Books Read in 2024

Every year I write down all of the books I read. Here is my list of books read in 2024. Which of these books do you think you’ll read in 2025? What should I read this year?

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Every year I track my reading to create this book list. I try to sort them by genre; this year I read a lot of fiction, including several series, but there were some great memoirs, a couple of self-help books, and one history book thrown in.

Memoirs

The Road Is Good by Uzo Aduba

One of my sisters recommended Orange Is the New Black actress Uzo Aduba’s memoir, The Road Is Good. I basically never watch TV (too busy reading or listening to books if I have free time, constructing the visual pieces of them in my own mind), but I really enjoyed reading about her life and especially her mother. I especially loved her thoughts at the very end of this memoir. 

Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis

I didn’t love this biography, but I do think it is worth reading. Despite the Surprised by Joy title, this is not a joyful book – and his definition of joy involves a lot of pain. I don’t think his definition is wrong, but the title made me expect something else. His tales of UK boarding schools in the early 1900s are harrowing. This is still an interesting look into the life of one of the best known authors of all time.

Non-Fiction History

All That She Carried by Tiya Miles

How do you write a history book about lives lost to time? Historian Tiya Miles uses the historical artifact of Ashley’s Sack to delve into the lives of enslaved people in the United States. While pieces All That She Carried, necessarily, conjecture, Miles creates clear boundaries between this conjecture and known facts. The result is a sobering account of this dark period in our nation’s history, ways in which this history continues to impact our lives today, and also a celebration of the creative ways enslaved people survived their impossible circumstances.

Self Help

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman

Oliver Burkeman’s Four Thousand Weeks is the only time management book you need, and a wonderfully accessible read, too. Read it – you won’t regret it!

See Jane Write by Sarah Mlynowski and Farrin Jacobs

I really enjoyed this introduction to writing chick lit. I don’t have any real plans to try writing chick lit, but I read it a fair bit, and the title intrigued me. Many of the tips in See Jane Write apply to any genre of writing, and they do offer interesting insights into how these books are written even if you never plan to write.

Contemporary Fiction

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin

Marianne Cronin crafts heart rending fiction in One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot. 17-year-old Lenni is on the hospital ward you never leave alive when she finds joy in spite of the odds through her friendship with a fellow terminally ill patient, 83-year-old Margot. Together, these two humans find a way to find light through the celebration of their joint century of life.

What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama

Michiko Aoyama’s What You Are Looking for Is in the Library is unlike any other book I’ve read. It reads like a series of short stories, but in each story the main character of that tale gets help from a librarian. I loved that the librarian was described as the sort of person who never gets highlighted in a story, but here she was quietly leading library visitors to books that could improve their lives.

Silver Alert

Lee Smith’s Silver Alert does involve breaking the law, with consequences, but characters are still redeemed with a satisfying ending (and a little piece of realistic heartbreak left in).

Sisters with a Side of Greens by Michelle Stimpson

Michelle Stimpson’s Sisters with a Side of Greens is a second chances novel – where the second chance is for two sisters to rekindle their relationship after decades of antagonism. I enjoyed the complex characters in this novel.

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick

What happens when you discover – after her death – that your wife’s past was nothing like you imagined? Despite the worrying theme, I found The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper a warm and hopeful read.

The Discreet Charm of the Big Bad Wolf by Alexander McCall Smith

McCall Smith’s The Discreet Charm of the Big Bad Wolf was entertaining but not terribly memorable. It’s a good diversion book – when you need something really light to make dreary tasks more tolerable.

Book Club Fiction

The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis

Barbara Davis crafts second chance magic in The Echo of Old Books. This was a fun magical realism book, with lots of heartbreak but a happy ending.

Christian Fiction

The Light on Halsey Street by Vanessa Miller

I’ve never had a Christian Fiction section before in these book lists, but I couldn’t think where else to place Vanessa Miller’s The Light on Halsey Street. I read a lot of books with Christian themes, but this book features those themes more heavily than most. The book also touches on issues around class and race with forgiveness as a central theme.

