Best Books 2024 – lists and lists

Here (in no particular order) is our compilation of some of the “Best of the Year” lists, updated for 2024:

National Public Radio provides “Books we Love,” 1000s of titles (from 2024 and earlier years) and shows their covers in a fun, very interactive way. Please do not forget to consult the Indie Next Lists - recommendations from independent booksellers – like this one for book groups.

More ideas from National Book Awards or public libraries like Chicago Public Library, Lake Travis Public Library Staff made a video featuring their favorites,  and New York Public Library published the year’s 10 most checked out books. Keep searching – these lists often lead to others with suggestions for all ages.

Best of 2023 from School LibraryJournal; Looking specifically for Young Adults, several titles are on my “to read” list, including: Kill Her Twice by Stacey Lee. I have already enthusiastically reviewed others on the list like Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay; This Book Won’t Burn by Samira Ahmed offers fictionalized perspective on book banning trends. And there are state award lists to consult, too, like the Texas Lariat Reading List, its 2025 suggestions should be coming soon.

Plus professional choices from Publishers Weekly – I am excited because I am not very familiar with their Top 10 or Mystery choices (other than Osman’s We Solve Murders) so plenty of new ideas to explore. Kirkus Reviews also has a variety of lists; I won’t be forgetting the Science Fiction choice The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei.  One of the Kirkus mystery choices that I liked: Horowitz’s Close to Death, plus my 2025 TBR list is going to include the Attica Locke books; and The Unwedding by Ally Condie. A separate Kirkus list is provided for best young adult books.

And Goodreads has its Choice Awards across several categories for 2024: https://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-books-2024 This is always a “go to” list since reader votes and word of mouth have built interest. Amazon, of course, offers its own list of editor choices for 2023. LibraryReads: primarily for public libraries, this group has stopped issuing overall favorites, but  has an impressive archive with Top 10 choices by month.

Name a publication and you are likely to find a best book list. For example, The Washington Post offers several lists (including 50 notable works of fiction or non-fiction). The Wall Street Journal has a best of 2024 list for books, including The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. See 100 notable books of the year from The New York Times; there is also a top ten list on their site.

Plenty of overlap and some delightful selections on these many lists. … Ah, so many books and so little time. Once again: Happy Reading!!! Enjoy!!!  

The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily

THE TWELVE DAYS OF DASH & LILY by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan (Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares) is meant to be a romantic holiday interlude. Dash is his charming self, if a bit troubled by Lily’s withdrawal… and poor Lily: her grandfather has had numerous health problems and she has lost her ability to appreciate the wonder of Christmas. I missed Lily’s joie de vivre while admiring Dash’s willingness to be there for her. Still, the dialogue here is entertaining and the characters (especially after watching Netflix’s Dash & Lily) seem like family. The issues deepen, too, as these teens mature and learn more about themselves, each other, and their relationship. Readers will be rooting for them and, like me, looking forward to the next book in the series: Dash & Lily Mind the Gap.

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley

THE MIDNIGHT FEAST by Lucy Foley (The Guest List and The Paris Apartment) is a complicated puzzle with events spanning several years. Francesca (Frankie) Meadows and her architect husband Owen Dacre have recently renovated The Manor and are throwing an opening weekend extravaganza for pampered, privileged guests. All is not quite what it seems in this “horror adjacent” (per Booklist) and “grisly treat” (per Publishers Weekly) tale, however. The innuendo and strangeness in this mystery certainly kept me up at night, as multiple narrators provide plenty of motives for the death and destruction Foley describes. Time shifts add to the uneasy mix of secrets and lies in what NPR calls “an absolute bonkers delight." THE MIDNIGHT FEAST was a LibraryReads Hall of Fame selection for June 2024.

Going Zero by Anthony McCarten

GOING ZERO by Anthony McCarten, an Oscar-nominated screenwriter, is definitely a suspenseful, action-packed story that could be translated to the big screen. Ten “zeroes” have been recruited with the goal of winning a large monetary prize if they stay hidden for a month from the CIA and the private industry counterparts at WorldShare/FUSION. Some of these “zeroes” are professionals in the surveillance field and others are more “regular” folk, including a librarian named Kaitlyn Day. This is an exciting and fun read, one where I became involved emotionally and wanted to root for the underdog and where some of the technology seemed scary, disturbing, and, of course, intrusive. Will Kaitlyn win three million dollars in prize money by evading capture?  Will Cy Baxter and his company gain bragging rights and millions more in government contracts? Will privacy activists manage to upend the entire experiment? Fair warning: I personally found the ending to be a bit flat, but GOING ZERO is an intriguing read overall. Booklist gave it a starred review: “the reader is never quite sure where the story will go next. … An outstanding thriller.” I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Marin Ireland, which was very well done, reinforcing why GOING ZERO was an Amazon Best Book of April 2023 and a recommended “pulse-pounding read” from The New York Times.  

