25 Best Books to Read in 2024
October 22, 2024
If you鈥檙e anything like me, you probably have a long list of books you鈥檝e been meaning to read. Allow me to add to that already lengthy list. Here are some of the best books to read in 2024 (so far). You鈥檙e welcome!听
If you are interested in pursuing your own future writing career, you may enjoy these posts:
Best Books of 2024 – Fiction听
1)听, by Sally Rooney
You鈥檇 have to live under a rock to have missed the eruption of Sally Rooney鈥檚 new book (the release of which spawned Harry Potter levels of fandom 鈥� )听
A story about the divergent lives of two brothers grieving the loss of their father, Rooney鈥檚 new book imagines, 鈥渄esire, despair, and possibility; a chance to find out how much one life might hold inside itself without breaking.鈥澨�
Of the myriad reviews of this book, stands out. He muses, 鈥�Is there a better novelist at work right now?…Rooney, author of four books in just seven years, has at this point already created more enduringly memorable characters than most novelists ever manage. And 鈥� to mangle a line from the book 鈥� she鈥檚, what, 33? Christ.鈥�
2)听, by Tony Tulathimutte
Described as 鈥淪harply observant and outrageously funny, Rejection is a provocative plunge into the touchiest problems of modern life.鈥� The seven interconnected stories deal with the evergreen crises of our tech-obsessed age 鈥� sex, relationships, identity, and the internet.
Of Rejection, says 鈥渋f [it] were a futuristic pop-up book, up would jump unflattering sex pics, medicine for cauliflower acne, unreturned texts, hateful pet birds, the Stanford alumni magazine, terrible food, the odors of crotches and armpits, semi-satirical Judith Butler Halloween costumes and holograms of 鈥榝riends鈥� who are either poseurs or users or toxic grievance collectors.鈥�
Best Books to Read 2024 (Continued)
3)听, by Sarai Johnson
Following the lives of four generations of black women, Johnson鈥檚 tender book examines the legacy of trauma and how a family comes together to heal. Of Johnson鈥� book, says it conjures 鈥�A vivid line of women inch[ing] toward a place where it isn鈥檛 always the mother鈥檚 fault.鈥�
4)听, by Danzy Senna
I鈥檝e loved Danzy Senna鈥檚 writing since her first novel, . Like her other novels, Colored Television takes on questions of race, creativity, and the allure of fame. The protagonist, Jane, manages to find a house-sitting gig where she can finally finish her novel. Everything seems to be coming up roses until she meets Hampton Ford, whose idea to develop 鈥渢he Jackie Robinson of biracial comedies鈥� threatens to upend Jane鈥檚 plans.听
As Carol V. Bell writes in , 鈥�This cutting exploration of an artist鈥檚 striving and dreaming and flailing in the shadow of Hollywood鈥檚 dream factory鈥asterfully explores and explodes the psyche鈥f a woman trying to level up on family, work and race in a post-post-racial America.鈥�
Best Books to Read 2024 (Continued)
5)听, by Rachel Cushner听
If you loved Cushner鈥檚 earlier The Flamethrowers, you鈥檒l love this story of a freelance spy who infiltrates a commune in southwest France. In his review for the New York Times, Dwight Garner calls Kushner a 鈥�major writer, 鈥with] a gift for almost effortless intellectual penetration.鈥�
6)听, by Rumaan Alam
In Alam鈥檚 fourth book, Brooke Orr, a Black woman in her thirties living in New York, starts working for Asher Jaffe, a billionaire looking to give away his fortune. Though her intentions are good, Brooke鈥檚 new proximity to extreme wealth starts to change her. In , Joseph O鈥橬eill calls Entitlement a 鈥渁 psychological thriller that subtly turns into a vicious expos茅 of affluent liberalism.鈥�
Best Books to Read 2024 (Continued)
7)听, by Miranda July
