#94. 24 "bests" of 2024

All my favorite shit from this year! But not a gift guide!

I need a jacket with a sparkly K on it

We made it! Somehow we’ve reached my very last issue of 2024 – my annual list of everything that was tops for me this year. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed making it while binge watching the new season of The Ultimatum. Puuuuure trash. People who just met are talking about how cute their babies would be. Someone just said “he would be my first jew.” I can tell this season is going to be messy almost immediately.

My two year anniversary of writing on Substack was this past weekend, but somehow it’s felt a lot longer than that? What a ride. Thank you so much to every single person reading this, no matter how long you’ve been a subscriber.

THANK YOU for reading, thank you for caring, thank you for everything this year. I am so grateful. I fucking love you!

Let’s get to the best shit of the year! x

Yet again, you probably thought my favorite song of the year would be something from Taylor Swift’s latest release. And listen, The Tortured Poets Department was newsworthy enough to feverishly write an entire essay about it in April, but the best song of 2024 was not on this album, even if my Spotify Wrapped (which is wrong) said my most-listened to song in 2024 was “Down Bad.”

No, friends, the best song of the year was “Von dutch” by Charli XCX – it’s so obvious. There’s a reason it was the lead single from Brat, k? No honorable mentions, because if I do one, then I have to do like ten. Let’s move on.

(Also the music video is SO weird lol)

I read 31 books in 2024 and six of those were re-reads. Of the new-to-me books, the best one this year was The Husbands by Holly Gramazio. I was genuinely shocked to learn there are people out there (aka the deranged people of Goodreads) who hated this book?? What is to hate?!?!?! You hate fun magical realism premises with hilarious characters and plenty of incredibly strange interpersonal conflict? Some of you never had to go through a decade of online dating before getting married and it shows.

My honorable mention goes to A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas which is honestly just as good. It’s so good I read it twice in the same year. I am deranged. I need help.

Blake Crouch absolutely nailed the Apple TV+ adaptation of Dark Matter, one of my favorite books of all time. He was the screenwriter and the showrunner (a.k.a he had literally all the creative control) which is honestly kind of risky? But wow, he did it. If you are at all interested in weird science fiction stuff that actually has an emotional heart, watch this.

Speaking of weird science fiction stuff, my honorable mention goes to Fallout, which probably would have won in a different year. I was at a bachelorette party this summer talking about our group’s collective love for weird/dark/twisty stuff and the bride’s friend was like “oh you gotta watch this insane show,” thank you Lauren!!

It’s hard to top last year at our wedding, but the best moment of the year was definitely at the Charli XCX & Troye Sivan concert in LA. The energy in the room was absolutely electric as the ‘brat’ curtain fell and Charli said, “LA you fucking ready or what” in her delicious English accent wearing sunglasses and a wedding veil. It was so fucking iconic, I can’t.

I bought a stupid little book called 1,000 Strong Verbs for Fiction Writers in October for $5 that has actually been so helpful? I pretty much only use the sections on alternatives for “look” and “walk” but who knew there were so many ways to say the same goddamn thing?

My favorite restaurant of 2022 closed, then re-opened as a slightly different concept in the same space, then that closed a few months ago, and now a ‘For Lease’ sign is tacked to the door. I’m not at all happy about it but luckily Paul and I discovered Hyacinth this year which is very very close to us in St. Paul and always hits when we’re in the mood for a big plate o’ fancy pasta.

Yes, I’m splitting movies into two categories this year because my favorite movies of 2024 just felt like they exist in different universes (sometimes literally). My favorite small budget film that was only released on streaming was The Idea of You starring an age-gap couple with such hot chemistry it nearly melted my television. Anne Hathaway is 42 IRL and Nicholas Galitzine is 30 (in the movie they play 40 and 24, which works) and I just absolutely ate this movie up. If you’re at all interested in the “famous person dates a regular person” trope, this is a must-see.

You already know my favorite album of the year was Brat because I wouldn’t shut up about it for months (sorry). What really tickled my skull was deciding this year’s honorable mention because there were so many contenders, but Vertigo by Griff slides into second place.

This was a bad year for internet culture. Maybe I’m just getting older, but so many of the most viral moments of the year (other than Brat girl summer, obviously) were just not for me. I loved “holding space for Defying Gravity,” though. And the one finger hold. That shit was very funny.

Could I say anything here other than trying my hand at writing fiction? It seems like so much longer than a year ago that one of my two major contracts decided to part ways with me a few months early. That situation unknowingly ended up being the catalyst for the thing I’ve felt most creatively fulfilled by in my entire life. A year later, my first novel is almost done, and I’m starting the process of looking for an agent soon. (Send good vibes my way… traditional publishing is apparently tougher than it’s ever been!! Gulp)

I know you were probably expecting something more interesting (?) but these $60 sweatpants from Abercrombie are my favorite I’ve ever owned. I work from home so I wear these a lot and they’re the perfect length and silhouette. I own them in two colors and by this time next year I might have five; don’t judge me.

I got very into Alison Roman recipes this year because I’m tired and don’t want to overthink, and she’s very funny. Not funny ha ha, but funny like, witty. Sharp. Whatever! I really liked her Fresh Tomato and Fennel Pasta.

Don’t be afraid to fuck around and find out!!

This is truly a tie between Wicked and Dune: Part Two. I cannot choose. But I can tell you that the actual best move I saw in theaters this year was Interstellar in IMAX for its 10th anniversary. I went twice. I sobbed twice. It’s still playing in select theaters if you want to try to see it before it’s gone.

Devastatingly, this keychain is sold out

There are so so so so so many good lyrics from this year (this is a thing I care way too much about) but there can only be one winner. “666 with a princess streak” from “360” takes it. But honorable mention goes to Lorde’s entire verse on “Girl, so confusing featuring lorde:”

Well, honestly, I was speechless when I woke up to your voice note
You told me how you'd been feeling, let's work it out on the remix
You'd always say, "Let's go out" but then I'd cancel last minute
I was so lost in my head and scared to be in your pictures

'Cause for the last couple years I've been at war in my body
I tried to starve myself thinner and then I gained all the weight back
I was trapped in the hatred and your life seemed so awesome
I never thought for a second my voice was in your head

"Girl, you walk like a bitch" – when I was ten, someone said that
And it's just self-defence until you're building a weapon
She believed my projection and now I totally get it
Forgot that inside the icon there's still a young girl from Essex

This was a tough pick, but my favorite essay of the year was “Sorry I’m Late – I was ruining a man’s day” by

Jess Pan

. I love essays that replay real conversations, and this one is about being 35 (the age I am right now) and the timeline so many of us feel we’re on (which is really just bullshit) and the stark differences between men and women in the ways they think (or don’t think) about marriage and having kids. It’s a masterpiece.

Every concert I saw this year was exceptional. Truly. Not a dud in the bunch. While the Sweat Tour was probably the *best,* the one I want to call your attention to is Lo Moon’s ‘I Wish You More Than Luck’ Tour.

Lo Moon is a criminally underrated band from LA. I’ve been listening to since I heard “Loveless” on KCRW in 2016. They played at 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis a few weeks ago and it was fucking transcendent. They’re still on tour in 2025 – tickets are like $30, and if they’re coming to your city, please go. For me! I really think you won’t regret it.

That’s it! What were your bests of the year? Come tell me in the comments. Tell me your favorite books, albums, songs, etc! I NEED TO KNOW!

I’ll be back with my usual December wrap-up post for paid subscribers on January 1st, and then back to my normal publishing schedule either on January 3rd or 10th, depending on how much of a break I actually get over the holidays, lol. Either way… I’ll see you in 2025, rested and ready to go!