Reader Mailbag: Best Books Read in 2024
In the January 2025 newsletter, I asked readers what the best books they read in 2024 were. Here are the responses:
B: Hi!
Best books I read last year:
The Maniac by Benjamin Labatut is my top pick. I almost gave up on reading this one after a couple of dozen pages but after a few more pages I couldn’t put it down. It’s historical fiction focused on the development of game theory.
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due, which shares its basis and setting with the Nickel Boys, was enthralling – and bonus! It has ghosts!
Lost Man’s Lane by Scott Carson – aka Michael Koryta – was a literary / horror / character / etc / etc. It made me laugh, feel scared, and everything else. This author just keeps getting better with every book he writes.
Other books on my best list are:
James by Percival Everett. I’ll read anything this guy writes. He’s a literary but very accessible genius.
Trust by Hernan Diaz
The Hunter by Tana French
Morningside by Tea Obreht
One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware
You Like It Darker by Stephen King
The Heart In Winter by Kevin Barry. I’ll read anything this guy writes, too.
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Burn by Peter Heller
Guide Me Home by Attica Locke
Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak
There were many other books I would highly recommend but these are the top for me.
As always, thanks for the newsletters. I look forward to them every month.
Mark: I read 192 books last year; the best I’ve ever done! Here are the best (the two very best are starred)
Non-fiction:
John Keegan, The First World War
Several books about birds and birdwatching
*Konstantin Kisin, An Immigrant’s Love Letter to the West
Mark Kurlansky, Cod
Will Durant, The Lessons of History
Fiction:
The first three monster novels in Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive, “The Way of Kings,” “Words of Radiance,” and “Oathbringer”
Dave Barry, Swamp Story (definitely the funniest book of the year)
Jasper Fforde’s last three Thursday Next books (I’d read the first four the previous year)
Andrew Fox (editor), Again Hazardous Imaginings (anti-woke short stories)
Parke Godwin, Waiting for the Galactic Bus
Matthew Hughes, Fools Errant & Fool Me Twice (Hughes is the best unknown writer of our time)
Katie Coyle, Vivian Apple at the End of the World & Vivian Apple Needs a Miracle
*Joseph Heller, Catch-22
Special (?) note of the worst books:
Before the Coffee Gets Cold (tedious)
Mindplayers by Pat Cadigan (very tedious)
Zane Grey, Riders of the Purple Sage (expecting a western; got a romance instead)
We by Yevgeny Zamyatin (skip this, and reread 1984 instead)
Chris: I’m with you on how great “11/22/63” is by Stephen King, Graeme. Loved it! I would put that as the best book I read in 2024, only I read it a few years earlier. Anyway, I enjoyed all the books I read last year, but for me, the best, most important book I read (not necessarily the best written) was “Make Room! Make Room!” by Harry Harrison. It has really stuck with me and the issues it brought up will continue to haunt me as in, am I doing enough? In my opinion, we really should pay better attention to the health of our planet and books like that one will certainly help spark some thought and conversations.
Rosemary: My best book was one I asked for on my Christmas list called Robopocalypse by Daniel H Wilson. Started it immediately and finished it quickly since I couldn’t put it down. Wilson just so happens to have a pHD in robotics. Gives quite a scary perspective to robots and AI trying to eliminate the human race. Anything with a computer chip in it can kill you. Great way to get people to stop being addicted to their cell phones!
No 3 Laws of Asimov Robotics in this book. Robots making surgically enhanced humans, putting humans into labor camps, golfball size robots burrowing into a human and using their body (“zombie” at this point), just outright killing humans using cell phones and self driving cars are just a few of the things that go on.
Almost finished with the sequel, Robogenesis. Very scary books!!
Kenicia: The best books I read in 2024 were the Miss Silver series by Patricia Wentworth. My mom and I try to listen to them together, but often I cannot get audio copies so I read them aloud to her. We are working our way through the series and have enjoyed every one so far. Patricia Wentworth was a discovery we felt we should have made decades ago.
I also enjoyed Just Add Water by Katie Ledecky. I’ve been a huge fan of hers since the London 2012 Olympics, and her biography verified my impressions of her.
Christine: My favorite was The Cliffs by J. Courtney Sullivan — you know it’s really good when you don’t want to put it down and you recommend it to others after finishing it.
Dawn: The Women by Kristin Hannah
All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
I’m rereading the Cork O’Connor series by Wm. Kent Krueger (Love it)
Daniel: I met my goal of reading 22 books on my Kindle. A few of those were “The Housemaid” series. Most of those were good. I also started Daniel Silva’s “Gabriel Allon” series which I have enjoyed immensely. The books I enjoyed the most out of those 22 are the following:
“The Women” by Kristin Hannah
“The Kill Artist” and “The English Assassin” by Daniel Silver
I read more biographies than I probably should have this year including President Clinton’s most recent. Not bad, but long. I forgot how long-winded he is.
