Let’s talk books!
Specifically, every single thing I read in 2024, including what I’d recommend and what I wouldn’t.
A few notes before we start:
- I rate books based on how enjoyable or impactful the reading experience was.
- If I finished a book, I at least somewhat enjoyed it. I’m not afraid to abandon books that are dragging me down. (Case in point, I abandoned 16 books this year – I’m not including the majority of those titles below.)
- These are the books I read in 2024, not books published in 2024.
- Book recs are never sponsored, and I don’t know any of these authors personally. If you want to send a few cents my way to say thank you for the recommendations, feel free to buy through my affiliate links for Amazon and Bookshop. It sends a small commission my way but does not raise the cost for you. No obligation there! I’d be equally delighted if you gave your local library some love.
We’ll sort all of the 72 books I read below by genre, and within each category, I’ll highlight the Best of 2024, Honorable Mentions, and all the rest. Skim for the highlights, if you want, or jump to the bottom of each section for the dirt on what I didn’t love.
Okay, enough intro – fire up your library holds list, your Kindle, or your Bookshop account, and let’s get into it!
Fiction
The Best of 2024
Tom Lake – Ann Patchett
This is one of those books that I felt actually lived up to the Internet hype. It has everything I look for: the story is engrossing and enjoyable to read, there are multiple characters to root for, the writing is excellent, and multiple scenes and moments are memorable.
The book itself follows a mother entertaining her daughters as they work during the summer cherry harvest with the story of how she dated a movie star in her youth. It’s quiet but compelling, juicy but not fluffy, and heartfelt but not sappy.
I also should admit that the circumstances of my life and my reading this book definitely made it stand out: I myself grew up on a rural strawberry farm, we spent a weekend in Michigan shortly after I finished this and went peach picking near the shores of Lake Michigan, and my own mom once dated a dairy farmer who grew up to be a model. (No joke.)
I read this on Kindle, but I’ve heard the audiobook, narrated by Meryl Streep, is wonderful.
The Thursday Murder Club series (The Thursday Murder Club, The Man Who Died Twice, The Bullet That Missed) – Richard Osman
I LOVE THESE BOOKS. If you enjoy a cozy mystery, small British villages, and quirky elderly protagonists you’ll want to befriend, you’ll love this. I devoured pretty much all three books in a row and am now saving the fourth one for a bad day.
The Book of Longings – Sue Monk Kidd
My book club read this one together, and it got universal 5 stars from all of us. It is beautiful.
Set in biblical times, Ana wants to be a scribe but is restricted by both her culture and her family’s desires for her. An interaction with a man named Jesus changes the trajectory of her life—but not in the ways you might expect if you’re familiar with biblical stories. If you’ll be offended by loose, extra-biblical interpretations of events described in the Bible, this one might offer a bit of a challenge, but I think it’s entirely worth it. It cracked open familiar stories to show even deeper humanity and to center women and their experiences more fully in a time period that primarily focuses on men.
I listened to this one, and though I probably didn’t appreciate some of the excellent writing as much as I could have, I really enjoyed that format. Toward the end of the book, I went for a walk specifically to listen, then sat entranced on the floor for 20 minutes afterward, shushing Adam every time he tried to talk to me, so I could listen for longer.
Shark Heart: A Love Story – Emily Habeck
Stick with me here: the premise for this book sounds absolutely wackadoodle. A recently married couple finds out that the husband is turning into a great white shark. (Picture this as an alternative world where animal transformations are just another medical diagnosis like cancer.) The book is not really about animal transformations, though — it’s about grief and marriage and family and what makes us human. Expect a lot of feels (though maybe not a ton of sympathy from your family members when they find you in tears over this one and you try to explain that it’s because a man is turning into a shark…)
Honorable Mentions
Blue Sisters – Coco Mellors
If you have sisters or you love a dysfunctional family story, this book is for you. The story follows three Blue sisters a year after their fourth sister’s death, who are all grieving the loss of an integral part of their family while also navigating their own relationship, career, and addiction crises. This is not a gentle book — pretty much everyone makes bad choices, and it’s unwavering in its look at how addiction affects people and their loved ones — but the ending is surprisingly tender and hopeful. Plus, the sisterly and sibling dynamics described here feel spot-on.
