The 2024 Wrap Up
We have reached the end of the year, and just like with summer reading guides, there are “best books of the year lists” everywhere. Every news organization, magazine, podcast, and bookseller has an opinion. I notice that the more I try to drill down and name favorites, the harder it gets. I love so many books I read this year and I am never short a recommendation for any type of reader. With that said, if you are looking for a great book to read over the holidays, here are my end of year superlatives:
Books with a journey that absorbed me completely:
James - A clever and important reimagining of the American classic Huckleberry Finn.
All the Colors of the Dark - More of a figurative journey than a literal, but I loved this epic tale of friendship and the hunt for a serial killer.
A Walk in the Park - A great nonfiction read about walking the rim of the Grand Canyon while explaining the park’s complex history.
The Way - Just released (review below)! An outstanding and uplifting post-apocalyptic novel. If you like The Last of Us, this is for you.
Quiet books that touched my heart:
Sipsworth - This quiet book about an elderly woman and a mouse is delightful.
The Housekeeper and the Professor - A rare backlist entry for me this year- from Japan.
Forgotten on Sunday - The second novel I have read and loved by popular French author Valerie Perrin.
Tell Me Everything - Is anyone doing real people having real conversations about life as well as Elizabeth Strout?
Great stories with a lighter tone:
Pony Confidential - this newly released book took me by surprise (review below). It is so much fun.
The Eyes and The Impossible - This charming middle grade novel (and Newbery Medal winner) stuck with me all year long.
The Good Part - One of the first books I read this year. I continue to press this into the hands of fellow readers. Delightful with a touch of magical realism.
Favorite Mysteries - my “go-to” genre:
What Happened to Nina? - One of the best mysteries of the year, cursed with a terrible cover.
God of the Woods - Literary mystery at its finest. A police procedural set at a summer camp in the 1970s.
Death at the Sign of the Rook - A classic small town British mystery, elevated by Atkinson’s writing
The Art Thief - This heist book is a “truth is stranger than fiction” tale.
Absorbing Historical Fiction:
The Stolen Child - Europe but not World War 2, found family and redemption are the cornerstones here.
Curse of Pietro Houdini - World War 2 but add an art heist, a donkey, all set in Italy
Beyond That, the Sea - An undiscovered gem with sweeping themes of love and family.
Clear - Tight prose, wrought with tension. Set on a remote Scottish Island in the 1800s.
Family Dysfunction at its Finest:
The Connollys of County Down - Adult siblings living together and navigating complicated circumstances.
Pearce Oysters - An excellent debut, tackling both sibling relationships and the gulf oil spill of 2010.
This Motherless Land - Nigeria to the UK, a Mansfield park retelling.
If these titles sound familiar, many have been included in the newsletters this past year. In total, I wrote reviews of 45 of the 140+ books I read. I wholeheartedly recommend (almost) all of them. Occasionally I discuss a stinker, but most are titles I read and enjoyed. While I try to stay positive, I sometimes like to spice things up. The archives on my Substack page contain 5 years of my bookish newsletters and 268 reviews of books. These days I find that when a book is not for me, I stop reading it. My biggest complaint now is a book is forgettable; just not worth talking about even if I liked it enough to finish.
I would love to know a few of your favorites this year. Please include in the comments!
This Quote:
“What an astonishing thing a book is. It’s a flat object made from a tree with flexible parts on which are imprinted lots of funny dark squiggles. But one glance at it and you’re inside the mind of another person, maybe somebody dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, an author is speaking clearly and silently inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people who never knew each other, citizens of distant epochs. Books break the shackles of time. A book is proof that humans are capable of working magic.”
—Carl Sagan, Cosmos: A Personal Voyage (via)Links
Bookish and Festive Links
I love this clever countdown for things hitting the public domain this coming year. Why is this important? All these creative bodies of work become fair game for books, television, and movies. Watch out for new adaptations and versions for Frieda Kahlo, Virginia Wolfe’s A Room of One’s Own, Duke Ellington and Henri Matisse to name a few.
