The best books of 2024

This list is part of the best books of 2024.

Join 1,531 readers and share your 3 favorite reads of the year.

My favorite read in 2024

Book cover of Edwin Mullhouse: The Life and Death of an American Writer 1943-1954 by Jeffrey Cartwright

Debbie Urbanski ❤️ loved this book because...

I feel like this book was written for me. Beautiful, funny, heartbreaking, mysterious, puzzling, brilliant -- I'm on my second read right now and it's even better the second time around. It's the kind of book you will need to talk with someone about so make sure you read it with a friend. One of the top 5 books I've ever read.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Writing 🥈 Character(s)
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐕 Good, steady pace

By Steven Millhauser,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Edwin Mullhouse as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A parody of a literary biography starring a 10-year-old novelist who is mysteriously dead at 11—from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Martin Dressler.

As a memorial, Edwin Mullhouse's best friend, Jeffrey Cartwright, decides that the life of this great American writer must be told. He follows Edwin's development from his preverbal first noises through his love for comic books to the fulfillment of his literary genius in the remarkable novel, Cartoons.


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My 2nd favorite read in 2024

Book cover of Above the Fire

Debbie Urbanski ❤️ loved this book because...

A post-apocalpytic hiking book about parenthood that takes place in the White Mountains!!!?!! This is seriously my dream combination and I was so excited to find it. It brought back a lot of memories of being a parent of young children during COVID - the isolation, the exhaustion, but also the beauty of that time. If you've hiked in the White Mountains (or if you're a hiker at all), or if you're a parent, or if you like post-apocalpytic books -- this is a must read.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Story/Plot 🥈 Immersion
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐇 I couldn't put it down

By Michael O'Donnell,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

An enthralling debut, Above the Fire crystallizes the relationship between a father and son as they survive a winter of isolation. Perfect for fans of The Dog Stars by Peter Heller and The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

Laboring under a shared loss, Doug and his young son, Tim, set out on a late season backpacking trip through the White Mountains of New Hampshire. They find beauty and solidarity in the outdoors, making friends along the trail, and falling into the rhythms of an expedition. But when reports of warfare and social collapse reach the ranger station, Doug—seeking to protect the…


My 3rd favorite read in 2024

Book cover of The Naming Song

Debbie Urbanski ❤️ loved this book because...

The world building of The Naming Song just blew me away. It was pure pleasure to just lost myself in this new world that bordered on familiarity but also was full of adventure, discovery, surprises, beautiful friendships, language, ghosts, and wonder. I haven't cried for awhile while reading a book, but this one did make me cry!

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Immersion 🥈 Originality
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐇 I couldn't put it down

By Jedediah Berry,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

There's nothing more dangerous than an unnamed thing.

When the words went away, the world changed.

All meaning was lost, and every border fell. Monsters slipped from dreams to haunt the waking while ghosts wandered the land in futile reveries. Only with the rise of the committees of the named - Maps, Ghosts, Dreams, and Names - could the people stand against the terrors of the nameless wilds. They built borders around their world and within their minds, shackled ghosts and hunted monsters, and went to war against the unknown.

For one unnamed courier of the Names Committee, the task…


Don‘t forget about my book 😀

Book cover of After World

What is my book about?

After World is about humanity's relationship with the planet and who or what in that relationship is most important. It's also about artificial intelligence, climate change, extinction, and the future.

Due to worsening global environmental collapse, an AI determines that the planet would be better off without the presence of humans. After a virus that sterilizes the entire human population is released, humanity must reckon with how they leave this world before the data of their lives is uploaded to the virtual reality called Maia. The novel is narrated by an AI storyworker who is tasked with telling the life story of a young woman named Sen, who was tasked herself with witnessing the natural world on the eve of humanity’s departure.

Book cover of Edwin Mullhouse: The Life and Death of an American Writer 1943-1954 by Jeffrey Cartwright
Book cover of Above the Fire
Book cover of The Naming Song

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