Happy New Year! I’m not quite ready to share my accomplishments or make my resolutions yet. Those are still percolating. They may need a little campfire smoke and moonlight to make them come out of hiding. But I’m always ready to talk about books, so in honor of the calendar turning a page, I’d like to share some of my favorite page-turners from 2024.

According to Goodreads, I read 65 books last year. I actually read (or listened to) 67, but two were not listed on their website. Fifteen were picture books, chapter books, or very short middle grade books, in case that matters to you.

I love to read (obviously). It’s not just the stories that I love, but the books themselves and the experience of reading them. Today I’m sharing 24 books that I enjoyed last year for various reasons and one that I didn’t. Let me know if something catches your eye or if you had a similar (or different) experience with one of these titles. I always like to hear other perspectives on the books I love.

My Most Notable Reads of 2024

* Top Five Best Books *

The five best books I read this year were, in the order I read them:

A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat

The Hunter by Tana French

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Klune

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne du Maurier

Tana French and Daphne du Maurier are two of my favorite authors. I’ve read everything Tana French has written and have loved all but one. (Her stand-alone novel The Witch Elm lost me toward the end, but it was still good.) French is a phenomenal writer, with characters so real that I often get distracted thinking about them long after I’ve finished their books. I discovered Daphne du Maurier’s work a few years ago. Since then, I’ve read five of her novels and three of her story collections and don’t plan on stopping until I’ve devoured them all. She’s such a good storyteller, and I always look forward being transported into her settings. I expected to love both The Hunter and Frenchman’s Creek, and they did not disappoint.

The other three books in my top five are all titles that people have recommended to me for years, and I’m kicking myself for waiting so long to take their advice. A Wish in the Dark is pure magic. If it were possible to visit the The House in the Cerulean Sea and spend an afternoon with the characters, I’d be booking my ticket yesterday. And The Guernesy Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is my favorite kind of historical fiction. Tucking facts and hard truths around humor and whimsey and quirky characters and books? Yes, please. I didn’t love the end, but the rest of the book was charming enough to earn its spot in my top five.

Best Picture Book

Vernon is on His Way written and illustrated by Philip C Stead

I randomly picked up this book from a Little Free Library in my neighborhood, and it is an absolute delight. The characters are endearing, the art is adorable, and the little stories are unexpected and heart warming and funny. Honestly, if I had a “Top 6 Best Books” list, this one would probably deserve the last spot.

Best Nonfiction

Two very different nonfiction books stood out to me this year.

The Six: The Untold Story of America’s First Women Astronauts by Loren Grush

and

The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year by Margaret Renkl with art by Billy Renkl

The Six was an easy, informative read. Actually, I listened to it and recommend the audiobook. I learned so much about Sally Ride, Judy Resnik, Rhea Saddon, Kathy Sullivan, Shannon Lucid, and Anna Fisher. Grush did a great job telling their stories.

The Comfort of Crows (pictured above) is a lovely collection of short essays based on the flora and fauna in the author’s backyard. It is organized into seasons, following the cycle of the year, and I read it slowly, putting it down for weeks at a time and then picking it up again when the weather changed and I wanted another dose of Renkl’s observations about nature. The art in the book is beautiful, so I definitely recommend you get a physical copy.

Best Sci-Fi

The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex

I don’t read much science fiction, but this book was a delight. The characters were hilarious, and I recommend the audiobook for the great voices the narrator gives them. I just found out this book was the inspiration for the 2015 animated movie called Home, so I’ll have to check that out now.

Best Covers

The House Where Death Lives edited by Alex Brown, cover image by Rachel Jablonski

Firefly Lullaby written and illustrated by Karen Weiss

A Dark and Secret Magic by Wallis Kinney, cover design by Lucy Rose

Aren’t these books absolutely stunning? I used all three of them as decoration at some point because I just loved looking at them so much. The House Where Death Lives includes a few more illustrations tucked into the anthology of disturbing stories inside. Every page of Weiss’s picture book is an explosion of color and joy. And A Dark and Secret Magic cheated by putting so many of my favorite things on the cover. Pumpkin vines and crows and black cats and books? I’m in!

Best Reading Experience

The Christmas Guest by Peter Swanson

I really liked this book, but I LOVED the experience of reading it.

On February 23, 2024, I went to the library thinking I had a book on hold (even though I was already in the middle of several books). I didn’t have one on hold, but I saw The Christmas Guest on display in the “new” section, and I checked it out on a whim. Then I came home and read the entire book in one sitting– something I never do– all while enjoying a beautiful, spring-like day in my backyard with my dog. I figured out the twist on page 15, but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the rest of the story. I had so much fun reading the library book, I bought my own copy.

Favorite New Author

The Return by Rachel Harrison

Cackle by Rachel Harrison

Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison

I love discovering an author whose books I can count on to make me ignore my chores and come back to my reading chair with another cup of coffee or go for another walk so I can listen to a few more chapters. Rachel Harrison’s horror novels The Return (not pictured– I think I loaned it to someone), Cackle, and Such Sharp Teeth are all so gripping, not just for the horror elements but for the deeply realistic relationships between the women in the novels. Harrison is a master at writing about female friendships in a way that no other author I know can do. I was so excited to get to meet her at an event at Half Price Books a few months ago. Her novels Bad Sheep and So Thirsty are both sitting on my to-read shelf waiting for me.

Most Inspiring

1000 Words: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round by Jami Attenberg

The snippets of writing advice, revelations, personal anecdotes, and pep talks in this book were often just what I needed to get me back to the page or push me past a block. The essays by Attenberg and the many messages from other successful authors that are included in 1000 Words are honest, humble, and relatable which is what made them so inspiring. Even when I wasn’t writing, reading these essays or listening to them while I ran errands or took a walk helped me feel like a writer and made me want to get back to my projects. I plan to keep this book handy as I set out on my writing journey this year.