As an aside, Marin Ireland has also narrated: Remarkably Bright Creatures, The Mighty Red by Erdrich (review coming soon), The Lincoln Highway, Beartown, and several more.

Dust by Alison Stine

DUST by Alison Stine features Thea, a sixteen-year old who is deaf in one ear, but whose parents choose to ignore that reality. In fact, her father seems to increasingly separate from reality and has moved the family to a place called Bloodless Valley in Colorado where dust is everywhere and farming, especially without any modern aides, is almost impossible.  Thea and her younger sister are “unschooled,” kept at home and made to work on the farm, although Thea has a brief reprieve when she is able to work to support the family at a small café. Through the owner’s kindness she meets the agricultural agent and his great nephew, Ray, plus the local librarian and some other homesteaders.  Ray is also hard of hearing and begins to teach Thea to sign. Her father objects and her life narrows considerably. It is obvious that Stine, who is herself half deaf due to a congenital disability, has compassion for people with differences. She writes, “What I hope you take away from this book is: desire and energy to protect Earth and all its inhabitants, and also the knowledge that your story, whatever it is, matters. It's sometimes hard being both/neither, but there's a lot of joy too. And you're okay the way you are.” Stine effectively uses empty spaces and underlining to convey the frustration of Thea’s inability to hear clearly. Plus, the author does build suspense about an impending storm, but the pat way in which Thea’s father is suddenly transformed into accepting help and technology like new cell phones does not seem probable. DUST was very sad and the pace was slow. Reflecting on other books with hard of hearing characters, I would highly recommend True Biz which received multiple starred reviews and was an Alex Award nominee as well as a New York Times bestseller. 

The Murders in Great Diddling by Katarina Bivald

THE MURDERS IN GREAT DIDDLING is a relatively recent mystery novel by Katarina Bivald (The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend). Berit Gardner is an author with writer’s block who decides to move to a cozy English village where, per its name, but unbeknownst to her at first, some swindling is afoot. There is resentment and desperation in the air, too, especially at a tea party held reluctantly at Tawny Hall. The elderly owner’s generally disliked nephew is killed in an explosion and Berit offers her observation skills to help the police, even acknowledging, “The people in Great Diddling have an impressively long tradition of lying.” Those villagers band together to build on the notoriety of the murder by holding a book festival – complete with appearances by locals impersonating famous authors. This book is full of humor and surprises. THE MURDERS IN GREAT DIDDLING received a starred review from Library Journal: “Those who escape to Louise Penny's Three Pines might want to check out Great Diddling.” A Reading Group Guide is included and the author says, “I hope it [the story] carries you away for a little while. Transports you from whatever problems or bothers exist in your life, gives you a break, makes you smile a little as you move amongst the murderous people in Great Diddling.” Enjoy! 

Booked for Murder by P. J. Nelson

BOOKED FOR MURDER by P. J. Nelson is a LibraryReads selection for December 2024 and received a starred review from Library Journal. This murder mystery is entertaining but a little disjointed, including multiple fires, a stabbing, threatening phone calls, and accusations of drug dealing. The main character is Madeline Brimley who has just inherited a Victorian house and bookstore in Enigma, GA, the small town where she grew up but left for the lights of New York almost twenty years ago. As noted, there are several traumatic events, and Madeline also struggles with reconciling her memories with the changes that have occurred. For example, she keeps repeating how she doesn’t have faith in the local cops (just because she used to babysit the policeman?). Instead, she relies on support from her aunt’s dearest friend, Dr. Philomena Waldrop, and Enigma's new Episcopal priest, Gloria Coleman, in order to investigate the murder. Taking unnecessary risks, Madeline confronts more than one suspect, but, of course, her efforts soon point to the killer … or do they?

Death of a Healing Woman by Allana Martin

DEATH OF A HEALING WOMAN by Allana Martin is a mystery story featuring Texana Jones which was originally published in the early 1990s. Martin, a native Texan and rancher, clearly loves the area and its people. Texana runs a trading post near the US-Mexico border in rural Presidio County. One day, while delivering supplies, she finds the body of a curandera, an older healing woman, named Rhea Fair. The novel continues as Texana attempts to find a murderer – she travels as far as San Antonio and back and forth across the border while also supporting her husband, the local vet, in combatting a rabies outbreak. I truly enjoyed the multifaceted mystery and its many references to culture, food, celebrations, and language. I would like to read more in this series, but they are hard to find since it's been about 30 years since they were published. That time difference is reflected also in the attitudes about border crossings and towards community members, perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of the book from my point of view.