Legends and Lattes – Travis Baldree
I did not ever anticipate recommending a book in which an orc retires from her life of violence to start a coffee shop. But here we are. This one makes the list because it was so surprisingly good. While the premise sounds like the setup for a throwaway comfort read, I really loved the main character, and scenes from her coffee shop still spring to mind months after reading. This is an excellent cozy read for any season.
The Wedding People – Alison Espach
Phoebe arrives at a swanky hotel with plans to end her life. Her marriage has just dissolved, she’s ditched her job, her dog has died, and she has nothing left. However, upon check-in, she discovers that she’s the only guest not attending the wedding that’s taken over the premises. Things change when she accidentally befriends the bride.
The book starts out sad and heavy (please don’t read if you’re in a sensitive place with self-harm) but the tone evolves and lightens significantly as the book goes on. You’ll want to befriend Phoebe, too.
We All Want Impossible Things – Catherine Newman
Yet another book about grief! But it’s also a really good one.
This short little book follows best friends Edi and Ash as Edi is diagnosed with terminal cancer and enters hospice. It sounds like a downer, and, well, it is, but it’s not just that. It is also so human: it is deeply sad, but also tender and funny and slightly absurd and abounding with love. It’s weirdly un-put-downable but also made me cry.
Basically what I’m saying is that if you need to hack your crying or feel sad but weirdly hopeful at the same time, this is the one for you.
Sandwich – Catherine Newman
More Catherine Newman! This book describes a weeklong summer vacation where Rocky is navigating changing relationships with both her newly-adult kids and her parents while also going through menopause. This is like getting a nosy blow-by-blow peek into someone else’s vacation, complete with spousal arguments, beach musings, snack choices, and random unbridled rage.
I’m not going through menopause, nor am I in the “sandwich generation,” but I think about this book all the time, particularly Rocky’s thoughts on motherhood. It also begs to be discussed and would make an excellent book club pick.
Trigger warnings for abortion and miscarriage.
All the Rest
The Dry – Jane Harper
This was a really solid mystery, with an ending I felt like I should have seen coming in retrospect but totally did not.
Investigator Aaron Falk returns to his hometown after his high school friend and his family are brutally murdered. Falk is unwillingly drawn into solving the crime and has to face a slew of demons and questions from his past. This takes place in a drought in Australian farmland, which increases the tension and memorable atmosphere.
My book club read this together and we all jumped on reading the second book in the series pretty much immediately after finishing this one.
Also, FYI, there is harm to children here, just a warning.
The Switch – Beth O’Leary
This is basically “The Holiday” movie in book form, and it is a fun little escape. Leena is living in London and falling apart after her sister’s death. Meanwhile, her grandmother Eileen is looking for another chance at love but is striking out in her small village. The two conspire to switch places, and the result is a fun story that will make you want to be Eileen when you grow up. Beth O’Leary is usually a win for me, and this book was no exception.
The Tie that Binds – Kent Haruf
This story centers on the Goodnough family, particularly Edith Goodnough, who is 88 years old when the story opens. Told by her neighbor, the book recounts the story of her life and hardships on the rural Colorado plains.
This is a book I remember finding excellent as I was reading it, especially because I could imagine similar things happening to my farming ancestors. However, I have to be honest that I read this one early in 2024 and probably need to reread it to fully remember exactly why I appreciated it.
Ghosts – Dolly Alderton
This novel follows Nina, a food writer who’s navigating the pitfalls of dating in your thirties, her father’s dementia and her mother’s midlife crisis, and friends who seem to have settled fully into different stages of life.
Though I’m married and not having to online date (thank God), this one still hit my stage of life right on the head — the descriptions of the passage of time in your thirties are frighteningly accurate. Plus it’s very funny and feels almost like you’re reading a memoir. I enjoyed this one a lot.
