Another reading year is in the books, and what a year it’s been. I’ve read so many completely fabulous books, and at the same time my reading year was highly unusual and very strange. This was a bumpy and emotional year for me personally, and whatever’s happening in the rest of my life impacts the books I reach for and how I respond to them. (I know I’m not the only one.)
As of the moment I’m hitting “publish” on this wrap-up in mid-December, I’ve read 185 books in 2024. Looking at the books I currently have in progress (one with just 8 pages to go!), I expect to end the year with just under 200 titles read. This is fewer than I’ve read the past several years, where I’ve read between 230 and 300(!!). (200–225 feels about right for my personal preferences and professional obligations; 300 is an indicator that something’s amiss.)
I knew that my reading rhythms were uneven this year, but it was nevertheless interesting to review my 2024 reading journal and see that I read 11 books in my lightest reading month (June) and 25 in my heaviest (March). I track my titles in the My Reading Life book journal, and put a simple star by especially noteworthy titles.
Let me tell you what you’re looking at here: every year, going back more than a decade now, I gather my “favorite” books, which aren’t necessarily the “best” ones, and either way those assessments are personal and subjective. When I call a book a favorite, I mean that it delivered a memorable, enjoyable reading experience. I’m drawn to books with emotional resonance, I like discussion-starters, I appreciate craft. I’m also inclined to value a book that meets the moment: when I read the right book at the right time, it’s likely to end up here. On the flip side, I read many very good books that might have deserved a place on a “best of” list, but not on my list of personal favorites. (The House of Doors and Absolution spring immediately to mind.)
I was surprised to see how many brand-new books appear on my favorites list; typically backlist features more prominently (although you’ll see more backlist on my coming favorite audiobooks list). I believe this is because 2024 was a superb year for new fiction, especially for someone who adores wistful, emotionally resonant literary fiction, as I do. I don’t typically include so many titles from the Summer Reading Guide, Spring Book Preview, and Fall Book Preview in my “best of” list but because those books were so exceptional in my mind, it felt like the only possible choice.
I’ll publish my favorite audiobooks of 2024 in the coming days. (UPDATE: click here for my favorite audiobooks of 2024.) As in years past, the only thing differentiating today’s list of favorite print books from the coming list of audiobooks is the format; there’s no hierarchy between the two lists. Is sharing two separate lists a sneaky way of squeezing in more favorites? Definitely YES! And, just like in recent years, I have more tricks up my sleeve: I get to share more favorites in our upcoming Team’s Best Books of the Year event for MMD Book Clubbers and WSIRN patreon members, and we’ll start the new year over on What Should I Read Next? with our Anne’s Best Books of 2024 episode on January 7.
Another important note: three of my very favorite 2024 reads aren’t actually coming out until next year, and do not appear below—but I look forward to shouting them from the rooftops in 2025!
I hope you enjoy perusing my roundup, and I would love to hear your favorite books of the year in the comments section.
All books featured here were chosen because I loooove them. If you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission. More info here.
I read this slim British novel so early in January that I shared it at our Team Best Books of 2023 event for MMD Book Clubbers and WSIRN Patreon members, which took place on January 9. Back then I said I was sure to share it in my 2024 best-of-the-year roundup—and here it is! In this first-person family drama, we meet a grandmother who raises her granddaughter from infancy because her daughter, who's been struggling with addiction for nearly a decade, is unable to do so. The story is brutal and tender, gorgeously written, and surprisingly funny for a book that required half a box of Kleenex. I appreciated that the prose, while never plodding or needlessly complex, did invite a close reading: I am inclined to be a fast reader, but I consciously slowed down so I didn't miss anything. While the story is set roughly in the present day—just before the dawn of the iPhone—it has an old-fashioned feel to it; if I didn't know better I might have guessed it was a Persephone title. Heads up for multiple content warnings: some are evident from the plot description but some took me by surprise. (Psst—our Team Best Books of 2024 event is coming up on December 19.) More info →
I read Frankel's latest nearly a full year ago and still find myself thinking about it and recommending it all the time to wildly disparate readers: appreciators of humor and wit, family novel devotees, theater kids. The story begins with an actress named India, who finds herself at the center of a media firestorm for criticizing her new movie in the press. Her precocious ten-year-old twins, recognizing their mother is living a PR nightmare, take it upon themselves to seek help from a person uniquely positioned to do so: a family member their mother doesn’t know they know about, and whom they’ve never met. Alternating between the present day media fracas and India’s early days as an actress, and moving between LA, Seattle, and NYC, Frankel firmly roots her tale in the world of theater and film, exploring the many forms family can take and the limits of love. This was a 2024 Spring Book Preview spotlight selection, thanks in no small part to its unforgettable scenes, bold plot choices, Shakespeare and musical theater references, and at least one gasp-out-loud moment. More info →
This is Lamott's twentieth book, published in February 2024 on the day before her 70th birthday. This turned out to be the right book at the right time for me; I appreciated the specific ways she fleshed out her oft-repeated themes: the mixed bag of joy and pain that life contains, the myriad lessons she's learned and continues to learn in recovery, the impossibility of the circumstances we sometimes face, and the persistent drumbeat of hope in the face of it all. This was one of those books that I preferred to read a few page at a time instead of in long sittings. More info →
My reading journal tells me that I finished this book on January 17 and added it immediately to my Best of the Year list (and shortly thereafter to the 2024 Minimalist Summer Reading Guide); I'm in the right season of life for this pitch-perfect midlife reckoning tale to resonate deeply. For what may be the last time, fifty-something Rocky and her husband cram into a tiny Cape Cod beach house for one glorious week, along with their two kids, one girlfriend, and Rocky’s aging parents. Emotions run high as Rocky, nostalgic and menopausal, wants to relish every moment with her adult children and increasingly fragile parents. Their time together is precious, and also turbulent, as it is revealed that various family members have been hiding shattering truths for decades—out of love, yes, but hiding them all the same. I loved this and it made me weep. More info →
I've loved Moore's work in the past, and her July 2024 release surpassed my deservedly high expectations and landed a spot in the 2024 MMD Minimalist Summer Reading Guide. It's a family saga, missing persons tale, and 1970s summer camp story rolled into one. One August morning in 1975, a camper vanishes without a trace. But not just any camper: she’s the daughter of the wealthy family who owns this camp, and fourteen years before, her older brother similarly disappeared. As the family, the campers themselves, and the neighboring blue-collar town residents gather to search for the girl, everyone suspects the two missing children must be linked, but how? The mystery is a driving force, but Moore’s story is complex and carefully layered, with a large cast of believably drawn characters who add texture and nuance. I'm a sucker for character-driven, compulsively readable literary mysteries, and this one hit all those notes. More info →
I almost put this down in the early chapters when the dark premise was revealed, but this tragicomedy turned out to be profound, compassionate, and deeply life-affirming. When Phoebe checks into her swanky Newport, Rhode Island inn, she finds out that she’s the only guest who’s not there for the weeklong wedding. Phoebe is hitting bottom; she doesn’t care about a wedding. But to her surprise, she finds herself absorbed by the drama unfolding around her and pulled into the action. And—because she has nothing left to lose—she finds herself telling the truth for the first time in ages, to herself and to others. Though grim in parts, this story is bursting with insight, sharp humor, and a pervasive humanity. Seriously, I laughed SO HARD while reading this book and I loved that experience. More info →
Basketball isn't really my thing, or so I thought—but in Abdurraqib’s hands, I couldn’t get enough of Columbus, the Cavaliers, and LeBron James. I read this in early spring and have been recommending it nonstop ever since—including in the the 2024 MMD Minimalist Summer Reading Guide. In this inventive, far-reaching work, the poet and music critic shares riveting anecdotes and fascinating details about the game itself. He also uses the ball as a jumping off point to explore a wide (wide!) variety of topics, including heroes and role models, the passage of time, the fragility of life, and the joy of rooting for the underdog. I can’t begin to capture his stupendous storytelling skills. This was my first read from the author and I loved this one so much I dove immediately into his backlist. More info →
Monica Wood is on my informal auto-read list; here she returns with another poignant Maine novel centering three lonely people, two of whom are in their 60s, all connected by a terrible tragedy. Violet was just nineteen when, drunk and high, she caused the death of a beloved local teacher and was sentenced to twenty-eight months in prison. Harriet runs the book group at the women’s prison, where the inmates spend one precious hour a month finding comfort in tearing apart the classics. And Frank is the victim’s widower, who fills his time by volunteering his handyman services at the local bookstore. This 2024 Summer Reading Guide selection is a deeply moving tale of redemption, second chances, and the power of books. More info →
Nicholls's quiet and unconventional post-pandemic tale about two lonely middle-aged people falling in love as they trek through the English countryside hit exactly right and satisfied my emotionally resonant fiction-loving soul. Geography teacher Michael and copyeditor Marnie, both still hurting in the aftermath of unhappy marriages that ended, meet for a group walk across the moors arranged by a bossy mutual friend. No one thinks they have anything in common—and yet when thrown together on the trail, they discover the sort of companionship they never dreamed they’d find again. As a grammar nerd and Anglophile I found a special pleasure in a bittersweet novel that made me laugh so hard I shook the whole couch. (Cue my kids: WHAT are you READING, Mom?!) A 2024 Summer Reading Guide selection. More info →
I love a novel with a wistful tone, and this year I loved so many such books that specifically featured a midlife reckoning. (In fact, this book appeared in a brand-new Summer Reading Guide category devoted to Tales of Coming of Age and Midlife Reckonings, because it was a huge theme in my reading life!) Lombardo's sophomore novel opens with a chance grocery store encounter that prompts our fifty-something protagonist to wrestle with her past and present choices regarding friendship, marriage, and motherhood. Helen had once been Julia’s lifeline, the older and wiser mentor who’d befriended her in the bewildering days of early motherhood. But then things took a turn, and Julia now remembers Helen for another reason: she is intimately tied to the single most shameful event of Julia’s past, which almost destroyed her family. Now, decades later, Julia finds herself facing another hinge point, in the middle of a long marriage, with a teenage daughter about to leave home and a twenty-something son about to become a parent himself. Beautifully written, emotionally resonant, with a gorgeous and fitting ending (that made me bawl my eyes out). More info →
I've been a Maylis de Kerangal superfan ever since I read Painting Time for the 2021 Summer Reading Guide. Canoes was published in France in 2021, but the English translation—beautifully executed by Jessica Moore—was just published in the the U.S. in October and was featured in our Fall Book Preview. In this collection of seven interconnected short stories plus a novella, two works stood out. The first is the novella, called Mustang, in which a French woman makes a disorienting move to a Denver exurb. This work read as both familiar and strange, and contained more than a thimble full of weird. The story "A Light Bird" is a family tale about a wife and mother who’s been dead for five years yet it's still her voice on the outgoing message of the family's answering machine. I've read it half a dozen times: it packs a big punch in just a few pages, with a perfect last line. More info →
This was a 2024 Fall Book Preview spotlight selection. I’m a sucker for a Jane Austen adaptation, but even so the Wahala author’s decolonial reimagining of Mansfield Park surpassed all my (high) expectations. May’s update spans two decades from the late 1970s to the late 1990s and moves between Lagos and the U.K. (with an important scene set at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics). This emotional tale is by turns humorous and gutting: I read it with my heart in my throat. There’s so much to appreciate here: a coming of age story, a scathing social critique, and a love story of sorts about a life-defining first cousin relationship. You need not have read Austen to enjoy this retelling, but a skim through the plot summary wouldn’t hurt. My enjoyment of the book was definitely enriched by my conversation with Nikki May on What Should I Read Next. If you're thinking of reading this book, I recommend listening to that conversation before you start! More info →
You are Here was one of my favorites too, i listened on audio, the narration is fantastic.