The Liberty Scarf

THE LIBERTY SCARF by Aimie K. Runyan, J'nell Ciesielski, and Rachel McMillan is a work of historical fiction set on both sides of the Atlantic during WWI. This novel has three parts and they all share the connection of a beautiful Liberty scarf. Thoughts of Liberty fabrics and the main store’s gorgeous building in London were some of the reasons I so liked this book. The heroines were strong women and self-reliant. In the first section, readers meet Iris who aspires to be a designer for Liberty, and Rex, a wounded soldier/architect. The second part is my favorite and features Geneviève Tremblay. Jenny, as she is called, is a telephone operator who faces prejudice in the States because of being a French Canadian. Ironically, it is her native language (and operator skills) which makes her especially valuable in the war effort in Europe where she meets Maxim, a vintner. The third part of the novel tells the story of Clara, a nurse, and Roman, a violinist.  The three stories connect eventually in December 2018 and combine romance and history; as the publisher says, THE LIBERTY SCARF is “a testament to the resilience of women and the enduring power of hope and unity in the harshest of times.” Emily Dickinson’s Hope is the thing with Feathers is an oft-quoted reference and there is reflection about having faith and courage to find a new path. The authors’ notes further explain their writing to celebrate unsung heroines like the telephone operators. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Ann Marie Gideon; Gary Furlong; Caroline Hewitt; and Saskia Maarleveld; I would definitely recommend.

The Secret of the Three Fates by Jess Armstrong

THE SECRET OF THE THREE FATES by Jess Armstrong (The Curse of Penryth Hall) is yet another mystery featuring orphaned Ruby Vaughn and her elderly employer, Mr. Owen. Here, they have traveled to Manhurst Castle, Scotland and Ruby is tricked into attending a séance held by the title characters. It’s a disturbing evening and ends tragically for one of these women. Ruby (assisted by Ruan Kivell, the Pellar, or healer, introduced in the first book) sets out to prove her employer’s innocence and find the real killer. There is plenty of danger and intrigue, some hints of romance, and more than one death all within an atmospheric gothic setting. THE SECRET OF THE THREE FATES received a starred review from Library Journal (“[readers] will appreciate this haunting, intriguing novel”).  I also listened to the audiobook which is narrated by Emma Love. Honestly, I found it somewhat difficult to follow although that might just be related to the Scottish accents and my limited ability (or patience) to decipher them. Mysterious and entertaining overall.

What You Are Looking For Is In The Library

WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IS IN THE LIBRARY by Michiko Aoyama (translated by Alison Watts) is an international bestselling novel that profiles five library patrons: a womenswear sales assistant, an accountant with big dreams, a working Mom seeking balance, an underemployed young man and a recently retired one; all are seeking purpose and fulfillment in some form. Sayuri Komachi is the librarian in Tokyo who makes reading recommendations and transforms the life trajectories of her patrons in this gentle story. She answers their requests (e.g., books on the game, Go, or on software coding), but also encourages connections with unrelated titles. This short novel is a joy to read. Aoyama speaks to readers as her characters reflect:

“If you wait for the right time to make connections, it might never happen, but if you show your face around, talk to people and see enough to give you the confidence that things could work out, then ‘one day’ might turn into ‘tomorrow’.”

“I'm still searching. Searching for somewhere I can be accepted as I am. Just one place is all I need. Somewhere to be at peace.”

“How much had my own thinking limited my opportunities?”

“Is this the secret then? If you throw yourself into doing the things you like, it's possible to live a happy, healthy life...”

“You told me that if you only ever look in front, your view will be quite narrow. So whenever I feel stuck or don't know what to do, I try to broaden my view. Relax my shoulders and walk sideways like a crab.”  

“My plan is to appreciate every new day. And take a wide view of things.”   

How to Steal a Galaxy by Beth Revis

HOW TO STEAL A GALAXY by Beth Revis is a sequel to Full Speed to a Crash Landing, a witty blending of futuristic space adventure and attraction between space “thief” Ada Lamarr and security officer Rian White. They are re-united here at a very fancy charity gala. Ada is on a mission; and although readers are privy to her thoughts, her ultimate target remains a mystery and complications arise. Rian, keenly aware of Ada’s presence, just wants to guarantee that the announcement of a new technology goes off smoothly. Together, they must thwart a third-party attempt at sabotage. The backstory involves climate change and corporate greed, adding a further twist and relevance. HOW TO STEAL A GALAXY is the LibraryReads Bonus Pick for December 2024.The audiobook, once again narrated by Dara Rosenberg and David Bendena, is excellent. The inflections in Ada’s voice are spot on, aptly showcasing her “snarky,” sardonic, sarcastic character. One can also hear the affection in her voice for Rian. The cliffhangers in this series - whether chapter to chapter or book to book – are plentiful and I am looking forward to the third entry in the Chaotic Orbits novella trilogy.