My Favorite Books of 2024

Thanks to aggressive reading during the last four months of the year, I surpassed my annual goal and knocked off 66 books in 2024. This is the fifth year I’ve published my favorite reads. You can travel back in time to read my lists for 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020.

Here are my top 10 favorites for the year, along with my next 10 honorable mentions:

The Top 10

All the Colors of the Dark
by Chris Whitaker

A gothic mystery, a coming-of-age tale, an epic read. This was my favorite book of the year. It’s a mystery that spans decades in the lives of the characters and had me spellbound from page one.

I’m Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom
by Jason Pargin

Hands down the funniest book I read all year, but also a very thought-provoking musing on social media, online culture, conspiracy theories and rampant catastrophizing brought about by manufactured outrage. I loved it.

Five Decembers
by James Kestrel

This one took me by surprise, because the book cover makes it look like a cheap pulp novel. It’s actually a sweeping mystery and love story that takes place before and during World War II, largely around Hawaii and Japan.

The Husbands
by Holly Gramazio

What if every time your husband went up into the attic he came down as a new person. That’s the conceit behind this funny time-travel/body-switch novel.

The Impossible Fortress
by Jason Rekulak

A sweet coming-of-age story focused around nerdy teen computer programers in the 1980s, i.e. “me.” Jason Rekulak is better known for his more recent thrillers (I was lukewarm on this year’s The Last One at the Wedding).

We Solve Murders
by Richard Osman

The delightful start of a new series by the author of The Thursday Murder Club. In a fair fight, this book would probably be higher on my list, but you almost gotta grade on a curve with Richard Osman because he’s so good.

Everything’s Fine
by Cecilia Rabess

This book got panned on both the left and the right, so you know there’s something good. :) A delicious musing on love, race, and politics.

Sandwich
by Catherine Newman

Not a whole lot happens and every page is still a delight. An account of a long holiday week with three generations of a family. The characters all talked like people I know and made me smile and laugh.

City of Thieves
by David Benioff

I just realized that this is the second World War II novel on my list. Go figure. This one takes place in Russia, where two prisoners are sent to find a dozen eggs for a Soviet colonel. You read that right.

North Woods
by Daniel Mason

The story of a house and its occupants over 400 years of history. Not like anything you’ve read before, with wonderful use of different voices and vocabulary spanning the centuries.

The Next 10

These were all memorable and enjoyable, even if they didn’t sneak into my top 10:

Mickey 7
by Edward Ashton

Soon to be a major motion picture starring Robert Pattinson. On a planet far, far away, one man is an “expendable” who can be regenerated any time he dies. Which happens a lot.

The Wedding People
by Alison Espach

This was a banner year for books taking place at a wedding. Some were good. Some were unreadable. This was my favorite by far.

Pony Confidential
by Christina Lynch

A cozy mystery told from the point of view of a pony? Sign me up!

The Women
by Kristin Hannah

This one made a lot of Best of the Year lists, and rightfully so. A searing novel of the Vietnam Era.

Thank You For Listening
by Julia Whelan

Like Richard Osman, Emily Henry gets graded on a curve this year, so Funny Story doesn’t make the cut. Instead, I’m giving the romance slot to this sweet story of audiobook narrators falling in love.

Good Material
by Dolly Alderton

This is marketed as a romance, but it’s only sort of one. Either way, I enjoyed it.

One Perfect Couple
by Ruth Ware

This book is honestly absurd, a thriller that takes place during a very-ill-fated Survivor-like reality TV show on a desert island. Still, a very entertaining read.

How to End a Love Story
by Yulin Kuang

I’ll be honest, any story set in the world of movie and TV writers is gonna make my top-20. Sorry, Emily Henry.

The God of the Woods
by Liz Moore

Another mystery that made a lot of the “Best of” lists for 2024. I liked it a lot, but maybe not quite as much as some others did.

Wool
by Hugh Howey

I’d been meaning to read this for years. Finally got into it and it lived up to the hype. Now an Apple TV series.