Anne Bogel says:
I’m glad to hear it!
Laura says:
The audio production is so good- some of the best voice acting I’ve heard in a long time. I loved this book! Have a few quibbles near the end, but it was really good.
Christen says:
My favorites this year are:
The Women by Kristin Hannah
The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger
The Real Americans by Rachel Khong
Funny Story by Emily Henry
The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell
How to Read a Book by Monica Wood
The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer
So many of these are on my favorites too! Adding some of these to my TBR that were on my radar!
Simone says:
Loved Funny Story, too.💕
Katie F. says:
The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali on audio was one of the best books I read this year. I cried buckets at the ending and gave it 5 stars. I also gave 5 stars to Forgotten on Sunday by Valerie Perrin, translated Hildegare Serle, James by Percival Everett, Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller, and Anita De Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez.
Kay says:
My favourite books of the year are:
The Book of Beginnings by Sally Page, I loved this so much that I used it as a choice for both of the book groups that I run.
Found In a Bookshop by Stephanie Butland
A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier
The Humans by Matt Haig
Wild Child by Patrick Barkham, this is non fiction
The Tenth Muse by Catherine Chung.
Rebecca Mackle says:
Thanks for your short best list. All sound very good and I hope to pick up a couple soon. I haven’t had a good year of reading- 85 books and only about 8 true winners. ( I really need to evaluate how I am choosing what to read so 2025 can be much better! )
I am also enjoying novels of mid life challenges and reflections though. In that vein, I highly recommend ‘Leaving’ by Roxana Robinson which tackles a later in life second chance romance and its repercussions on them and their families.
Janet says:
Hi – are you in the UK? I can’t find The Book of Beginnings anywhere in Canada – even the ISBN brings up nothing. The book sounds very intriguing, along with your recommendation!
Janet
Jill S Fitzpatrick says:
Found in a Bookshop wrecked me! I was expecting a sweet, feel-good book about books and book people and it was SO MUCH MORE than that. I loved it but man it took me on an emotional rollercoaster.
Ellen Cole says:
I didn’t read nearly as many books in 2024 as I’d hoped, but there were a few that definitely stood out. My top three for 2024, in order (but I’m struggling with the deciding the ranking for #1 and #2. I adored them both!):
Go As a River by Shelley Read
Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Adrienne says:
I loved God of the Woods and Sipsworth, and have Go As a River on my TBR.
Ellen Cole says:
Go As A River grabbed me immediately and never let me go. Enjoy!
Michelle Wilson says:
Go as A River really got the western slope of Colorado right! And I was able to meet the author and she was lovely!
Guest says:
I listened to Sipsworth on audio. It was quite a slow starter but I was glad I read/listened to it – a great story.
Khristine D Sellin says:
I loved Sipsworth!
Cynthia F says:
I loved Go As a River. I live in Colorado and have been over the Blue Mesa Reservoir, so the immediacy of place struck me.
DebbieS says:
I also loved Go as a River. My favorite book this year, and maybe of all time, was The Women. I got into fantasy this year after reading some books I bought for my young adult daughters, and loved Fourth Wing/Iron Flame, and the later books of the Throne of Glass series. My favorite from my book club was Dear Edward. I’m looking forward to God of the Woods, Wedding People, and Intermezzo this year in book club.
R Ann says:
One of the only books I recommended to friends this year was No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister. I’m in the midst of an unusual reading season too, and this year saw an especially large number of (often highly acclaimed) books I chose not to finish.
Ann says:
Long Island by Colm Toibin,
Leaving by Roxana Robinson, and The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir
Griffin Dunne stood out for me.
Tory says:
I’ve been a MMD fan since very near the beginning (well over a decade.) This list solidifies that Anne and I have headed in different directions in the last few years. I’m reading a lot more genre fiction. I still enjoy some good literary fiction from time to time, but it’s no longer the bulk of my reading. I feel a little wierd about perhaps “dumbing down” my reading habits, but the books I’m reading for the most part AREN’T actually dumb and also who cares if they are? I’m doing this as a hobby, as an escape, I don’t have any lofty goals for my reading.
Among my favorites of 2024 is the Wings of Fire series I’m reading with my kids, Orconomics, These Silent Woods, The Briar Club, Killers of a Certain Age, The Wedding People, Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone, The Grace Year, Just Stab me Now, Assistant to the Villain, Divine Rivals, and Ninth House.
Anne Bogel says:
Thanks for sharing your reflections and your favorites, Tory. For whatever reason my best genre reads were on audio this year—coming soon!
Tory says:
I definitely felt silly about this post once I read your audiobook list, which had a LOT of overlap with mine. This especially makes sense since a huge majority of my book consumption is audio.
AnnieM says:
I loved Killers of a Certain Age, and I just found out there is a sequel coming soon!
loribeth says:
Oh, I LOVED “Killers of a Certain Age”!! Thanks for the heads up about the sequel! 🙂
Guest says:
Funny I should stumble across your comment as I was just thinking hmm…not many of these sound interesting to me. And I didn’t love Sandwich. I hadn’t thought of it as genre fiction versus literary fiction so that’s something I’ll ponder more. The recommended books over the last several years to me have felt a bit like the awards-nominated movies – either they hit on something that is “in” at the moment or they’re so “artsy” they’re word, or they’re depressing – ha! I guess I prefer genre fiction as well but really I love good storytelling and don’t want to end a book feeing worse about the world than I do when I started the book. 🙂
Karen says:
I really, really didn’t like Sandwich. It was probably my most disappointing read of the year, and I’m smack in the target market (50-something married mom of 2 young adults).
Lilyane B Soltz says:
I thought “Sandwich” was perfectly dreadful. Cannot understand the its appeal and its continued place on the best seller lists. Nice to know I’m not alone.
Anne Bogel says:
As with anything in the reading life, it’s never just you!
Maureen Lyons says:
I just didn’t love Sandwich either. I was excited to read it but it didn’t work for me. I could appreciate what the author was doing but it was not an enjoyable reading experience for me.
Pam says:
Sandwich was a DNF for me. The comment from Troy, “I’m doing this as a hobby, as an escape, I don’t have any lofty goals for my reading.” is my sediment as well and have tried to choose more wisely this past year. My list of the best for 2024 is Women, Tom Lake(audiobook), The Dutch House(audiobook) The Island of Sea Women, Frozen River, and Tell Me Everything.
Suzy says:
Aww, I loved Sandwich, I must just “click” with Catherine Newman, because I enjoyed (surprisingly, to me) her book, We All Want Impossible Things about the woman in hospice, and then I LOVED “Waiting for Birdy”, her memoir of childbearing and pregnancies. It’s something about the ‘voice’.
Diane Wills says:
Always a relief to see someone didn’t like a book either. Could not understand the attraction to it.
Denise Amos says:
I too loved Briar Club. Thank you for your list I will check out your favorites.
Nicole Hardy says:
I’ve kind of “dumbed down” too over the past 2 or 3 years and now read books I would never have considered before, yet I’m enjoying the large majority of them. I also read alternating thriller/mystery and non-thriller as I was getting into a rut! I find it quite interesting that my top two that year were both non-thrillers… Reading should definitely be a pleasurable endeavour, I agree. Happy reading! ❤️
Lori says:
My favs this year- so many!
Shred Sisters
Real Americans
God of the Woods
Bear
Beautyland
Martyr
Same as it Ever Was
How to Read a Book
Long Island
Friday Afternoon Club
Tamara says:
Thanks for reminding me of Beautyland. Got to get that one in soon.
Melissa says:
Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau
This is high on my all-time favorite books list.
Jenn Warren says:
Read MJ last year, and I really liked it. 4 stars!
Christine says:
Read this for the first time this year for my book club – LOVED it!!
Dorothy says:
Melissa, I absolutely loved Mary Jane so much! It really hit home with me as we had neighbors similar to the Cones and my mother was just like Mary Jane’s! I read in print and audio too! The audio is great if you haven’t listened to it.
