The best books of 2024

This list is part of the best books of 2024.

Join 325 readers and share your 3 favorite reads of the year.

My favorite read in 2024…

Book cover of James

Marian Exall I ❤️ loved this book because...

It turned my understanding of Twain's classic upside down. I learned the missing perspective of the slave Tom, and how the stakes were so magnified for this character as America stood on the brink of Civil War. The finest piece of historical fiction I have read in a long time.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Outlook 🥈 Originality
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐕 Good, steady pace

By Percival Everett,

Why should I read it?

9 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…

Tell Me Everything

By Elizabeth Strout,

Book cover of Tell Me Everything

Marian Exall I ❤️ loved this book because...

Strout makes her characters convincing with the smallest detail. The style is direct and transparent but the underlying structure is complex as she weaves these characters together. You could say nothing much happens in the way of plot, but the interactions and emotions draw you in irresistably.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Character(s) 🥈 Writing
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐕 Good, steady pace
Tell Me Everything

By Elizabeth Strout,

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • From Pulitzer Prize–winning author Elizabeth Strout comes a “stunner” (People) of a novel about new friendships, old loves, and the very human desire to leave a mark on the world.

“Tell Me Everything hits like a bucolic fable. . . . A novel of moods, how they govern our personal lives and public spaces, reflected in Strout’s shimmering technique.”—The Washington Post

With her remarkable insight into the human condition and silences that contain multitudes, Elizabeth Strout returns to the town of Crosby, Maine, and to her beloved cast of characters—Lucy…


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My 3rd favorite read in 2024…

Book cover of The Hunter: A Novel

Marian Exall I ❤️ loved this book because...

Tana French creates a compelling setting: a small village on the west coast of Ireland, and peoples it with complex characters, who, even if flawed, are compelling. The plot has many interesting developments, and the question of who is the real villain remains unclear until the end.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Story/Plot 🥈 Writing
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐇 I couldn't put it down

Don‘t forget about my book 😀

Daughters of Riga

By Marian Exall,

Book cover of Daughters of Riga

What is my book about?

As World War II sweeps over Europe, nine-year-old Dani escapes from Latvia under the protection of the Dutch consul. Her Jewish mother, the consul's secretary is left behind. Memories of the Riga consulate and questions about what happened there haunt the survivors as they remake their lives in the postwar world.