Top Ten (Actually, Twelve) (No, Thirteen) Favorites of 2024

Read in Print

Listed in the order I read them, starting with my 2024 First Book of the Year. I had a long pause in the spring when I wasn’t blogging, and several shorter pauses here and there, so some of these books have never even been mentioned on the blog. I did track my favorites in LibraryThing. I just realized how many Read with Jenna book club selections I read; we must have the same taste in books!

Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty

Set in a Native community in Maine, Night of the Living Rez is a riveting debut collection about what it means to be Penobscot in the twenty-first century and what it means to live, to survive, and to persevere after tragedy. – from the Publisher

The Once and Future King by T. H. White

This is actually four books in one. I didn’t read Books 2, 3, and 4 until July and August, for my favorite yearly reading challenge Big Book Summer with Sue at Book by Book.

Family Family by Laurie Frankel

“Frankel finds the truth of modern family within the sparkly, funny characters.”— Booklist

The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis

“An absolute blast with abundant humor, copious references to old westerns, and . . . a delightful, intergalactic twist on the romantic comedy.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

The Hero of This Book by Elizabeth McCracken

A taut, groundbreaking, and highly acclaimed novel from bestselling and award-winning author Elizabeth McCracken, about a writer’s relationship with her larger-than-life mother—and about the very nature of writing, memory, and art — from the Publisher

The Fraud by Zadie Smith

“Zadie Smith’s The Fraud is a lot of things: a meticulously researched work of historical fiction, a smart narrative about the importance of truth and the shortcomings of perspective, and a tale that delves deeply into authenticity and justice.” – NPR

The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman

“Grossman, who is best known for his The Magicians series, is at the top of his game with The Bright Sword.” —The New York Times Book Review

Sandwich by Catherine Newman

“Sandwich is my idea of the perfect summer novel: shimmering and substantive. “
— NPR Books

Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo

In this “rich, complex family saga” (USA Today) full of long-buried family secrets, Marilyn Connolly and David Sorenson fall in love in the 1970s, blithely ignorant of all that awaits them. By 2016, they have four radically different daughters, each in a state of unrest.

The Cliffs by J. Courtney Sullivan

REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK • A novel of family, secrets, ghosts, and homecoming set on the seaside cliffs of Maine, by the New York Times best-selling author of Friends and Strangers

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

There’s power in a book…
They call them wayward girls. Loose girls. Girls who grew up too fast. And they’re sent to Wellwood House in St. Augustine, Florida, where unwed mothers are hidden by their families to have their babies in secret, to give them up for adoption, and most important of all, to forget any of it ever happened.

This Motherless Land by Nikki May

From the acclaimed author of Wahala, a stunning reimagining of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park: Split between England and Nigeria, two extraordinary cousins are set on vastly different paths as they come to terms with their shared family history—a masterful exploration of race, identity, and love. 

I’ve Tried Being Nice: Essays by Ann Leary

New York Times bestselling author Ann Leary offers a literary feast of humor and wisdom told from the perspective of a recovering people pleaser.

I’m sharing this with Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, so you’ll find many other Top Ten book lists there!