All My Secrets by Lynn Austin

Lynn Austin’s All My Secrets would also fit nicely into a historical fiction or women’s fiction section, but there are strong Christian themes that led me to place it here. I enjoyed the book’s look at the ways in which wealth and reputation can become their own burdens.

Bread of Angels by Tessa Afshar

Tessa Afshar’s Bread of Angels would also fit nicely into historical fiction or women’s fiction, but the Christian element is very strong so I placed it here. It was interesting to read a book about a strong female character in the early days of Christianity. I liked how the author highlighted the importance of the Jewish faith in paving the path for the very existence of Christianity. I also appreciated that, while her main character was a strong woman, she remained buffeted and limited by the societal role of women at that point in history.

Classic Fiction 

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

I read Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner so I could talk to my 10th grader about it – she was reading it for English class. It’s often a very tough book with a somewhat hopefully ending. Hosseini is an expert writer, and he really pulled me into the plot even though I often found it devastating. It’s a book worth reading, but definitely not a fun read. It’s also not really old enough to make it into classic fiction, but it has become standard high school reading so I left it here.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

I decided to read The Grapes of Wrath this year because my 11th grader was reading it for English class. It’s a tough read, featuring social problems that continue today, although not as directly in our faces. Steinbeck’s use of language is masterful, but I feel like he misses the opportunity to build warmth and empathy for his characters, remaining curiously detached throughout the book.

Current Events Fiction

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

Sara Nisha Adams’ The Reading List struck a nerve when it echoed a tragedy my own community has been dealing with. I really appreciated that that passage was sensitively written. The book is yet another of several British books I have read recently that touches on too many libraries closing; this must be an issue in the UK; I know it is a threat to my neighborhood library as well. This is a touching story about finding connection, dealing with loss, grief, and the love of books.

All We Could Still Have by Diane Barnes

Diane Barnes explores overcoming infertility, infidelity, and other human difficulties in All We Could Still Have. She manages to end the book positively, despite the difficult content.

Young Adult Fiction

Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean

Emiko Jean’s Tokyo Ever After opens with Princess Diary vibes, but quickly moves into a story with more depth without feeling heavy. I enjoyed this story, especially the way it treated the ups and downs of life as a royal. It is also a solid coming of age novel with strong “searching to belong” themes.

Tokyo Dreaming by Emiko Jean

I enjoyed Tokyo Ever After enough to read the sequel, Tokyo Dreaming. I agree with other reviewers that the love triangle actually detracted from the plot, but it was still an enjoyable read over all.

Love Radio by Ebony LaDelle

Ebony LaDelle crafts relatably delightful characters in Love Radio. This was a charming young adult fiction novel; well worth a read.

Mayluna by Kelley McNeil

Kelley McNeil’s Mayluna actually switched back and forth between the characters as young adults and later in life, but I think the themes will primarily interest fans of young adult fiction. I’m not a huge popular music nerd, and I think this book would especially appeal to someone who was, but I think anyone can enjoy the complexity of the characters as well as unexpected twists and turns. This is not escape fiction, though, and there is some genuine tragedy to the story.

Middle Grade Fiction 

The Star That Always Stays by Anna Rose Johnson

Anna Rose Johnson is my new author discovery of 2024. I read The Star That Always Stays to my 12-year-old after discovering her when my sister-in-law recommended The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry (reviewed below). What a gem of an author. Beautiful, human, complex characters and a rare authentic capture of a very intelligent young woman – this one based off of the other’s own family. We’ve already pre-ordered her newest book, The Blossoming Summer, which comes out this June.

The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry by Anna Rose Johnson

This is the book that introduced me to Chippewa middle grade fiction author Anna Rose Johnson. I read The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry out loud to my 12-year-old daughter, and we both really enjoyed it. We got to learn a few Anishaabe words, “visit” a delightful large family, and empathize with a lonely girl finding her way in the world. It was also really interesting to learn about how lighthouses used to work, too.

