Ahh, this year more than other years I truly felt that there are too many books out there – and not enough time to read! I had a great year in terms of reading, with a wide variety of books – nonfiction, fiction, romance, YA, thrillers, historical fiction, memoirs, etc. Thanks to Goodreads, I know that I read 22,619 pages this year and the average book length was 370 pages (down from last year’s average of 389 pages thanks to the epic ACOTAR – one of those books was 757 pages!).

Here’s a look at everything I read in 2024 – in order of most recently read to first read. And scroll down for some of my favorites:

• The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali
• Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas
• The Housemaid by Frieda McFadden
• Replay by Ken Grimwood
• Son Yet Sung by James McBride
• Trust by Hernan Diaz
• Fantasticland by Mike Bockroven
• The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer
• The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J Maas
• The House on the Cereulean Sea by TJ Kune
• Educated by Tara Westover
• Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas
• Half a Life by Jill Ciment
• All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
• Funny Story by  Emily Henry
• Beach Read by Emily Henry
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling
• The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
• Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas
• You’re Safe Here by Leslie Stephens
• Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
• The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love by India Holton
• Shark Heart by Emily Habeck
• The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton
• Consent by Jill Ciment
• An Unfinished Love Story by Doris Kearns Goodwin
• The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
• The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer
• The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller
• Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie
• The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
• The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
• The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Junstinian Huang
• Real Americans by Rachel Khong
• Lock Every Door by Riley Sager
• Annie Bot by Sierra Greer
• The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
• Wolf at the Table by Adam Rapp
• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
• James by Percival Everett
• First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston
• Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
• Happy Place by Emily Henry
• The Fury by Alex Michaelides
• Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera
• The Teacher by Freida McFadden
• Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher
• The Longest Race by Kara Goucher
• The Inheritance Games by Jennifer
• North Woods by Daniel Mason
• The Women by Kristin Hannah
• Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
• The Maid by Nita Prose
• The One by John Marrs
• The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
• What the River Knows by Isabel Ibanez
• Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo
• We Are Displaced by Malala Yousafzai
• Dear Girls by Ali Wong

Here are some of my thoughts on the books:

Books that Left Me Feeling Warm and Cozy:

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna – This was cute and left me feeling warm inside. It’s about a young woman (a secret witch) who moves in with a few younger witches to help them learn how to use/control their powers.

The House on the Cereulean Sea by TJ Kune – Ah, I really loved this book. It was also coincidentally about magical creatures/kids so maybe I have a thing for kids with magical powers? One of the kids is also named Lucy (his real name is Lucifer as he’s the son of the devil … because that’s what this book is like!).

Books That I Liked the Concept of More Than the Actual Book

I’m not saying these weren’t good books. They had good concepts and I know people who enjoyed each of them! But I think I loved the idea behind them too much to enjoy the book as much.

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle – I don’t want to give too much away, but the book involves a murder mystery, time travel/loop (or some term that I don’t know) and more. Loved the concept when I figured out what was going on, but it could’ve been done better in my opinion – some of it dragged on for me.

Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica – I have a thing for post-apocalyptic/dystopian books, so when I heard about this from a friend I was intrigued. It is about a world where a virus has contaminated all animals, so humans are forced to eat other humans for protein, leading to essentially farms/slaughterhouses of humans that are bred purely for meat. It was too much and too detailed for me personally, but overall a read that made you think. I would’ve done without as much detail about cannibalism though 🙂

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley – The book is about a woman who works for a new government ministry in charge of helping expats from throughout history (yes there’s time travel) living in modern-day London. There’s aforementioned time travel, romance, spies – but I had a hard time getting through parts. I still enjoyed the overall book and themes, but the concept sounded more fascinating to me than the actual read was.

Books that Left Me Thinking (in a good way!)

We Are Displaced by Malala Yousafzai – We read this in my book club and I really enjoyed it. Each chapter is told from the different perspective of a refuge who has had to seek life in another country, often very far from home. It makes you look at immigration, refugees, etc. differently.

Educated by Tara Westover – I know this book isn’t new but I hadn’t read it years ago because I thought it was about something else.  Tara tells the story of her growing up in a conservative religious household where she was homeschooled and barely exposed to the outside world; she later desires to go to college and the book tells of her journey to do this, as well as her complex feelings about leaving her family.

The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali – I haven’t read many (any?) books about Iran, and this book about two women growing up in 1950s Iran that goes through the 1980s really stuck with me.

Books That I Couldn’t Put Down

Note – I’m not saying these were the best books I read this year. They were books that yes I enjoyed, but also books that I found either the plot so gripping or books that left me on the edge of my seat so that I had to keep reading.

The Housemaid by Frieda McFadden – What Frieda McFadden book isn’t hard to put down? My friend Emily dropped off the actual book after she read it and I read it in 3 days.

Replay by Ken Grimwood – My cousin recommended this older book at Thanksgiving and I’m glad I picked it up. It’s about a man who dies in his 40s – but then wakes up in college again, living his same life over and over again until he dies in his 40s and wakes up again. It made me think about what I would do differently if I could live my life again and it really makes you aware of all the possibilities there are in life based on one little moment.

Fantasticland by Mike Bockroven – What happens when a hurricane hits a Florida amusement park and the employees are left stranded in the park? This was a thriller that I would probably be too scared to watch on the screen but I LOVED it and couldn’t put it down. I don’t read gory thrillers often, but this was too good.

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult – Sorry but I’m not usually a big Jodi Picoult fan. I find her books too emotionally draining and almost too intentionally sad/depressing .. but Mad Honey. Wow. I don’t want to give too much away but I really really loved this book and had to keep reading.

My favorite three I read this year (in no order)

Real Americans by Rachel Khong – This was a really interesting story about three generations of Chinese American women and their different experiences living in the U.S.

James by Percival Everett – this is a re-telling of the adventures of Huck Finn, told by the slave’s POV. I loved loved loved this book – possibly my favorite this year.

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride – I do love a good James McBride story and this one didn’t disappoint. I love his storytelling, the outrageous things that happen to his characters and the way his characters come to life.

Some questions for you:

• What are you reading right now?
• What book did you recently read that you recommend?