2024 Year End in Review

It’s that time! It’s time for the best of 2024, the year-end reading reviews and anticipation for a brand new reading year in 2025. (2025. How unreal to be saying that.) I’m going to use the format I used in 2016. That year was a phenomenal reading year for me when I looked back at all the wonderful books I read in 2016.

Although I covered books I most loved this year in my half-way there review, it’s still good to break it all down and remember here in this post, because there are some that might not have been mentioned in the half-way post. The last few months of my reading and the enjoyment in the books I was reading seemed to have fallen dramatically off a cliff, or at least that is how it feels to me. There weren’t too many fantastic and knock-my-socks-off books in the mix past September/post The Eighth Life that gave me similar reading experiences and thrills I had in the beginning months of this year.

But let’s get into it! I’ll probably branch off into a couple of other themes to capture my reading experiences too. Of course we’ll get right into the best books I read this year, however this category may be broken down into other categories too, like Best CanLit and Best Audiobook….

Best Books & 5-star Reads in 2024

In order of when I read them, and with books that won’t appear in the “best of other categories”:

1. Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll. Such an aptly named book, such a powerfully told story of the bright young women murdered by the always unnamed yet infamous serial killer in this book. These were the stories of the women, these bright young women with bright futures ahead of them that were stopped from achieving their full potential far too soon. A book highly worthy of your time, even though it will make you angry.
2. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman. This was gifted to me by my fellow Hoarder Elizabeth. She’s been trying to turn me into a huge Backman fan, and this one helped to seal the deal for sure. I loved how he connected the characters in this book, how he revealed those connections and his moments of poignancy caused me to pause and re-read sentences over and over because they were just so beautiful. 
3. Natchez Burning by Greg Iles. In my opinion this could easily be the only one to read in the series. While I enjoyed the others, this one picked me up, shook me around and left me gasping but also left me with a very heavy heart and soul. Tough reading but important reading with phenomenal and beautiful writing by Iles.
4. Table for Two by Amor Towles. I read this too quickly. I wished I could go back and read it again for the first time. I probably would have read it too quickly then too, but I just loved the stories in this book. His writing, his exquisite writing, oh how it made me swoon over this book.
5. The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn. I often said this year that I was left bereft after finishing some books. The Whalebone Theatre was definitely one of those books. This is an astonishing debut – the writing, the story, the use of metaphor, the characters! Oh my, I just loved it.
6. Beholden by Lesley Crewe. Again, I was left bereft at the end of this one saying I cannot understand how you open a Crewe book and not fall deeply in love with the characters she creates. This is a sad story, but also an incredible amount of love and joy in its characters. (I should actually move this one to the CanLit category….)
7. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. This one was sitting on my shelf, bought immediately upon its release, but left there anxiously awaiting me to pick it up. After needing and wanting another reading experience like I had with Table for Two, I just had to dive into this one. Definitely one of the very best books I read this year. That ending left me stunned and I never wanted to be doing anything else but reading this book.
8. The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischwili. My reading seemed to have come to a screeching halt after finishing this one. This one is epic, epic, epic. This book is the very definition of epic. It is 944 pages of fabulous. It took me close to a month to read, but I never wanted to be far from it – the history, the saga, the family – everything in this book is incredible. Another one I wish I could read again for the first time. Don’t let that page count put you off of reading this – it is a must read and so worthy of the time spent taken to read it!

 

Like I said, after finishing The Eighth Life, nothing came anywhere near in providing a fully immersive reading experience like that one and the ones mentioned above it. I had a fantastic reading year because of these books — there are other 5 stars that I’m going to be including but they’ll be in other categories below. (But when I look back at 2016, I listed 17 books in this Best of category. 17. Wow!) But, let’s keep that Best of going:

Best CanLit Read in 2024

My CanLit reading felt like it took a dramatic backseat this year, just like it did in 2016! In 2016 I was involved in the Goodreads CBC Reading Group, but we closed that group that year, so I wrote then too that my CanLit reading took a backseat. This year it was due to not participating in the Shadow Giller. I’m not really sure if our group is going to pick it up again? I guess we’ll wait until it gets closer and assess the feelings about it. I will say though, for me, I very much enjoyed the break from it this year. I mean, there was no way with the major project I had to do in my 9-to-5 job that would allow me to focus on it anyway. But I do have to say, overall, it was a nice break and probably owing to my annual disinterest in most of the books nominated. But these books listed below were 5-star reads. Hopefully in 2025 my CanLit reading won’t be as paltry but the 5-star ratings continue.

