My top ten books of 2024
Plus all my five-star reads of the year
What I’ve been reading in 2024
It’s been another great year for reading.
I think of myself as a mood reader, letting myself drift from book to book depending on how I feel. Reading is an important part of my job, but I never want it to feel like my job.
Because reading is, and I hope always will be, my escape and my happy place.
That means that I read many different genres this year. The books I read and enjoyed often mirrored events in my life.
This year I felt especially drawn to books that dealt with grief, finding solace and healing within the pages. I sought out the comfort of romance novels, and saw myself reflected on the page in women’s fiction. For the first time since I was a child, I (like many readers) adventured into new worlds, finding a new favourite subgenre in cosy fantasy. I dipped into poetry collections and reconnected with my childhood love of reading by picking up some brilliant children’s books.
Because of this meandering, mood-led reading, the list below is an eclectic one. My top ten includes some books that came out this year but also plenty of older ones that I discovered for the first time.
The books I chose for my top ten are those that left the biggest mark.
The books I have wanted to press into the hands of friends this year.
Some made me laugh, others made me cry or think in a new way; I loved all of them.
Without further ado…
My top 10 books of the year
Possibly my new favourite book. A warm-hearted, moving cosy fantasy novel with characters you totally fall for. I bawled my eyes out at the end, in the best possible way. And the sequel Somewhere Beyond the Sea came out this year which I also loved!
‘I meant what I said.’ Arthur’s voice was hushed.
‘About?’
‘I like you the way you are. I don’t know that I’ve ever thought that more about anyone I’ve ever met.’
The House in the Cerulean Sea, TJ Klune
One of the most beautiful books I have ever read (no wonder it won the Pulitzer Prize). A non-fiction book about loss and love that made me think differently about life and truly appreciate the precious nature of being human.
‘Disappearance reminds us to notice, transience to cherish, fragility to defend.’
Lost and Found, Kathryn Schulz
‘A rom-com about death’ that somehow manages to be funny and romantic as well as deeply sad.
Funny, warm and with characters that felt like old friends. Totally readable and yet beautifully crafted – everything you would expect from a David Nicholls novel.
‘You’re like, I don’t know… a view. I just want to look and look.’
You are Here, David Nicholls
A book that is surprising, pacy, sad and funny all at once. I adored it.
“They’re books, not décor,” Phoebe says. Phoebe doesn’t have too many beliefs, but this is one of them.”
The Wedding People, Alison Espach
A deliciously readable romance that celebrates the power and importance of romance novels. Everything I love in a romance novel!
‘…anything that lets you take a much-needed step back from everything going on in the world today seems very fucking important to me.’
Love Story, Lindsey Kelk
A compelling and expertly-crafted family drama that takes place over the course of one wedding day with flashbacks to the past that tell the full story of the secrets and tensions within the family. Just beautiful.
‘Everyone seems to know what they ought to be doing, whereas she really doesn’t have a clue. A running theme in her life. She’s always felt as though everyone had made plans at some meeting she hadn’t been invited to.’
This Family, Kate Sawyer
A detailed look at pregnancy, birth and motherhood drawing on science and social history. Reassuring and rage-enducing in equal measures, this really made me reflect on modern attitudes towards motherhood and how much needs to change. It sparked many conversations for me this year.
Hollie McNish’s poems and accompanying prose perfectly capture so many aspects of life, from friendship to motherhood, to body image, to sex.
An absolutely fascinating exploration of what it means to be an introvert vs an extrovert, that made me feel more comfortable accepting my natural introvert tendencies.
Other books I rated 5 stars
Because it was so hard to narrow my top reads down to ten, here’s a list of everything I rated 5 stars this year…
Fiction
Pages and Co series, Anna James
A truly escapist children’s series great for book lovers of all ages.
‘There isn’t a book out there that hasn’t meant something to someone at some point.’
Tilly and the Map of Stories, Anna James
‘The whole world, and beyond, is open to you if you read.’
‘Stories help us decide who we want to be.’
The Last Book Wanderer, Anna James
The Rockpool Murder, Emylia Hall
I was gripped by the murder mystery at the heart of this cosy crime novel, but the book was surprisingly moving too.
‘Everyone is the hero of their own life, and Baz was no exception – he just shouted louder about it.’
The Rockpool Murder, Emylia Hall
Two women become best friends as teenagers but then go ten years without talking, until they suddenly come back into one another’s life. A searing, raw exploration of misogyny and female friendship.
