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 The Last House on Needless Street

Theodore Carter I ❤️ loved this book because...

The plot twists could have fallen into the realm of tropes, but the writing was so good and the elements so carefully done, it worked beautifully.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Immersion 🥈 Writing
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐕 Good, steady pace

By Catriona Ward,

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked The Last House on Needless Street as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"The buzz...is real. I've read it and was blown away. It's a true nerve-shredder that keeps its mind-blowing secrets to the very end." ―Stephen King

Winner of the British Fantasy Award for Best Horror Novel!
A World Fantasy Award Finalist!
An Indie Next Pick! A LibraryReads Top 10 Pick!
A Library Journal Editors' Pick! STARRED reviews from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly!
Named one of the "50 Best Horror Books of All Time" by Esquire!

"Brilliant....[a] deeply frightening deconstruction of the illusion of the self." ―The New York Times

Catriona Ward's The Last House on Needless Street is a shocking…


Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

My 2nd favorite read in 2024…

Book cover of Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us

Theodore Carter I ❤️ loved this book because...

This book collected lots of tidbits I'd read about before, as well as introduced a lot of new information. The culminating impact was a renewed appreciation for how important art and creativity are for everyone.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Outlook 🥈 Teach
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐌 It was slow at times

By Susan Magsamen, Ivy Ross,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Your Brain on Art as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A life-altering journey through the science of neuroaesthetics, which offers proof for how our brains and bodies transform when we participate in the arts—and how this knowledge can improve our health, enable us to flourish, and build stronger communities.

“This book blew my mind!”—Angela Duckworth, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Grit

Many of us think of the arts as entertainment—a luxury of some kind. In Your Brain on Art, authors Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross show how activities from painting and dancing to expressive writing, architecture, and more are essential to our lives.…


Want my future book recommendations?

My 3rd favorite read in 2024…

Book cover of Death Valley

Theodore Carter I ❤️ loved this book because...

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Emotions 🥈 Immersion
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐕 Good, steady pace

By Melissa Broder,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Death Valley as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Named a Best Book of 2023 by The New York Times ("incandescent...hilarious...a triumph"), Oprah Daily ("surreal, absurd, lucid, and wise"), Vanity Fair ("Broder [is] a genius and a sorceress"), and more!

From the visionary author of Milk Fed and The Pisces, a darkly funny novel about grief and a “magical tale of survival” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

In Melissa Broder’s astonishingly profound new novel, a woman arrives alone at a Best Western seeking respite from an emptiness that plagues her. She has fled to the California high desert to escape a cloud of sorrow—for both her father in the ICU…


Don‘t forget about my book 😀

Stealing the Scream

By Theodore Carter,

Book cover of Stealing the Scream

What is my book about?

In 2004, masked thieves stole Edvard Munch's “The Scream” from an Oslo museum. Norwegian police recovered the painting two years later but never explained how or where they had found it. Stealing The Scream examines/re-imagines the event, offering a tantalizing account of what happened through fictional characters, Percival Davenport, an artist whose obsession with Munch leads him to steal “The Scream” and Leonard, a museum security guard and amateur sleuth, whose interest in Davenport’s art leads him and the police to the artist’s door, setting up a tense climax and a satisfying if unexpected ending to the story.

My book recommendation list