Most Unforgettable Scene

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

This YA dystopian novel is set in a world where all babies must be born, but from age 13 to 18 a child’s parents can choose to have them “unwound,” a medical process in which 99% of their body will be donated to others in need. There are many shocking and thought-provoking moments in this gripping, fast-paced read told from multiple points of view, but one particular scene will haunt me forever. I still think of it often.

Most Soothing

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

This book is pretty much the polar opposite of Unwind. It’s a short, lovely little read– philosophical, thought-provoking, and gentle in its message about humanity. A Psalm for the Wild-Built will make you want to quit your job and become a traveling tea merchant, or at the very least put down your phone and go for a long walk in the woods.

Most Challenging Read

The Bromance Book Club by Lissa Kay Adams

Maybe I should clarify. I don’t mean challenging in the sense of complex language and enigmatic themes. I mean challenging to me personally because it’s out of my comfort zone. I generally don’t read books in the romance genre. While many of my books do have romance in them, that’s not the section where they would be shelved. They are mysteries with a little romance or horror stories with a little romance, not ROMANCE romance. So this year, I decided to read a ROMANCE romance. The Bromance Book Club is about baseball star trying to save his failing marriage and getting help from a secret book club made up of men who study romance novels to help them improve their relationships. I didn’t love it, but I liked it and am glad I tried something new.

Most Surprising

Pity Party by Kathleen Lane

What a strange, satisfying little book. I saw Pity Party mentioned in an article or on a list somewhere earlier in the year. By the time I checked it out from the library, I could no longer remember who recommended it or why. But once I opened it, I couldn’t put it down. Told via a variety of creative ways, including speculative short stories, lists, and cartoons, Kathleen Lane’s funny, clever middle grade novel is like a modern day Sideways Stories from Wayside School that revolves around all the anxiety-inducing aspects of middle school. I think my favorite “chapter” was the one about the tree. If you’ve read it, you know what I mean.

Award for Creeping Me Out WAY More Than I Thought It Would

Tales to Keep You Up at Night by Dan Poblocki

THIS BOOK GENUINELY CREEPED ME OUT! Based on the cover and the summary, I was expecting your average middle grade horror stories, not the creatively sinister and truly chilling tales in these pages. This is a book-within-a-book situation, and the overarching story left a little to be desired in my opinion, but the short stories tying everything together? They were excellent. “The Babysitter and the Bell,” “The Ride,” and “Baby Witch” were my favorites.

Award for Appealing to My Sense of Humor

The Chicken Squad series by Doreen Cronin

The target age group for readers of the Chicken Squad books is apparently 5-8, but I would like to share that people 40 years outside of that age range are allowed to love them too. These books are so funny and so cute. Every single one of them made me burst into giggles at least once. Doreen Cronin and I must have the same sense of humor. I hope to one day write a book that will make her laugh as much as her books have made me laugh. (After finding this image online, I’ve just realized that I somehow skipped Weird Blue Chicken. Gasp! I must go get that one from the library.)

Award for Giving Me the Biggest Smile

Who Built the Moon by Kevin “Shinyribs” Russell (lyrics) & Katie Terrell Ramos (illustrations)

For Christmas this year, my hubby gave me this book, which is an illustrated version of a song I love by Shinyribs, the musician who played at our wedding and who we have heard many times together. The book is so cute and the illustrations include lots of little treats and references for all the Shinyribs fans out there. Everything about it makes me smile. To get your own copy, head over to the Shinyribs store, and to listen to “Who Built the Moon” click here.

Most Disappointing

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

Last… and least. I was so excited about this book. Cozy fantasy and coffee? Yes, please! Brew me a cup and give me a comfy chair and a free afternoon. I’m in. The cover, the description, the positive reviews– everything about this book made me think it was going to be in my top five reads this year. Instead, I didn’t even finish it. After 40 pages, the book was still about the construction of the coffee shop. Confused, I decided to flip ahead (something I never do) and found that on page 126, they were STILL RENOVATING THE COFFEE SHOP. What??? I gave up. Instead, I spent my time drinking coffee in coffee shops that exist in the real world while reading books that actually have a point and don’t bore me to death.

Note: I don’t usually trash books. Being an author is hard, and I don’t want to post something that will bring another writer down, especially since everyone has their own opinion and someone else might love a book as much as I disliked it. I’m making an exception here because, with 251,000 readers and an average Goodreads rating of 4.09, I don’t think my little post is going to do Travis Baldree any harm, and I’m truly curious to hear the other side’s opinion on this one. If you loved Legends & Lattes, tell me why. WHY??? What am I missing?

***

Books Left Unfinished at the Time of This Blog Post

There you have it, my 2024 reading in a nut shell. But, you may be wondering, what about her Book Bingo goal? Did she complete it?? Did she get a double blackout???

The answer is…

…ALMOST.

I filled in all but TWO squares on my double bingo board and read many other books as well (those you see in the margins). The two squares I didn’t mark out were two specific books that I never made time for: Places Left Unfinished at the Time of Creation by John Phillip Santos and A Journal for Christa by Grace George Corrigan. Both are memoirs. The first is a sweeping family saga by a Mexican-American journalist. It was given to me many years ago, and I keep planning to read it, but never have. I’m not sure why. Maybe 2025 will be the year. The second is a collection of notes, letters, and remembrances about Christa McAuliffe, written by her mother. Perhaps I will set that one aside to read on January 28th, the 39th anniversary of the Challenger disaster.

***

What’s on My To-Read Shelf?

Here are a few of the books I want to read in 2025. What’s on your reading list?

Happy New Year and Happy Reading!