The best books of 2024

This list is part of the best books of 2024.

Join 1,117 readers and share your 3 favorite reads of the year.

My favorite read in 2024

Book cover of James

Joanne McLaughlin ❤️ loved this book because...

The narrative voice is so strong, so certain of itself even when it is uncertain of the course to be taken. I felt I was inside James's head, making real-time decisions as he did.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Character(s) 🥈 Immersion
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐇 I couldn't put it down

By Percival Everett,

Why should I read it?

31 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…


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My 2nd favorite read in 2024

Book cover of Prophet Song

Joanne McLaughlin ❤️ loved this book because...

The story is so very bleak, and yet there is such determination, even hope, when everything seems to have gone to hell.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Character(s) 🥈 Immersion
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐕 Good, steady pace

By Paul Lynch,

Why should I read it?

10 authors picked Prophet Song as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE 2023 • NATIONAL BESTSELLER

"A prophetic masterpiece." — Ron Charles, Washington Post

On a dark, wet evening in Dublin, scientist and mother-of-four Eilish Stack answers her front door to find two officers from Ireland’s newly formed secret police on her step. They have arrived to interrogate her husband, a trade unionist.

Ireland is falling apart, caught in the grip of a government turning towards tyranny. As the life she knows and the ones she loves disappear before her eyes, Eilish must contend with the dystopian logic of her new, unraveling country. How far will she…


My 3rd favorite read in 2024

Book cover of Our Missing Hearts

Joanne McLaughlin ❤️ loved this book because...

Like Prophet Song, the world Ng plants us in is exceedingly bleak. But the doggedness of the characters reminds us how in love there is always hope, though perhaps not triumph.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Immersion 🥈 Character(s)
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐇 I couldn't put it down

By Celeste Ng,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Our Missing Hearts as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK
THE PANDORA BOOK CLUB PICK
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A hottest book for THE TIMES, DAILY MAIL, THE INDEPENDENT, VOGUE, STYLIST, TIME MAGAZINE, EVENING STANDARD, THE I and THE IRISH MAIL ON SUNDAY.

'It's impossible not to be moved' Stephen King, New York Times

'Thought-provoking, heart-wrenching...I was so invested in the future of this mother and son, and I can't wait to hear what you think of this deeply suspenseful story!' Reese Witherspoon (Reese's Book Club October '22 Pick)

From the #1 bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere, comes one of the most…


Don‘t forget about my book 😀

Chasing Ashes

By Joanne McLaughlin,

Book cover of Chasing Ashes

What is my book about?

Investigative reporter Laura Cunningham writes a true-crime book two decades after her best friend and college roommate disappeared the day of a deadly fire. She wants to find out what happened back in 1992 and why, ultimately teaming up with her police detective ex-husband to pursue leads in the very cold case. Laura expects her book to rouse old demons. What she doesn't foresee is so much fresh pain.