Love her or hate her, July is a cultural force to be reckoned with. (I鈥檝e had mixed feelings about her work since her uber-twee 2005 film, .) July鈥檚 new book tells the story of 鈥淎 semifamous artist鈥� on a cross country drive. Not 30 minutes from her house, she 鈥渟pontaneously exits the freeway, beds down in a nondescript motel, and immerses herself in a temporary reinvention.鈥� While technically true, this description says nothing about the copious sex that animates the narrator鈥檚 reinvention. In one oft-quoted line, the narrator claims to hear her husband鈥檚 penis 鈥渨histling impatiently like a teakettle.鈥�
8)听, by Alia Trabucco Zer谩n, translated from the Spanish by Sophie Hughes
In this taut thriller, a young girl has died and the family鈥檚 maid, Estrela, is being interrogated. From the outset, it鈥檚 clear that things are not as they seem. Both a mystery and an examination of privilege, this book 鈥�.鈥� This sentiment is echoed by the critic Laura Van Den Berg, who leaves the book wondering,
Best Books to Read 2024 (Continued)
听9)听, by Tommy Orange
Longlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize, Orange鈥檚 new novel functions as both a prequel and sequel to his 2018 book, There There. Tracing the lineage of Orvil Red Feather, Orange鈥檚 book听 catalogs the six generations of trauma and structural violence that continues to affect Native populations in the United States. Of Wandering Stars, Anthony Cummins marvels at its
10)听, by Kaveh Akbar听
Akbar鈥檚 main character, Cyrus Shams, is an Iranian-American whose father came to America after Cyrus鈥檚 mother was killed in a plane crash over the Persian Gulf. When his father dies of a stroke when Cyrus is in college, Cyrus nears his breaking point. At once a narrative of addiction, love, and art, Martyr! is alive with what
Best Books to Read 2024 (Continued)
11)听, by Lauren Elkin
The plot of Lauren Elkin鈥檚 book is simple. It follows two couples who live in the same Paris apartment fifty years apart. This shared space allows Elkin to explore the constants of couplehood 鈥� marriage, parenthood, sex 鈥� with an eye toward those questions which cannot fully rise to language. Sophie Mackintosh calls it a 鈥渂eautifully 铿倁id meditation on what is at stake, and who we become, when we desire.鈥�
12)听, by Sarah Perry
Described as 鈥淎 story of love and astronomy told over the course of twenty years through the lives of two improbable best friends,鈥� Perry鈥檚 book follows Grace and Thomas, two Baptists in Essex, England as they explore faith, love, and the stars. calls Enlightenment 鈥済orgeous [and] ethereal.鈥澨�
Best Books to Read 2024 (Continued)
13)听, by Honor Levy听
Levy鈥檚 love-it-or-hate-it book emerges from the depths of Gen-Z 鈥� 鈥済iving,鈥� 鈥渟erving,鈥� and 鈥渢hinspo鈥� abound. calls Levy鈥檚 writing, 鈥渁lternatingly horrifying and hilarious,鈥� but you can just call her 鈥渕other.鈥澨�
Best Non-Fiction Books of 2024
1)听, by Ta-Nehisi Coates听
Like his famous Between the World and Me, Coates鈥� new book examines the competing narratives of race, nationalism, and the illusion of equality. His book moves from Senegal to South Carolina, and, in the book鈥檚 longest section, to Palestine, where Coates sees first-hand the brutality of the Israeli occupation. Throughout the book, Coates warns against 鈥渢he elevation of factual complexity over self-evident morality.鈥�
2)听, by Noliwe Rooks
Part biography, part memoir, this book sketches out the life and vision of Mary Mcleod Bethune (1875-1955),听 a tireless campaigner for Black equality. Rooks mines Bethune鈥檚 life for lessons to inspire today鈥檚 activists.听
Best Books to Read 2024 (Continued)
3)听, by Rosamund Young听
Memoirs that deal with nature are too often described as 鈥渕editative,鈥� 鈥渄iaristic,鈥� or 鈥渕elancholic.鈥� Young鈥檚 new book is better described as 鈥渢ender鈥� and 鈥渞ewarding.鈥� The publisher praises the 鈥渟tartling beauty and tenderness,鈥� of Young鈥檚 book and marvels at the 鈥渞emarkable emotional and intellectual complexity of the animals she lives with on her family farm.鈥�
4)听, by Charlotte Shane