I’m still filtering and compiling for an end-of-year post, but one SURPRISE favorite was The Frindle Files by Andrew Peterson. It’s been published posthumously, so I had thought his well of deeply significant and funny kid lit had gone dry.
Kim Buck says:
Ahhh, you meant Andrew Clements. Whew! I was freaking out that Andrew Peterson, author of one of my fave series, The Wingfeather Saga, had died! Whew, he did not!
Adrienne Hudson says:
Hi Anne!
Family Family and Loved and Missed both looks so good…. Adding those to my ever-growing TBR.
My favorites of 2024 are:
* There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak (and I loved hearing her on the recent WSIRN episode!)
* By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult – her most recent books have been hit and miss for me, so this one was a pleasant surprise
* Before the Coffee Gets Cold series (five books) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi – I loved the entire series, which shares some profound and powerful truths about family, love, and regrets through the individual stories
* The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali
* The God of the Woods by Liz Moore – I loved the characters and the multi-layered story, and I thought the ending was perfect.
I have a massive TBR queued up for 2025…. and that is before I see the 2025 Summer Reading Guide. If I get through half of them it will be an accomplishment! Happy Reading!
Terry says:
Absolute favorite book of the year is Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino. Like you, I loved God of the Woods. I also adored North Woods by Daniel Mason.
Happy reading!
Carrie Yarnell says:
My favorite books of 2024 (and only ones to receive 5 Stars for me on Goodreads)
*The Last Love Note by Emma Grey
*Upon Waking (devotional) by Jackie Hill Perry
*He is Strong (devotional) by Emily Jensen
*A Girl Called Samson by Amy Harmon
* The Women by Kristin Hannah
*Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
*The Girl in the Tower & The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden
*Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
Melanie says:
This year I invested more time in writing reviews and in reading professional reviews and author interviews, which resulted in lot more books that have stuck with me, even if I didn’t particularly like them.
I’m still narrowing down my “best of” list, but these are a few of my favorites:
Whale Fall by Elizabeth O’Connell
Trust by Hernan Diaz
Wellness by Nathan Hill
Beautyland by Marie-Helen Bertino
Dixon, Descending by Karen Outen
The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa
Joan Kaye says:
The Housekeeper and the professor is one of my favorite books of all time. A real oldie but goodie.
Cheryl Collins says:
• The Goblin Emperor-Katherine Addison, the fantasy novel with which I began this year, a gentle tale about good (thanks Francis Spufford for the recommendation in The Guardian).
• You made a fool of death with your beauty-Akwaeke Emezi, another January novel that has stayed with me, sensual and powerful, about learning to live again.
• All before me-Esther Rutter, a winning combination of memoir and exploration of the bond between literature and place.
• The Rising Down-Alexandra Harris, a tour de force exploring the bonds that link us with our home ground and how places and people connect, a deep reading of one small part of Sussex. If you haven’t read ‘Weatherland’ and ‘Romantic Moderns’ you have 3 books to look forward to.
• The Emmanuel Promise- Summer Joy Gross- a personal exploration of the link between attachment theory and faith, with plenty of practices to help us become more intimate with God.
• Into the heart of Romans-Tom Wright, a detailed exegesis of Romans 8 from an interpreter not afraid to change his position, his most pastoral book IMHO.
• Reclaiming Quiet- Sarah Clarkson, a beautifully written exploration of finding the holy within the quotidian.
• Finally in crime fiction I strongly recommend the Australian Chris Hammer and the DI Wilkins series and Finder series by Simon Mason.
Laura says:
Loved Reclaiming Quiet!
Michelle Wilson says:
I read my #1 favorite in the bath last year on 1-1-24! It has not lost pride of place-Elena by Claudia Pineiro (translated from the Spanish) but I discovered my others as the year progressed
Las Biuty Queens-Ivan Monalisa Ojeda (also translated from the Spanish)
Headshot-Rita Bullwinkel
The Best of Everything-Rona Jaffe (This was a re-issue)
James-Percival Everett
Minor Details-Adania Shibli (translated from the Arabic)
Maud Martha-Gwendolyn Brooks
Horse-Geraldine Brooks
Clear-Carys Davies
Real Americans-Rachel Khong
Anne Bogel says:
Michelle, thanks for your list, and for sharing your wonderful 1/1/24 reading memory!
Becky says:
Oh my gosh. I loved Elena! I feel it is not well known and I am glad to hear someone else appreciated it.
I’m so happy to confirm that someone else adored Sandwich, as I saw a lot of people hated when I went to leave my glowing, 5 star review on Goodreads.
My other favorites of the year were Margo’s Got Money Troubles and If You Can’t Take the Heat, which was a sneakily funny and emotionally resonant collection of essays.
Jen Blab says:
My top 10 of the year, in no particular order:
Blue Sisters – Coco Mellors
This Motherless Land – Nikki May
Colored Television – Danzy Senna
Goddess of Warsaw – Lisa Barr
The Women – Kristin Hannah
Lion Women of Tehran – Marjam Kamali
Guncle Abroad- Steven Rowley
Safekeep – Yael van der Wouden
Sandwich – Catherine Newman
You Are Here – David Nicholls
Maureen Sullivan Hart says:
Life Sentences by Billy O’Callaghan
James by Percival Everett
Sipsworth by Simon VanBody
How to Read a Book by Monica Wood
It wasn’t a GREAT year for reading. Many books were just “fine” and several were big disappointments. Onward!
Kristine Yahn says:
I don’t usually join in with favorites, but I’m barreling towards 77, so who knows how many opportunities there will be. I was an RN for 50+ years, in a variety of roles from bedside to Senior Vice President for Patient Care and Quality, to nonprofit and Parish Nurse. I am so glad that The Women by Kristin Hannah is now “speaking truth to power” in words written by one of my favorite authors. From the no-nonsense bosses to the whimsical phrases (You were about as useful as a tiara
In the ER) to the sense of no one understanding what you are doing, the nurses who served in Vietnam and subsequent wars were courageous and too long overlooked. I was licensed in 1968 at the age of 20; I also had a 2 year old daughter, and the times were as turbulent as today. It was an honor and a privilege to be a nurse; we are allowed into people’s lives at vulnerable times and allowed to become intimately acquainted in a very short time.
Jenni says:
I love these lists! Everyones is so different which is fun but terrible for my tbr ;).
My favorites have been:
River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer
Beyond that the Sea by Laura Spence Ash
Crow Mary by Kathleen Grissholm
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
The Briar Club by Kate Quinn.
I never realized that historical fiction was my favorite genre. I’m usually drawn to family dramas but they rarely make my list. Something to think about…
Susan Becker says:
My favorites of the year:
Absolution, Alice McDermott
The Rachel Incident, Caroline O’Donoghue
James, Percival Everett
The Book of Fire, Rachel Khong
Enter Gost, Isabella Hammad
One Woman Show Christine Coulson
Shelli Riggs says:
My favorite book this year was The Waters by Bonnie Jo Campbell. Her book has similar vibes to Where the Crawdads Sing but much better written in my opinion. My LEAST favorite book this year was Family, Family. Sorry Anne. I just found the main mother character so self-centered in ways I couldn’t stomach.
Christen D says:
Some favorites of 2024 in no particular order :
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
What You are Looking for is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrick Backman
Love and Saffron by Kim Faye
The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon
Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl
Ellen Cole says:
The At Home in Mitford series is my all-time favorite audiobook series. The narrator, John McDonough, brings Mitford alive. He’s fabulous!
Kate says:
I have loved seeing you shout out Hanif Abdurraqib’s new book over several posts this year – he’s been a longtime favorite and I love how he weaves so many topics into such a beautiful braid. Go Ahead In The Rain was a major favorite of mine, and They Can’t Kill You Until They Kill You. His poetry in essay form is beautiful.
Anne Bogel says:
Thanks for sharing your fave Hanif titles!
Jody C. Burns says:
My favorite books so far this year (not all of them are new releases). I read a lot of non-fiction books about animals that I enjoyed this year –
North Woods, Daniel Mason
The Boys in the Boat, Daniel James Brown
A Short Walk Through a Wide World, Douglas Weberbeke
The Hotel Nantucket – Elin Hilderbrand
Orca: How We Came to Know and Love the Ocean’s Greatest Predator, Jason M. Colby
Maisie Dobbs (#1 in the series), Jacqueline Winspear
The Perils of Lady Catherin DeBourgh, Claudia Gray
Assistant to the Villain (#1 in the series), Hannah Nicole Maehrer
Apprentice to the Villain (32 in the series), Hannah Nicole Maehrer
The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness, Sy Montgomery
What an Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds, Jennifer Ackerman
The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society, C.M. Waggoner
Christmas with the Queen, Hazel Gaynor and Heahter Webb
Sandy Hoenecke says:
2024 was a great reading year for me.
The Wedding People/Espach
Grave Talk/Spalding
How to Read a Book/Wood
Sandwich/Newman
How to Age Disgracefully/Pooley
Red Rabbit/Grecian
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches/Mandanna
Voyage of the Damned/White
The Grace of Wild Things/Fawcett
What Does it Feel Like/Kinsella
Killers of a Certain Age/Raybourn
A Litter of Bones/Kirk (1st of the 19 I have read)
True Confessions of an Ambivalent Caregiver/Eastman (memoir)
I’ll Just Be Five More Minutes/Farris (about ADHD)
Cathy B says:
Anne, I agree with a lot of your picks.
My #1 fiction is How to Read a Book, by Monica Wood.
My #1 nonfiction is Healing Wounds, by Diane Carlson Evans. (This was source material for Kristin Hannah’s The Women, which I really liked, too.)
