My Favorite Books of 2024

2024 was the year I finished the first draft of my novel, which made it a bit of a weird year for books. For the first time in the six years that I’ve been reading 100 books a year, I almost didn’t make it. But I did it! Thank god. I made it at the last second, but I read 100 books and can bring you my favorite books of 2024!

Go me! Also, can we take a moment to appreciate that I finished the first draft of a NOVEL? I am so proud of myself. It wasn’t easy, and now the real work begins (aka editing…oh god). I hope one day that book can be out in the world and be one of YOUR favorite books of the year. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

There’s been a topic online recently about whether books should be political, which makes me laugh because all books are inherently political. In a world where literacy rates are rapidly declining, where people are using AI for everything and not creating art that is their own, where I’m watching with my own eyes as friends and family fall into an alt-right pipeline, reading and writing feel more important than ever. Reading as much as I do has given me critical thinking skills, has taught me about worlds I’ll never see, has given me empathy, and has taught me quite literally to read between the lines. In a year like this one and on the cusp of the coming year, I can’t talk about reading without mentioning these things. Reading has always been political, and I am grateful to be a reader.

Anyway, before I dive into a tangent that will never end, let’s get into my favorite books of 2024, shall we?

 

My Top 11 Books of 2024:

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

I read this book in the first half of the year and think about it weekly. For a book written in 1995, I Who Have Never Known Men feels timeless.

We begin the story with our unknown narrator imprisoned in a cage with thirty-nine other women. It is the only world she knows; the older women do not remember how they got there and only have a slight recollection of their lives before the cage. Our unnamed narrator is the key to their survival and escape, and she leads them to an unfamiliar world above. What unravels afterward is a post-apocalyptic story about female friendship, intimacy, and survival.

This is a quiet novel, short and beautifully written. I don’t want to say too much lest I spoil the story, but I think everyone should read this. It’s impeccable.

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

Along with I Who Have Never Known Men, Pachinko is tied as my favorite book of the year. This feels fitting because I went to Japan this year and finished this book only a few weeks before our trip.

Starting in the 1900s, this book spans multiple generations of a family, set in Korea and Japan throughout the 20th century. It’s a book about trauma, love, and ambition – and how culture shapes and defines our lives, for better or worse. From the political turmoil of Japanese colonization to the criminal underworld of Pachinko parlors, Pachinko dives into Korean history and what it means to be Korean-Japanese.

I fell in love with this book on the first page and devoured it in less than a week. It’s astounding to see the historical details that went into writing this atmospheric story. I felt like I knew these characters, wept with them, and laughed with them throughout their lives.

Min Jin Lee said this book took her 30 years to write, and I can see why. Fact and fiction are woven together effortlessly — it’s just so lovely to read historical fiction this good.

 

Minor Detail by Adania Shibli

Minor Detail knocked me off my feet. For a book so short (only 144 pages), it packs a heavy emotional punch, and I think about it all the time.

This book begins in 1949 during the Nakba, where over 700,000 Palestinians were displaced from their homes, and follows the brutal killing of a Palestinian woman. The rest of the book flashes forward many years later to a woman living in Ramallah who becomes obsessed with this “minor detail” in history.

As you can probably guess, this novel has many trigger warnings and is by no means a light subject matter. But it’s powerful. It’s not trying too hard to preach at you or tell you who the bad guy is and who is good; it instead just lays out this story in such an eloquent, beautiful, horrifying way.

When I finished the last page, I sat in bed, stunned and heartbroken. The story is comprised of “minor details”—how the soldier dresses and cleans himself, the barking of a dog, and sand in a shoe. It shows how minor details can make a lasting impression on the world.

It’s a heartbreaking, devastating novel that’s so important to read.

The Husbands by Holly Gramazio

What would you do if suddenly, a man came out of your attic saying he’s your husband even though you’ve never seen him before? And also, you’re not even married? And then what would you think if said husband went back into the attic, disappeared, and was then replaced with an entirely new man you’ve never seen before also claiming to be your husband?

This is the premise of this wacky, silly little novel that I absolutely fell in love with. Lauren comes home from a night out, drunk off her ass, greeted by a man who says she’s her husband, even though she’s positive she’s never gotten married. The next morning, this mysterious husband goes up to the attic, disappears with a flash of light, and is replaced by an entirely different husband. Lauren doesn’t like this man very much, so she sends him up to the attic and watches as a new husband climbs down. This keeps repeating as Lauren tries to figure out wtf is going on and tries to find a husband she can live with.

This book may not be for everyone, but it was SO FOR ME. I loved every single minute of this strange little novel about time loops, multiverses, and many, MANY husbands.

Some reviews mentioned they thought The Husbands was too long, but I dare to disagree. I would have read 100 more pages of Lauren trying to get potential husbands back into the attic.

Exquisite. Chef’s Kiss.

Read this if you want to let joy into your life.

Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder

As we all know by now, I love a book about women being completely unhinged. I live for it, even.

Nightbitch is a book about a mother who has had enough and is also slowly turning into a dog, and, of course, her husband doesn’t believe her.

Even though I’m not a mother yet, am in a very happy marriage and do not turn into a dog at night, I still felt this book deeply in my bones.

As strange and insane as this novel was, it was also a compelling look into contemporary womanhood. What would it mean to strip away all the expectations of being a good mother and a good wife and be free from the constraints of modern society? Dogs don’t have to follow the rules of goodness that women do. They simply exist and are loved because of it.

Oh, and in case you were afraid of a lot of raw meat stuff like I was, there’s barely any, and it’s fine.

Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova

 

Monstrilio has two things I love in books: women being unhinged (which we already discussed) and a strange little guy. And in this one, the strange little guy is queer and looks like this for a large portion of the story:

What’s not to love? I mean, sure, he eats people and is a monster and a danger to society, whatever, whatever. Semantics. He’s perfect to me.