Her Majesty’s Royal Coven, Juno Dawson
I was totally hooked on this dramatic fantasy novel following a coven who get torn apart by a prophecy predicting the end of days.
‘She was just a woman who’d stepped up in a moment of deluded bravado. Gods, this must be how men feel all the time.’
Her Majesty’s Royal Coven, Juno Dawson
Thank You For Listening, Julia Whelan
Two audiobook narrators of romance novels fall in love… A really fun rom-com that I listened to as an audiobook and made me appreciate even more the skill involved in narrating audiobooks.
Cammy has spent her whole life believing that the women in her family are cursed when it comes to love: bad things happen when they let anyone get close to their heart. A gorgeous, sweeping gothic love story with a page-turning mystery.
Emily Henry’s novels are always such a treat and this was no exception. Laugh-out-loud funny, gorgeously romantic but also with weighty themes, this time looking at the impact of past trauma and the importance of self-love.
‘Those are the moments that make a life. Not grand gestures, but mundane details that, over time, accumulate until you have a home, instead of a house. The things that matter.’
Funny Story, Emily Henry
Standard Deviation, Katherine Heiny
At its heart, a book about marriage and parenting, especially to a child with additional needs. One of the funniest books I’ve ever read.
‘No one tells you shit about parenting ahead of time, really. Well, they do but not anything useful.’
Standard Deviation, Katherine Heiny
Somewhere Beyond the Sea, TJ Klune
The follow-up to The House in the Cerulean Sea and a beautiful and timely book that explores found family and what it really means to be a parent.
‘You astonish me,’ Arthur said. ‘In all the best possible ways.’
Somewhere Beyond the Sea, TJ Klune
Fiction to pre-order
And a few novels I was lucky enough to read ahead of publication that are worth putting on your to-read list for 2025…
So Thrilled For You, Holly Bourne (out Jan 2025)
A baby shower from hell that ends in a fire and questions about who started it. A wild ride of a novel looking at motherhood from many different angles. I devoured it.
One Night at the Chateau, Veronica Henry (Out Feb 2025)
A gorgeously romantic mid-life romance set in a chateau in Provence, that I enjoyed especially for the sumptuous descriptions of food and interiors and the celebration of female friendship.
Jane and Dan at the End of the World, Colleen Oakley (Out March 2025)
The very definition of unputdownable. I literally couldn’t tear myself away from this gripping book that blends a high stakes situation with a tender exploration of marriage and motherhood.
Non-fiction
When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi
The memoir of a neurosurgeon who was diagnosed with terminal cancer, as he reflects on life, death and his role as a surgeon.
The End of Your Life Book Club, Will Schwalbe
When Will Scwalbe’s mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer, they began a book club of two; the two of them would read the same books and discuss them during her hospital appointments. A moving and poignant reminder of the power of books, and a touching depiction of end of life that will resonate with anyone who has lost someone they love.
‘That’s one of the things books do. They help us talk. But they also give us something we all can talk about when we don’t want to talk about ourselves.’
The End of Your Life Book Club, Will Schwalbe
The Bookshop Woman, Nanako Hanada
Feeling disconnected after her separation from her husband, Nanako Hanada set out to meet people in an unusual way: by connecting with them on an app called PerfectStrangers and offering to recommend everyone she met a book. An inspiring celebration of the art of recommending books, and a brilliant manual for anyone looking to make more connections in life.
The Keys to Kindness, Claudia Hammond
A fascinating book that pulls together the research around kindness: what it means, how it makes us feel, and why it’s so important.
The Art of Rest, Claudia Hammond
Made me reconsider the importance of rest, and proactively make time for it in my life.
Cosy Poems, edited by Gaby Morgan
A gorgeous collection of soothing, cosy poems that would make a perfect gift for anyone going through a tough time.
A Simpler Life, The School of Life
An easily digestible look at how to achieve greater simplicity in a range of areas: our environments, our relationships and the way in which we live our lives.
‘The cult of busyness demands that we take on more than we can properly cope with; it ignores or denies our actual fragility until we have a breakdown and want nothing more than to lock ourselves away, smash our phones, lie on the floor and weep.’
A Simpler Life, The School of Life
What were your favourite books that you read this year?
Wishing you a very happy, healthy and bookish New Year,
Libby x
Thanks for this, Libby. Will work my way through the list.
The books I loved this year are (not new releases): Sorrow and Bliss, We all Want Impossible Things, and Small Pleasures ✨ x
Love Thursday Murder Club novels by Richard Osman and his new We SOlve Murders. Also Emylia Hall Shell House Detective novels.