Carrie Soto Is Back – Taylor Jenkins Reid
Controversial opinion: I usually don’t love Taylor Jenkins Reid. But this book, which follows a tennis pro as she tries to re-enter the fray after retirement to defend her record, is my new favorite of hers. Carrie is ragey and occasionally the worst, but oddly you won’t hate her. Plus, I read this around the Olympics, which was fun timing. If you like a sportsy book with a little family and romantic drama, this is a great pick.
The Christmas Guest : A Novella – Peter Swanson
This mystery, about a lonely university girl who goes to an acquaintance’s English manor for Christmas, was written with the intent that you could pick it up on Christmas Eve and read it all the way through after the house is quiet. If you sub in a December Saturday morning for Christmas Eve, that is basically exactly what I did. I really enjoyed this one: I didn’t see the twist coming, and the story felt like it packed enough punch even for its short length.
Force of Nature – Jane Harper
This is the second book following Aaron Falk’s Australian murder-solving exploits (after The Dry), and I enjoyed this one, too. A group of women disappear into the woods for a corporate team-building exercise, but not all of them come back out.
This one is similarly atmospheric to The Dry and worth reading for sure, but I didn’t find the ending quite as satisfying. I’ll still pick this series back up at some point, though.
The Husbands – Holly Gramazio
After seeing, um, everyone I follow on the Internet recommend this book this summer, I finally picked this one up. The premise was wacky but hard to resist: a woman comes home one evening to find a man she’s never seen before coming out of the attic and claiming to be her husband. When that man returns to the attic and comes down as a different person, who similarly claims to be her husband, she realizes she has a magic husband-changing attic on her hands.
This was an interesting idea, but I didn’t love the execution after the first third or so because I couldn’t see exactly where the story was going. There was just husband after husband, and it took a long time into the book for it to feel like anything moved forward.
If you like the weird, almost magical realism premise, Shark Heart felt similar in tone but with more emotional punch and better execution.
Billy Summers – Stephen King
I’ve followed podcaster and author Laura Tremaine for years and have always been intrigued by her vocal love of Stephen King. I finally got around to reading Billy Summers, a noir, thriller-y (not scary) story that follows an assassin on his final job, with my book club this summer. And we had THOUGHTS.
If you’re going to pick this up, be prepared that it is long, has numerous almost casually graphic descriptions of violence (including war scenes and gang rape), involves a Stockholm syndrome-like element that we all hated, and has a weird bro-y vibe that all of us found a little off-putting. Maybe that’s Stephen King himself? Maybe that was an intentional characterization of the narrator? It was hard to tell.
That said, I did actually quite like the ending, and despite allllll of my reservations, Stephen King does definitely suck you into the story. After a slow start, I zipped through the next 400 pages. Plus, the discussion was surprisingly rich.
The Garden of Small Beginnings – Abbi Waxman
A community garden brings together an unlikely crew of people, including a grieving single mother and her kids. This one was cute and fun to read. It didn’t really stick with me, but I had no complaints while reading it, which is rare for a rom-com. (As you’ll see if you keep reading.)
The Vaster Wilds – Lauren Groff
Oof, this book. I had thought this was going to be a fun colonial adventure in the woods, and holy Moses, it is not. Our protagonist flees what we assume to be colonial Jamestown for a reason that’s revealed as the story progresses. And that’s the book. She runs (and runs and runs and runs) and we eventually find out why.
This earns some points because it’s very viscerally written, probably reflecting someone’s actual mental state in a survival situation, and I think there would be a lot of layers to dig into if I was in a literature class. It’s also memorable and unlike anything I’ve read before.
However. (And this is a big however.) It’s also a slog of anatomy and bodily functions and pure survival. It’s repetitive and not fun to read and you keep waiting for something to happen…and the only thing that happens is more bodily functions and survival.
If that sounds like a good time to you, give this a try. I know there are people who love it, including Barak Obama. My book club did not. (I gave this three stars and that was the highest ranking of anyone.)
People of the Book – Geraldine Brooks
This book sounded so right for me: a rare book expert conserving a priceless religious text and uncovering the stories of the people whose hands it has passed through? What a fun literary romp through history.
Not quite. I expected this to be fun, but it’s surprisingly brutal. There’s a lot of war and rape and trauma. It was memorable, sure, but not exactly something I looked forward to reading.
