This post is among my favorite posts to write every year. I love looking back on all the wonderful books I’ve read for the year, and getting the opportunity to share them with all of you! This is the fourth year in a row that I’ve done a yearly roundup; if you’re curious about my top books from other years, here are the links for my roundups from 2021, 2022, and 2023.
First, some reading stats for 2024:
Total books read: 116
Total nonfiction: 22 (19% of total)
Total audiobooks: 31 (26% of total)
New-to-me authors: 44
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Surprisingly, even though I read so many books this year (miles beyond what I expected to read!), it wasn’t too hard to narrow down my list to just ten books for this wrapup. I changed my personal rating scale a year or two ago to reflect how I genuinely feel about books—and only those that made a definite impact on me or left me thinking about them long after I finished reading them have ended up with a five-star rating, which makes it much easier to pick out my top favorites. If you’re curious, you can see my full list of 4 ½ and 5-star reads in 2024 on Goodreads here.
Here are my favorite reads from 2024, in the order I read them (because how do you rank such different stories, anyway?):
January: Things We Didn’t Say by Amy Lynn Green (5 ★). I’ve rarely read a book that has impacted my writing style as much as this one has this year. It doesn’t feel like an exaggeration to say that the epistolary nature of this book is brilliant.
January: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (5 ★). If there was a book to put me into a reading slump, this was it (thankfully, it only lasted a couple of days). I was genuinely afraid it would be ages before I found another story that matched this one in depth of characters and plot.
January: Trouble by Gary D. Schmidt (5 ★). This book broke me! A devastating but ultimately redemptive read that hits all the right notes of hope and grief and what it means to be human.
February: The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt (5 ★). One of the most hilarious books I’ve read in a LONG time! Great characters, fascinating history, and the rats, cream puffs, and Shakespeare were delightful additions to the plot.
February: Seacrow Island by Astrid Lindgren (5 ★). This one had all the cozy, whimsical feels for me. Delightful characters and setting—as soon as I finished reading this to myself, I reread it aloud to the family, so they could enjoy it, too!
March: Chernobyl by Matyás Namai (5 ★). The best graphic novel I’ve read this year. I learned a lot about history from this one!
March: 10 Women Who Changed the World by Daniel L. Akin (5 ★). This devotional was so good! I wanted to both savor it and rush through it—it was enriching, encouraging, and challenging. I ended up buying a copy for myself and one for a friend—it was too good to not have on the shelf!
July: Alone on the Ice by David Roberts (5 ★). A fascinating survival story! I couldn’t believe what this man had to go through, plus I found the history of Antarctica as given in here quite understandable—it put everything into perspective. I really enjoyed this book.
September: A Noble Scheme by Roseanna M. White (4.5 ★). I enjoy every single White book I read, but this one was a bit more of a standout story to me, because of the way the romance was done and the deep themes of loss and forgiveness. I thoroughly enjoyed this read.
November: Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt (5 ★). Of all the books on this list, if I had to pick a top favorite, this would be it. Phenomenal writing, heartbreaking story, believable characters—I’d give this 6 stars out of 5 if I could!
And, because I can, here are the two other books that almost made the cut, but not quite: Embers in the London Sky by Sarah Sundin (4.5 ★), and Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster (also 4.5 ★).
What were your favorite books from 2024?
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