Tuesdays at the Castle Series by Jessica Day George

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Jessica Day George’s Tuesdays at the Castle series with my 11-year-old daughter. Main character Celie was just my own daughter’s age, and delightfully relatable within a fantastical world.

Unplugged by Gordon Korman

I grew up reading Gordon Korman’s books, and my children also enjoy them. We lived in Silicon Valley, and my children got me to read Unplugged, a book about “Silicon Valley’s Number One Spoiled Brat.” It’s a light read with a gentle lesson built in.

Mystery

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

I am very much not a mystery book type, but several family members recommended Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club. The story kept me guessing, and then I actually listened to it again to figure out where the plot was built up. I don’t typically do this, but the book was well written and I only skipped ahead a couple of times, in sections where I had actually been giving the story my full attention. I like to listen to books while doing housework, and this book is ideally read with a higher level of attention than my multitasking abilities support. The author has since written several more books, but the jury’s still out on whether or not I’ll read them – at least at this busy busy point in my life. They would make for excellent distraction if my life were boring or if, say, I were stuck in the hospital.

Fantasy

The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa

I’m not sure how I discovered The Cat Who Saved Books, but I’m very glad I read it! The opening felt slightly stilted, possibly due to it being a translation, but I was pulled in pretty quickly and thoroughly enjoyed the story. An orphaned boy meets a cat who tasks him with saving books. The feel of the book reminded me of Michael Ende’s Momo (one of my all-time favorite books), although the plots are completely different.

The Cecelia and Kate Novels by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer

My sister recommended this charming series to me. The first book, Sorcery & Cecelia, was my favorite, followed by the third book, The Mislaid Magician. The Grand Tour was darker and had a lot more magic “theory” than I was interested in, although a more dedicated fantasy reader might enjoy it.

Chick Lit

25 Days ‘til Christmas by Poppy Alexander

Poppy Alexander always crafts enjoyable characters. 25 Days ‘til Christmas was sometimes heartbreakingly sad, yet still a wonderful read in the days leading up until Christmas. You know the story will end happily, but I was sometimes caught out (but not in a bad way; I would read this again) by the amount of sorrow included in the book’s pages. This book is a clean, feel-good romance that doesn’t leave out the challenges and sadness along the way to that fairytale ending.

The Christmas Surprise by Jenny Colgan

Jenny Colgan’s The Christmas Surprise was another sometimes sad, but it all works out in the end Christmas story. I turned to Christmas audiobooks over movies this year, and I’m glad I did. This book had a surprising number of plot twists that genuinely worked, too.

The Museum of Lost Quilts by Jennifer Chiaverini

Book 22 in a series that I’d never read before, Jennifer Chiaverini’s The Museum of Lost Quilts works just fine as a standalone novel. Maybe even better that way, since the author notes at the end of the book that she never meant to write this one and had to change some details to make it work the way she wanted. Unexpected book that it was, this was a fun classic chick lit read, with some neat quilting details and history mixed in.

Loyally, Luke and Authentically, Izzy by Pepper Basham

I read the middle book in this series last year. All three books are fun, but Loyally Luke is definitely my favorite. He’s such a lovable protagonist, with some great advice on how to live life thrown in. As a childhood cancer survivor myself, I love that his love interest has this history, and that the book touches (very briefly) on some of the psychological challenges that come of that life experience.

Look on the Bright Side by Kristan Higgins

Kristan Higgins’ Look on the Bright Side is not the cutesy enemies to lovers romance novel it appears at first glance. I loved this novel for its complex characters and the sensitive way it dealt with the pain of loving and losing someone – especially a young person – to cancer.

Well Met by Jen DeLuca

I enjoyed Jen DeLuca’s mostly light-hearted Well Met, although not enough that I’m running off to read the rest of the series (in fairness, that probably has more to do with my mood at the moment than the actual books). I do especially recommend this book if you enjoy Shakespeare and/or Renaissance Fairs.

Seven Sisters Series by Hope Holloway

Hope Holloway crafts the perfect chick lit companion for chores or a road trip in The Beach House on Amelia Island. The book ends somewhat abruptly, but with enough closure that you can stop reading the series there, but I enjoyed it enough that I kept on with the series. I felt like the first three books were better than later reads, but I still enjoyed the series over all.