If you like historical fiction from multiple perspectives and aren’t a delicate wimp like myself, this might land better for you.
Colton Gentry’s Third Act – Jeff Zetner
A country music star is on the decline: his marriage is on the rocks, his best friend just died, and he’s struggling with addiction. Then he lights the whole mess on fire by ranting about needing better gun control laws at a concert.
This is very much a Hallmark-y “guy moves back to hometown and gets a second chance” story, and I had to take a break in the middle because I was so worried about what was going to happen to his high school girlfriend (see: delicate wimp) but it was overall enjoyable.
Yours Truly – Abby Jimenez
Okay, I wanted to wholeheartedly love this one. Two doctors have a rocky introduction, patchily mend fences (through letters! aw!), then have to pretend to be in a relationship.
This one started out really strong. Then maybe it was just my own mood, but about 60% of the way through I started getting annoyed when the character’s hesitations kept repeating over and over. Maybe that’s real life? But it’s not a great sign when I start telling characters to “come on already” aloud while reading.
I also struggled a bit with the portrayal of Jacob’s anxiety. I know this is a rom-com, but I thought it felt too simplistic. Jacob and his anxiety appear entirely endearing and sweet to the outside world for 95% of the book. After the first few chapters, Briana is never really annoyed or inconvenienced by it, and she knows perfectly how to handle it right away. Maybe I am a terrible, unsympathetic, selfish person, but I’ve had a much harder time knowing how to deal with my own loved ones’ anxiety in appropriate ways, especially when it starts to impact my own life. It’s taken years of practice plus years of therapy, and I still don’t do things perfectly.
Literally everyone else I know who has read this has adored it, so I’m likely the problem here.
Margot’s Got Money Troubles – Rufi Thorpe
Another book with an absolutely wild premise. Margot gets pregnant at 19 by her community college professor, loses her job, and starts an OnlyFans account to get by. Her ex-wrester absent dad moves in with her, and hijinks ensue.
If you don’t know what OnlyFans is, this is not the book for you. (Also, Google at your own risk.)
If you’re drawn in by the premise, be reassured that this isn’t actually very explicit for being about OnlyFans. It’s also not actually that fun? A lot of the book is about poverty and addiction, and there were parts I dreaded reading just because everyone was making such questionable choices. Overall, it was interesting and memorable, that’s for sure. It’s just not as fluffy as I anticipated.
Such a Bad Influence – Olivia Muenter
I’ve casually followed Olivia Muenter on Substack for a while, so I was curious what her fiction would be like. I was also intrigued by the premise: a mega-popular influencer goes missing, and her down-on-her-luck sister has to reconcile with her estranged mom to figure out what happened.
I was definitely drawn in by the influencer and social media commentary, and I tore through this one pretty quickly. But I found the conclusion of the sister’s disappearance too unbelievable, and some of the ways the narrator described her thoughts felt unrealistic. The very, very end also had potential but I didn’t quite buy it?
All in all, I’m curious to see what the author does next, but this one didn’t totally land for me.
Come and Get It – Kiley Reid
This follows a group of women living in a college dorm, their RA, and a visiting professor who is interviewing the residents for a book she’s writing.
This story gets bonus points for its residence life setting — I definitely had some flashbacks to my RA days reading it. However, the reason this didn’t rank more highly is that it takes so long to figure out what the book is actually about. Not that much actually happens for long stretches, and then a bunch of bad things suddenly escalate for everyone toward the end. If the pacing weren’t so wonky, I would have liked this one more.
The Last Thing He Told Me – Laura Dave
This thriller-y mystery was all over the Internet a few years ago. A man disappears, leaving only a note saying “Protect her.” His wife has to figure out what’s going on and what, exactly, to protect her stepdaughter from. It was interesting and I read it pretty quickly, but I didn’t love-love the ending, and I don’t think it’s a must-read if you haven’t picked it up yet.
How to Solve Your Own Murder – Kristen Parren
If you like an amateur sleuth, a British mansion, and a cast of villagers, this is cute. I had trouble keeping the characters straight, though, which made the ending of the book feel less potent.