1. I’ll relist Beholden by Lesley Crewe here. She is Canadian, her settings, storylines and characters are all very Canadian and every Crewe book I’ve read so far has been fantastic. Beholden has made the round among members of my book club – everyone loved The Spoon Stealer so Beholden was happily shared with them.
2. Gin, Turpentine, Pennyroyal, Rue by Christine Higdon. This was actually the first book I read in 2024. Christine Higdon has become an automatic buy author. Her debut, The Very Marrow of Our Bones also made my best of lists for that year (2018). Like her debut, these characters left an indelible mark on me and I was left with the feeling of “What do I read now?” and again left questioning how soon are we getting another novel from her???
3. Rabbit Foot Bill by Helen Humphreys. I own all kinds of Helen Humphreys books, but this was the first I’ve read. What a punch! Dianne Warren on the back of the book states, “Both shocking and tender, Rabbit Foot Bill is a riveting tale, full of compassion and told without judgement.” Shocking and tender are excellent words to use to describe this tremendous tale based on true events.
4. I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue. I’m so pleased I get to include this book in the best of CanLit category! Do not let this fluffy pink cover take away from the excellent punches this book pulls. Sue writes about office culture and toxicity with pin-point accuracy. Numerous humorous moments kept me completely engaged and always wanting to be reading. It’s also a great testament to the thought that you never know what people are going through in their personal lives, and that those personal lives should take more precedence than work.

Best Audiobooks & 5-star Reads in 2024

I returned to audiobooks just a very little bit this year. The #1 book listed here should be of no surprise – if you listen to only one audiobook, it should be this one – worthy of every prize it’s winning but wrongfully and woefully robbed of the Pulitzer!

1. James by Percival Everett. This book, or audiobook, is the one I pressed into everyone’s hands as much as I could this year. This is a life-changing book. The profound statements on the power of language, the cruelty of men and the perseverance of the human spirt will change you. If you haven’t already — read this book. Or rather, listen to it. The narration by Dominic Hoffman is phenomenal.
2. White Doves at Morning by James Lee Burke. I have never read anything by James Lee Burke before but after listening to this one, and hearing his gorgeous prose brought to life by the incredible, incredible performance of Will Patton, it definitely won’t be my last. This book was on my shelf for ages as it was listed as one of the best novels on the Civil War. When I saw that Will Patton was narrating I knew this was the medium to experience it and the push from Hoarder Elizabeth helped too. Will Patton PERFORMS this! The voices he gave to each character vividly brought them to life. I was stopped in my tracks when he rasped a dying man’s last words and he expertly performed the voice of a betrayed man’s words to his boss. This reading experience was very much like the one I had listening/reading East of Eden by John Steinbeck. There were times when I could smell and feel and live what the characters were experiencing.
3. Weyward by Emilia Hart. Another incredible debut! The three narrators for Altha, Violet and Kate were perfectly suited. Brilliant narration, brilliant debut and I adored listening to it. Fascinating story. Emilia Hart is said to be publishing a new one in 2025 and I’m definitely looking forward to reading what that one will be about.

Goodreads did a very nice thing for us this year! When they sent us the compilation of our reading year / reading challenge results, they allowed you to save some of the graphics created. This is one showing many of my 5-star rated books.

Honourable Mentions in 2024

There are a few to include here for sure. These are the ones I really enjoyed, but didn’t quite make it to that 5-star rating. They do need to be included here though because they did provide very good reading!

1. The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore. This was a wonderful book I picked up on a whim for our book club. It has a very sweet and uplifting story and another one of those books that celebrates the power of books to bring people together.
2. The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn. I stayed up later than usual to close the cover on this one – its ending is quite pulse-pounding and action packed. This was a great story that brought to life the story of this remarkable woman – a lethal sniper nicknamed Lady Death and her WWII exploits.
3. The Death Factory by Greg Iles. I had decided I would start the Natchez Burning series and this is the novella providing some background information grounding the start to Natchez Burning. I read it in one sitting and felt it was an excellent piece to help ground and situate what I would begin reading in the series.
4. Foster by Claire Keegan. This is a very slim story that will leave you thinking about it long and well after you’ve closed its pages. A wonderful and impactful tale about where you find love and belonging with a family that may not be your birth one.
5. The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson. It wasn’t The Summer Before the War, but it was definitely nice to spend time in another of Helen Simonson’s books. I hope we don’t have to wait as long for another one by her though.
6. The Bee Sting by Paul Murray. So many conflicted feelings about this one! That ending. It was so abrupt after feeling like this one was never ever going to come to an end! But absolute kudos to Paul Murray this incredible story about a family unravelling in the midst of an economic crisis, told in 4 perspectives. 
7. The Air Raid Book Club by Annie Lyons. I fully appreciated this refreshingly different kind of WWII story that was both heartbreaking and uplifting. This coupled with the power of books and their ability to connect people made it a lovely read.
8. Three by Valerie Perrin. I was consumed by this story of three friends from the very first pages to the very end. It ends with a bit of melancholy or wistfulness perhaps. It was certainly an ending that left me thinking long about Etienne, Nina and Adrien. And Virginie. The translation was impeccable as well.
9. The Accomplice by 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson). Yes! I am including this here! I really enjoyed this book and I do hope 50 Cent continues this as a series because there was just the right amount of grit in here and his main character, the first black Texas Ranger, Nia Adams was excellent.