Shane鈥檚 book focuses on her nearly 20 years as sex worker. Though she pulls no punches about the details of her work, she is more interested in the commodification of desire and the possibility of genuine connection. In the words of the , Shane鈥檚 book is less concerned with 鈥渕atters of harm and power than the intricacies of desire and the variety of intimacy possible between women and men.鈥�
Best Books to Read 2024 (Continued)
5) , by Alice Driver
Driver鈥檚 book is the latest in a long line of damning looks into the violence (both personal and structural) of food production in America. Driver bases her reportage around the employees affected by the deadly chemical accident that occurred at the Tyson Foods chicken processing plant in Springdale, Arkansas in 2011. She traces the lingering effects of this accident on the lives of Tyson鈥檚 immigrant workforce. calls it 鈥渁 tour de force鈥� filled with language both 鈥渟umptuous and empathetic.鈥�
6)听, by Emily Witt
In this incandescent memoir, the journalist Emily Witt weaves together the personal and the political. By day she is a journalist for The New Yorker, reporting on the increasingly fascist tone of American politics, but by night, she and her boyfriend Andrew are taking drugs and going to underground raves. In her review, Jennifer Szalai describes Witt鈥檚 narration as听 听
Best Books to Read 2024 (Continued)
7)听, by Brenda Wineapple
It鈥檚 easy to think of the 鈥淪copes Monkey Trial鈥� as ancient history. After all, the forces that听 prosecuted a teacher for teaching evolution in a public school have no place in today鈥檚 world. Right? Brenda Wineapple鈥檚 new book examines the trial and argues that the tension between religious faith and science is the formative conflict of the American democratic experiment. In his glowing review, that Wineapple鈥檚 book 鈥�provides a vivid account of how fear has always acted on our national consciousness鈥攁nd a way of coming to terms with our own fractured political present.鈥澨�
8)听, by Nathalie A. Cabrol
As the Director of the Carl Sagan Center at the SETI Institute, Cabrol is uniquely qualified to lead us on a broad survey of planetary science and research. According to Cabrol, we are closer than ever to finding extraterrestrial life (though it鈥檚 likely to be microbial).
Best Books to Read 2024 (Continued)
9)听, by Sarah A. Bell
A comprehensive examination of how scientists and researchers made machines talk, Bell鈥檚 text traces the development of speaking machines from Speak & Spell to Siri. Meredith A. Bak听 argues that Bell鈥檚 book 鈥�raises vital social, economic, and political questions about our interactions with artificial voice technologies.鈥�
10)听, by Arlie Russell Hochschild
In this vital book, Hochschild profiles the residents of Pikesville, Tennessee, a town struggling with job loss, poverty, and drugs. Hochschild sets out to understand the emotional, societal, and cultural factors that led over 80% of Pikesville residents to vote for Trump.听
Best Books to Read 2024 (Continued)
11)听, by Emmeline Clein
Clein鈥檚 book examines anorexia at the nexus of capitalism, technology, pop-culture, and social media. She offers up medical and scientific information alongside a deep concern for personal narrative and empathy. In her review, that 鈥�Clein has marshaled her considerable powers to unearth and elucidate the reasons we think of ourselves as problems to manage in the first place.鈥�
12)听, by Stacey D鈥橢rasmo
In her review, calls The Long Run is 鈥渓ess a book than a dinner party that D鈥橢rasmo has generously invited us to attend.鈥� D鈥橢rasmo profiles eight creators who tell of the struggle of making art decade after decade.听
Best Books of 2024 Fiction & Nonfiction – Wrapping Up听
I sometimes get depressed when I go into bookstores. I look around and see all the books that I鈥檒l never have time to read. At the same time, 2024 has turned out to be such a great year (already) for smart, compelling books, that I might have to visit my local bookstore today.听
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