Other favorites:
James, by Percival Everett
We Solve Murders, by Richard Osman
Sipsworth, by Simon Van Booy
You Are Here, by David Nichols
The Glassmaker, by Tracy Chevalier
Sandwich, by Catherine Newman
The Briar Club, by Kate Quinn
The Same Bright Stars, by Ethan Joella
Here One Moment, by Liane Moriarty
This Motherless Land, by Nikki May
I had a great reading year!
Mary Jo Durivage says:
Looking at my Good Reads list, these are ones I would recommend:
EVIL EYE / ETAF RUM
THE STORY HOUR / THRITY UMRIGAR
A LIITLE LIFE / HANYA YANAGIHARA
THE SECRET OF LIFE: ROSALIND FRANKLIN, JAMES WATSON, FRANCIS CRICK, AND THE DISCOVERY OF DNA’S DOUBLE HELIX
Linda Lopez says:
My current favorite is American Ramble , by Neil King, Jr. Beautifully written, it is chronicle of a walk from Washington D.C. to New York City. It includes some history, his musing, the people and places he visits.
Love best books of the year lists!
So far, my favorites this year are:
Walk In A Relaxed Manner by Joyce Rupp
I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger
God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Field Notes for the Wilderness by Sarah Bessey
Pilgrim In Time by Rosanne Keller
The Life Impossible by Matt Haig
Black Litugies by Cole Arthur Riley
Laura Devlin Dominguez says:
My top three reads for 2024 were:
Ministry of Time
Beautyland
North Woods
Lee Weick says:
A few of my 2024 favorites:
*Dead Wake by Erik Larson
*The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
*State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
*Absolution by Alice Mc Dermott
*What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
and perhaps my top pick –
*** 11/22/63 by Stephen King
I’ve just started listening to your podcast this fall and I love it!! Thanks, Anne!
Jenn Warren says:
Sandwich was for sure a favorite for me this summer, but Newman’s We All Want Impossible Things was the most memorable for me. I have a best friend of 33 years and a brother in his 4th year of cancer treatment. It is incredibly beautiful and funny. Nonfiction- Notes From the Wilderness, Bessey which was marvelous on audio during walks in the woods along the river here in Richmond, VA and How to Walk into a Room seemingly written at just the right time and just for me by my Sister Emily P. Freeman as my friends and I refer to her as.
Karen says:
My favourites of 2024:
This Tender Land – William Kent Krueger (hubby also loved this one!)
The Wedding People – Alison Espach
The Same Bright Stars – Ethan Joella
I had a year of a lot of 2 and 3 star reads (and even a few one stars), these 3 are my only 5 star reads of the year! Hoping 2025 will be more satisfying. Probably going to start William Kent Krueger’s Cork O’Connor series as hubby’s interested in it, too.
Clara says:
Such a wonderful book year. Looking back at my favorites, I see a trend in British writers—hmmm. These terrific reads stood out:
* Time of the Child – Niall Williams (my favorites book of the year)
* Clear – Carys Davies
* So Late in the Day: Stories of Women and Men – Claire Keegan
* The House of Mirth – Edith Wharton
* All the Beauty in the World (memoir) – Patrick Bringley
* The Wren, The Wren- Anne Enright
* Martyr! – Kaveh Akbar
* Drowned – John Banville
* Death at the Sign of the Rook – Kate Atkinson
* Unruly (nonfiction) – David Mitchell
* James – Percival Everett
* Metropolitan Stories – Christine Coulson
* The Verifiers – Jane Pek
* Enlightenment – Sarah Perry
* Dissolution – C.J. Sansom
* Loitering with Intent – Muriel Spark
* Say Nothing (nonfiction) – Patrick Radden Keefe
* Cahokia Jazz – Francis Spufford
* The Coast Road – Alan Murrin
Janet says:
Here are a few of my favorite titles this year:
By Any Other Name
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
The Frozen River
Bright Sword
Death at the Sign of the Rook
In The Form of a Question
In Memoriam
Here’s to a happy new reading year!
Kelly James says:
But…. did you read James? My favorite book of 2024.
Hi, MMD Team! I just wanted to share that The Fountain of Silence was my favorite book in 2024, and it’s all thanks to you and your team. I would always say/believe “I’m not a reader” & “Reading is just not my thing” Then I got an email newsletter from your team on what books to read if traveling to Spain, and that’s where it all change. I’ve wanted to visit Spain so I took your advice and read it, in one week! I went from not reading a single book for decades in my life to reading almost 10 books this half end of the year. Thank you for changing my literature journey. It’s been a comfort and joy in a tough season filled with unemployment, disappointments, and surprises. I’ve also been getting into audiobooks now, it helps with long commutes in LA (and perhaps lessens the road range haha). Crossing my fingers and hoping Santa sees my request for a Kindle this year 😉 Overall, I just want to say thank you for all your hard work and love of books. I’m so grateful to have opened that newsletter, read the advice, and checked out the book. My book journey will only get better from here. Thank you, MMD Team! <3
KK says:
I am drawn to best books lists and eagerly review the choices. Too often the lists mirror my own did not finish list. Unsavory characters, dysfunctional families, and bizarre circumstances thankfully do not reflect my reality. With so many great books to read I am not willing to spend my time with depressing and disappointing books. I find the books in the replies more closely reflect the books I enjoy. I read about 100 books a year and find the most critically acclaimed books puzzling.
The feedback about Hanif Abdurraquib’s books is an example of this phenomenon. His stream of consciousness writing, non traditional punctuation, and choice of topics seems far afield of the types of books I enjoy. Sounds more like the books on the NYT list than MMD.
Thanks for sharing all of your favorites.
Rachel Wintr says:
Personally the books I read don’t have to reflect my reality. Dysfunctional families and bizarre circumstances make for great writing opportunities. It would be very boring to only read within your own reality.
Samantha says:
I’m currently at 170 for the year. I am a heavy fantasy reader, but squeeze a few others into the mix. I had many faves but here are a few standouts ; Hotel Corner of Bitter and Sweet; Meet me at the Museum; Address Unknown; Love and Saffron; The Cook; Demon of Unrest; Court this Cruel and Lovely; Prison Healer series; Dance of Thieves duology
Anne Bogel says:
What a lovely mix!
Tamara says:
BEST Scifi: The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera
BEST Memoir: I am C3PO by Anthony Daniels
BEST historical fiction: Angel of Greenwood by Randi Pink
BEST fantasy: Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater
BEST mystery: The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens
BEST romance: My Phony Valentine by Courtney Walsh
BEST Magical Realism: The Simplicity of Cider by Amy E. Reichert.
Theresa Gauthier says:
My favorite books of the year are a mix of backlist and newer titles. In the order that I read them, my favorites are:
Shakespeare: The Man Who Plays the Rent by Judi Dench and Brendan O’Hea
Walking With Sam by Andrew McCarthy
The Book-Makers: A History of the Book in Eighteen Lives by Adam Smyth
The Secret Language of Birds by Lynne Kelly
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
The Library of Legends by Janie Chang
The Stationery Shop by Marian Kamala
Custodians of Wonder: Ancient Customs, Profound Traditions, and the Last People Keeping Them Alive by Eliot Stein
Bits & Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me by Whoopi Goldberg
Runelight by Joanne Harris
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Your Worshipfulness by Jeff Ryan
Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
Beth R. says:
So many wonderful books! A few other of my favorites this year:
Orbital by Samantha Harvey
The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry
The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei
The End of Drum-Time by Hanna Pylvainen
In Ascension by Martin MacInnes
Rebecca Hart says:
Favorites read this year (not necessarily published this year) were, according to my spreadsheet :):
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow GAbrielle Zevin
So Late in the Day Clare Keegan
The Shell Seekers Rosamund Pilcher
Bel Canto Ann Patchett
Heft by Liz Moore on audio (I don’t usually enjoy audiobooks)
The God of the Woods Liz Moore
Manhattan Beach Jennifer Egan
Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver
Wellness by Nathan Hill
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
Lauri Cardinali says:
Dear Committee Members
The Frozen River
The Berry Pickers
Hannah Coulter
Michelle says:
I can’t separate out my audiobooks this year because for so many of my favorites I went back and forth between my ears and eyes:
*Family Family by Laurie Frankel
*The Phoenix Crown by Janie Chang & Kate Quinn
*The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center (definitely ears for this one!)
*The Mother Act by Heidi Reimer (I finished it and went right back to the beginning to read it again)
*Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder by Kerryn Mayne (ears for this one, loved the Australian narrator)
*The Wedding People by Allison Espach
*The Comfort of Ghosts by Jacqueline Winspear (final Maisie Dobbs)
*Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout (ears!!)
*Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman (nonfiction)
*Sandwich by Catherine Newman
I also just blew through 2 spring ARCS I loved, Dream State by Eric Puchner & The Dark Maestro by Brendan Slocumb
Thanks for all of your recs, I’m a bookseller and you and your team are my absolute best source on what to read and how to help others find their right now fits too!!
Deborah says:
Turns out titles with most impact on me this year are almost all non-fiction, AND seem to share theme of someone following a dream against great odds–inspiration for future of our planet & humanity. (Think I listened to all on audio, so list over 10 since Anne will continue her top titles for 2024 later!)
INTO THE AMAZON: THE LIFE OF CANDIDO RONDON by Larry Rohter
A WALK IN THE PARK by Kevin Fedark
HURRICANE: My Story of Resiliance by Salvador Gomez-Colon
DISNEY’S LAND by Richard Snow
ORNAMENT OF THE WORLD by Maria Rosa Monocal
THE WELL-LIVED LIFE: A 102-year old woman doctor by Gladys McGary M.D.
