The final Top Ten Tuesday of 2024, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, is the best books we’ve read this year. The books I’ve chosen aren’t necessarily published this year, and are a mix of books I listened to and read.
Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden
- Published: 2024
- Genre: historical and fantasy
- Format: digital
- Why I liked it: beautiful writing and story, and a very unique look at World War I.
There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak
- Published: 2024
- Genre: historical
- Format: digital
- Why I liked it: This was a powerful, creative story that covered multiple time periods in England and Iraq.
Horse by Geraldine Brooks
- Published: 2022
- Genre: historical
- Format: digital and audio
- Why I liked it: I loved Brooks’ exploration of very different historical elements and how they intersect: slavery, art, horse-racing
Master Slave Husband Wife by Ilyan Woo
- published: 2023
- genre: nonfiction/history
- format: audio
- why I liked it: This is a fascinating story about a couple who escaped slavery and also became abolitionists in the North. Woo effectively combines this couple’s personal story with the larger historical context.
Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan
- Published: 2023
- Genre: historical fiction
- Format: audio
- Why I liked it: This was a nominee for last year’s Women’s Prize, and it was a moving story about an Irish family and a young child’s death in London in the 1990’s.
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
- Published: 2023
- Genre: historical and contemporary fiction
- Format: audio
- Why I liked it: Patchett always tells a heartfelt, complex story, and this one is narrated by Meryl Streep which makes it even better. I’m not that interested in stories about actors, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one.
Skin & Bones by Renee Watson
- published: 2024
- genre: contemporary fiction
- format: digital
- why I liked it: Beautifully written, this is a story about family, relationships, body image, and race. You may not have heard of this one but you should give it a read.
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
- Published: 2023
- Genre: historical fiction
- Format: audio
- Why I liked it: This was my second book by Lawhon, and I liked it just as much as Code Name Helene. It’s a story about a real-life woman who was a midwife in Maine in the 1780’s. I love Lawhon’s detailed research and compelling characters. She brings to life people we’d never know about otherwise.
You are Here by David Nicholls
- Published: 2024
- Genre: contemporary fiction
- Format: digital
- Why I liked it: I love a good “journey” story, and this is a thoughtful story about two people who meet as they are walking across England.
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez
- Published: 2022
- Genre: contemporary fiction
- Format: audio
- Why I liked it: This book explores many of the historical and political issues that face Puerto Rico, a place I think we need to understand. It’s also a great family drama.
Published in 2024:
Of the books I read that were published in 2024, here were my favorites:
- The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden
- Skin & Bones by Renee Watson
- You Are Here by David Nicholls
- There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak
- Shy Creatures by Clare Chambers
- Sandwich by Catherine Newman
- The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo
- The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks
- Eddie Winston is Looking for Love by Marianne Cronin
- Coming Home by Brittney Griner
Better by audiobook:
Here are a few of my favorite audiobooks that didn’t make the above lists:
- Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T.J. Klune (read by Daniel Henning)
- Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett (read by Ell Potter and Michael Dodds)
- Making it So by Patrick Stewart (read by the author)
- Isn’t It Bromantic? by Lyssa Kay Adams (read by Andrew Eiden)
- The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis (read by Jesse Vilinsky)
Those are some of my favorite books read in 2024 – I found it pretty hard to narrow these down, and as always it’s very hard to compare one genre to another. I hope you’ll find something in this list to add to your TBR. Have you read any of these? If not, what was one of your favorites?
Wishing you all a happy and safe New Year, and happy reading in 2025.
