Last week I shared my list of books I read in 2024 and someone asked me my favorite, which I can’t do because that’s like picking my favorite child. Except harder because I only have one child. But if you see it here on this video, I liked it. I don’t review books I don’t like.
What were your favorite books of last year?
And speaking of books…so many amazing books coming out this year and my January bookclub picks are a fun way to start. (AND WELCOME TO ALL THE NEW MEMBERS OF MY BOOK CLUBS! WHOOP!)
If you’re a member of the Fantastic Strangelings Book Club I’m sending you…
Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao. It’s like a Studio Ghibli movie came to life inside my damn head.
A quick taste: A woman inherits a pawnshop where you can sell your regrets, and then embarks on a magical quest when a charming young physicist wanders into the shop, in this dreamlike fantasy novel set in Tokyo. Cozy, dark escapism and fantastic world-building. So good.
And if your tastes lie in darker territories and you have decided to join the Nightmares from Nowhere Book Club then you are getting…
Our Winter Monster by Dennis A. Mahoney. It’s a chilling (literally) horror tale about a troubled couple running from their problems straight into the maw of a terrifying beast. Strange psychological suspense that will haunt you.
And if you need more than one book to keep you busy, here are some other January releases I loved:
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix – Mix a home for pregnant wayward girls in 1970 with an occult book about witchcraft and see what happens. FABULOUS BOOK. (This is where I would promote his live event with us but the tickets sold out almost immediately because he’s amazing.)
Tartufo by Kira Jane Buxton – author of Hollow Kingdom returns with another fantastical and funny story featuring a cast of colorful characters in a dying Italian village and a giant truffle that changes their fate forever. So freaking charming.
We Do Not Part by Han Kang – Tells the story of a friendship between two women while powerfully reckoning with a hidden chapter of Korean history. Poignant, suspenseful, traumatic. Couldn’t put it down.
Dirtbag Queen by Andy Corren – Hilarious, heartbreaking, unhinged. This book is weird af and is everything you want in a memoir. I liked it so much I blurbed it.
Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay McLeod Chapman – What happens when extreme right-wing news turns your family into literal zombies?
Old Soul by Susan Barker – The woman never goes by the same name. She never stays in the same place too long. She never ages. She never dies. But those around her do.
The Sinners All Bow: Two Authors, One Murder and the Real Hester Prynne by Kate Winkler Dawson – the chilling true story of a young woman whose scandalous life was rumored to be Nathaniel Hawthorne’s inspiration for The Scarlet Letter—and whose shocking death inspired the first true-crime book published in America. Kate will be at the store Feb 8th where I’ll be talking to her about the book. Come join us!
Happy reading!
Well it’s a long book so reading it stretched into this year. “Fayne” by Ann-Marie MacDonald. Rivoting and messed up
All the Colors of the Dark- Chris Whitaker 😲
The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister (this one was unlike anything i’ve ever read before and i couldn’t put it down!)
and
Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space (i was in elementary school when the challenger shuttle launch and subsequent explosion happened. i couldn’t sleep that night and wrote a little journal-type entry about it that was put in the school newsletter. the amount of compounding errors that led to this disaster is such a tragedy and reading the book was like watching a train wreck in slow motion.)
It didn’t come out in 2024, but Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward was my favorite read!
The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson
One of my favorite books from last year = SOMEONE YOU CAN BUILD A NEST IN by John Wiswell. Best line from the description = “…to learn to build a life with, rather than in, the love of her life.” https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/182506390-someone-you-can-build-a-nest-in
Jevranne Martel – Love without a Label: How a car accident, a suicide and a murder came together to heal a childhood trauma.
I had a yearly goal of 52 books, I hit 57. My favorite was Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.
Somewhere Beyond the Sea (T.J. Klune)
Darling Girls (Sally Hepworth)
Tell Me Who You Are (Louisa Luna)
Both of Angeline Boulley’s books were amazing, but the second, Warrior Girl Unearthed? was phenomenal.
I loved James, by Percival Everett, and Fraud by Zadie Smith.
I can’t decide between We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer and Nettle & Bone by T Kingfisher. Both excellent for obviously different reasons. Both read the first time in 2024.
I haven’t joined your book clubs because I mostly audiobook these days, but I often add your picks to my own TBR, and I finally read a bunch of them in 2024. I loved Once Upon a Tome, Lone Women, Bury Your Gays, and I Was A Teenage Slasher. I think my favorite books this year were the Monk + Robot books by Becky Chambers – a utopian future, nonbinary main characters, and such a heartfelt and wholesome story.
I LOVED “Joe Nuthin’s Guide the Life.”
You know something I’ve never regretted purchasing? Any book you had anything to do with. Thank you for your creativity, honesty, and humor.
I haven’t been able to read many books lately due to some serious brain fog, but I made it through Unstitched, My Journey to Understand Opioid Addiction And How People and Communities Can Heal, by Brett Ann Stanciu, in three sittings. It’s a beautifully crafted non-fiction story of a woman coming to terms with her own struggles (and quest to know more) through interactions and the death of the town addict. While it may sound a bit dark, it’s ultimately a story of healing.
I read many amazing books last year. There were so many that are still with me. But the one that made me feel seen, made me say “Holy Shit, that’s me at that age without the spelunking.” was Amethysts and Alchemy by Rachel Rener. And Jenny, the Female Main Character has an Emotional Support Pig. Yes, you read that correctly. This girl is NeuroSpicy, has panic attacks, and can pilot a plane. I adore her. I got so lost in the book that I was shocked to look up and discover I wasn’t in the scene I was reading.
Yes, definitely my favorite.
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and very unexpectedly, Dungeon Crawler Carl.
