I don't read as much fiction as I once did, but I was very pleasantly surprised by Focus (1945) by Arthur Miller, which was apparently the only novel Miller wrote. The story concerns a man who has just started wearing glasses and his old acquaintences all think he looks 'Jewish' but rather than say that to his face, simply discriminate against him. That the problem is one that every character is aware of but no one can bring themselves to say aloud makes for a very tense situation. It's not only a study of prejudice but also of the power of unspoken, unchallenged beliefs.
Another good work of fiction was the Disenchanted (1950) by Budd Schulberg, which I sought out after enjoying Schulberg's What Makes Sammy Run the previous year. This one was a fictionalized version of Schulberg's relationship with F. Scott Fitzgerald and how the two men tried to write a screenplay together, only for Fitzgerald's alcoholism to scuttle the entire assignment (I watched the resulting film - Winter Carnival - and it is lousy). It's a good novel, yet the Fitzgerald character's continued debasement over hundreds of pages gets to be one-note; I realize all the scenes are inspired by events that really happened to Schulberg but on some level it might have made a superior short story.
My interest in film lead me to Alfred Hitchcock Storyboards (2024) by Tony Lee Moral, a terrific coffee table book; the author's commentary wasn't that illuminating but the samples of production art from Hitchcock's films looked terrific. And Opposable Thumbs (2023) by Matt Singer was a great look at the Roger Ebert/Gene Siskel team and how they functioned, it even inspired me to check out a few of the films that were mentioned in passing!
I suppose it's because of events transpiring among my neighbours to the south that I've become interested in understanding fascism, because in the last year I read the fictional work It Can't Happen Here (1935) by Sinclair Lewis which imagined how fascism could come to the USA; then there's the non-fiction Prequel (2023) by Rachel Maddow which explores the various fascist movements that flourished in the USA in the 1930s, as well as They Thought They Were Free (1955) by Milton Mayer, which was a study of men from a German town who had all either willingly or reluctantly conspired with the Nazis.
Others: On Writing (2000) by Stephen King inspired me in my own writing efforts; The Early Worm (1927) by Robert Benchley was another funny collection of essays; The Day the Revolution Began (2016) by N. T. Wright was a great historical look at the time of Jesus' life; The Jesus I Never Knew (1995) by Philip Yancey was a very good series of meditations on Jesus (which also referenced the above book Focus); and Muito Favorecidos (2019) by Stuart Foster, was a Portuguese version of his book Highly Favoured, a good book on the basics of faith for a primarily African audience.
2024 was also the year in which we lost science fiction author Vernor Vinge.
And that's what I enjoyed the most in 2024; I hope you yourself found some diversions - fiction or non - to enjoy in the year past and wish you good reading, watching or listening in the year ahead.
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