2024 sure did pack a lot into a 12-month period.
It has been an interesting year in music. Elton John finally completed his EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony). The Emmy win came on January 15th, for his concert film. (Congratulations to him!!) Beyonce topped the country charts this year but got shut down during awards season. (But look at her go! Topping charts in a new-to-her genre.) Apple Music named Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill the “best album ever made.” Mary J. Blige, Cher, Dionne Warwick, Jimmy Buffett, Foreigner, Ozzy Osbourne, & Dave Matthew Band were all inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on October 19th.
In the wide, wide world of sports, Caitlin Clark dominated & reminded all of us that women's sports are just as good as the men's sports. On January 31st, 2024, she put up 35 points & 10 assists for Iowa Women's Basketball team against Northwestern, breaking the Big 10 conference scoring record. Caitlin became the NCAA's Division I women's career leading scorer on February 15th. She then went on to become the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer, surpassing Pete Maravich's record. (She was the number 1 overall draft pick for the WNBA & was drafted by the Indiana Fever. But the women's league is still making significantly less than the men's league.)
Elsewhere in sports, the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl on February 11th, with Usher & Alicia Keys as the Halftime show. (Way to go Chiefs on your second consecutive Super Bowl Win!) Also, 2024 brought us the Summer Olympics & this year, Paris was the host city. Snoop Dogg functioning as one of the torch bearers & as NBC commentator/correspondent for the Olympics. (In a year that featured break dancing as an event, Snoop Dogg really was the darling of the 2024 Summer Olympics.)
A few historical items of note happened in 2024. In February of 2024, Mitch McConnell announced that he was stepping down from leadership positions within the Republican Party. As a book end to this, Donald Trump won the election in 2024. (He is only the second person in US History to serve non-consecutive terms.)
For the nerds out there, papyrus scrolls were deciphered with the aid of all sorts of science & technology, revealing Plato's burial place. (Here is a link to a Smithsonian article discussing that news: This Newly Deciphered Papyrus Scroll Reveals the Location of Plato's Grave) Additionally, Spanish researchers announced the discovery that Christopher Columbus was likely Jewish & Spanish, instead of Italian, on October 12th. (Here is a link to a BBC article discussing that: Christopher Columbus was likely Spanish and Jewish, study suggests) June 8th, 2024 did mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
In 2024 film news, Oppenheimer won all sorts of Oscars. (Sorry, Barbie!) Francis Ford Coppola, Bonnie Raitt, & the Grateful Dead received Kennedy Center Honors in 2024. Curb Your Enthusiasm ended in 2024, with the last episode airing on April 7th.
For the royal watchers out there: Queen Margarthe II stepped down as reigning monarch of Denmark, abdicating her throne on January 14. Her son, Frederick X, was crowned King of Denmark the same day. Additionally, King Charles III of England & Catherine, Princess of Wales, were both diagnosed with & treated for cancer in 2024.
And the newsworthy stuff from 2024: Donald Trump was tried & found guilty of falsifying business records in the first degree, which are felony level charges. The trial ended on May 30, 2024. (This means that in addition to being only the second president to serve in non-consecutive terms, he is the first U.S. President to stand trial for a criminal case.) Sean Combs (aka Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, & Diddy) was arrested for sex trafficking & related crimes. Russia & Ukraine are still at war. Isreal & Palestine are still at war. Then there was the severe weather of the year. (Tornadoes in the Midwest. Hurricanes on the East Coast & throughout the Southeast.)
And of course, books continued to be published throughout 2024. The library has access to those, if you want. We also have books on Elton John, Beyonce, Jimmy Buffet, & Ozzy Osbourne; music by all of the artists mentioned (including The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill); books about basketball; books about the Kansas City Chiefs & the Super Bowl (& football in general); Snoop Dogg's music & cookbooks; books about the Olympics; books about the Republican Party, Donald Trump, & Mitch McConnell; books about Plato (& his philosophy); books about Christopher Columbus; Oppenheimer & Barbie can both be borrowed; books about Isreal & Palestine (& the Middle East); books about Russia & Ukraine (as well as the Cold War); & true crime books of all kinds.