
The Best Books of 2024
My year in reading has been meh, just being honest. I don’t know if it’s because 2024 in itself was a clusterf@*# or it was just the books I chose in general.
BUT, I did have favorites, and to no one’s surprise, the genres are all over the place.
Without further ado….drumroll please….my top ten books of 2024!!!!!!! (In order of when I read them)
1
Frozen River
Ariel Lawhon

This is a historical fiction novel based on a real woman, Martha Ballard, who was a midwife and kept a diary of her days during the 18th century. Lawhon not only paints such a picture of just how cold it got during that winter but also creates such a fearsome main character in Martha. Not only do I root for Martha, I want to grow up to be Martha. I got to meet Lawhon a few months ago and hear about her writing process. I also got to tell her how this book started my reading year off strong! Thanks to my local indie bookstore, Sweethome Books, because I always enjoy an author meet & greet.
2
This Is How You Lose the Time War
Amal El Mohtar and Max Gladstone

I’m not usually picking up science fiction. I sometimes let the math and science of it all go over my head. However, I LOVED this. It’s basically about two characters who work for warring agencies but fall in love via letters they write to each other. I do love time travel tropes and this has it in abundance as the different factions are fighting by traveling through time. You might recognize some of the times they are in and some are so far in the future they are scary.
3
James
Percival Everett

I try to choose a classic book to read through the Serial Reader app. One year I read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, so I was very excited to read this reimagining. If you are connected to the book world at all, you know everyone loves this one. It even won the National Book Award. Pick it up and read it. (Side note: I’ve been on Anna Karenina for over a year. Will I finish it? We’ll see!)
4
The Book of Doors
Gareth Brown

I picked this up for The Bookshelf’s summer reading challenge and was not disappointed! It was the epitome of adventure. You have time travel, magical books, door portals, and maybe a romance or two. You get a little bit of everything, and although it’s kind of a chonker, it will fly by.
5
Margot's Got Money Troubles
Rufi Thorpe

I loved Rufi Thorpe’s The Knockout Queen, so I immediately asked for an ACR for this. Only Thorpe could meld OnlyFans, professional wrestling, and the awkward stage of your early 20s. And she does it in a way that’s hilarious and heartfelt. I loved Margo. She was imperfect, but I wanted to adopt her.
6
Summer Romance
Annabel Monaghan

A lot of my faves this year were romances, which is not typical for me. This romance’s heroine is in her LATE 30s!! Which is also not typical. (Obviously your heart and libido die around thirty-two if all romance books are to be believed.) Ali is grieving her mother, her husband left, and she is just an all around hot mess. But then she meets a cute guy through her dog at the park and decides she deserves a “harmless” summer fling.
7
The Love Hypothesis
Ali Hazelwood

Although I have seen this title EVERYWHERE for the last couple of years, my first Hazelwood work that I read was Bride (which I also read this year and was good! But didn’t make the list). I finally got around to see what all the fuss was about and NOW I GET THE FUSS! Give it all the fuss! Fake relationships, women in science, and a hot hero to boot. Make this into a movie already.
8
The Rom-Commers: A Novel
Katherine Center

I will read everything Katherine Center writes and some of them hit and some of them miss. (Please don’t hate me.) But this one? I read it in two days. I loved it!! I love a grumpy suitor, and somehow the ins and outs of script writing were interesting. And Center does such a good job of bringing to light certain diseases or diagnoses.
9
The Women
Kristin Hannah

So another honest time: I tried to listen to and to read Four Winds by Kristin Hannah a few years ago and could not get into it. So I was a little reluctant to pick this one up. Cut to one of my dear friends getting it for me for my birthday and I had to read it. I’m so glad I did. If I had to pick one book that was my favorite this year, it would be this one. Hannah vividly brings the Vietnam War to life, especially for those who didn’t live through it (I have a feeling the Vietnam War will be the new WWII for book publishing in the coming years). And ohhh, do you love Frankie! I wanted her to just be ok!
10
The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year
Ally Carter

I actually just got finished with this one, and it was my Book of the Month December pick. Two authors are chosen to go to a secluded castle in the English countryside. There is a snow storm AND a MURDER! Plus, some romance thrown in. You have to read this at Christmas and you have to read it when it’s cold. I don’t make the rules. Luckily, I picked this one up on one of the two days it was chilly in central Alabama.
What were your favorites this year? Did you have a good reading year or was it meh like mine? Wishing you a happy holiday and some amazing books coming your way in 2025!
My name is Laura. I am an elementary librarian and I love to talk about books. You can come talk to me on Instagram @bamareads.