A Duty to the Dead – Charles Todd
If you like a wartime mystery, this was fine, but I don’t remember much about it other than the grisly opening scene — not the reason for the main character’s quest, not the twist at the end, nothing.
Vinegar Girl – Anne Tyler
This is a Taming of the Shrew retelling that was short and quick and just not that memorable. Not bad? I just don’t have any compelling reason to recommend it.
The Deal of a Lifetime – Fredrik Backman
This is a novella—maybe even technically a short story—about fathers and sons. I didn’t find it had the same punch as Fredrik Backman’s usual novels (which would probably be impossible in given the space constraints). I could barely remember it after I finished it.
The Assassin’s Blade – Sarah J. Maas
I’m so sorry to all of my book club friends who love the Throne of Glass, but I could not finish this one. Maybe I needed to start with Book 1 of the series instead of the short stories that make up the prequel, but I could not find anything to like about Celaena, I could not understand why Sam was so in love with her with how badly she treated him, and the writing drove me batty. Adam calls this the “hissing assassin” book because I complained so much about it.
One Day in December – Josie Silver
I picked this up because it was theoretically a fun December romance. But oy. The reading process was okay, but I was mostly annoyed by the time I finished the book. The main character didn’t have a ton of personality (other than how delightful we were told she was) and the love interest spent pretty much the entire book being a jerk. The ending also wrapped up way too quickly.
I listened to most of this on a drive and verbally spoke my frustration to an empty car multiple times.
Middle Grade and YA
Best of 2024
When You Reach Me – Rebecca Stead
If you like books in the spirit of A Wrinkle in Time but with slightly less science fiction and fantastical worlds, this is an excellent middle grade novel about time travel and love and family. It takes a few chapters to get invested, but once you’re in, you’ll want to keep reading. I thought this one tied together so satisfyingly.
Gwen and Art Are Not in Love – Lex Croucher
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this story about a princess and her betrothed in a medieval-ish England. Gwen and Art are not particularly interested in each other—in fact, they can’t stand each other—and they strike up a deal to allow them to pursue their own romantic interests without angering any of their parents. It’s funny and clever and endearing without being too cheesy.
This book edges between young adult and new adult (so there’s drunken revelry but nothing explicit) but I think the vast majority of adult historical-ish fantasy readers would enjoy it, too.
Honorable Mention
Fire Keeper’s Daughter – Evangeline Boulley
This book, about a half-Ojibwa female hockey player who becomes entangled in a dangerous criminal investigation, has been all over best-of lists for years. I’d put it off because the subject matter is intense, but I’m glad I read it. It has the same small-town pressure-cooker feeling as Beartown that sucks you in and won’t let go, and I couldn’t help but want to talk about this one while I was reading.
This book is technically YA but is definitely for a mature reader (think rape, drugs, and murder), so keep that in mind.
All the Rest
Gregor the Overlander – Suzanne Collins
Did you know Suzanne Collins wrote things before The Hunger Games? This book, about a boy who falls into a strange world under New York City, was her first book. It’s not nearly as intense as The Hunger Games, but if you have a kid who enjoys talking animals, new worlds in surprising places, and battles with just-high-enough stakes, this is a fun one.
A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking – T. Kingfisher
This book is a cozy, slightly magical mystery adventure? A magical baker (she can animate sourdough! And gingerbread men!) finds a fellow wizard girl dead in her bakery and sets out to find who’s trying to eradicate the wizards.
Despite the opening, the book isn’t that violent or scary and feels more middle grade than YA. If you have a fantasy- or baking-loving kid, this would be an enjoyable read-along for everyone.
The Two Princesses of Bamarre – Gail Carson Levine
This is a middle grade princess book with something for everyone: there’s adventure, the littlest bit of romance, a taste of magic, and some sisterly differences to overcome. My sister and I both would have loved this when we were young.
If your reader has already read Ella Enchanted or Once Upon a Marigold and is looking for something in the same vein, this would do perfectly.