A theme running through my reading in 2024

Violence against women. Distrust and hatred of women. The need to assert power and dominance over women. If there was a consistent theme that ran through the majority of my reading this year it was that. And it went back centuries and reached well into present day. However, the resilience, the power, and the bravery of women will never be crushed. And that resilience and bravery also came through very clearly in each of these books:

1. Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow. This was the first book I read in 2024 that “kicked off” my reading within this theme, and wow, this was quite the book to read, to cause rage and to become utterly disgusted and fed up. I was exhausted at the end of this. I went to bed early almost every night after reading pages of it.
2. Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll. I mentioned this one above as one of my favourite books of the year. It was so well done focusing instead on the portraits and voices of the women lost. The misogyny that poured out of every man handling this – from sheriffs, judges, lawyers, men in general – was gross. The defendant’s voice was granted over the many women, allowed to be heard and believed and valued over these bright young women.
3. Weyward by Emilia Hart. 1619, 1942 and 2019. These are the three time periods we’re hearing about and in each and every single one of these time periods, the hatred, disdain and want to control and the violence against women is angering. That’s too calm of a word but this was so beautifully told in this remarkable debut.
4. The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn. Mila Pavlichenko, aka Lady Death, faced immeasurable misogyny and hatred.
5. Scandalous Women by Gill Paul. I picked this up as a “fun” book for our book club. But again, don’t let the fizzy pink cover fool you. This was an excellent story about the gross misogyny in the publishing industry and the forever up-hill battle both Jackie Collins and Jacqueline Susann faced when breaking barriers and records in the publishing industry. It’s a great story about their struggle to succeed in a man’s world.

A theme running through my most disappointing books of 2024

Not every book can hit a home-run right? There were a few this year that really didn’t connect with me and I panned or didn’t bother to finish. I’m not going to talk about all of them, I’m just going to focus on the ones that were parts of series I have been reading. They sadly ended up being disappointing instalments. The theme running through these disappointing books? Repetition. The spinning of the same, the same, the very same over far too many pages made for an exceptionally annoying reading experience for me this year.

1. The Natchez Burning series by Greg Iles. As I mention above, the novella and the first in the series, Natchez Burning were the best. I truly feel that you can read those two and be done and feel satisfied. I loved those books. All of these books (minus the novella of course) are beasts. They all clock in at well over 700+ pages and while The Bone Tree and Mississippi Blood were good, they did drag on and on for me and didn’t provide as much of an impact as Natchez Burning did. I became frustrated with the repetition and the enormous page counts to get to the end. But it was that final book in the series clocking in at over 950 pages that almost saw me throw the book against the wall. I refrained because it was such a beast I’m sure it would have made a hole. I found Southern Man to be insufferable to get through and the ending was so unbelievable it tainted the series overall. Greg Iles spins an excellent yarn and his writing is gorgeous, but he needed a strong editor. Why are editors so afraid of editing?
2. Mr. Mercedes series by Stephen King. I first listened to Mr. Mercedes narrated by Will Patton, and oh really, I listened first to The Outsider, also narrated by Will Patton and loved them both. It was because of The Outsider and it’s mention of Bill Hodges and Holly that I reached for Mr. Mercedes. Again, loved Mr. Mercedes. That was a thrill-ride for sure. This year I read the next two in the series, Finders Keepers and End of Watch so that I could get to Holly (which is sitting on my shelf, purchased immediately when it was released). I was disappointed in Finders Keepers. I thought it okay, again I’m going to complain about repetition, but it was the cliffhanger it ended on that excited me to read End of Watch. End of Watch, like Southern Man I mention above, was so profoundly disappointing to me I almost hurled that one into the wall too. The repetition, the gross repetition in that book was brutal. Having to hear over far too many pages, repeated in too many paragraphs, about Brady being obsessed with suicide (as an example) was so painful for me, I could not wait to reach the end, which became anticlimactic because I was so fed up and done with this book. However, the ending, that beautiful ending given to Bill Hodges and bringing that in full circle to the title of the book was the best thing going for it. I am absolutely wanting to read Holly and then the next instalment in the “Holly” series coming in the Spring of 2025, because I do love these characters, but I do pray that Mr. King tightens his narrative considerably.
3. The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny. I run out to buy the latest Louise Penny the moment it hits the shelves. While I appreciated the humour in this instalment, and the banter between characters, this book too fell apart for me due to the tremendous repetition. Maddening amount of repetition. Once I finished I found a really spot-on assessment of the recent books in this series on Goodreads. This reviewer felt that somewhere along the way, Ms. Penny has lost her charm. She went on to say that previous books in the series were always a delight, no matter the mystery inside, because we spent a good deal of time in Three Pines and with the characters there. In the recent books, and notably in The Grey Wolf that aspect is missing. I do agree, the books are suffering with the absence of Three Pines and its inhabitants. I will of course run out and buy the next in the series, of course I will. But here’s to hoping a return to the charm and a tightening of the narrative too.