The History of Us by Jennifer Bardsley

Jennifer Bardsley included much of what I love about chick lit in The History of Us: a cute romance story with serious undertones (this time mainly about Alzheimer’s, but also dealing with trust and deceipt and family connections) and a few interesting facts thrown in – this time about coins. It’s definitely a comfort read.

Between Us by Mhairi McFarlane

What happens when you life gets turned into a hit television show? Mhairi McFarlane dives down this rabbit hole in Between Us. I enjoyed the circuitous path this story took to a satisfying ending.

The Littlest Library by Poppy Alexander

Poppy Alexander’s The Littlest Library opens with the grief of losing a loved one (grandparent, in this case), quickly adding in an enemies to lovers plot. The characters stay interesting, and it isn’t entirely predictable – just enough for comfort reading. It’s also one for anglophiles as well as bibliophiles.

Historical Fiction

White Mulberry by Rosa Kwon Easton

Rosa Kown Easton’s White Mulberry is serious historical fiction, based off of her own grandmother’s life. It deals with the difficulty of living in Japan-occupied Korea, living as a Korean in Japan, and several other issues pertinent to World War I life at that time.

Emma M. Lion Series by Beth Brower (Books 1-6)

I discovered the delightful Emma M. Lion series through my sister-in-law, who then got my sisters and mom and finally me pulled in. I’ve been reading the series out loud to my 15-year-old, and it is the perfect mother-daughter read-aloud. I don’t feel like it is terribly realistic, but it is absolutely delightful historical fiction. 

Vittoria Cottage, Music in the Hills, and Winter and Rough Weather – D.E. Stevenson’s Drumberley Series

I thoroughly enjoyed D.E. Stevenson’s Vittoria Cottage, Music in the Hills, and Winter and Rough Weather. These three novels make up the Drumberley series. They weren’t written as historical fiction, but because they were published in 1949, 1950, and 1951 as present day fiction with a significant focus on World War II they now read that way today. 

Ladies of the Lake by Cathy Gohlke

I really enjoyed Cathy Gohlke’s tale of friendship, mistakes, and forgiveness in Ladies of the Lake. The book also touches on anti-German American sentiment during World War I, with one character ending up in one of the US internment camps that several German heritage Americans were sent to during the war.

Sing, Wild Bird, Sing by Jacqueline O’Mahoney

Jacqueline O’Mahoney doesn’t pull any punches in describing the difficulty of immigrating from Ireland to the United States as a young woman in 1849 in Sing, Wild Bird, Sing. I also discovered the horrors of the Doolough Tragedy through this book.

Miss Lattimore’s Letter by Suzanne Allain

This novel starts off a little slow, but I enjoyed Miss Lattimore’s Letter. It didn’t feel terribly realistic, but it also wasn’t completely out of the realm of possibility. This is fun, light chick lit-like historical fiction. I completely fell in love with the city of Bath when we visited, so it was fun to hear the protagonist love the city as well.

Science Fiction

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis

I don’t typically read science fiction, but my sister recommended To Say Nothing of the Dog, and I did enjoy this story! It’s a time traveling historic-ish novel with a hint of romance and lovable pets.

Women’s Fiction

The Lost Letters of Aisling by Cynthia Ellingsen

I couldn’t really figure out where to put Ellingsen’s The Lost Letters of Aisling, but it focuses on female relationships, so women’s fiction it is. The book jumps between the present and past, so there is a strong historical fiction component as well. A granddaughter whose grandmother is dying is the main character, but three generations are involved, as well as many friendships. There are also a couple of male romantic interests.

When We Were Widows by Annette Chavez Macias

Annette Chavez Macias’s When We Were Widows is another three generations of women novel. The story touches on loss – that of a spouse and otherwise, as well as learning how to open up and heal broken relationships.

Which books from my 2024 book list have you read? What books should I read in 2025?

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MaryAnne Kochenderfer

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MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.