Every year on Goodreads, we vote for the best books of the previous year. I always vote, although the books I vote for seldom win. Like the politicians I vote for. This year I only voted for books that I had read, so I skipped a lot of categories. When the winners were announced, I added a couple to my “want to read” list. I already have so many books on my “want to read” list that I won’t finish all of them in my lifetime. Reading one book leads to another I want to read. Starting a series that I enjoy makes me want to read all the books in the series.
Every year Goodreads also sends me a “Year in Review.” As of December 18, I had read 117 books in 2024, which put me in the top 10% of Goodreads readers. Considering the average American only reads 12 books a year, I consider myself above average! I read a lot and I read a variety of books. History, mysteries, Christian, romance, memoirs, biographies, travel, knitting. I love learning new things and my books reflect my varied interests. I read 18 books that I considered five star books (out of five). They are books that I would recommend to others, depending on interest.
Here are my best books of 2024. They are not books that were necessarily published in 2024 and you won’t find most of them on the bestseller list. I tried to limit the list to 10, but ended up with 15 (four of them have one spot). But it is my list and I can organize it however I want. I am ranking them, but the order could change depending on my mood or who I am talking to.
#11 is my mystery series category. Mysteries are my favorite thing to read in terms of number of books. I like cozy mysteries because they aren’t too bloody and get solved in clever ways, usually by an amateur. Four books are lumped together in this one spot. I have read all of the books in the series and consider these the best that I read in 2024.
“Locked In” by Marcia Muller is part of the Sharon McCone Series. Sharon is a private investigator with her own successful agency. In this book she solves a murder while lying, paralyzed and unable to speak, in a hospital bed. “Dog Day Afternoon” by David Rosenfelt continues the Andy Carpenter series. Andy is a defense attorney who only tries people who have been falsely charged. He has a team of people who assist him in proving the innocence of his clients. “Torn Asunder” by Barbara Ross is the latest in the Maine Clambake series. Julia Snowden runs the Snowden Family Clambake and someone is always dropping dead of mysterious circumstances. Finally, “Random in Death” is part of J.D. Robb’s In Death series. I like the team of people Eve Dallas has around her and the slightly in the future setting. Even though this is book 58 in the series, it felt fresh.
#10 is a book that encapsulates everything I loved about Iceland, “Lopapeysa” by Toni Carr. The book is ostensibly about traditional Icelandic sweaters, but is really a travelogue of Iceland. Toni explores the people, the food, and the places while giving in-depth information about sweaters. The pictures are beautiful and the book is written in a way that is interesting even to non-knitters. For those of us that knit, there are patterns in the back of the book. Just a gorgeous piece of book candy.
#9 is “Call the Midwife” by Jennifer Worth. The popular television series is based on the series of books that Jennifer wrote about her time as a public nurse in the impoverished East End of London. I have read all three of the books and the first one is the best. Not only is the book full of stories about her time nursing in the East End, but it also give a history of the poverty in the East End and the National Health Care System. Before National Health Care, established in 1946 in Great Britain, the poor people nursed themselves. Having someone trained and available in their neighborhood was a great blessing with a learning curve. The book hits all the emotions.
#8 is “Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers” by Jesse Sutanto. Vera is a Chinese mother with time on her hands now that her son is grown and shows no inclination to marry. When she finds a dead man in the middle of her tea shop, she decides she can solve the murder better than the police. Told with humor and joy, the story is a delight to read. Jesse Sutanto is publishing the second Vera Wong story, “Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping” in April. Already on my “want to read” list.
#7 is “The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store” by James McBride. Set in 1972 in the poor neighborhood of Chicken Hill, Pennsylvania, the story centers around a grocery store run by Chona Ludlow. The book explores relationships and a mystery in the mixed neighborhood of poor blacks and immigrants. People have mixed reactions to this book, but I really enjoyed the depth of it.
#6 is a story about another strong woman, but this time it is a biography about Carol Ruckdeschel. “Untamed” by Will Harlan tells the story of Carol’s fight to keep Cumberland Island wild. Having worked with rangers from Cumberland Island and seen Carol’s house, the book was very interesting. Carol still lives a rustic, off-the-grid life on the north end of Cumberland Island. She is both respected by and a pain in the butt to the National Park Service. This book reminded me how one person who is passionate about something is able to make a difference.
#5 is “The Coast Road” by Alan Murrin. Set in 1994 in rural Ireland, the story revolves around two women who establish an unlikely friendship. One woman has spent all her life obeying the rules of her church and her village. The other woman broke all the rules. Both of them pay a price for their choices. The story explores restrictions on women and the double standards that seem to be all too common to conservative religious people. The story is beautiful and bleak and surprisingly hopeful.
#4 is an autobiography, “Surrender on Demand” by Varian Fry. I had never heard of Varian Fry, but his work in France in 1940 allowed his network to rescue 1,500 people who would have been killed by the Nazis. As the representative of the Emergency Rescue Committee, a private American relief organization, he offered aid and advice to refugees. Working day and night in opposition to French and even American authorities, Fry assembled an unlikely band of associates and built an elaborate rescue network. Fry tells his story in a matter-of-fact way that downplays the dangers he faced with his network. The book is fascinating and full of natural drama. The book was published in 1945.
#3 is “The Frozen River” by Ariel Lawhorn. Based on the life and diary of midwife Martha Ballard, the book is a fictionalized account of murder trial in which Martha played a key role. Considering the book is set in Maine in 1789, Martha and her husband have a marriage that is a partnership. This causes the people in their town to sometimes look askance at the freedom Martha has to move around and investigate conditions. In her role as a midwife, Martha knows many secrets. The book is a page-turner with a historical figure who refused to be constrained by the norms of the time. Another great book with a strong female lead.
#2 may be the only book on my list that you have actually heard of, “James” by Percival Everett. This book is a retelling of the Huckleberry Finn book by Mark Twain from the perspective of the enslaved man Jim. In James, slaves have a secret life that white enslavers know nothing about. James looks after Huck, not out of some white-whished-for loyalty, but because he knows a secret that could get him killed. I have spent a lot of time thinking about this book since I read it and highly recommend it. Although the book is honest about the dangers of being a runaway slave, James makes his own choices.
#1. My favorite book of 2024 is “How to Age Disgracefully” by Clare Pooley. This is not a serious or heavy book. Instead it is one of those light novels that creates a new community where people learn to work and grow together. The book is funny, fun, and I couldn’t put it down. Set in a community center in London, the senior group and a host of others work together for the good of all concerned. The book starts off with a police officer pulling over a bus full of people from the community center and each person on the bus confesses to their crimes. But none of them are the one the police officer wants. I loved the book because it highlights how often society overlooks those who are older – which means we can get away with more!
Those are the best books that I read in 2024. Have you read any of them? Do you have a favorite book that you read in 2024? What book would you suggest I add to my “want to read” in 2025 list?