I loved:
Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs
Sweetness in the Skin by Ishi Robinson
And I absolutely devoured the newest Lore Olympus volumes. Can’t wait the next one!
Ooof, so many! The one I keep screaming about is Someone You Can Build A Nest in by John Wiswell.
Playing Flirty – Shameez Patel (technically this doesn’t launch until this month but I had an ARC and, let’s just say, banter and rom-com and geeky gaming nights)
Assistant to the Villain and Apprentice to the Villain – Hannah Nicole Maehrer
A Sorceress Comes To Call – T. Kingfisher
The most wild and interesting book of last year was Winterset Hollow by Jonathan Edward Durham—it was foreboding and intense. I’ll never look at animals the same way again.
It’s That Simple: A User’s Manual for Human Beings (Mavis Karn)
Second Chances (Sydney Banks)
The Enlightened Gardener (Sydney Banks)
Murder at the Monastery by the Rev. Richard Coles. Very traditional murder mystery but with personal emotional turmoil overlayed (and lots of Church of England type inside baseball below.) But also the story of two friends and one is in love and the other oblivious.
Earth to Moon, (Moon Unit Zappa)
Starling House by Alix Harrow was amazing and my top book of 2024.
Huge Patricia Briggs fan of her Mercy Thompson series.
I loved all the Becky Chambers books I read last year. A psalm for the wild built. A prayer for the crown-shy. To be taught, if fortunate. The long way to a small, angry planet.
After Annie by Anna Quindlen
Moon of the Crusted Snow and its follow up Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice
Remarkably bright creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
Absolutely favorite was the daytripper by James Goodhand
For goofy fun, I loved John Scalzi’s Starter Villain and also The Kaiju Preservation Society. I liked We Solve Murders (the new Richard Osman) as much as the Thursday Murder Club books, which is to say, A LOT! But my favorite book of 2024 was The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman, a retelling of the King Arthur story that takes place after Arthur’s death. Such great characters, none of them are the traditional knights of the Round Table that you might be picturing! I only finished it a couple of weeks ago and I can’t wait to reread it.
I started the Backyard Starship series by Terry Maggert, which has sucked me into scifi, a previously unexplored genre for me. Still working my way through the series and have thoroughly enjoyed it.
To Anon #32, if you are getting into scifi I would recommend John Scalzi, Becky Chambers and the Murderbot novellas by Martha Wells!
Fiction: The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese; Non-fiction: The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson. Other books that I gave 5 stars: Demon Copperhead, Lessons in Chemistry, An Immense World, There Are Rivers In the Sky, The Marrow Thieves, and The Navigator’s Children.
The Book That Broke the World by Mark Lawrence.
I love how you put it—picking a favorite book is like choosing a favorite child! Your approach of sharing what you enjoyed is refreshing, and it’s clear that you only highlight books that truly resonate with you. It makes the recommendations more meaningful and authentic.
Jenny, I’ve read the bloggess for years and have read (and listened to) every one of your books. So I know how important Neil Gaiman has been to you, as a friend, supporter, source of inspiration, and even Isle of Skye home lender. But in light of the Vulture article about him, I think it’s important you consider your relationship with him, especially as you’re power to influence book readers.
How about one last week? ‘What we did in bed: A horizontal history’ by N. Duranni and B.Fagen. Bouncy and informational and great fun!
Hey Jenny, are you going to address the most recent allegations against Neil Gaiman? (https://www.vulture.com/article/neil-gaiman-allegations-controversy-amanda-palmer-sandman-madoc.html)
(It’s so heartbreaking and awful. My thoughts are with the women and with everyone struggling with this. It’s really fucked with my head and made me question my ability to judge people. ~ Jenny)
Like another reader above, Dungeon Crawler Carl was my surprise love this year. I’m officially obsessed and waiting for the most recent audiobook to be released. Heartfelt story about the end of the world, a talking cat named Princess Donut, and an AI that is slowly going insane? Made to delight me I think.
Hi, Jenny. You don’t know me, but in 2012 you wrote a post about The Library that changed the course of my life. I have been so worried about you this week. The recent news must be excruciating and triggering and feel like being dragged several leaps backwards, but know this: you are loved.
Thinking of you,
B
P.S. Depression lies.
(Thank you, friend. I think it’s been a rough week for so many. I’m lucky to have resources. I hope everyone else does too. ~ Jenny)
very good
All fours, by Miranda July
I read 84 books last year and just realized I didn’t rate a single one 5 stars! It’s so dependent on mood at the time, though. My five 4.75-star books were Happiness Falls by Angie Kim, Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield, How it Feels to Float by Helena Fox, The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley, and Sandwich by Catherine Newman (love her).
My favorite book of 2024 wasn’t exactly a book. It was a fanfic called Manacled. To this day I hate myself for reading it because everything else seems like garbage to me when compared. I imagine my favorite book of 2025 will be The Alchemist, which is the book this fanfic is being turned into (like 50 Shades of Grey and Twilight, but with less sex and more tears).
I love the book Tartufo by Kira Jane Buxton. It centers around the profound bond between a man and his dog in a post-apocalyptic world. The story explores themes of love, loyalty, and survival, as the protagonist navigates a landscape transformed by environmental collapse and societal breakdown.
It beautifully focuses on the deep connection between a man and his dog while exploring love, loyalty, and survival in a post-apocalyptic world shaped by environmental and social collapse.
So many great recommendations here! Posts like this always end up expanding my reading list because it’s interesting to see what books stood out to different people throughout the year. I enjoy discovering both well-known titles and unexpected favorites from other readers.
One of my personal favorites has been The Maze Runner – I really enjoyed the fast-paced story and the suspense throughout. Curious to see what everyone else loved reading this year too!