The best books of 2024

It’s been a superb year for book lovers, making our Best Books of 2024 list challenging to scale down. With a steady release of eclectic titles that reframe our perspectives on the world, transform us, and leave us swooning (sometimes all at once), there’s never a dull moment for the bookish crowd. Our writers have a variety of tastes that range from wholesome and comforting (guilty) to brain-teasing texts that keep them on their toes. We’ve broken down our selections into loose categories for every type of reader to honor our varied tastes.

As our TBR pile(s) continue to hilariously, stress-inducingly increase (who needs floor space?), we find the solace of books and their ability to challenge us and whisk us away to other worlds all the more appealing. For escapism or self-examination, here are the best books of the year selected by five of our staff.

For the thinking crowd

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

I know Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar is going to be on almost every year-end list but it’s a spot well earned. Believe me when I say this is an unforgettable read. Martyr! takes these huge themes that can often feel overwhelming and makes them palatable for readers without making them feel like they’re being spoken to like a child. Kaveh Akbar also reminds us that it’s okay not to know the answers to these questions because that’s what it means to be human. I’ll definitely be rereading this again and again.[Kayla Chu]

Purchase here. 

Memory Piece by Lisa Ko

In Memory Piece, Lisa Ko explores the complexities of human connection through three friends on the East Coast: Giselle Chin, Jackie Ong, and Ellen Ng. It follows them from their middle school years through significant life changes and does so with an interesting structure. It’s a sort of interconnected anthology, with a third of the book devoted to each friend. As the different facets of the characters start to connect, the novel begins to delve into gender, economics, family, art, and life’s purpose. The novel soars as a character study of memory and as a reminder that the forces that shape our past will also shape our future. [Pedro Luis Graterol]

Purchase here. 

Orbital by Samantha Harvey 

Calling this year’s Booker Prize winner a work of science fiction would be doing it a slight disservice. Orbital, a bite-sized mediation on galaxy level topics, takes us through twenty four hours in the lives of six astronauts working on an international space station. Samantha Harvey offers us sixteen chapters – one for each orbit the station takes around the Earth that day – that each focus on the crew’s grounding and meditative thoughts throughout their daily routines, the variety of which take us from existential ponderings on the meaning of life and the creation of the universe to ruminations on climate change and our relationship with our home planet. [Quinn Parulis] 

Purchase here. 

Piglet by Lottie Hazell

I have to start off by mentioning how eye-catching the U.S. cover of Piglet is. An oil painting of a Whopper? Iconic. As someone who used to have a complicated relationship with food, I appreciated how realistic the book was regarding the main character and her sister. And, not learning the book’s big secret makes the story all the better, allowing the reader to theorize what it is without confirming or denying. Plus, do we really need to know what the husband did when we already know it’s terrible? I don’t think so. [Kayla]

Purchase here.

See You in August by Gabriel García Márquez  

Gabriel García Márquez’s posthumous novel, See You in August, represents a departure from the magical realism style that has become closely associated with the author. Instead, it focuses more on some of the narrative techniques that were hallmarks of his early stories, like a cyclical approach to storytelling. The novel follows Ana Magdalena Bach, who, every August, takes the shuttle to the island where her mother is buried.

Those visits become an opportunity to be a different person for one day of the year, as a way to somehow rebel or seek one final approval from her late mother. What makes it fascinating is that this theme of parental betrayal is almost metatextual: García Márquez never stated his intent to publish the novel, but it was a decision made by his children. Reading some of the accompanying essays from García Márquez’s editor and his children makes this novel transcend to become an exploration of the nature of betrayal and legacy. [Pedro]

Purchase here.

Womanhood, the horror

All Fours by Miranda July

All Fours, the first novel in almost a decade by multi-hyphenate Miranda July, is many things at once. A slightly messy explanation of it could be that it’s a sexual awakening road-trip of a middle-aged and perimenopausal mother, but it doesn’t come anywhere close to fitting neatly into any of the categories we would usually associate with those descriptors. As darkly comedic as it is painfully blunt and serious, the book succeeds best at introspection, when the mounting chaos of our protagonist’s situation forces both her and the reader to pause and take stock of their life. [Quinn]

Purchase here. 

Faux Feminism: Why We Fall for White Feminism and How We Can Stop by Serene Khader

Faux Feminism: Why We Fall for White Feminism and How We Can Stop by Serene Khader is one of my favorite books of the year, especially given how the presidential election played out. Serene breaks down the myths of feminism and goes in-depth about each, explaining how they leave certain groups of people behind when discussing feminism, whether it be based on race, class, or other intersectionalities. For some, this might seem like an introduction to feminism, specifically white feminism. But it’s a great place to start for those just beginning their journey into this topic. [Kayla]

Purchase here.

Perfume & Pain by Anna Dorn

A book whose title is taken from the 1962 novel by Kimberly Kemp, aka Gilbert Fox? Sign me up. Perfume & Pain by Anna Dorn is, in the best way possible, an unhinged book about a self-centered lesbian. Astrid’s self-destruction throughout the book is realistic and, at times, cringe-worthy, but definitely a page-turner. The book offers a great messy, unlikable main character, which makes the story even stronger. [Kayla]

Purchase here.