CONDITIONAL CITIZENS by Laila Lalami
L.A. SON by Roy Choi (advisor on Jon Favreau movie CHEF)
THE WARNER BROTHERS by Chris Yogerst
WILD NEW WORD by Dan Flores
LATINOLAND by Marie Arana
A DREAM CALLED HOME by Reyna Grande
URGENT MESSAGE FROM MOTHER by Jean Shinoda Bolen
LEAVE IT AS IT IS by David Gessner
(Also read Japansese novels WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IS IN THE LIBRARY and THE CAT WHO SAVED BOOKS & sequel THE CAT WHO SAVED THE LIBRARY already available in Spanish e-book translation.)
Anne says:
I work at a library, and we’re compiling staff favorites for an end of year list. I read a ton of books this year, but my favorites tended to be from authors I already loved or series I already loved, which was kind of disappointing. Even though everything on the favorites list I thoroughly enjoyed, I was hoping for some surprises. Here is my list: https://sclibrary.bibliocommons.com/list/share/1462751987/2665681837
Karen Butler says:
Some of my favorites are listed here. However, not one person mentioned my most memorable book of the year which was Theo of Golden by Allen Levi. And it’s on kindle unlimited too!
Ronda Hays says:
The Women by Kristin Hannah is my favorite for this year.
SUSAN THERESA TAYLOR says:
Thanks so much for including Same As It Ever Was on your list. I suggested it to our book club, and everybody – everbody! – hated it. Except me. Coming from a difficult family myself, it’s so good to read a novel that shows how that past can reflect itself in different ways throughout a long life. Sigh. So the fact that you liked it, too, makes me feel a little better – nobody likes recommending a book to a book club that is a dud. On the other hand, the three big books of the summer, God of the Woods, Creation Lake and All the Colors of the Dark, were all misses for me. We are all such very different readers!
Laura Reu says:
Thanks for sharing your favorites Anne! And for all you do for the book world. Here are my favorites so far:
Fiction:
This is Happiness by Niall Williams
The Hummingbird’s Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea
The Hearts Invisible Furies by John Boyne
Clear by Carys Davies
You are Here by David Nicholls or/
Table for Two by Amor Towles (the short stories)
Non-fiction
The Black Count by Tom Reiss
Reclaiming Quiet by Sarah Clarkson
Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley
Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
The Terrible Speed of Mercy by Jonathan Rogers
Play:
The Man Born to be King by Dorothy Sayers
sarah says:
Favorites I Read/Listened to in 2024 (my first time adding mine to the comments, thank you MMD for upping my reading game this year!)
TOP PICK: All Fours – Miranda July
Be Ready When The Luck Happens – Ina Garten
Go As A River – Shelley Read
The Silent Patient – Alex Michaelides
We Are Experiencing a Slight Delay – Gary Jannetti
Euphoria – Lily King
The God of The Woods – Liz Moore
You Could Make This Place Beautiful – Maggie Smith
Remarkably Bright Creatures – Shelby Van Pelt
Suzy says:
This was not my best reading year, despite coming up on 100 books….These were my favorites of that number, chronologically.
The River We Remember/WKK
Emma and Knightley/Billington
Migrations/McConaghy
Mercury/Burns
I Cheerfully Refuse/Enger
The Frozen River/Lawhon
How to Read a Book/Wood
The God of the Woods/Moore
Postcards from France/Libby
All That is Mine I Carry With Me/Landry
Waiting for Birdy/Newman
Sandwich/Newman
The Swan Thieves/Kostova
Just for kicks, I want to list my DNF’s! The Sentence/Erdrich, A Hell of a Book/Mott, The Unwedding/Condie, The Ministry of Time/Bradley, North Woods/Mason, and Dear Committee Members/Schumacher!
Aimz Rushton says:
A great list: I have many of these still on my TBR list as I’m saving some of them for my 40th birthday vacation to Tenerife next month. Maybe some of them will last the distance to make it into next year’s favourites. One of these titles managed to hang on in all the way to the year-end top five…
— Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino*
— And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott*
— The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers* (This was the first book I read in 2024 and it’s stayed with me throughout the year.)
— The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
— Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
* These titles also belong on my overall top five favourite books of 2024, alongside audiobook favourites Doppelganger: by Naomi Klein and Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll.
Nicole Hardy says:
My top favourite books this year were:
The Little Wartime Library
by Kate Thompson and
The Lighthouse Bookshop
by Sharon Gosling.
There were some other great books that I enjoyed at the time but some of them I can barely remember. These were the top two that have stayed with me (for good reasons).
Cynthia F says:
After a few mediocre reading years, 2024 has been an excellent one.
> All the Colors of the Dark – Whitaker
> Still Life – Winman (this is my new second all-time favorite book after To the Bright Edge of the World by Ivey)
> The Cautious Traveler’s Guide to the Wastelands – Brooks
> The God of the Woods – Moore
> Time’s Mouth – Lepucki
> You Are Here – Nicholls
> Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come – Pan (on audiobook, made me laugh in the car)
> The Latecomer – Korelitz
> The Ministry of Time – Bradley
> Starling House – Harrow
Lots of speculative fiction on that list.
I want to read the Kate Atkinson’s new Jackson Brodie mystery, but it’s been over a decade since I read the others. I decided to listen to them (I’m not much of an audiobook person) and am LOVING Case Histories. I’ll finish it by the end of the year. The narration is sublime.
Nicola Jesse says:
My reading has to tell a story and have a beginning and an end which is why Mystery fits the bill. That said it looks like my year’s favorites were light, cozy type I found S.J.Bennett-Murder Most Royal, always love Elly Griffiths-latest The Last Word, Richard Osman continues-We Solve Murders,
excellent-however-outside the box was Gabrielle Zevin-Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and Tomorrow! Also add Stephens Gerard Malone-The History of Rain. Seems to be all over the place in theme. Happy New Year fellow readers!
Catherine Robinson says:
The God of the Woods is outstanding and slightly better than All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker. This year I finally got into Kristin Hannah and absolutely love all three of these books: The Great Alone, The Nightingale and The Women. Trust by Hernan Diaz great quality and writing; loved the plot. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by Victor Schwab and Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver fall in the great category. The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese is nothing short of epic! The Midnight Library by Matt Haig reminds me of Addie LaRue and I loved them. Remarkably Bright Creatures is very sweet. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett, Wellness by Nathan Hill, Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow fall in the very good category but not great. Martyr! – Wow! The Wedding People, Tell Me Everything and Blue Sisters is a great understanding of how you can change your life in a new direction; Wedding and Tell Me Everything is more midlife crisis and Blue is grief. The Frozen River is a well written account of historical fiction for women studies – a MUST read. The Postcard by Anne Berest is a worthy read. North Woods by Daniel Mason and All Fours by Miranda July – did not do it for me at all; I would not invest the time. Historical Fiction won the year for me – Kristin Hannah – in addition to the above I also enjoyed Weyward by Emilia Hart.
Top 8:
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
The Lord of Psalm 23
Crossing to Safety
Last House
The Turtle House
Humble Roots
A Place to Hang the Moon
The Frozen River
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Buckle Up!
It’s almost time for the Summer Reading Guide. Order now and plan to join us on May 15th for Unboxing—the best book party of the year!
106 comments
You are Here was one of my favorites too, i listened on audio, the narration is fantastic.
I’m glad to hear it!
The audio production is so good- some of the best voice acting I’ve heard in a long time. I loved this book! Have a few quibbles near the end, but it was really good.
My favorites this year are:
The Women by Kristin Hannah
The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger
The Real Americans by Rachel Khong
Funny Story by Emily Henry
The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell
How to Read a Book by Monica Wood
The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer
So many of these are on my favorites too! Adding some of these to my TBR that were on my radar!
Loved Funny Story, too.💕
The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali on audio was one of the best books I read this year. I cried buckets at the ending and gave it 5 stars. I also gave 5 stars to Forgotten on Sunday by Valerie Perrin, translated Hildegare Serle, James by Percival Everett, Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller, and Anita De Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez.
My favourite books of the year are:
The Book of Beginnings by Sally Page, I loved this so much that I used it as a choice for both of the book groups that I run.
Found In a Bookshop by Stephanie Butland
A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier
The Humans by Matt Haig
Wild Child by Patrick Barkham, this is non fiction
The Tenth Muse by Catherine Chung.
Thanks for your short best list. All sound very good and I hope to pick up a couple soon. I haven’t had a good year of reading- 85 books and only about 8 true winners. ( I really need to evaluate how I am choosing what to read so 2025 can be much better! )
I am also enjoying novels of mid life challenges and reflections though. In that vein, I highly recommend ‘Leaving’ by Roxana Robinson which tackles a later in life second chance romance and its repercussions on them and their families.
Hi – are you in the UK? I can’t find The Book of Beginnings anywhere in Canada – even the ISBN brings up nothing. The book sounds very intriguing, along with your recommendation!
Janet
Found in a Bookshop wrecked me! I was expecting a sweet, feel-good book about books and book people and it was SO MUCH MORE than that. I loved it but man it took me on an emotional rollercoaster.
I didn’t read nearly as many books in 2024 as I’d hoped, but there were a few that definitely stood out. My top three for 2024, in order (but I’m struggling with the deciding the ranking for #1 and #2. I adored them both!):
Go As a River by Shelley Read
Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
I loved God of the Woods and Sipsworth, and have Go As a River on my TBR.
Go As A River grabbed me immediately and never let me go. Enjoy!
Go as A River really got the western slope of Colorado right! And I was able to meet the author and she was lovely!
I listened to Sipsworth on audio. It was quite a slow starter but I was glad I read/listened to it – a great story.
I loved Sipsworth!
I loved Go As a River. I live in Colorado and have been over the Blue Mesa Reservoir, so the immediacy of place struck me.
I also loved Go as a River. My favorite book this year, and maybe of all time, was The Women. I got into fantasy this year after reading some books I bought for my young adult daughters, and loved Fourth Wing/Iron Flame, and the later books of the Throne of Glass series. My favorite from my book club was Dear Edward. I’m looking forward to God of the Woods, Wedding People, and Intermezzo this year in book club.
