and her debut album dropped in August, and basically I haven't stopped listening to her ever since. She writes about so many of the complexities of being a woman and being an old soul and longing for something better. This album was the catalyst for my redesign of Pentegreens 1 (more on that later). Basically I have eaten, drunk, and slept cacophony for months now and I don't see myself stopping anytime soon.
- Halsey. Halsey's been a top artist of mine for quite a few years now--I think I got into her in like 2021 or something ridiculous like that. She's been the Fall Out Boy of my 20s (they were the top band of my teens). In October, she dropped a new album on chronic illness and the agony of losing your body and wondering when and if and whether you would ever feel better. It's not a fun album to listen to, but the CATHARSIS of it...yeah.
- Bastille is yet another band that put out a new album this year and I am obsessed with it. It's all literary and history references and they're all CORRECT which is something we never get with literary albums. Just....AHHHHHH.
- Noah Kahan once again came in clutch. Paul Revere, y'all. If you're not from New England, you won't get it. But like...yeah.
- LOTS of soundtracks, specifically The Hunger Games and Arcane. And no, I don't mean scores--I mean assemblies of songs made for movies/shows. Obsessed with them.
Books of 2024
I already did a giant post on this, so I'll just drop a link and say 150 books is a lot and audiobooks made that possible.
In brief, I read 150 books this year. I made a couple of pie charts showing some stats for how I did that and what kinds of books I read, and a vow to make sure I do better next year, especially on the indie part.
who published the book? this almost entirely stems from the amount of audiobooks I listened to.
audio saved my life. LIBBY LIBBY LIBBY
genres! still largely fantasy by a giant margin BUT I wasn't expecting quite as much non fantasy and I love that for me!
gotta work on this in 2025
And because I like to spare you from things: have a list of my LEAST favorite books, all of which are problematic in some way! I shall enumerate!
- Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus//trauma p*rn//least likely precocious child//the dog can talk but this is not magical realism//not a sign of women helping women//only one good guy in the whole book (dies)//the men at the workplace make fun of an adult man for bringing lunch from home//deeply suspicious mental health treatment//autism baiting
- The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han//bro why//it was a 6 hour audiobook that I listened to in two hours but at what cost//puberty makes you dateable which is how you derive worth
- Lightlark by Alex Aster//opens with literal cannibalism//she's not like the other girls she is a CANNIBAL//most toxic love triangle (three ways of toxicity)//pointless//why did there need to be an arena battle//WASTED potential
- A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston//I read her book The Seven Year Slip and it was fun and cute so that's what I was expecting//bro why//how dare someone want to have children//staying in your hometown is bad but also the only choice you should ever make?//problematic romance//the main character is literally a book boyfriend so I shouldn't be surprised that he growled but I still was//WAY too much spice and all of it gave me the ick//I almost threw my phone out of my moving car at one point
Writing in 2024
Okay so like...I graduated this year. I did a ton of writing for that, although not as much as I did in 2023; Fiction took a little bit of a back burner because of that and because this has been a year of soaking in other people's stories, other greatness, and letting that feed my soul. It's been beautiful and it's been so refreshing. I've also gotten some stuff written, though! I feel like I'm finally geared up and ready to go in 2025 and maybe have a super intense writing year and churn out some manuscripts.
- I was working on Dragon Tales for a while this year, and then with some feedback and reflection realized it just wasn't what I was supposed to be doing yet. So I've pulled back on that one. I haven't given up on it, but it was not the time and I understand that. I'm going to let it cook for a while and see what comes of it.
- I wrote a story called The Crayfish Are Still Here for Creative Writing class that was actually a literary fiction piece and I loved it. It's a flash fiction piece, but here's my favorite line from it:
If Pa is angry, I know God will be, too. God put Pa at the head of the house not because Pa knows everything, but because Pa is a good, good man. Pa will always get up first and go to bed last. He prays like he means it and he’s the first to admit he’s wrong. Pa loves us.If Pa says I’m wrong for what I’ve done, then God help me, I guess I’m wrong.
- I wrote an entirely new novel (very short) that I'm still keeping very close to my chest. Working title: Just Another Ghost Story. It's paranormal. That's not much to keep you interested, but don't worry, more is coming next year. Here's a snippet just for right now:
The butler walks over. “Greetings, young man. My name is John Parker.”“He died in the house,” Annabella says.Desmond can’t hide a shudder.“Everyone in this house is dead,” Annabella whispers. “What difference does it make where it happened?”He closes his eyes. He does not want to be here. His heart aches within his chest, and perhaps there is something that remains of humanity, even in death. His heart is not beating. His blood does not pump. But the pain in the center of his chest? It remains.
