The best books of 2024

This list is part of the best books of 2024.

Join 1,206 readers and share your 3 favorite reads of the year.

My favorite read in 2024

Book cover of The Writing Retreat

C.L. Pauwels ❤️ loved this book because...

Enthralling story - makes me think twice about attending a writing retreat!

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Emotions 🥈 Immersion
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐇 I couldn't put it down

By Julia Bartz,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Writing Retreat as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“Sex, suspense, and the supernatural fuel this propulsive debut.” —People

A young author is invited to an exclusive writer’s retreat that soon descends into a pulse-pounding nightmare—in the vein of The Plot and Please Join Us.

Alex has all but given up on her dreams of becoming a published author when she receives a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: attend an exclusive, month-long writing retreat at the estate of feminist horror writer Roza Vallo. Even the knowledge that Wren, her former best friend and current rival, is attending doesn’t dampen her excitement.

But when the attendees arrive, Roza…


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My 2nd favorite read in 2024

Book cover of The Socrates Express

C.L. Pauwels ❤️ loved this book because...

Engaging, intriguing guide to philosophers I knew and some I didn't, with a nice dash of travelogue. His train trip inspired me to plan an excursion on the City of New Orleans line for our 45th anniversary.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Teach 🥈 Writing
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐕 Good, steady pace

By Eric Weiner,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

We contemplate for the same reasons we travel: to see the world from a different perspective, to unearth hidden beauty and find new ways of being. We want to learn how to embrace wonder. Face regrets. Sustain hope.

Eric Weiner combines his twin passions for philosophy and global travel in a pilgrimage that uncovers surprising life lessons from philosophers around the world, from Marcus Aurelius to Arthur Schopenhauer, Confucius to Montaigne. Traveling by train he traversed thousands of miles, making stops in Athens, Delhi, Massachusetts, Coney Island, Frankfurt, and points in between, to recapture philosophy's original purpose: teaching us how…


My 3rd favorite read in 2024

Book cover of James

C.L. Pauwels ❤️ loved this book because...

Compelling retelling of Huck Finn from Jim's perspective, which highlighted things in current life that can be too often misunderstood

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Originality 🥈 Outlook
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐇 I couldn't put it down

By Percival Everett,

Why should I read it?

33 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 😀

Forty & Out

By C.L. Pauwels,

Book cover of Forty & Out

What is my book about?

First book in my "Toledo Trilogy"

Someone is targeting Toledo, Ohio’s single women when they turn forty, tucking them into bed and turning birthday greetings into obituaries. Newly-assigned Homicide Detective Veronica Jadzinski vows to prevent the body count from increasing and to prove her transfer from Narcotics wasn’t a fluke—departmental regulations, disparaging lieutenants, and a rigid new partner be damned. Can Jadz keep her drama-queen sister from being the next victim?

Book cover of The Writing Retreat
Book cover of The Socrates Express
Book cover of James

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