The best books of 2024

This list is part of the best books of 2024.

Join 1,510 readers and share your 3 favorite reads of the year.

My favorite read in 2024

Book cover of Properties of Thirst

Alyson Hagy ❤️ loved this book because...

A rich and powerful portrayal of the complexities of family and loyalty in the Owens Valley of California during World War II when the Manzanar Internment Camp was established to detain Japanese-American citizens. The characters are vivid; the choices they must make aren't simple; the prose is beautiful. This is a book I'll be thinking about, and recommending, for a long time.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Character(s) 🥈 Immersion
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐕 Good, steady pace

By Marianne Wiggins,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Properties of Thirst as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A National Bestseller
A New Yorker Best Book of 2022

Fifteen years after the publication of Evidence of Things Unseen, National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize finalist Marianne Wiggins returns with a "big, bold book" (USA TODAY) destined to be an American classic: a sweeping masterwork set during World War II about the meaning of family and the limitations of the American Dream.

Rockwell "Rocky" Rhodes has spent years fiercely protecting his California ranch from the LA Water Corporation. It is here where he and his beloved wife Lou raised their twins, Sunny and Stryker, and it is here where…


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My 2nd favorite read in 2024

Book cover of Headshot

Alyson Hagy ❤️ loved this book because...

An amazing portrayal of teenage female boxers set during a national tournament in Nevada. It's a great novel about powerful young women and a completely innovative sports novel. You'll find yourself cheering for all these characters--for reasons that will surprise you.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Character(s) 🥈 Immersion
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐇 I couldn't put it down

By Rita Bullwinkel,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Headshot as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE
FINALIST FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE
ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE READS OF SUMMER 2024

Named a Best Book of 2024 So Far by The New York Times Book Review, NPR, Elle, Vulture, and The Guardian

“Make room, American fiction, for a meaningful new voice.” —Dwight Garner, The New York Times Book Review

An electrifying debut novel from an “unusually gifted writer” (Lorrie Moore) about the radical intimacy of physical competition

An unexpected tragedy at a community pool. A family’s unrelenting expectation of victory. The desire to gain or lose control; to…


My 3rd favorite read in 2024

Book cover of James

Alyson Hagy ❤️ loved this book because...

A brilliant recasting of HUCK FINN, JAMES upends the chumminess of Twain's novel and puts the stakes of slavery and human freedom front and center. What would any of us do if we were separated from our family?

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Character(s) 🥈 Originality
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐇 I couldn't put it down

By Percival Everett,

Why should I read it?

47 authors picked James as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2024


'Truly extraordinary books are rare, and this is one of them' - Roddy Doyle, Booker Prize-winning author of Paddy Clarke, Ha Ha Ha

James by Percival Everett is a profound and ferociously funny meditation on identity, belonging and the sacrifices we make to protect the ones we love, which reimagines The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. From the author of The Trees, shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and Erasure, adapted into the Oscar-winning film American Fiction.

The Mississippi River, 1861. When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a new…


Don‘t forget about my book 😀

Scribe

By Alyson Hagy,

Book cover of Scribe

What is my book about?

Part ghost story, part mystery, part love story, SCRIBE is a haunting legend that comes to us from the edge of history. Drawing on folktales and the history and culture of Appalachia, Alyson Hagy has crafted a swiftly plotted novel that touches on pressing issues of our time--migration, pandemic, the rise of authoritarianism--and makes the case for the power of stories to both show us the world and transform it.

Book cover of Properties of Thirst
Book cover of Headshot
Book cover of James

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