- And finally: I entirely rewrote The King's Daughter! This year, something finally clicked into place and I realized what I was doing wrong. It's been beautiful to piece this story back together, and I'm in love with how the puzzle pieces are coming together to create one beautiful, intricate whole picture.
Have some snippets from TKD:
“Hello, princess,” Rishatta said, softly.
She shivered at the familiarity of the words.
“I wanted to say I’m sorry.” He paused and stared over at her like he had no idea what to say next. His eyes were a deep, rich brown this close up.
“Sorry for what?” she asked, trying to find the strength to be assertive.
“I—I never meant to hurt you. Not really. I don’t know…” He was still meeting her eyes, but it was forced, like all he wanted to do was run. “It was just a mission. An important mission! Not a personal mission.” He cleared his throat. “I’m…I’m sorry. It wasn’t…lights take it, it wasn’t what I meant to happen.”
He didn’t blink. He didn’t move. His eyes were on her like he was drinking in the sight of her, like he couldn’t quite believe she was real.
~
Derek was busy and far more so than someone of his station should be, but he was used to it. He was a farmer’s middle son, after all. It was his lot in life to be a jack of all trades.
He sat on the wall, nursing a mug of coffee. Night watch was his favorite post. It was a chance to rest after a long day, to sit on the wall and stare at the darkness and let his mind wander. Normally he didn’t like to think. He took his thoughts and forced them to sit in nice straight lines until he was ready to go over them for the day, so they couldn’t get in his way. He controlled his thoughts and his emotions, because they got in the way otherwise.
Here on the wall was usually a good place to look over his thoughts. If he wanted to worry over the king, fret about where Kariana had run off to, or reflect on the lives of his four brothers and two sisters at home, he could. Thoughts of any kind. Anything, everything. What was there to stop him?
~
Shows of 2024
Arcane//literally the best show I've ever watched in my life. I screamed. I cried. I have watched it so many times and I am so in love with these characters and this storyworld and basically just everything about this show.
ATLA//I finally watched this show (to procrastinate!) and it's so good. So so worth the hype. I love this story and I understand exactly why it's so popular and beloved, all these years later.
The Umbrella Academy Season 1//couldn't get into the later seasons and this is a show I can't really recommend anyone watch, but the first season was really fun and came at a great time in my life when I would've otherwise not consumed any form of story.
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder//basically I only liked the two main actors. Ravi was awesome and now I want his actor to play Rishatta in the TKD movie. The book was better.
Great British Bake Off//fun, wholesome, and exciting times
Brooklyn Nine-Nine//this is the first sitcom I've really been into and I love it. It's so fun and also deep and I love the themes and the storylines and all that jazz.
Life in 2024
I've done a couple of posts on this, but for now, let's just go with the biggest things in one large wrapup:
JANUARY: got a publishing internship//worked tournaments//did a ton of school things
FEBRUARY: stage managed a play//read the best book I've read in years//got sick
MARCH: continued stage management//GOT ENGAGED//girls' trip to Baltimore
APRIL: put on the play//turned 22//AHHHH
MAY: graduated college//had endometriosis surgery//went on a trip to Seattle and the Northern Washington national parks
JUNE: saw Paris Paloma in concert//helped at another friend's wedding//UNEMPLOYMENT
JULY: Realm Makers!//still unemployed//lots of questions//life is strange (not the game)
AUGUST: finally got a job!//so much work wow//my parents had their anniversary party
SEPTEMBER: literally almost all work//no life just wedding planning
OCTOBER: Homecoming//sick again//wedding planning
NOVEMBER: the wedding!//honeymoon at all five national parks in Utah//Thanksgiving in CA//lots of books
DECEMBER: Christmas at home//Advent season//married life :)
States I visited in 2024:
Washington/Oregon/California/Missouri/Tennessee//Illinois//North Carolina//South Carolina//Virginia//Maryland//West Virginia//Utah
National Parks I visited in 2024:
Arches//Canyonlands//Capitol Reef//Bryce Canyon//Zion//Yosemite//Mt. Rainier//North Cascades//Olympic//Gateway Arch//Congaree
husband face reveal :)
So that was my year! What did you most enjoy about this year? What was your biggest thing of the year? Favorite books? Words you wrote? Let's discuss!