The Agathas – Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson
One of the popular girls in school disappears, and her former best friend and the smart kid who’s tutoring her have to team up to solve the mystery. This one was totally fine—if you liked A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, this one feels similar in tone.
A heads up that this book is definitely YA (there are drunken teens behaving badly), but it’s nothing much worse than Mean Girls.
Classics
Something Wicked This Way Comes – Ray Bradbury
My book club read this for Halloween, and it was a great, atmospheric choice. Give it a few chapters to get going, then it gets real weird and creepy. If you like The Night Circus, this feels kind of like the OG.
I didn’t love it quite as much as Fahrenheit 451, but I’m also never going to ride a carousel without thinking about this.
Animal Farm – George Orwell
Adam and I listened to this on a car ride, and I think that was actually the right way to go. This book feels weirdly like a children’s story, even though of course the thinly veiled analogy is entirely for adults, but I found it surprisingly successful.
Nonfiction
The Best of 2024
A Ghost in the Throat – Dioreann Ni Ghriofa
In this book, a woman finds herself obsessed with an 18th century poem. In her hours translating the poem and researching the author, she finds herself also musing on what makes something a “female” text, motherhood, and women’s legacies.
I found this one riveting. It reads almost like fiction, and there is so much to chew on. This is one I would absolutely reread.
Counting the Cost – Jill Duggar
When Adam left for a conference, I fell down the Duggar family deconstruction rabbit hole. First up was binging Shiny Happy People, then a 24-hour blitz through this book. Holy moly. Both pieces of content are both riveting and infuriating, particularly if you grew up adjacent to any conservative Christian circles. I came away with so, so much I wanted to discuss about women’s voices and power dynamics in Christian circles.
Honorable Mentions
Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection – Charles Duhigg
In this book, Duhigg digs into the kinds of conversations we have, how to drill down to what conversations are actually about, and how to find common ground. It balances the theoretical and practical well, and it feels instantly applicable in pretty much any arena where you talk to people, from work to home life to contentious Facebook comments sections.
I took a lot of notes on this one, told just about everyone I work with about it, and already feel like I’m due for a reread.
You Could Make This Place Beautiful: A Memoir – Maggie Smith
This book is the author’s processing of her divorce after her husband’s affair and her recovery of herself. I was mostly struck by how well the author balanced revealing deeply personal feelings while also not telling stories that weren’t hers to tell, as well as how much I enjoy reading memoir by poets. If you like digging deeply into other people’s stories, this is a poignant one.
There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather: A Scandinavian Mom’s Secrets for Raising Healthy, Resilient, Confident Kids – Linda Akeson McGurk
In this book, a Swedish author living in America gets the chance to take her kids back to Sweden for six months. She chronicles just how different Scandinavian childhoods are: children are outside, without adult supervision, for large chunks of time. And it makes them happy, independent problem-solvers who understand how to take calculated risks.
I may or may not have texted Adam while reading telling him my dreams for a pack of feral, dirt-stained children, then started googling nature preschools. (As a reminder, we live in the center of Chicago and do not yet have kids.) My biggest conclusion is that I’ll be moving to Scandinavia, stat. Jk. But really, I wish.
All the Rest
The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Loneliness – Jonathan Haidt
If you somehow haven’t heard about this book, it discusses the terrifying connections between phone-based childhoods and kids’ poor mental health.
I first heard about this book on this episode of Honestly with Bari Weiss, and then it felt like the book exploded everywhere. I think it’s gotten a lot of attention for good reason, as the implications of Haidt’s argument are concerning and will most definitely shape how I and Adam make choices about our future kids’ tech use. This was also a good book club read, and I found it thought-provoking to hear different people’s takes on the research and their own childhoods.
As a caveat, I know there’s some controversy over Haidt and his data interpretation. He’s also definitely alarmist and takes a pretty strong stance. But I still think I largely agree with his argument and conclusions. (And as my PhD student husband will tell you, arguing with data interpretation is the easiest and often least thoughtful way to engage with someone’s work.)
Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life – Alison Weir
After watching the movie A Lion in Winter last Christmas, I wanted to know a bit more about Eleanor of Aquitaine and what on earth was going on with her sons, her husband, and her imprisonment by said husband. This biography scratched that itch and was a well-done portrait of royal happenings in Eleanor’s time.