One of the only books I recommended to friends this year was No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister. I’m in the midst of an unusual reading season too, and this year saw an especially large number of (often highly acclaimed) books I chose not to finish.
Long Island by Colm Toibin,
Leaving by Roxana Robinson, and The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir
Griffin Dunne stood out for me.
I’ve been a MMD fan since very near the beginning (well over a decade.) This list solidifies that Anne and I have headed in different directions in the last few years. I’m reading a lot more genre fiction. I still enjoy some good literary fiction from time to time, but it’s no longer the bulk of my reading. I feel a little wierd about perhaps “dumbing down” my reading habits, but the books I’m reading for the most part AREN’T actually dumb and also who cares if they are? I’m doing this as a hobby, as an escape, I don’t have any lofty goals for my reading.
Among my favorites of 2024 is the Wings of Fire series I’m reading with my kids, Orconomics, These Silent Woods, The Briar Club, Killers of a Certain Age, The Wedding People, Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone, The Grace Year, Just Stab me Now, Assistant to the Villain, Divine Rivals, and Ninth House.
Thanks for sharing your reflections and your favorites, Tory. For whatever reason my best genre reads were on audio this year—coming soon!
I definitely felt silly about this post once I read your audiobook list, which had a LOT of overlap with mine. This especially makes sense since a huge majority of my book consumption is audio.
I loved Killers of a Certain Age, and I just found out there is a sequel coming soon!
Oh, I LOVED “Killers of a Certain Age”!! Thanks for the heads up about the sequel! 🙂
Funny I should stumble across your comment as I was just thinking hmm…not many of these sound interesting to me. And I didn’t love Sandwich. I hadn’t thought of it as genre fiction versus literary fiction so that’s something I’ll ponder more. The recommended books over the last several years to me have felt a bit like the awards-nominated movies – either they hit on something that is “in” at the moment or they’re so “artsy” they’re word, or they’re depressing – ha! I guess I prefer genre fiction as well but really I love good storytelling and don’t want to end a book feeing worse about the world than I do when I started the book. 🙂
I really, really didn’t like Sandwich. It was probably my most disappointing read of the year, and I’m smack in the target market (50-something married mom of 2 young adults).
I thought “Sandwich” was perfectly dreadful. Cannot understand the its appeal and its continued place on the best seller lists. Nice to know I’m not alone.
As with anything in the reading life, it’s never just you!
I just didn’t love Sandwich either. I was excited to read it but it didn’t work for me. I could appreciate what the author was doing but it was not an enjoyable reading experience for me.
Sandwich was a DNF for me. The comment from Troy, “I’m doing this as a hobby, as an escape, I don’t have any lofty goals for my reading.” is my sediment as well and have tried to choose more wisely this past year. My list of the best for 2024 is Women, Tom Lake(audiobook), The Dutch House(audiobook) The Island of Sea Women, Frozen River, and Tell Me Everything.
Aww, I loved Sandwich, I must just “click” with Catherine Newman, because I enjoyed (surprisingly, to me) her book, We All Want Impossible Things about the woman in hospice, and then I LOVED “Waiting for Birdy”, her memoir of childbearing and pregnancies. It’s something about the ‘voice’.
Always a relief to see someone didn’t like a book either. Could not understand the attraction to it.
I too loved Briar Club. Thank you for your list I will check out your favorites.
I’ve kind of “dumbed down” too over the past 2 or 3 years and now read books I would never have considered before, yet I’m enjoying the large majority of them. I also read alternating thriller/mystery and non-thriller as I was getting into a rut! I find it quite interesting that my top two that year were both non-thrillers… Reading should definitely be a pleasurable endeavour, I agree. Happy reading! ❤️
My favs this year- so many!
Shred Sisters
Real Americans
God of the Woods
Bear
Beautyland
Martyr
Same as it Ever Was
How to Read a Book
Long Island
Friday Afternoon Club
Thanks for reminding me of Beautyland. Got to get that one in soon.
Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau
This is high on my all-time favorite books list.
Read MJ last year, and I really liked it. 4 stars!
Read this for the first time this year for my book club – LOVED it!!
Melissa, I absolutely loved Mary Jane so much! It really hit home with me as we had neighbors similar to the Cones and my mother was just like Mary Jane’s! I read in print and audio too! The audio is great if you haven’t listened to it.
My 4 favorites – 2 fiction + 2 non!
https://lindastoll.substack.com/p/porch-162-my-4-favorite-books-in
I’m still filtering and compiling for an end-of-year post, but one SURPRISE favorite was The Frindle Files by Andrew Peterson. It’s been published posthumously, so I had thought his well of deeply significant and funny kid lit had gone dry.
Ahhh, you meant Andrew Clements. Whew! I was freaking out that Andrew Peterson, author of one of my fave series, The Wingfeather Saga, had died! Whew, he did not!
Hi Anne!
Family Family and Loved and Missed both looks so good…. Adding those to my ever-growing TBR.
My favorites of 2024 are:
* There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak (and I loved hearing her on the recent WSIRN episode!)
* By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult – her most recent books have been hit and miss for me, so this one was a pleasant surprise
* Before the Coffee Gets Cold series (five books) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi – I loved the entire series, which shares some profound and powerful truths about family, love, and regrets through the individual stories
* The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali
* The God of the Woods by Liz Moore – I loved the characters and the multi-layered story, and I thought the ending was perfect.
I have a massive TBR queued up for 2025…. and that is before I see the 2025 Summer Reading Guide. If I get through half of them it will be an accomplishment! Happy Reading!
Absolute favorite book of the year is Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino. Like you, I loved God of the Woods. I also adored North Woods by Daniel Mason.
Happy reading!
My favorite books of 2024 (and only ones to receive 5 Stars for me on Goodreads)
*The Last Love Note by Emma Grey
*Upon Waking (devotional) by Jackie Hill Perry
*He is Strong (devotional) by Emily Jensen
*A Girl Called Samson by Amy Harmon
* The Women by Kristin Hannah
*Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
*The Girl in the Tower & The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden
*Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
This year I invested more time in writing reviews and in reading professional reviews and author interviews, which resulted in lot more books that have stuck with me, even if I didn’t particularly like them.
I’m still narrowing down my “best of” list, but these are a few of my favorites:
Whale Fall by Elizabeth O’Connell
Trust by Hernan Diaz
Wellness by Nathan Hill
Beautyland by Marie-Helen Bertino
Dixon, Descending by Karen Outen
The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa
The Housekeeper and the professor is one of my favorite books of all time. A real oldie but goodie.
• The Goblin Emperor-Katherine Addison, the fantasy novel with which I began this year, a gentle tale about good (thanks Francis Spufford for the recommendation in The Guardian).
• You made a fool of death with your beauty-Akwaeke Emezi, another January novel that has stayed with me, sensual and powerful, about learning to live again.
• All before me-Esther Rutter, a winning combination of memoir and exploration of the bond between literature and place.
• The Rising Down-Alexandra Harris, a tour de force exploring the bonds that link us with our home ground and how places and people connect, a deep reading of one small part of Sussex. If you haven’t read ‘Weatherland’ and ‘Romantic Moderns’ you have 3 books to look forward to.
• The Emmanuel Promise- Summer Joy Gross- a personal exploration of the link between attachment theory and faith, with plenty of practices to help us become more intimate with God.
• Into the heart of Romans-Tom Wright, a detailed exegesis of Romans 8 from an interpreter not afraid to change his position, his most pastoral book IMHO.
• Reclaiming Quiet- Sarah Clarkson, a beautifully written exploration of finding the holy within the quotidian.
• Finally in crime fiction I strongly recommend the Australian Chris Hammer and the DI Wilkins series and Finder series by Simon Mason.
Loved Reclaiming Quiet!
I read my #1 favorite in the bath last year on 1-1-24! It has not lost pride of place-Elena by Claudia Pineiro (translated from the Spanish) but I discovered my others as the year progressed
Las Biuty Queens-Ivan Monalisa Ojeda (also translated from the Spanish)
Headshot-Rita Bullwinkel
The Best of Everything-Rona Jaffe (This was a re-issue)
James-Percival Everett
Minor Details-Adania Shibli (translated from the Arabic)
Maud Martha-Gwendolyn Brooks
Horse-Geraldine Brooks
Clear-Carys Davies
Real Americans-Rachel Khong
Michelle, thanks for your list, and for sharing your wonderful 1/1/24 reading memory!
Oh my gosh. I loved Elena! I feel it is not well known and I am glad to hear someone else appreciated it.
I’m so happy to confirm that someone else adored Sandwich, as I saw a lot of people hated when I went to leave my glowing, 5 star review on Goodreads.
My other favorites of the year were Margo’s Got Money Troubles and If You Can’t Take the Heat, which was a sneakily funny and emotionally resonant collection of essays.
My top 10 of the year, in no particular order:
Blue Sisters – Coco Mellors
This Motherless Land – Nikki May
Colored Television – Danzy Senna
Goddess of Warsaw – Lisa Barr
The Women – Kristin Hannah
Lion Women of Tehran – Marjam Kamali
Guncle Abroad- Steven Rowley
Safekeep – Yael van der Wouden
Sandwich – Catherine Newman
You Are Here – David Nicholls
Life Sentences by Billy O’Callaghan
James by Percival Everett
Sipsworth by Simon VanBody
How to Read a Book by Monica Wood
It wasn’t a GREAT year for reading. Many books were just “fine” and several were big disappointments. Onward!