My ultimate favorite was “The Women” by Kristin Hannah. I was a little kid during the Vietnam War, so I have very little memory of the news coverage. However, my Dad is a Vietnam vet, so this story intrigued me. He didn’t go through what the main character did, but the story truly reflected what went on over there from a female perspective. It was an excellent read which I highly recommend anyone to read.
Elaine: The best book I read in 2024 was Renegade by Jodi Burnett. It is the first one in a series (Tin Star K-9). The books are centered around a dog which happened to be trained as a police dog. I am a dog lover anyway and this dog which features throughout the series reminded me of the kind of relationship I’ve had with dogs I’ve owned in the past.
WV: In 2024 there was not a way to just have one favorite book. That being said, there were three individual books that I read twice last year each re-read seperated by a month or so. They were . . .
A Hooded Crow
by Craig Thomas
Engineering America: The Life and Times of John A. Roebling
by Richard Haw
Sled Driver Flying the World’s Fastest Jet
by Brian Shul
Discovered Craig Thomas about 3’ish years ago. I first read Sea Leopard which is not the first book of the Kenneth Aubrey & Patrick Hyde series. After Sea Leopard I went and started at the beginning with Wolfsbane. This past year when I read Hooded Crow I was for lack of a better phrase blown away. I am so so glad I read then in order of publication, IMHO it is necessary.
I learned of John Roebling when I took a tour of the bridge he built across the Ohio River that connects Cincinnati Ohio to Covington Kentucky. That bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world until Roebling built the same bridge/design in NYC, the Brooklyn Bridge. They were engineering break throughs. Other engineers of the day said it would never survive. The Cincinnati/Covington Bridge was opened in 1866. Then Roebling (and son & daughter-in-law) opened the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883. There was so much in the book that I read it, then 3 weeks later re-read it. It took 2 weeks to read it the first time almost 5 weeks the second time because I was soaking it up on the second read thru.
Sled driver was a fast fast pace book. The author was an SR-71 pilot. It was so much about what the plane accomplished when he was flying it. There are a few more SR-71/Sleds pilots who have also written about their adventures on their time driving the Sled/SR-71. It was a breathtaking whirlwind of a read. I am wanting to read as many of the other Sled Drivers books
That was my favorite books of 2024.
Denny: I purchased Chris Culver’s Joe Court books this year because he was selling them independently at a great price. Thought I’d support a writer trying to “overthrow” Amazon. To my surprise I really enjoyed his books. “Joe” is a young female detective with an abusive background. She works in a police department in a small Missouri town outside of St. Louis. N.B. I usually only read British police procedurals. But something about Joe just got to me.
She’s honest, straight forward, pragmatic, lives alone and has a dog. After reading 6 of Culver’s books about her, I am totally invested, as she keeps growing and changing. Good writing, good plots, good characters. Kind of addicted now. If only she’d move to Scotland . . . .
Christina: The Women (Kristin Hannah): Back in 1985 for my M.A. in English I wrote my thesis exploring America’s involvement in Vietnam through fiction. I also delivered a paper speculating on why there had been no “great” Vietnam War novel.
Since then, what I consider the two finest novels about Vietnam, The Things They Carried (Tim O’Brien) and The Women, have been written and published. The Women is beautifully and heartbreakingly written and tells a story that I did not see anywhere in the novels prior to it.
First Lie Wins (Ashley Elston): Wow. I loved this book. I love a story I haven’t read before, that takes me in a direction far from the one I thought I was headed, and that is well written, edited, and proofread. This one wins on all accounts.
The Love of My Afterlife (Kirsty Greenwood): It’s like a great rom-com with some twists and turns I did not see coming.
James (Percival Everett): Oh, so good. So satisfying. Moving, well written–it took away the sour taste that Huckleberry Finn left in my soul concerning Jim and what a fool the boys seemed to make of him.
Others I loved:
The Husbands (Holly Gramazio)
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared (Jonas Jonasson)
The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store (James McBride)
Others, but I have to draw a line somewhere!!
Caryn: My best books read in 2024:
You Have Gone Too Far by Carlene O’Conner, a fantastic thriller series with the latest installment topping them all.
Dark River by Louis Owens, a dark, slightly comedic mystery I ordered on a whim and the writer blew me away, wish he had written more books.
Hula by Jasmin Iolani Hakes, a story steeped in authentic Hawaiian culture, and history those of us on the continent never knew.