This is an amazing resource for information about almost anything historical. We had a World Book of Encyclopedia set growing up that I used for every report I wrote. Now I can just type in anything I am interested in.
It is not too late for a little homemade decor this holiday season and apparently paper chains are still cool. This seems like the perfect craft to do on a winter day listening to an audio book.
This is one of my favorite holiday recipes that you won’t see at most gatherings: Sweet Paul’s Eggnog Pound Cake. You’re welcome!
Recent Reads
A year of reading coming to a close, “best of” lists being published daily, and I have come across one of the most fun books of the year. Pony Confidential is sort of mystery, but really it is a journey. This dual perspective book is voiced by Penny, a school teacher who is arrested for a crime she purportedly committed when she was 12, and her pony. The Pony, never named, is a brilliant observer of both animal and human nature. At the beginning of the book, Pony is looking for Penny because he blames her for abandoning him when she was a child. He is seeking revenge. Yet as he travels around the United States searching for her, he realizes that Penny needs help, not punishment. I hate to give too many specifics because this is one of the stories where events are unveiled as you read. This book reminds me a bit of The Eyes and the Impossible and Remarkably Bright Creatures. Pony’s voice in this book is terrific - he is both smart and fallible. While Pony plays a big role, we hear from all sorts of animals (rats, goats, dogs, horses, bugs, birds, etc) which adds to the charm. [Published: Dec 24, Pages: 384]
It has been a while since I have enjoyed a post-apocalyptic novel as much as The Way. The main character, Will, has lived to the now old age of 50+ having survived a mutation of a bird flu. He practices buddhism and tries to live out this life without doing harm. He is also loyal to a fault, so when a friend asks him to carry a cure for the rampant disease from Colorado to California, he reluctantly accepts. What makes this book work for me is that it is essentially a “ journey book” with a road trip at the center - which I love. Will is able to communicate with both his cat and a pet raven that follow along. The author handles this really well, i.e. in a believable way, not in a hokey way. Along the trip there is danger both from the world as it currently exists and because someone is trying to stop him. A young girl joins him and she is sassy and strong and I love the bond that develops between them. I don’t know if this is an original story, as it reminds me of a few other popular books in this genre like Dog Stars and The Road, but it is very well written and I enjoyed the entire reading experience. Also don’t let my mention of The Road put you off, this is a life affirming book — not a downer. [Published 12/24; Pages: 308]
Still Life at Eighty is a brief but poignant book of short essays by book editor and writer Abigail Thomas. Somehow I missed her more well known book A Three Dog Life but hope to track it down. Thomas is almost 80 and is writing observationally about her quiet life at home with her dogs. Her prose is exceptional and I enjoyed her vignettes so much. There are a lot of books that talk about aging but not many that actually discuss what it is like to be old. We are all busy trying to stave off the inevitable but I value hearing from someone who is old and what is meaningful to them. (Dogs, mostly dogs). This book is at times funny, at times sad, but always honest. For fans of excellent writing and “slice of life” essays, this book is worth picking up. I listened to the audio version read by the author and loved it. [Published 11/24; Pages: 240]
I have read and listened to this gem multiple times since it came out five years ago. I wrote about it here in December 2022. I want to mention again how perfect Small Things LIke These is in both its writing and its message. This brilliant book centers on Bill, who is diligently providing for his family during uncertain times. It's Christmas 1985 in Ireland and many in the village are cold and hungry. His coal business provides just enough for his wife and four daughters to give him some peace at night. But when he has run-ins with both the nuns and residents at the local convent, it has him rethinking everything he knows.
This book is having a moment again: A movie based on the book and starring Cillian Murphy was recently released but is hard to track down. And Oprah picked it for her new podcast collaboration with Starbucks. Count yourself lucky if you have a copy of this book without Oprah’s Book Club sticker on it! [Published 11/21; Pages: 128]