Not all of the book is about Eleanor herself: there aren’t super thorough records of what women were doing during that time, so we hear a lot about her husband and sons, too. But I understand much more about this period of the Middle Ages and find Eleanor all the more interesting for the mystery that still lingers about her.
Everything I Know About Love – Dolly Alderton
Listen to this one — it’s like Dolly Alderton is telling you stories about her wild drunken exploits, heartbreaks, and dear dear friendships. I picked up Ghosts (a fiction work by the same author) almost right after reading this because I enjoyed it so much, and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of her writing.
Me Talk Pretty One Day – David Sedaris
Somehow I’ve only read one David Sedaris book in my whole life? The title essay of this collection is absolutely hilarious, and the one about teaching his first class is also a riot.
Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things – Adam Grant
This book explores how people who may not be naturally brilliant or talented in a particular area achieve success. There’s a lot to like here. Adam Grant is a clear communicator, the ideas he presents are largely actionable, and the examples he uses are memorable and don’t feel overly fluffy. If you’re someone who is trying to grow a skill, teaches people, or is in any kind of leadership position, this book likely has some helpful insights.
My one critique is that it felt hard to remember everything since the ideas aren’t all deeply intertwined, but that’s probably me being picky. Overall, this is one self-help book that feels like it actually deserves a re-skim every now and then.
Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life – Amy Krouse Rosenthal
I’ve had students create their own “Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life” entries before, so I figured it was time to read the original in its totality. This is a set of enjoyable micro-memoirs and is the perfect thing to read in quick snatches of time or before bed. I flew through it surprisingly quickly.
High Tide in Tucson – Barbara Kingsolver
I’m nearly a Barbara Kingsolver completionist — both her fiction and nonfiction are so well-done. This collection of essays is relatively wide-ranging in topic, though a lot of it focuses on observations about the natural world. Her descriptions of living in the Tucson desert stuck with me the most.
Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout – Cal Newport
You can get the philosophy of this book in an interview or podcast. The ideas here are really not that complicated. But discussing this sparked some good discussion between Adam and I, and the reframe on what meaningful work is felt notable.
Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel (Before You Waste Three Years Writing 327 Pages That Go Nowhere) – Lisa Cron
This book is for you if a) you’re interested in writing a novel, b) you feel completely lost just thinking about it, and c) you can read that overwrought title without rolling your eyes.
The tone of this book occasionally drove me a little nuts, and the author’s style will not be for everyone. That said, I did find this blueprint for planning a novel to be helpful. Do I have an actual novel to show for it? No. But I got farther in planning for one than I ever have before? Does that count?
Built to Move – Kelly Starrett and Juliet Starrett
I have slightly complicated feelings about this book, which explores how the body is meant to move and ways to regain full mobility and health. The authors are wildly optimistic about what a normal person can fit in their actual day—if you read this, please know that there’s no way I’m doing everything they recommend on a daily basis. I’m just not. Also skip the chapter on eating if you have any history with eating disorders.
But. The stretches and mobility exercises they highlight are quite helpful, as is their focus on muscle-building. I keep a tabbed-up copy near my foam roller for quick reference, which is quite high praise.
One in a Millennial: On Friendship, Feelings, Fangirls, and Fitting In – Kate Kennedy
If you listen to Kate Kennedy’s podcast Be There in Five, you’ll love this. You’ll hear her voice in your head the whole time, and you’ll have numerous “omg I forgot about that” moments.
If you don’t listen to Kate Kennedy’s podcast, I don’t know that you’ll fully get this? Try an episode of the podcast first. If you enjoy her rambly, pop-culture-pun filled deep thoughts about supposedly shallow things, then definitely pick this up.
The Woman in Me – Britney Spears
This is ranked as highly as it is solely for its discussion potential — ask any millennial woman her thoughts on Britney Spears and you’ll almost for sure get something — and the deep-dive this led me down on the mind-boggling body shaming of the early 2000s.