Marie: The best book I read last year was The Women, by Kristen Hannah. Marie Wright
vhreads: The Comfort of Ghosts – One of my favorite books I read in 2024 is Jacqueline Winspear’s The Comfort of Ghosts. I found the Maisie Dobbs series about the time the third one was published. Winspear makes you think as she writes about Maisie’s life from the 1920’s until 1946. Her topics usually relate to current issues. The Comfort of Ghosts is the last book in the series. Winspear still gives a good mystery while relating to the problems of London after the war – focusing on the displaced children who didn’t have homes anymore. Also, references are made to almost every book in the series in a way that doesn’t feel forced.
The True Love Experiment – Christina Lauren writes fun romcoms that usually make you think as well. She uses genetic matching and reality television to create an enjoyable story.
Finding Nouf – Written by Zoe Ferraris, a woman disappears from her family home in Saudi Arabia. They request a Palestinian PI, Nayir to investigate. Her body is later found in the desert. The PI starts digging into her life and family. Saudi Arabia is a gender segregated country. Even now women and men do little together, even something like eat out at a restaurant. Plus, as a Palestinian, Nayir is a man without a country and is looked down upon in Saudi Arabia. I found Finding Nouf an unsettling view of a country I don’t really know. The mystery is well drawn and fits into the culture of the country.
The Spellshop – Sarah Beth Durst creates a realistic fantasy world on a small island far from the world’s busy center. Here an escapee from the capital returns to her home, starts a new business, makes friends, and reconnects with a childhood friend. It’s a charming book with conflicts that are overcome with a softer touch.
Huysman’s Pets – Huysman was a genius scientist whose experiments grew secretive near end of his life. His widow asks an author to write her husband’s biography. Huysman believed telepathy was possible and used the end of his lifetime trying to manipulate genetics for the trait. The biographer follows a trail to children locked away from the world, Huysman’s assistant scientist continuing the work, and the politics involved as well. Kate Wilhem wrote great science fiction and mysteries. (If you haven’t read her Barbara Holloway series, I recommend it.) I feel she was underrated as an author. Huysman’s Pets is another good example of her writing.
Remarkably Bright Creatures – This book by Shelby Van Pelt is difficult to describe. But it has to be read. It’s a poignant story about growing old, family, memories, losing people in our lives, and finding new ones. Plus, it’s partially narrated by a dying octopus. If you life Fredrik Backman’s books, you’ll like this.
“Good Books” that disappointed me – Gideon’s Ninth by Tamara Muir, The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Stuart: Horse by Geraldine Brooks
The Art Thief by Michael Finkel (non-fiction….truth is really stranger than fiction)
The Lost City of Z by David Grann – everything of his is great
The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
Sandra: The Women by Kristin Hannah
Locked In by Jussie Alder Olsen
The Fury by Alex Michaelides
Every Last Fear by Alex Finley
Phillip: I read a lot of books (for me) in 2024 and 23 of them were written by C.J. Box. I read one book from the Joe Pickett series many years ago and then I kicked it into high gear last year and am now all caught up. I’m addicted to the series. I can’t pick a favorite though, they were all great IMHO
Naomi: My favorite book of the year 2024 was the last book I read in 2024.
It is Swimming to Jerusalem by Seth Bornstein. I was so involved with the main characters story, I became envious of the people in his life. I wanted him in mine.
A character driven story that I am quite sure I will read again. Highly recommended.
Judy: My VERY favorite book of 2024 is “The Women” by Kristin Hannah.
Next on my list (which will continue into 2025) is the Maisie Dobbs Series by Jacqueline Winspear. Once I read the first one, I could not get to the next, and the next, etc. fast enough. I am currently on No. 13. Once I finish the series, I will feel like my best friend has moved away and I will never be able to see her again.
Alberta: Best book I read in 2024 was The Women by Kristin Hannah.
Mark: Probably the one I just finished this morning. Okay today is 2025 but I read 99% of the book in 2024. The book is The Precipice, a Mike Bowditch Mystery, by Paul Doiron. Mike Bowditch is a Game Warden in the State of Maine who is always getting involved in mysteries/crimes, often beyond the scope of his job responsibilities. The Precipice involves hikers dying along the Appalachain Trail. I started reading this series because I so much enjoyed the C. J. Box series about Joe Pickett, the Wyoming Game Warden (where I have read all the books and am getting ready to watch the TV series on Paramount+) and the Mike Bowditch series sounded similar. I have not been disappointed. The Precipice was one of those books that was difficult to put down. I rated it a 10 on Book Notification.
Annmarie: *The Women, by Kristen Hannah. I’m sure everyone has heard of this one; it’s earned lots of awards. An eye-opener about women nurses during and after the Vietnam war.
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. Don’t be turned off by the talking octopus in the first chapter. He’s part of the heartwarming, creative, and entertaining story!
