The 10 Best Books I Read in 2024

The Last Love Note by Emma Grey
This was the first book I finished in 2024 and it made me feel like it was going to be a GREAT year of reading (which it was!). This one was heartbreaking and hopeful and I was sucked in from page one about a woman losing her husband first mentally and then physically to early-onset dementia.

Romney: A Reckoning by McKay Coppins
I have talked about this book to SO MANY PEOPLE this year. I was absolutely fascinated by the whole thing and it was especially interesting to have it fill in holes for me of current events I vaguely remember but didn’t have the whole picture on. This might be the book that I’ve thought about the most since I finished reading it this year.

The Women by Kristin Hannah
I’ve always been fascinated with the Vietnam War (this is one of my favorite historical fiction books about it, if you want a great book on the topic) and I was compelled by this book from the first pages. Kristin Hannah is such a great storyteller and this might be my favorite of her books so far (I also loved The Great Alone). After this one, I went on to read two more Vietnam War books which were also excellent – If I Don’t Laugh I’ll Cry (about growing up with a mom who was a nurse in Vietnam and wrote a book that was one of the research backbones for The Women) and Tap Code.

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center
I love Katherine Center and I REALLY loved her newest book. Nobody does snappy dialogue like she does and even if some of the plot points were a tad outlandish, I didn’t even care because it was just such a delight to read. I cried on the plane coming home from Disneyland reading this one.

The Outlaw Noble Salt by Amy Harmon
DANG did I love this book. I knew basically nothing about Butch Cassidy and this made me want to know ALL the things. It’s a re-imagining of his life, so it’s not all that historically accurate but that’s part of the fun. What MIGHT have happened if he’d decided to go straight after a life of crime and then fell in love? The audiobook is TERRIFIC and it snagged a spot on the Summer Reading Guide this year. (I went on to read A Girl Called Samson which I also loved).

Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell
I REALLY love Rainbow Rowell and this one absolutely worked for me. Her books generally aren’t fast paced but they are so richly told with great character development and swoony romance and this one was one where I had to keep stopping to just soak it all in. I blew through the audiobook in a day or two and I wish it had been twice as long!

Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City Andrea Elliott
This was a 2024 Everyday Reading Book Club pick which I’ve been meaning to read for YEARS and I was so happy to finally get to it. This book was heartbreaking, fascinating, and so eye-opening about a family in New York City. We had the best discussion about it and I can’t stop bringing it up in conversations even months later.

Tangled Up in You by Christina Lauren
This one was so light and fluffy (it is a retelling of Disney’s Tangled) but it was just SO FUN and enjoyable and one of those books that I blew through in 2 days because it was just pure delight. Funny, romantic, and clever. I can’t ask for more!

The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt
It took me maybe 8 months to listen to this audiobook because I felt like I could only absorb a little of it at a time. As my girls move into their teen and tween years, I’m thinking a LOT about how to protect their childhoods and help them develop the skills to function in a screen-heavy world. It kind of feels like every parent and teacher should read this book.

The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact by Chip Heath and Dan Heath 
This was the December book for Everyday Reading Book Club and I blew through the audiobook in 24 hours. It’s not very long but it is super readable and so applicable to parents, families, and individuals. How DO you create more memorable and meaningful moments in your life? This book has a LOT of hands-on ideas for making it happen.

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
This was the first book I finished in 2024 and it started out with an absolute bang! Meryl Streep is the narrator and was phenomenal, to no one’s surprise. This one is full of fabulous family relationships and a lovely marriage. I loved every minute of it.

The Measure by Nikki Erlick
Kelsey (on the Everyday Reading team) mentioned this book on a Currently Reading post and she had me intrigued. I ended up suggesting it for book club and the book was not only fascinating, but the discussion at book club was top of the charts. Imagine a string showing up at everyone’s doorstep one day, indicating how long you have left to live. This book was so thought provoking!

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
This one was on the 2024 Everyday Reading Summer Reading Guide and for good reason! It is phenomenal! It is a historical mystery that follows the diary of Martha Ballard, an 18th century midwife seeking justice after a body is found in the frozen Kennebec river. It was fun reading a book set in a time period I haven’t really read much about and I realized I must be drawn to reading about midwifery from the past (I read Lady Tan’s Circle of Women last year about a woman physician in 15th century China – also fantastic!).

The Grace Year by Kim Liggett
My sister-in-law recommended this YA dystopian novel to me and I could not put it down! It is a little bit of Hunger Games meets The Handmaid’s Tale. In Garner County girls are sent away to an encampment for their sixteenth year of life (The Grace Year) to release their “magic”. When they return home they take their rightful place as wives or possibly face a bleak uncertain future…if they even make it back at all. During the Grace Year they face not only harsh elements and poachers, but also each other. And things at this Grace Year are definitely not as they seem.

The Small and the Mighty by Sharon McMahon
Admittedly my favorite books I’ve read this year have already been mentioned above by Janssen. I absolutely loved the Anxious Generation and talked about it at nauseam with anyone who would engage. I also really loved The Women and learned so much about the Vietnam War. But if I had to pick another favorite book it would be this one I started recently. I’ve been covering American History with my daughter this year in homeschool and challenged myself to read this book. It’s been so interesting and I’ve loved learning about well known historical events from a different and less-know perspective! I’ve also just really enjoyed nonfiction this year. I haven’t read the volume that I have in years past but I’ve definitely read some weightier books this year.

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
If I had to pick a fun book I read this year that just completely sucked me in, it would be this one! I don’t read a lot of mystery novels, mostly because I’m a scaredy can’t handle the suspense. But I really enjoyed this one. Well maybe I didn’t enjoy it too much when I was reading late and my shelf in the living room fell creating a loud crash right during one of the intense moments in the book. In short summary the book is about a nanny, Rowan Caine, who stumbles upon what seems like the perfect job at a luxurious, remote estate. But her dream opportunity turns into a nightmare when mysterious occurrences and the house’s dark history unravel around her. Written as a letter from Rowan to her lawyer, the story weaves suspense and unexpected twists, keeping readers on edge until the shocking conclusion.

Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan
Maybe it’s because I’m now a mom in my 30s but I find real joy in reading a romance with main characters in their 30s and 40s. This one is about a professional organizer dealing with the death of her mother and divorcing her husband all in the space of two years. She’s now a single mom trying to manage this messy new life when she gets swept up in a harmless summer romance. So far I’ve loved everything Annabel Monaghan has written and this was no exception!

Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman changed my life when I first read it a couple years ago, so I bought this book the moment I heard about it! This is a more practical application of the ideas in Four Thousand Weeks and is intended to be read one chapter per day for four weeks. I have LOVED taking a slow pace in this one and soaking up these ideas about living a more full and meaningful life.