The best books of 2024

This list is part of the best books of 2024.

Join 1,187 readers and share your 3 favorite reads of the year.

My favorite read in 2024

Book cover of Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life

Teresa Iacobelli ❤️ loved this book because...

Wholly original book that combined biography, personal memoir, history, mystery and good science writing.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Originality 🥈 Outlook
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐇 I couldn't put it down

By Lulu Miller,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Why Fish Don't Exist as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A Best Book of 2020: The Washington Post * NPR * Chicago Tribune * Smithsonian

A “remarkable” (Los Angeles Times), “seductive” (The Wall Street Journal) debut from the new cohost of Radiolab, Why Fish Don’t Exist is a dark and astonishing tale of love, chaos, scientific obsession, and—possibly—even murder.​

“At one point, Miller dives into the ocean into a school of fish…comes up for air, and realizes she’s in love. That’s how I felt: Her book took me to strange depths I never imagined, and I was smitten.” —The New York Times Book Review

David Starr Jordan was a taxonomist,…


When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

My 2nd favorite read in 2024

Book cover of Fates and Furies

Teresa Iacobelli ❤️ loved this book because...

Lauren Groff's writing style is consistently superb. Great book about secrets, marriage and our inner lives.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Writing 🥈 Character(s)
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐇 I couldn't put it down

By Lauren Groff,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY: THE WASHINGTON POST, NPR, TIME, THE SEATTLE TIMES, MINNEAPOLIS STAR-TRIBUNE, SLATE, LIBRARY JOURNAL, KIRKUS, AND MANY MORE

“Lauren Groff is a writer of rare gifts, and Fates and Furies is an unabashedly ambitious novel that delivers – with comedy, tragedy, well-deployed erudition and unmistakable glimmers of brilliance throughout.” —The New York Times Book Review (cover review)

From the award-winning, New York Times-bestselling author of Florida, Matrix, and the highly-anticipated The Vaster Wilds: an exhilarating novel about marriage, creativity, art, and perception.…


My 3rd favorite read in 2024

Book cover of Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

Teresa Iacobelli ❤️ loved this book because...

An incredibly difficult book to read in terms of content, but absolutely worth it. In fact, a necessary read.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Thoughts 🥈 Outlook
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐕 Good, steady pace

By Atul Gawande,

Why should I read it?

15 authors picked Being Mortal as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

'GAWANDE'S MOST POWERFUL, AND MOVING, BOOK' MALCOLM GLADWELL

'BEING MORTAL IS NOT ONLY WISE AND DEEPLY MOVING; IT IS AN ESSENTIAL AND INSIGHTFUL BOOK FOR OUR TIMES' OLIVER SACKS

For most of human history, death was a common, ever-present possibility. It didn't matter whether you were five or fifty - every day was a roll of the dice. But now, as medical advances push the boundaries of survival further each year, we have become increasingly detached from the reality of being mortal. So here is a book about the modern experience of mortality - about what it's…


Don‘t forget about my book 😀

Death or Deliverance: Canadian Courts Martial in the Great War

By Teresa Iacobelli,

Book cover of Death or Deliverance: Canadian Courts Martial in the Great War

What is my book about?

Soldiers found guilty of desertion or cowardice during the Great War faced death by firing squad.Novels, histories, movies, and television series often depict court martial as brutal and inflexible, and social memories of this system of frontline justice have inspired modern movements to seek pardons for soldiers executed on the battlefield.

In this powerful and moving book, Teresa Iacobelli looks beyond stories of callous generals and quick executions to consider the trials of nearly two hundred soldiers who were sentenced to death but spared by a disciplinary system capable of thoughtful review and compassion.

By bringing to light these men's experiences, Death or Deliverance reconsiders an important chapter in the history of both a war and a nation.

Book cover of Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life
Book cover of Fates and Furies
Book cover of Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,187

readers submitted
so far, will you?