Linda: I read 97 books in 2024. I can only name a few that I was not happy with. One was the last Gamache book “The Grey Wolf”. She set it in the monastery again and not in Three Pines. I never like that.
Then I tried to read “Ford County” by Grisham It was short stories and could not even finish it. Now for great books: Just finished an old series by Baldacci. The Shaw two book series. They were excellent and I wish he would do more of Shaw. Then there was “Eruption” by Patterson. What a wild ride, just a tad too technical at times. Then I found a new author, Mary Kubica, and read all of her books. I loved her writing style and each and every book was terrific. “Capture or Kill” last Rapp book, Baldacci “Puller series”, “To Die For”, the latest Amos Decker book, “A Calamity of Souls” by Baldacci, and “Shadow of Doubt” by Thor were just some of my 95 favorites this past year. My favorite authors are still Baldacci, Connelly, Penney, Grisham and any Rapp book by any author, plus any great thriller/ adventure/mystery writer. Thank you for the newsletter and Happy New Year.
Cathy: I read 44 books in 2024 and it’s really hard to pick just one. Unfair question.
My pick is “The Girl Who Wrote in Silk” by Kelli Estes, recommended by a friend. This book is one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read. Based on historical facts, it makes one pause to remember that, yes, we have made progress.
Second favorite is a series that started in 2002 but I had never heard of until recently. (another friend recommendation) It’s the David Rosenfelt, Andy Carpenter series and I have read the first three and can’t wait to get back to the rest. I gave the first two in the series to my husband for Christmas and he has already devoured them. Rosenfelt is a very funny, witty writer. Bonus, there are dogs involved.
Corinne: Best books I read in 2024:
The Warded Man (book 1 of the Demon Cycle series, 5 books in total), Peter V. Brett. So very often fantasy book series get started and then go off in a million directions and bring in dozens of people you need to keep track of and then the end is just…. unsatisfying. (Looking at you, Wheel of Time) OR, they never get finished at all! This series was excellent the whole way through and the ending was so very good and so very FINAL. Loved it!
Fourth Wing, Rebecca Yarros
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, V. E. Schwab. A tale about a girl who makes a deal to live forever, but the curse part is that no one will remember her. I listened to it on audiobook so not sure how it reads, but it was an excellent listen, narrated by Julia Whelan. In fact I enjioyed it so much I listened to it from the library then went right out and bought it on Audible.
A Discovery of Witches, Deborah Harkness. I started watching the Netflix series about a month ago, and thought the book was probably better, and it so much was. Now I’m on to books two and three of that series, and may or may not ever finish watching it on Netflix!
Donna: Hi Graeme! These are a few of my favorites.
My ‘Effin Life, by Geddy Lee. Autobiography of the band Rush’s frontman. As a Rush fan, I loved reading the band’s start in the early 70s, to Neil Peart’s death and their subsequent end.
The Last Policeman trilogy, by Ben H. Winters. An end of the world story, yet one detective refuses to stop doing his job as a police officer. Excellent writing and great characters.
I Cheerfully Refuse, by Leif Enger. It is a near-future novel about a man who loses his wife to an unexpected violent death and something nefarious occurring in the country at the same time. Beautifully written.
Blaze Me a Sun, by Christoffer Carlsson. A spell-binding crime novel from Sweden. It has twists and turns and an unexpected ending for me.
Ellen: Favorite books I read this year:
Argylle by Elly Conway
Lula Dean’s Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller
How to Age Disgracefully by Clare Pooley
Plus anything by Mary Kay Andrews, Jodi Taylor, or Jana DeLeon
Jeannie: My favorite book of the year was The Women by Kristin Hannah but a close second was The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon.
J.S.: There were two. THE WOMEN, by Kristin Hannah and GOODNIGHT, IRENE, by Luis Alberto Urrea. Both deal with women serving with the military, one in Viet Nam (The Women) and the other in World War II (Goodnight, Irene). In both novels, the author’s development of the characters capture your heart and makes for never to be forgotten stories.
Joyce: Thanks for another year of your publications. I thoroughly enjoy reading your comments and those of your viewers. I keep a data base and rate all I read. These are my 10″s from 2024:
The Little Liar Albom Mitch
A Calamity of Souls Baldacci David
Saving Noah Berry Lucinda
Kill for Me Kill for You Cavanagh Steve
The Secrets She Carries Davis Barbara
Let’s Pretend This Will Work Dawson Mattie
Twenty Years Later Donlea Charlie
The Women Hannah Kristin
One Christmas Eve Low Shari
One Day in Summer Low Shari
One Moment in Time Low Shari
The Story of our Secrets Low Shari
In Lieu of You Pearson Keith
Go As a River Read Shelley
The Stars Don’t Lie Walker Boo
All the Colors in the Dark Whitaker Chris
