2024 has felt like a bit of a down reading year for me. I read a bit less than in 2023 (although I don’t really care how many books I read in a year), I read slightly fewer 5 star books this year (a stat I DO care deeply about), and I just felt like there were fewer standout winners. I do think publishers were holding some new releases back because of the Election and the number of books coming out in the first three months of 2025 supports this theory. The books that worked for me this year were accessible Literary Fiction and books that spoke to themes I’ve encountered in my own life.
Highlights of my Best Books of 2024
- 80% Fiction / 20% Nonfiction (the nonfiction on this list has increased slightly for the past 2 years)
- 2 debuts (20%, lower than usual for me)
- 3 (30%) of these authors were podcast guests
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Best Books of 2024
My #1 Book of 2024
Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo
Best Sophomore Novel
Best Book for Women in Mid-Life
Buy from: Amazon
The Rest of the Best Books of 2024
Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten
Best Audiobook
Best Celebrity Memoir
Best Business Tips
Buy from: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Libro.fm (Audio)
Earth by John Boyne
Best Book in a Series
Best Big Punch in a Small Package
Buy from: Amazon | Blackwell’s
Leaving by Roxana Robinson
Most Divisive
Best Book Club Pick
Best Intense Love Story That’s NOT a Romance
Buy from: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Libro.fm (Audio)
Madwoman
The Book I Re-Rated This Year
Most Raw
Buy from: Amazon
Margo’s Got Money Troubles
Most Delightfully Weird
Best Dad Character
Buy from: Amazon
Nuclear War by Annie Jacobsen
Best Nonfiction of 2024
Scariest Book I Read This Year
Hardest Book to Recommend to People
Buy from: Amazon
Real Americans by Rachel Khong
Most Unique Family Drama
Best Slightly Sci-Fi Twist
Buy from: Amazon
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Best Genre Mash-Up
Best Slow Burn Suspense
Best Crowd-Pleaser
Most Deserving of the Hype
Buy from: Amazon
Victim by Andrew Boryga
Best Debut of 2024
Best Satire
Buy from: Amazon
More Best Books of 2024…
Most Underrated Gems of 2024
Best Debuts of 2024
What were your favorite books of 2024?
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TBH I did not love ‘Same as it ever was’. But I do agree with you that there were fewer good books this year than in previous years. My other big complaint is that a lot of books seem to be much longer than necessary. Lots of fluffy prose makes me get lost in the narrative.
I loved ‘Real Americans’, ‘Leaving’, ‘James’, ‘The Return of Ellie Black’, ‘The Instrumentalist’, and ‘What Happened to Nina”. Maybe I had ADHD this year, but i needed books that grabbed my attention and wouldn’t let me put them down.
I didn’t think 2024 was a stellar year for reading until I looked back at the books I had tagged as “best of 2024” in goodreads and realized that I have well over 12. So I think it was really a great year for me.
I did not love Same as It Ever Was as much as you did. I think I loved her last book so much that it was tough to top! My best book was The Wedding People which I know you DNF’d! Other faves were God of the Woods. Be Ready When the Luck Happens, and Home Stretch (which I never would have read if you hadn’t recommended it!).