I don’t usually join in with favorites, but I’m barreling towards 77, so who knows how many opportunities there will be. I was an RN for 50+ years, in a variety of roles from bedside to Senior Vice President for Patient Care and Quality, to nonprofit and Parish Nurse. I am so glad that The Women by Kristin Hannah is now “speaking truth to power” in words written by one of my favorite authors. From the no-nonsense bosses to the whimsical phrases (You were about as useful as a tiara
In the ER) to the sense of no one understanding what you are doing, the nurses who served in Vietnam and subsequent wars were courageous and too long overlooked. I was licensed in 1968 at the age of 20; I also had a 2 year old daughter, and the times were as turbulent as today. It was an honor and a privilege to be a nurse; we are allowed into people’s lives at vulnerable times and allowed to become intimately acquainted in a very short time.
I love these lists! Everyones is so different which is fun but terrible for my tbr ;).
My favorites have been:
River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer
Beyond that the Sea by Laura Spence Ash
Crow Mary by Kathleen Grissholm
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
The Briar Club by Kate Quinn.
I never realized that historical fiction was my favorite genre. I’m usually drawn to family dramas but they rarely make my list. Something to think about…
My favorites of the year:
Absolution, Alice McDermott
The Rachel Incident, Caroline O’Donoghue
James, Percival Everett
The Book of Fire, Rachel Khong
Enter Gost, Isabella Hammad
One Woman Show Christine Coulson
My favorite book this year was The Waters by Bonnie Jo Campbell. Her book has similar vibes to Where the Crawdads Sing but much better written in my opinion. My LEAST favorite book this year was Family, Family. Sorry Anne. I just found the main mother character so self-centered in ways I couldn’t stomach.
Some favorites of 2024 in no particular order :
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
What You are Looking for is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrick Backman
Love and Saffron by Kim Faye
The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon
Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl
The At Home in Mitford series is my all-time favorite audiobook series. The narrator, John McDonough, brings Mitford alive. He’s fabulous!
I have loved seeing you shout out Hanif Abdurraqib’s new book over several posts this year – he’s been a longtime favorite and I love how he weaves so many topics into such a beautiful braid. Go Ahead In The Rain was a major favorite of mine, and They Can’t Kill You Until They Kill You. His poetry in essay form is beautiful.
Thanks for sharing your fave Hanif titles!
My favorite books so far this year (not all of them are new releases). I read a lot of non-fiction books about animals that I enjoyed this year –
North Woods, Daniel Mason
The Boys in the Boat, Daniel James Brown
A Short Walk Through a Wide World, Douglas Weberbeke
The Hotel Nantucket – Elin Hilderbrand
Orca: How We Came to Know and Love the Ocean’s Greatest Predator, Jason M. Colby
Maisie Dobbs (#1 in the series), Jacqueline Winspear
The Perils of Lady Catherin DeBourgh, Claudia Gray
Assistant to the Villain (#1 in the series), Hannah Nicole Maehrer
Apprentice to the Villain (32 in the series), Hannah Nicole Maehrer
The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness, Sy Montgomery
What an Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds, Jennifer Ackerman
The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society, C.M. Waggoner
Christmas with the Queen, Hazel Gaynor and Heahter Webb
2024 was a great reading year for me.
The Wedding People/Espach
Grave Talk/Spalding
How to Read a Book/Wood
Sandwich/Newman
How to Age Disgracefully/Pooley
Red Rabbit/Grecian
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches/Mandanna
Voyage of the Damned/White
The Grace of Wild Things/Fawcett
What Does it Feel Like/Kinsella
Killers of a Certain Age/Raybourn
A Litter of Bones/Kirk (1st of the 19 I have read)
True Confessions of an Ambivalent Caregiver/Eastman (memoir)
I’ll Just Be Five More Minutes/Farris (about ADHD)
Anne, I agree with a lot of your picks.
My #1 fiction is How to Read a Book, by Monica Wood.
My #1 nonfiction is Healing Wounds, by Diane Carlson Evans. (This was source material for Kristin Hannah’s The Women, which I really liked, too.)
Other favorites:
James, by Percival Everett
We Solve Murders, by Richard Osman
Sipsworth, by Simon Van Booy
You Are Here, by David Nichols
The Glassmaker, by Tracy Chevalier
Sandwich, by Catherine Newman
The Briar Club, by Kate Quinn
The Same Bright Stars, by Ethan Joella
Here One Moment, by Liane Moriarty
This Motherless Land, by Nikki May
I had a great reading year!
Looking at my Good Reads list, these are ones I would recommend:
EVIL EYE / ETAF RUM
THE STORY HOUR / THRITY UMRIGAR
A LIITLE LIFE / HANYA YANAGIHARA
THE SECRET OF LIFE: ROSALIND FRANKLIN, JAMES WATSON, FRANCIS CRICK, AND THE DISCOVERY OF DNA’S DOUBLE HELIX
My current favorite is American Ramble , by Neil King, Jr. Beautifully written, it is chronicle of a walk from Washington D.C. to New York City. It includes some history, his musing, the people and places he visits.
That sounds fascinating!
Love best books of the year lists!
So far, my favorites this year are:
Walk In A Relaxed Manner by Joyce Rupp
I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger
God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Field Notes for the Wilderness by Sarah Bessey
Pilgrim In Time by Rosanne Keller
The Life Impossible by Matt Haig
Black Litugies by Cole Arthur Riley
My top three reads for 2024 were:
Ministry of Time
Beautyland
North Woods
A few of my 2024 favorites:
*Dead Wake by Erik Larson
*The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
*State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
*Absolution by Alice Mc Dermott
*What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
and perhaps my top pick –
*** 11/22/63 by Stephen King
I’ve just started listening to your podcast this fall and I love it!! Thanks, Anne!
Sandwich was for sure a favorite for me this summer, but Newman’s We All Want Impossible Things was the most memorable for me. I have a best friend of 33 years and a brother in his 4th year of cancer treatment. It is incredibly beautiful and funny. Nonfiction- Notes From the Wilderness, Bessey which was marvelous on audio during walks in the woods along the river here in Richmond, VA and How to Walk into a Room seemingly written at just the right time and just for me by my Sister Emily P. Freeman as my friends and I refer to her as.
My favourites of 2024:
This Tender Land – William Kent Krueger (hubby also loved this one!)
The Wedding People – Alison Espach
The Same Bright Stars – Ethan Joella
I had a year of a lot of 2 and 3 star reads (and even a few one stars), these 3 are my only 5 star reads of the year! Hoping 2025 will be more satisfying. Probably going to start William Kent Krueger’s Cork O’Connor series as hubby’s interested in it, too.
Such a wonderful book year. Looking back at my favorites, I see a trend in British writers—hmmm. These terrific reads stood out:
* Time of the Child – Niall Williams (my favorites book of the year)
* Clear – Carys Davies
* So Late in the Day: Stories of Women and Men – Claire Keegan
* The House of Mirth – Edith Wharton
* All the Beauty in the World (memoir) – Patrick Bringley
* The Wren, The Wren- Anne Enright
* Martyr! – Kaveh Akbar
* Drowned – John Banville
* Death at the Sign of the Rook – Kate Atkinson
* Unruly (nonfiction) – David Mitchell
* James – Percival Everett
* Metropolitan Stories – Christine Coulson
* The Verifiers – Jane Pek
* Enlightenment – Sarah Perry
* Dissolution – C.J. Sansom
* Loitering with Intent – Muriel Spark
* Say Nothing (nonfiction) – Patrick Radden Keefe
* Cahokia Jazz – Francis Spufford
* The Coast Road – Alan Murrin
Here are a few of my favorite titles this year:
By Any Other Name
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
The Frozen River
Bright Sword
Death at the Sign of the Rook
In The Form of a Question
In Memoriam
Here’s to a happy new reading year!
But…. did you read James? My favorite book of 2024.
Yes! So good.
Hi, MMD Team! I just wanted to share that The Fountain of Silence was my favorite book in 2024, and it’s all thanks to you and your team. I would always say/believe “I’m not a reader” & “Reading is just not my thing” Then I got an email newsletter from your team on what books to read if traveling to Spain, and that’s where it all change. I’ve wanted to visit Spain so I took your advice and read it, in one week! I went from not reading a single book for decades in my life to reading almost 10 books this half end of the year. Thank you for changing my literature journey. It’s been a comfort and joy in a tough season filled with unemployment, disappointments, and surprises. I’ve also been getting into audiobooks now, it helps with long commutes in LA (and perhaps lessens the road range haha). Crossing my fingers and hoping Santa sees my request for a Kindle this year 😉 Overall, I just want to say thank you for all your hard work and love of books. I’m so grateful to have opened that newsletter, read the advice, and checked out the book. My book journey will only get better from here. Thank you, MMD Team! <3
I am drawn to best books lists and eagerly review the choices. Too often the lists mirror my own did not finish list. Unsavory characters, dysfunctional families, and bizarre circumstances thankfully do not reflect my reality. With so many great books to read I am not willing to spend my time with depressing and disappointing books. I find the books in the replies more closely reflect the books I enjoy. I read about 100 books a year and find the most critically acclaimed books puzzling.
The feedback about Hanif Abdurraquib’s books is an example of this phenomenon. His stream of consciousness writing, non traditional punctuation, and choice of topics seems far afield of the types of books I enjoy. Sounds more like the books on the NYT list than MMD.
Thanks for sharing all of your favorites.
Personally the books I read don’t have to reflect my reality. Dysfunctional families and bizarre circumstances make for great writing opportunities. It would be very boring to only read within your own reality.
I’m currently at 170 for the year. I am a heavy fantasy reader, but squeeze a few others into the mix. I had many faves but here are a few standouts ; Hotel Corner of Bitter and Sweet; Meet me at the Museum; Address Unknown; Love and Saffron; The Cook; Demon of Unrest; Court this Cruel and Lovely; Prison Healer series; Dance of Thieves duology
What a lovely mix!
BEST Scifi: The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera
BEST Memoir: I am C3PO by Anthony Daniels
BEST historical fiction: Angel of Greenwood by Randi Pink
BEST fantasy: Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater
BEST mystery: The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens
BEST romance: My Phony Valentine by Courtney Walsh
BEST Magical Realism: The Simplicity of Cider by Amy E. Reichert.
