My Year in Books: 2024 Favorites

Even though 2024 isn't quite over, I'm ready to list my favorite books of the year. I may still finish another one or two, but can safely say they are not contenders.  I'll have a second wrap-up post with my 2024 reflections and statistics, along with intentions for 2025 in early January... once we're back in Florida. 

Overall, 2024 was a pretty good reading year. I was slightly under my usual pace of one book per week, but that was mostly due to reading longer books. I did not set a numbers goal this year or participate in the goodreads challenge because I found that I was selecting shorter books in order to meet that goal rather than reading the longer books on my priority tbr. To bolster my resolve, I started 2024 with a 900+ page book that ended up on my favorites list (Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher) and tackled the colossal nonfiction Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin over the summer... also a favorite.

 I did not consider rereads when selecting my favorites, but Persuasion by Jane Austen would certainly be here otherwise. 

FICTION FAVORITES

Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout

(read/listen combination)

James by Percival Everett 

(read/listen combination)

Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher

(print only)

Where the Forest Meets the River by Shannon Bowring

(print only)

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

(read/listen combination)

The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai  

(read/listen combination)

Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro

translated by Frances Riddle

(read/listen combination)

Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy

(print only)

Honorable Mention

The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden

Belle Greene by Alexandra Lapierre, translated by Tina Cover

Olga Dies Dreaming by Xóchitl González

NONFICTION FAVORITES

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin 

(read/listen combination)

Be Ready When the Luck Happens: A Memoir by Ina Garten

(audio, narrated by the author)

The Sunday Salon: A Pre-Christmas Update

Lobster Trap Tree

Stonington, CT

This is it, the calm before the storm. The shopping is done, the presents are wrapped, the menus are planned, the cards are mailed, and today is for relaxation. After I finish this post I plan to make a cup of tea and read by the Christmas tree... for at least for an hour ;-)

One daughter and son-in-law arrived yesterday. Our other NYC daughter and son-in-law will arrive later today with the grandpup, Winnie the Whippet, plus their friend's dog, Moonie (short for Moonshine). I'm so happy we can all spend the holiday together!

Recent Reading//

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

I loved this book and flew through it in just a few days! The cover makes it look light, but there is some real depth here both in terms of subject matter and character development. The Newport, RI setting is pretty great, too. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Current reading//

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

I bought this book at a library book sale last summer, or maybe summer before. At the halfway point, I really like it and suspect it will be my final book of the year.

The week ahead//

After Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I'm hoping to just relax for a couple of days. Here on the blog I will post my list of 2024 favorites and 2025 reading intentions, take a week or two off, and catch up with you all again from Florida.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.

 

The Sunday Salon: December 8, 2024

Hello friends and Happy December. We had a wonderful, celebration-filled Thanksgiving week in central NY that included Thanksgiving dinner at my sisters's, our annual extended family Christmas party, a birthday party for my father, and we celebrated our 39th anniversary! We also enjoyed our first snow of the season. It was beautiful, but I'm glad we won't be hanging around all winter. It's way too cold here now...

Recent Reading//

A Good Life by Virginie Grimaldi, 

translated by Hildegarde Serle

This is a French novel about two sisters, Emma and Agathe, five years apart and as different as can be. They spent every childhood summer visiting their grandparents in the house by the sea, and remember those months as their happy times. The sisters, extremely close throughout their troubled childhood, have become estranged as adults. Now their grandparents are dead and the women have returned to that house by the sea for one final week before it is sold. They plan to relive old memories and possibly repair their broken relationship, too.

I loved the structure of this novel. It's takes place over the course of that one week and is told from the alternating perspectives of the two sisters. Additionally, there are flashbacks to their childhood, also from alternating perspectives, which allow the reader to gradually piece together what happened in the past and how they came to grow apart as adults.

I really enjoyed reading this book and have come to count on Europa Editions not only for quality works in translation, but also for outstanding new American voices.  

⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

This was another great read from my fall tbr list. The short, contemplative novel set in 1956 follows an English butler as he sets out on a six day motoring tour through the countryside. He spends much of that time lost in memories, reflecting on his 30 years in service at Darlington Hall, and a vanishing way of life.

Winner of the 1989 Booker Prize, Remains of the Day  will appeal to fans of Downton Abbey, readers who love an unreliable narrator, and anyone who appreciates quality literature.

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

Current Reading//

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

I just started this yesterday and love how it pulled me in right away! I've decided to get the audio version, too, and make it a read/listen combination.

On the blog//

November Reading Wrap-Up

The week ahead//

We're in full Christmas mode now. I plan to finish the rest of my shopping this week AND get it all wrapped. Next weekend we'll travel back to central NY (weather permitting) for our grandniece's christening. After that, the house will soon start filling up for the holidays. I can't wait!

How was your week? What have you been reading?

The Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.

 

November Reading Wrap-Up

Before too much of December gets away from me, I want to post my November reading wrap-up. Overall it wasn't the greatest reading month. Between the election and Thanksgiving travels, I didn't read as much as I'd planned. But I did enjoy the four books I did finish.

BOOKS READ IN NOVEMBER

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw 

short stories, reread, audio,⭐⭐⭐💫

The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hanff

nonfiction, travel memoir, ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Weyward by Emilia Hart

historical fiction, read/listen combination, book club, ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A Good Life by Virginie Grimaldi

literary fiction, in translation, ⭐⭐⭐⭐

DECEMBER READING POSSIBILITIES

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (in progress)

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

What I Ate in One Year by Stanley Tucci (audio)

I don't expect to read all of these in December. We have another trip to central New York planned mid month, expect a full house over the Christmas holiday, and then we'll pack up and head to Florida! It's always good to have a few books lined up though, right?