The best books of 2024

This list is part of the best books of 2024.

Join 559 readers and share your 3 favorite reads of the year.

My favorite read in 2024

Book cover of A Season of Perfect Happiness

John Oller ❤️ loved this book because...

This was an original, highly emotional but inspiring story of one woman's effort to cope with her past. I won't reveal much more, but I loved how the author built suspense, kept the narrative flowing, and reached an emotional climax. I don't often read women's fiction but this is one of the best I've read in years.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Writing 🥈 Thoughts
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐇 I couldn't put it down

By Maribeth Fischer,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Season of Perfect Happiness as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A propulsive novel that fundamentally questions what makes a “good” mother, with a heartrending portrayal of one woman’s quest to find her voice.

Ten years after an unspeakable tragedy caused Claire to flee her hometown in Delaware, she finally feels content. She has a quiet, tidy life in Wisconsin, a place she picked at random for its shape on a map. Her careful existence centers on a simple plan: keep her social circle small and keep the past a secret.

But when she meets Erik—a lighthearted theater nerd who gives Claire more of a chance than she’s given herself in…


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My 2nd favorite read in 2024

Book cover of The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War

John Oller ❤️ loved this book because...

Another great book from Erik Larson, this time on a period of particular interest to me--the runup to the Civil War. The author vividly brings to life the highly charged atmosphere that led to the great conflict and the issues and personalities that drove it. Highly recommended for Civil War and history buffs in general.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Immersion 🥈 Writing
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐕 Good, steady pace

By Erik Larson,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The author of The Splendid and the Vile brings to life the pivotal five months between the election of Abraham Lincoln and the start of the Civil War in this “riveting reexamination of a nation in tumult” (Los Angeles Times).

“A feast of historical insight and narrative verve . . . This is Erik Larson at his best, enlivening even a thrice-told tale into an irresistible thriller.”—The Wall Street Journal

On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the fluky victor in a tight race for president. The country was bitterly at odds; Southern extremists…


Want my future book recommendations?

My 3rd favorite read in 2024

Book cover of Nexus

John Oller 👍 liked this book because...

While this is not my favorite Harari book, the author is such a good writer and provocative, original thinker and historian that I'll read anything he writes. I was not disappointed, as this book brings to light so many of the issues we face with AI. The history of how governments control information for good or ill was also fascinating. Books such as Homo Deus and Sapiens are so good that they would be hard to match, but this one is well worth a read.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Teach 🥈 Thoughts
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐌 It was slow at times

By Yuval Noah Harari,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Sapiens comes the groundbreaking story of how information networks have made, and unmade, our world.

“Striking original . . . A historian whose arguments operate on the scale of millennia has managed to capture the zeitgeist perfectly.”—The Economist

“This deeply important book comes at a critical time as we all think through the implications of AI and automated content production. . . . Masterful and provocative.”—Mustafa Suleyman, author of The Coming Wave

For the last 100,000 years, we Sapiens have accumulated enormous power. But despite allour discoveries, inventions, and conquests,…


Don‘t forget about my book 😀

Gangster Hunters

By John Oller,

Book cover of Gangster Hunters

What is my book about?

The enthralling, can’t-put-down account of the birth of the modern FBI.

J. Edgar Hoover was the face of the FBI. But the federal agents in the field, relentlessly chasing the most notorious gangsters of the 1930s with their own lives on the line, truly transformed the Bureau.

In 1932, the FBI lacked jurisdiction over murder cases, bank robberies, and kidnappings. Relegated to the sidelines, agents spent their days at their desks. But all of that changed during the War on Crime. Hunting down infamous public enemies in tense, frequently blood-soaked shootouts, the Bureau was thrust onto the front pages for the first time.

Young agents, fresh out of law school and anticipating a quiet, white-collar job, faced off with murderous felons who were heavily armed, clad in bulletproof vests, and owned cars that outraced the best vehicles the Bureau had. But the federal men were fiercely devoted—to the Bureau, to each other, and to bringing America’s most wanted criminals to justice.

The G-men crisscrossed the United States in pursuit of John Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde, Ma Barker’s criminal family, Baby Face Nelson, and Pretty Boy Floyd. But the green FBI aents were always one step behind and a moment too late, the criminals evading elaborate stakeouts and dramatic ambushes. Facing mounting criticism, with bodies left in their wake, the agents had to learn to adapt. After all, more than their reputations were at stake. Through incredible primary source research, John Oller transports readers right to the most harrowing and consequential raids of the 1930s, with fast-paced action that shows the lengths both sides would go to win.