At its core, Monstrilio is a story about the lengths a mother will go to protect her child. It’s sad, horrifying, and stunning. It’s a story about grief, pain, and love.

Please read this.

Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura

 

I will read any story about children taking a portal to another world. I eat that shit up.

Lonely Castle in the Mirror is a delightful story about Japanese kids who aren’t accepted, hiding from school for one reason or another, who find a portal in a mirror that leads them to a magical castle run by a little girl in a wolf mask.

This novel was full of whimsy and joy. I cried.

The Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood

Delphie has never done much with her life. She has few friends, is not close to her family, and has never been in love. When she chokes on a microwaveable burger and dies, she ends up in limbo, face to face with who she believes is the love of her life. But he’s sent back to earth because it’s not yet his time.

Her Afterlife specialist, a quirky woman bored of the same old deceased people coming in all the time, makes her a deal. She’ll send her back to earth for a limited amount of time, and if the man she believes is her soulmate tells her he loves her, she’ll be allowed to live again.

I loved this book so much. It surprised me, and I laughed out loud throughout. I love books about second chances at life, and it was beautiful to watch Delphie try to learn that living is so much more than going through the motions.

If you are in the mood for a whimsical, funny book that will maybe also make you cry, read this right now!

The Measure by Nikki Erlick

When strings appear in boxes at every doorstep in the world, an unforgettable cast of characters discovers that this mysterious string shows the length and measure of the person’s life. Some decide not to look, some do. Either way, it defines the course of their existence and reshapes the world.

The Measure is a beautiful story about how short life is and what you choose to do with the fate you’re given. The audiobook was chef’s kiss.

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

I totally understand why this won the Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction – it blew me away.

In another story about second chances, Pheobe Stone shows up at a hotel prepared to kill herself. However, fate intervenes when she realizes she’s the only guest at the hotel not part of an elaborate week-long wedding party. When the bride learns of Pheobe’s plan, she does everything in her power to get her to change her mind, not because she cares about her but because she doesn’t want Pheobe to ruin her perfect wedding.

This is a book about imperfect people, and it is both hilarious and introspective. Was it predictable? Absolutely. Did that change it from being a 5-star read for me? No way.

The last 20% dragged a bit as I was waiting for what happened to happen, but I really enjoyed the experience of this book and how it tells the story of what it means to want to live.

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

What if the Underground Railroad was a real, functioning railroad?

Colson Whitehead reimagines history and tells a harrowing tale about Cora, a woman in the 1800s escaping enslavement, and her journey along the underground railroad, which, yes, is an actual railroad, and the large cast of characters who either want to help or harm her.

I’m so angry at myself for putting this novel off for so long. It was brilliantly done. Some people may not love the bird’s eye narrative style, but I felt it gave the story just enough distance to give readers a keen view into history.

I’d argue that this novel is one of the most important books of the 21st Century.

Honorable Mentions:

Station Eleven By Emily St. John Mandel

I reread it for the 6th year in a row, and you can’t stop me!

We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer

This was almost the perfect horror novel—it was genuinely terrifying and kept me on the edge of my seat. The only reason it wasn’t a 5-star, though, was that the ending felt too abrupt. I hope to God there’s a sequel.

The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop

I love Gilmore Girls. I rewatch it every year, and I’ve always thought Emily Gilmore had the most growth of the three of them. Kelly Bishop’s memoir made me fall even more in love with her and her personal story. I had no idea how much Kelly Bishop has done and gone through in her life – from A Chorus Line to Dirty Dancing to Gilmore Girls.

I listened to the audiobook, and it felt like Kelly was telling me her life story over a glass of wine. God, what I would give to have a glass of wine with Kelly Bishop!

Winter in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand

Because of the covers, I always thought Elin Hilderbrand was only for middle-aged women. If that’s true, call me 59 years old because I am Hilderbrand-pilled.

As you may remember, The Nantucket Hotel was one of my favorite books of 2022. It took me only two years to pick up another one of her books, which is a murder mystery and a story about family dynamics. It was great.

The House of Hidden Meanings by Rupaul

I love drag, RuPaul, and the gays. I’d be nothing without the gays.

Seeing RuPaul remove his stage persona and unmask his life and most private thoughts was lovely. I’ve known that RuPaul has been at the forefront of drag since the 1980s, but it was incredible to hear him talk about it. He has lived a beautiful life. I was fascinated by how he spoke about how he had to commercialize himself to make himself palatable so that he could be in the living rooms of even the most conservative people, hoping that someone would see themselves in him and his queens.

It was fascinating and beautiful. I cried.

Dinner for Vampires by Bethany Joy Lenz

If you knew me in 2003, you’d know I was a huge One Tree Hill fan obsessed with Chad Michael Murray. As the show went on and I got my first laptop, I was constantly discussing my OTH OTPs and fan theories on message boards. 

However, I never knew that while Bethany Joy Lenz, who played Haley, was filming this show I loved, she was also trapped in a cult run by her husband and his family.

Lenz tells her story with humor and strength. It’s an honest and raw memoir about being on a cult TV show while in a cult. Even if you never watched OTH, I’d still recommend it.

Oh, and fun fact: all the people are named after famous characters from vampire novels since she can’t use their real names. I thought that was cute.

The Manicurists Daughter by Susan Lieu

I love a memoir about complicated mother-daughter relationships.

Such a beautiful book about grief, intergenerational trauma, immigration, the American dream, body image, mother-daughter relationships, and motherhood in general. The things Lieu wrote about motherhood hit particularly hard for me, and I cried on the bus lol.

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