How to Walk Into a Room: the Art of Knowing When to Stay and When to Walk Away – Emily P. Freeman
I find Emily Freeman’s online work to be calm and grounding, and I was interested to read this and discuss this with my book club since Emily has alluded over recent years to some theological and faith shifts.
This book about ending seasons of life and whether or not to leave communities is certainly helpful and beautiful at times. But it’s also one of those memoir-slash-spiritual self-help books that felt like it could have used a few more years of processing. It feels like Emily’s story here isn’t fully done and like there are details that could be helpful that are still too raw to share. It’s her story to tell, of course, and I won’t begrudge a writer her income, but I’d love to see where she lands on this ten years from now.
I Will Teach You To Be Rich: No Guilt. No Excuses. Just a 6-Week Program that Works – Ramit Sethi
If you feel kinda clueless about how to do anything with your finances, this book is full of no-nonsense financial advice. I don’t always love Sethi’s tone (it’s a bit bro-y, anyone-can-do-this, don’t-be-an-idiot) but I do think his tips are very practical and straightforward. We met with a financial advisor after I read this anyway, and everything she said lined up with his advice, too.
Organizing Solutions for People with ADHD: Tips and Tools to Help You Take Charge of Your Life and Get Organized – Susan Pinsky
I read a lot about organization, so a good chunk of the info in this book was repetitive. However, if you have a family member or you yourself have ADHD, there is some good info in here about how to make organization systems actually doable.
Once Upon a Tome: The Misadventures of a Rare Bookseller – Oliver Darkshire
This was a just-fine, not-too-exciting pre-bedtime read. It also made me realize that I like reading books but maybe don’t have strong opinions about old or rare ones. Blasphemy, perhaps, but it’s true.
The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact – Chip Heath and Dan Heath
There were a few interesting nuggets in this book about how to create standout moments in a classroom, within an organization, or with your family. I did pull a few insights and brainstorm ideas about my own workplace, even. However, a number of their ideas came off as impractical (I know, I know, I’m an absolute killjoy), and I think you could get the point without the fluff by watching a Youtube video or listening to an interview.
Wear It Well: Reclaim Your Closet and Rediscover the Joy of Getting Dressed – Allison Bornstein
Allison Bornstein is a stylist known for creating the 3-Word Method and the Wrong Shoe Theory. This book follows her process for cleaning out your closet, choosing the three words that define your personal style, and making good buying decisions. This book isn’t bad by any means, but I think the part on closet clean-outs needed more information to be truly helpful, and what’s available on her Youtube and Instagram will honestly serve you just as well.
Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Shamed a Generation of Women and How I Broke Free – Linda Kay Klein
If you grew up in the purity culture movement, you’ll probably feel seen a number of the stories in this book. I did. However, I felt like the combo of memoir, interview, and research was a little clunky and that things could have been better organized. There also wasn’t really a satisfying “where do we go from here?” conclusion. If you want something more practical in this realm, Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski and The Great Sex Rescue by Shelia Wray Gregoire are both more helpful.
Kiss Me in the Coral Lounge – Helen Ellis
I read this right away in 2024 and remember thinking it was a mildly entertaining memoir in essays, but I don’t remember anything other than that.
Conspirituality: How New Age Conspiracy Theories Became a Health Threat – Derek Beres, Matthew Remski, Julian Walker
I don’t disagree with the premise of this book, about how people fall for health conspiracies online, but it was so long and rambling and repetitive. It felt like it needed a better editor to actually be a cohesive whole.
Rereads and Books that Defy Rankings
Anne of Green Gables – L.M. Montgomery
A true love, forever and ever. I can appreciate that the pacing is the slightest bit wonky the more I reread. But this won’t ever leave my favorites list.
If you made it to the bottom, you are a superstar. I hope this added some great books to your TBR and maybe even helped whittle away some of the not-so-great ones.
Also, if you have thoughts about this format, let me know in the comments, yeah? I’d love to know if you love a long-winded post like this or if this is way TMI and now you need a nap.
Your turn! What were the best (or worst) books you read in 2023? Tell me everything in the comments.
P.S. You might also love chatting about how to read more or taking a peek at my favorite books from 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, and 2019!