My favorite books of the year are a mix of backlist and newer titles. In the order that I read them, my favorites are:
Shakespeare: The Man Who Plays the Rent by Judi Dench and Brendan O’Hea
Walking With Sam by Andrew McCarthy
The Book-Makers: A History of the Book in Eighteen Lives by Adam Smyth
The Secret Language of Birds by Lynne Kelly
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
The Library of Legends by Janie Chang
The Stationery Shop by Marian Kamala
Custodians of Wonder: Ancient Customs, Profound Traditions, and the Last People Keeping Them Alive by Eliot Stein
Bits & Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me by Whoopi Goldberg
Runelight by Joanne Harris
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Your Worshipfulness by Jeff Ryan
Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
So many wonderful books! A few other of my favorites this year:
Orbital by Samantha Harvey
The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry
The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei
The End of Drum-Time by Hanna Pylvainen
In Ascension by Martin MacInnes
Favorites read this year (not necessarily published this year) were, according to my spreadsheet :):
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow GAbrielle Zevin
So Late in the Day Clare Keegan
The Shell Seekers Rosamund Pilcher
Bel Canto Ann Patchett
Heft by Liz Moore on audio (I don’t usually enjoy audiobooks)
The God of the Woods Liz Moore
Manhattan Beach Jennifer Egan
Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver
Wellness by Nathan Hill
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
Dear Committee Members
The Frozen River
The Berry Pickers
Hannah Coulter
I can’t separate out my audiobooks this year because for so many of my favorites I went back and forth between my ears and eyes:
*Family Family by Laurie Frankel
*The Phoenix Crown by Janie Chang & Kate Quinn
*The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center (definitely ears for this one!)
*The Mother Act by Heidi Reimer (I finished it and went right back to the beginning to read it again)
*Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder by Kerryn Mayne (ears for this one, loved the Australian narrator)
*The Wedding People by Allison Espach
*The Comfort of Ghosts by Jacqueline Winspear (final Maisie Dobbs)
*Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout (ears!!)
*Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman (nonfiction)
*Sandwich by Catherine Newman
I also just blew through 2 spring ARCS I loved, Dream State by Eric Puchner & The Dark Maestro by Brendan Slocumb
Thanks for all of your recs, I’m a bookseller and you and your team are my absolute best source on what to read and how to help others find their right now fits too!!
Turns out titles with most impact on me this year are almost all non-fiction, AND seem to share theme of someone following a dream against great odds–inspiration for future of our planet & humanity. (Think I listened to all on audio, so list over 10 since Anne will continue her top titles for 2024 later!)
INTO THE AMAZON: THE LIFE OF CANDIDO RONDON by Larry Rohter
A WALK IN THE PARK by Kevin Fedark
HURRICANE: My Story of Resiliance by Salvador Gomez-Colon
DISNEY’S LAND by Richard Snow
ORNAMENT OF THE WORLD by Maria Rosa Monocal
THE WELL-LIVED LIFE: A 102-year old woman doctor by Gladys McGary M.D.
CONDITIONAL CITIZENS by Laila Lalami
L.A. SON by Roy Choi (advisor on Jon Favreau movie CHEF)
THE WARNER BROTHERS by Chris Yogerst
WILD NEW WORD by Dan Flores
LATINOLAND by Marie Arana
A DREAM CALLED HOME by Reyna Grande
URGENT MESSAGE FROM MOTHER by Jean Shinoda Bolen
LEAVE IT AS IT IS by David Gessner
(Also read Japansese novels WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IS IN THE LIBRARY and THE CAT WHO SAVED BOOKS & sequel THE CAT WHO SAVED THE LIBRARY already available in Spanish e-book translation.)
I work at a library, and we’re compiling staff favorites for an end of year list. I read a ton of books this year, but my favorites tended to be from authors I already loved or series I already loved, which was kind of disappointing. Even though everything on the favorites list I thoroughly enjoyed, I was hoping for some surprises. Here is my list:
https://sclibrary.bibliocommons.com/list/share/1462751987/2665681837
Some of my favorites are listed here. However, not one person mentioned my most memorable book of the year which was Theo of Golden by Allen Levi. And it’s on kindle unlimited too!
The Women by Kristin Hannah is my favorite for this year.
Thanks so much for including Same As It Ever Was on your list. I suggested it to our book club, and everybody – everbody! – hated it. Except me. Coming from a difficult family myself, it’s so good to read a novel that shows how that past can reflect itself in different ways throughout a long life. Sigh. So the fact that you liked it, too, makes me feel a little better – nobody likes recommending a book to a book club that is a dud. On the other hand, the three big books of the summer, God of the Woods, Creation Lake and All the Colors of the Dark, were all misses for me. We are all such very different readers!
Thanks for sharing your favorites Anne! And for all you do for the book world. Here are my favorites so far:
Fiction:
This is Happiness by Niall Williams
The Hummingbird’s Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea
The Hearts Invisible Furies by John Boyne
Clear by Carys Davies
You are Here by David Nicholls or/
Table for Two by Amor Towles (the short stories)
Non-fiction
The Black Count by Tom Reiss
Reclaiming Quiet by Sarah Clarkson
Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley
Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
The Terrible Speed of Mercy by Jonathan Rogers
Play:
The Man Born to be King by Dorothy Sayers
Favorites I Read/Listened to in 2024 (my first time adding mine to the comments, thank you MMD for upping my reading game this year!)
TOP PICK: All Fours – Miranda July
Be Ready When The Luck Happens – Ina Garten
Go As A River – Shelley Read
The Silent Patient – Alex Michaelides
We Are Experiencing a Slight Delay – Gary Jannetti
Euphoria – Lily King
The God of The Woods – Liz Moore
You Could Make This Place Beautiful – Maggie Smith
Remarkably Bright Creatures – Shelby Van Pelt
This was not my best reading year, despite coming up on 100 books….These were my favorites of that number, chronologically.
The River We Remember/WKK
Emma and Knightley/Billington
Migrations/McConaghy
Mercury/Burns
I Cheerfully Refuse/Enger
The Frozen River/Lawhon
How to Read a Book/Wood
The God of the Woods/Moore
Postcards from France/Libby
All That is Mine I Carry With Me/Landry
Waiting for Birdy/Newman
Sandwich/Newman
The Swan Thieves/Kostova
Just for kicks, I want to list my DNF’s! The Sentence/Erdrich, A Hell of a Book/Mott, The Unwedding/Condie, The Ministry of Time/Bradley, North Woods/Mason, and Dear Committee Members/Schumacher!
A great list: I have many of these still on my TBR list as I’m saving some of them for my 40th birthday vacation to Tenerife next month. Maybe some of them will last the distance to make it into next year’s favourites. One of these titles managed to hang on in all the way to the year-end top five…
— Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino*
— And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott*
— The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers* (This was the first book I read in 2024 and it’s stayed with me throughout the year.)
— The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
— Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
* These titles also belong on my overall top five favourite books of 2024, alongside audiobook favourites Doppelganger: by Naomi Klein and Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll.
My top favourite books this year were:
The Little Wartime Library
by Kate Thompson and
The Lighthouse Bookshop
by Sharon Gosling.
There were some other great books that I enjoyed at the time but some of them I can barely remember. These were the top two that have stayed with me (for good reasons).
After a few mediocre reading years, 2024 has been an excellent one.
> All the Colors of the Dark – Whitaker
> Still Life – Winman (this is my new second all-time favorite book after To the Bright Edge of the World by Ivey)
> The Cautious Traveler’s Guide to the Wastelands – Brooks
> The God of the Woods – Moore
> Time’s Mouth – Lepucki
> You Are Here – Nicholls
> Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come – Pan (on audiobook, made me laugh in the car)
> The Latecomer – Korelitz
> The Ministry of Time – Bradley
> Starling House – Harrow
Lots of speculative fiction on that list.
I want to read the Kate Atkinson’s new Jackson Brodie mystery, but it’s been over a decade since I read the others. I decided to listen to them (I’m not much of an audiobook person) and am LOVING Case Histories. I’ll finish it by the end of the year. The narration is sublime.
My reading has to tell a story and have a beginning and an end which is why Mystery fits the bill. That said it looks like my year’s favorites were light, cozy type I found S.J.Bennett-Murder Most Royal, always love Elly Griffiths-latest The Last Word, Richard Osman continues-We Solve Murders,
excellent-however-outside the box was Gabrielle Zevin-Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and Tomorrow! Also add Stephens Gerard Malone-The History of Rain. Seems to be all over the place in theme. Happy New Year fellow readers!
The God of the Woods is outstanding and slightly better than All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker. This year I finally got into Kristin Hannah and absolutely love all three of these books: The Great Alone, The Nightingale and The Women. Trust by Hernan Diaz great quality and writing; loved the plot. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by Victor Schwab and Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver fall in the great category. The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese is nothing short of epic! The Midnight Library by Matt Haig reminds me of Addie LaRue and I loved them. Remarkably Bright Creatures is very sweet. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett, Wellness by Nathan Hill, Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow fall in the very good category but not great. Martyr! – Wow! The Wedding People, Tell Me Everything and Blue Sisters is a great understanding of how you can change your life in a new direction; Wedding and Tell Me Everything is more midlife crisis and Blue is grief. The Frozen River is a well written account of historical fiction for women studies – a MUST read. The Postcard by Anne Berest is a worthy read. North Woods by Daniel Mason and All Fours by Miranda July – did not do it for me at all; I would not invest the time. Historical Fiction won the year for me – Kristin Hannah – in addition to the above I also enjoyed Weyward by Emilia Hart.
Top 8:
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
The Lord of Psalm 23
Crossing to Safety
Last House
The Turtle House
Humble Roots
A Place to Hang the Moon
The Frozen River
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