For romance lovers

Funny Story by Emily Henry

Emily Henry delivers yet another heartfelt romantic comedy with her latest, the infectious Funny Story. With a tremendous hook, we’re thrust immediately into the emotional fallout the protagonist faces after learning her seemingly perfect fiance is leaving her for his lifelong best friend. The book explores Daphne’s healing as she learns to move on with her life and embrace the pieces around her that give her joy, one of them being Miles. Leaning heavily (gloriously) into the forced roommate trope, the burgeoning romance between Daphne and Miles scorches the pages as their pull towards one another increases with each chapter. [Allyson Johnson]

Purchase here.

Just For The Summer by Abby Jimenez

There’s so much about this book that I love and could probably write a thesis on about how perfect it was. From the warm characters whose presence felt like family, to the authentic way that issues of parental incarceration and abandonment are handled, to the swoon-worthy romance and and the adorably ugly dog, these are just a few highlights of a book that was laugh-out-loud funny, heartwarming, and at times, a bit of a tear-jerker. [Brianna Robinson]

Purchase here.

You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian

Pulsating with an exuberant amount of tenderness, You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian stuns. A mid-century Queer romance about an up-and-coming baseball star and the reporter covering his season, Sebastian bakes compassion into the very essence of the book. The delectable romance grabs us immediately as we follow them on their journey, both together and apart, as they seek comfort in the others embrace, or through their nightly, secretive calls and even more furtive glances. Understanding the innate necessity of queer, safe spaces, Sebastian tackles grief, healing, and new-love with empathy and quick wit. [Ally]

Purchase here.

Coming-of-age stories with a twist

Icarus by K. Ancrum

K. Ancrum’s latest interpretation of Greek Mythology bruises with the welts of abandonment that weigh heavy on our protagonist’s shoulders. Written in sparse prose that levels readers with impossibly poignant moments, Icarus is a gorgeous tale of self-actualization and what it means to find happiness amongst generational trauma and abuse. Perhaps the best thing about Icarus, however, is the monumental buckets of empathy heaped upon its characters and the compassion that exudes from the teenagers in Icarus’s life. This is a story about the power of community and the watchful eyes of teens who spot when one of their own is in trouble. [Ally]

Purchase here.

Looking for Smoke by KA Cobell

Looking For Smoke tackles an important and little acknowledged American crisis — Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. After two young Blackfoot women are killed, a group of teens try to find the killer before they claim another young life. This is not an easy read but it is an important one and the way that it informed and galvanized readers toward action and awareness makes it one of the best books of the year. [Brianna]

Purchase here.

Emily Wilde’s Map to The Otherlands by Heather Fawcett 

Map to the Otherlands is as delightful and charming as the first novel. I love when a sequel lives up to the promises made in the first. If you haven’t yet met Wendell or Emily or Shadow, drop whatever you’re doing and go get these books. They’re the type that will make you immediately want to run and tell all your friends to read them. And though it’s a fun blend of cozy fantasy and romance, the stakes get higher in this book. There’s a very real hint of danger. Seriously, go read it. Or listen to the audio, the narrators are spectacular! [Brianna]

Purchase here.

The Summer Queen by Rochelle Hassan

In the second installment of The Buried and the Bound trilogy, author Rochelle Hassan reminds us that her YA series deserves to be heralded as a new, instant classic. The Summer Queen continues to stun with the stories of it’s three protagonists, Aziza, Leo, and Tristan. The sequel follows them as as they try and face a new, potentially devastating threat. Each of the leads pop with distinctive, well-established personalities. Each pairing anchors itself with necessary gravitas. Leo and Aziza’s friendship, Leo and Tristan’s bittersweet romance, and Aziza and Tristan’s forced bond are all singular yet integral to their plot. With immense, detailed worldbuilding, Hassan charms with spins on magical creatures and the worlds they’re born from. [Ally]

Purchase here.

Another place, another time

James by Percival Everett

One of the most widely lauded novels of the year, Percival Everett’s James is a staggering work of pitch-black satire. A retelling of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn told from the perspective of the escaped, previously enslaved Jim, presented here as the deeply intelligent and eloquently spoken James, it interrogates and reframes everything the original text stands for both in prose and legacy. At times, it is the funniest book to come out this year, while at others, it is the most bone-chillingly upsetting and righteously furious; the power of Everett’s writing and the execution of his themes are untouchable in quality, showing all the markers of a novel that will stand the tests of time. [Quinton]

Purchase here.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

Maybe one of the most harrowing and devastatingly beautiful books I’ve read since In Memoriam by Alice Winn. The Warm Hands of Ghosts lingers long after finishing just like the titular ghosts. Pairing ethereal descriptions and passages that feel like a kick to the chest, Katherine Arden blends the otherworldly with the horrors of World War I. The characters leap off the page and are achingly human. The book contradicts your assumptions of who is the hero and who is the villain again and again. Highly recommended on audio too! [Brianna]

Purchase here.

You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue  

What do you get when you mix a political thriller, the Mexica Empire, and Marc Bolan? The result is Álvaro Enrigue’s psychedelic thriller You Dreamed of Empires. Set in the ancient city of Tenochtitlán, the novel follows the political crisis in the court of Tlatoani Moctezuma as the empire braces for the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. This setting is not frequently discussed in contemporary literature, and Enrigue achieves a fascinating depiction of the Mexica world, full of colors and tradition that, while rooted in historical data, is not afraid to take wild deviations. All in all, this novel makes the past feel present and turns historical figures into real humans. [Pedro]

Purchase here.

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Looking forward to another year of too many books to buy (or take out from the library, support local libraries!), and too little time to read them.