Reading has been an essential part of my life since childhood. I’m always reading a book (sometimes two). Searching for books to add to my TBR list is an active pursuit. I love checking out other people’s yearly “best of” lists, so creating my own is a labor of love.

In 2024, I read 94 books (70 fiction/24 non-fiction). To document my 2024 reading, I’m taking a different approach than in the past. Rather than limiting my “Best Of” list to 15 choices, I’m  highlighting ALL my 5-star and 4-star books. This way, I don’t have to agonize over picking my favorites. That being said, let’s start with my five favorite books of the year!

Americanah

Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche

After reading We Should All Be Feminists, I wanted to read one of Adiche’s novels. Wow! What brilliant and clear-eyed writing! Americanah follows Ifemelu from her childhood and young adulthood in Nigeria to her immigration to the U.S. and eventual return to Nigeria—while also chronicling her love affair with her high school sweetheart Obinze. Funny, witty, insightful. I wish I could write like Adichie! I’ll be reading more of her books in 2025.

James

Percival Everett

A retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the point of view of Jim, James is the perfect companion to the book that inspired it. Capturing the heartbreak, dehumanization, and evil of slavery and racism, Everett deepens and widens the original story and makes something amazing and new. After loving Demon Copperfield last year, I’m thinking that the reinvention and retelling of classic books is something I need to keep exploring.

North Woods

Daniel Mason

North Woods tells the story of a New England house from the laying of the first stone in colonial times to modern times. Mason creatively plays with different ways to tell the story—surprising me every step of the way. My absolute favorite part was narrated by a horny beetle, which led to belly laughs while reading. Trying to pin down this book is impossible. You’ve just got to read it for yourself.

American Dirt

Jeanine Cummins

Forget whatever you’ve heard and judge American Dirt on its merits. Chronicling the journey of a mother and son fleeing Mexico after a horrific act of violence, the book captures the dangers and hardships of crossing the Mexico/U.S. border illegally. I felt tense through the entire book. I wish all Americans would read this book to better understand what motivates people to make this perilous journey.

The Vaster Wilds

Lauren Groff

In The Vaster Wilds, a servant girl escapes a colonial settlement and flees into the wilderness with almost nothing but her wits and a burning desire to survive. I was immersed in the rawness and immediacy of her adventure as if I was living it myself. I don’t remember what made me pick up this book, but I’m grateful I did. This novel has something to say about what it means to be human and our relation to the natural world. Powerful.

Our modern world is divisive and scary, so I’m always trying to better understand what got us to this point and educate myself about various issues. These books provided me with more nuanced views of some the issues tearing our society apart.

The Murderbot Diaries

Martha Wells

This science fiction series is narrated by a cyborg that calls itself Murderbot. Designed to be a heavily armed and combat-trained Security Unit (SecUnit), Murderbot has secretly hacked its governor module (which allows it to be controlled by humans and the corporation that created it) to become autonomous.

Murderbot’s narration and world view is what makes this series so fun! Wanting nothing more than to be left alone to watch soap operas, Murderbot is constantly forced to save its humans from danger. Over the series, Murderbot reluctantly develops friendships with humans and other artificial intelligence systems.

Read the series in this order:

• All Systems Red (novella)

• Artificial Condition (novella)

• Rogue Protocol (novella)

• Exit Strategy (novella)

• Fugitive Telemetry (novella)

• Network Effect (full-length novel)

• System Collapse (full-length novel)

A Court of Thorns and Roses

Sarah J. Maas

I read the first book of this series in 2023, but I finished the rest of the books this year. This is a “romantasy” series that follows a human named Feyre as she enters the faerie lands of Prythian.

There are currently five books, with a sixth on the way. For me, the first three books are the best and would have made a perfect trilogy. Book 4 is more of a novella and space filler. Book 5 switches gears and makes two supporting characters the main characters.

• A Court of Thorns and Roses

• A Court of Mist and Fury

• A Court of Wings and Ruin

• A Court of Frost and Starlight (novella)

• A Court of Silver Flames

Ernest Cunningham Series

Benjamin Stevenson

OK … so I’ve only read two out of three, but I’m counting it! (And kicking myself that I didn’t read the third book in December.)

This is a funny murder mystery series where the narrator (Ernest Cunningham) breaks the fourth wall (if you can do that in books) and comments on the action, including what murder mystery “rules” are not going to be followed. Very entertaining and fun to read.

The three books in the series are:

• Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone

• Everyone On This Train Is a Suspect

• Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret

Here are the rest of the books I read in 2024 sorted into three lists: Worth the Time, Just OK for Me, and I Would Skip. Do with this what you will.

Worth The Time

• The Examiner Janice Hallett
• Saratoga Woods (The Abandonment of Hannah Armstrong, #1) Elizabeth George
• Commonwealth Ann Patchett
• After Annie Anna Quindlen
• All the Sinners Bleed S.A. Cosby
• Adequate Yearly Progress Roxanna Elden
• Modern Lovers Emma Straub
• All Adults Here Emma Straub
• Somewhere Beyond the Sea (Cerulean Chronicles, #2) T.J. Klune
• We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1) Richard Osman

Just OK for Me

• Slow Horses  Mick Herron – BUT WATCH THE TV SHOW!
• Local Woman Missing Mary Kubica
• Just the Nicest Couple Mary Kubica
• The Other Mrs. Mary Kubica
• May We Be Forgiven A.M. Homes
• One Perfect Couple Ruth Ware
• The Ministry of Time Kaliane Bradley
• Leaving Roxana Robinson
• The Bee Sting Paul Murray
• The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store James McBride
• The Soulmate Sally Hepworth
• Truth Truth Lie Claire McGowan
• The Heiress Rachel Hawkins
• How Can I Help You Laura Sims
• The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness Sy Montgomery
• Burn Book: A Tech Love Story Kara Swisher
• The Middle Place Kelly Corrigan
• Revelation at the Food Bank Merrill Joan Gerber
• AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future Kai-Fu Lee

I Would Skip

• The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels Janice Hallett
• Darling Girls Sally Hepworth
• The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post Allison Pataki
• The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany Lori Nelson Spielman
• The Golden Spoon Jessa Maxwell
• Midnight on Beacon Street Emily Ruth Verona
• This Wretched Valley Jenny Kiefer
• Whalefall Daniel Kraus
• American Prometheus Kai Bird
• Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon Michael Lewis