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Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl invited us to share our top ten books of 2024 this week. As always, most of these were not published in 2024 but I did read them this year. I’ve organized them by my rating but they’re simply in alphabetical order beyond that. I’ve noted if links go to my review; if I haven’t written one, the link goes to Bookshop.org.
5 Star Reads
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery, read by Kate Burton–This was the umpteenth time I’ve read this old favorite but my first time listening to it. I picked up on different things this time and found myself relating more to Marilla and seeing parts of the book more as her story. (Link to an old review)
Can We Talk About Israel?: A Guide for the Curious, Confused, and Conflicted by Daniel Sokatch (Link to my review)
The Speckled Beauty: A Dog and His People by Rick Bragg (Speck is still alive and well at the end of the book, if that is as much of a concern for you as it is for me)
4.5 Stars
Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories From the Twenty-first Century, edited by Alice Wong
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree (Link to my review)
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson (Link to my review)
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna (Link to my review)
A Woman in the Polar Night by Christiane Ritter, translated by Jane Degras (Link to my review)
Bonus: My Husband’s Top Three Books of 2024
My husband doesn’t really consider himself a reader but he increased his goal and tried to read 16 books this year. He surpassed it, reading 21 books! Here are his top three picks.
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger
Wishin’ and Hopin’ by Wally Lamb, read by the author
That’s my list! Have you read any of these? Which books were your favorites this year? Link up every Tuesday at That Artsy Reader Girl!
44 Comments
Laurie Frankel is one of my favorite authors, so I love all her books! Legends & Lattes was an audio listen, and I liked it a lot and have gone on with the series on audio. Sad to say I haven’t read any of your others, even Anne of Green Gables, but will put some of them on my TBR now.
I didn’t get my favorites for 2024 done. It seems like it’s getting too late to post them, but I might work on it this weekend, and see if I can pull it together.
Oh, you have to read Anne of Green Gables. It’s been one of my favorites since childhood. I think you should post your top ten, even if it is a bit later than everyone else. I like to write a long post with my yearly stats and other favorites of the year in various genres and it has taken me weeks to get it ready. I’m posting it on Thursday. It does feel late but I like revisiting my books so it makes me happy, whenever I get it posted.
A great list, Jen:)). I’ve read Legends & Lattes, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches and Tress of the Emerald Isle and thoroughly enjoyed all of them. And finding something special in a reread is golden. I hope you have a lovely 2025 reading year.
Thank you!
I recently re-read Anne of Green Gables and enjoyed it just as much as when I was a child! What a gem. Laurie Frankel’s outstanding novel, This Is How It Always Is, was the first of her books that I’ve read. So far, it’s my favorite, but I continue to read her despite not loving her other books as well. Still planning to read I Cheerfully Refuse. Need to get to the library since I’m trying not to buy any books this year.
I always try not to buy books since we don’t really have room in the RV. Then we wander into an independent bookstore on one of our weekend trips and I just have to support the small businesses…. I limit myself to one though and after reading them (which can, admittedly, take quite a while), I either donate them to the library or ship them back home for storage.
I Cheerfully Refuse was completely different from any of Enger’s other work but it was really good.
Legends & Lattes has been a popular book this year. I did enjoy the series of Lessons in Chemistry but didn’t read the book. Great list! I liked your husbands list too.
Thanks for letting me know that you liked the series. I’ll check it out!
I’ve only read Lessons in Chemistry from your list, but really enjoyed it.
I’d like to watch the series but I haven’t really heard much about it.
Legends & Lattes made my list too. It’s a fun book.
I agree! I read Bookshops & Bonedust recently and liked it a lot too.
I have Anne on my list too! The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches and Tress of the Emerald Sea have been on my TBR for a while now 🙂
If you’d like to visit, here’s my TTT: https://thebooklorefairy.blogspot.com/2024/12/top-ten-tuesday-the-best-books-i-read-in-2024.html
Any year that I re-read Anne, she will be on my top ten list 🙂
I haven’t read any of these but I hope your next books are good ones.
Thank you!
Anne of Green Gables is wonderful! I should make time to re-read it. Here is our Top Ten Tuesday.
You should!
I need to read that Tress of the Emerald Sea book. Everyone keeps talking about it! Great list!
It was such a great book. I hope you like it if/when you read it!
Tress made my favorites list this year, also! I’m hoping to get to The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches in 2025… we’ll see.
Tress was so good! I hope you like The Very Secret Society if/when you read it.
Great list! Love AOGG. Read some of L.M. Montgomery’s Christmas stories in December. The puffed sleeves moment was one of those stories. Still need to read Lessons in Chemistry and A Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. Thanks for sharing!
https://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2024/12/top-ten-tuesday-top-ten-best-books-i.html
I have a collection called Christmas with Anne and Other Stories. Is that the one you read? It’s been years and years since I’ve re-read it.
I adore ANNE OF GREEN GABLES. It’s one of my favorite books of all time. I also really enjoyed TRESS OF THE EMERALD SEA and I liked LEGENDS AND LATTES, but didn’t love it. I’m glad you found so many books to love this year!
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
Cozy fantasies really appealed to me this year.
I love the title of I Cheerfully Refuse.
It’s a great title!
Oh my gosh, I loved so many of these! And isn’t A Woman of the Polar Night such a crazy read? I loved it. My husband and I both loved Tress as well. 🙂
A Woman in the Polar Night–“Well, my husband and roommate think I’ve been moonstruck and are keeping a bit of a suicide watch over me so that I don’t throw myself into the ocean, but that’s life in the Arctic for you! And hopefully the polar bears arrive soon so that our booby-trapped guns will shoot them. We need the vitamins.” 🙂 I loved it!
I have added Can We Talk About Israel? and Lessons in Chemistry to my TBR list. 😀
Both excellent choices. I hope you like them if/when you read them.
What a lovely idea – to try out Anne of Green Gables in audio. Definitely going to try that! Wish you a very happy ’25 ahead full of good books.
I was surprised by how much the format changed my perception, even though I love the book in any format. Or maybe it’s just my age! 🙂
I adored Legends & Lattes and The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. I like that you include your husband’s favorites of the year. Happy 2025, Jen!
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/my-twelve-favorite-reads-of-2024/
Those two books just made me happy!
I love, love, love Anne of Green Gables. It makes me cry with sadness and with happiness when I think of this book.
I agree!
We both read about those Irregular Witches this year 🙂
My TTT: https://laurieisreading.com/2024/12/31/top-ten-tuesday-2024-favourites/
Those Irregular Witches were a lot of fun.
I loved Lessons in Chemistry when I listened to it. Not so much The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches though.
I think the Very Secret Society was just the right book at the right time. I needed to read about people being kind to each other.
I love when you read an old favourite and get something new from it.
I do too!