Let’s get back to positivity. I’ll wrap this post up with a piece that was included in the 2016 wrap up, the most memorable characters.

Most Memorable Characters

Most often this year I wrote that I was left bereft at leaving characters behind when I finished their stories. I read about a large cast and crew of truly memorable characters this year.

1. Hodges and Holly. While I just railed above about being disappointed in two of the books featuring Hodges and Holly, (Mr. Mercedes series) there is no denying how much I love them.
2. All of the characters in Gin, Turpentine, Pennyroyal, Rue, but most especially Rue, the beagle. She had remarkable insights and wisdom she shared with us.
3. All of the people in Anxious People. I loved how they were connected and I loved their stories.
4. Sloane and Arthur from The Lonely Hearts Book Club. The cantankerous but great affection between them was really great to read.
5. Altha, Violet and Kate in Weyward. These three women were all strength and resilience.
6. Penn Cage. Of course I have to add Penn Cage here. I spent 3,377 pages with Penn Cage (Natchez Burning series) . My reading year was marked by my time spent with Penn Cage.
7. Mila Pavlichenko and Eleanor Roosevelt in The Diamond Eye. Two remarkable women and I loved the story of their friendship in The Diamond Eye.
8. Adrien, Etienne and Nina and Virginie in Three. I note above how consumed I was with these childhood friends and their lives over the course of three decades.
9. James (Jim) in James. Of course.
10. Christabel, Flossie and Digby in The Whalebone Theatre. I wrote that a piece of me was missing now that I wasn’t with Christabel, Flossie and Digby any longer.
11. Nell, Jane and Bridie from Beholden. I wrote that once again I was left bereft at having to leave some incredible fictional people behind.
12. Emmett, Billy, Woolly and Duchess in The Lincoln Highway. I need to go back and read about Emmett, Billy, Woolly and Duchess all over again. I miss them terribly.
13. Willie Burke in White Doves at Morning. He was fantastic every time he came up, every glorious and sarcastic word out of his mouth made me laugh. But he felt everything so deeply too.
14. Jolene and Cliff and the whole office staff in I Hope This Finds You Well. Pitch perfect office characters.
15. The whole cast in The Eighth Life. The Jashi family. Wow. Incredible cast of characters.
16. Gertie and Hedy and the whole cast of Air Raid Book Club.
17. Nia Adams in The Accomplice. I do hope we get to read more about her.

Okay, I should wrap this up!

At the end of my 2016 year end review I wrote about all the books that I still wanted to read, it was so overwhelming, and as we get closer to closing out 2024, that feeling is again overwhelming me. I NEED to read the books on my shelf. For real. There are a good number of books coming out in 2025 from beloved authors too though, so you know I’m going to be adding those! But I do very much need to read from my shelves over anything. It is incredible how many there are sitting on my shelves, but the sheer number I also bought for my Kobo this year is a staggering number. I had put this picture in the end of my 2016 post and it is exactly how I’m feeling today about all the books I want to read, so it’s a good one to add again:

There are a few reading challenges I would love to tackle in 2025 and I’m sure I’ll write about those later. For now, I sincerely wish you a happy, merry and peaceful Christmas and holiday and thank you for reading with us again this year. We look forward to reading with you in 2025. We’ll sound like broken records in saying we hope to post more actively here, and perhaps next year it will be possible. I don’t think I have anything in the loop that will consume me like this year’s work did.