best books i read in 2024

not a top, but a list

This year, I stopped rating books. Writing is hard, getting published is hard, and the marketing game is a gamble. I don’t think any book can or should be reduced to a star rating. There’s just too much work that goes into a published piece of text. I am not saying I love everything I read now; I still passionately hate some books, but I am grateful for being able to read them regardless.

Saying all this, I want you, readers, to know that the books on this list would get all the stars in the sky from me.

1. The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue

The Rachel Incident is about—you guessed it—Rachel, who is getting a degree in Dublin, works at a bookstore, and lives with her parents before moving in with her newly met friend.

This story is about friendship and love and memory and the grey, overwhelming misery of wanting to do something with your life but feeling stuck. “A platonic romcom,” a character study, a treasure.

I don’t think this book is for everyone, but it is definitely for me. I had the absolute time of my life reading it, and when I finished it, I could not stop talking or thinking about it for weeks. As I mentioned before, it’s scarce for a book to make me laugh out loud. This one did. Multiple times.

Caroline O’Donoghue also has a podcast that I’ve been listening to on and off for the past few years. There is an exceptional episode in which she gets interviewed by Dolly Alderton (!) — a recurring podcast guest — and talks about her writing process and character creation. I strongly recommend it, if you finished the book and were as head over heels about it, as was I.

2. Penance by Eliza Clark

This year, I read all of Clark’s books (including her newly published short story collection “She’s Always Hungry,” which is also horrifyingly delightful and scratches all the right spots of my brain), and she is now on my list of authors that I would be following religiously.

Penance blew me away completely. I applaud Clark’s craft — creating this unsettling puzzle of a narrative deserves all of the praise that it’s been getting.
A fake true-crime case, being revisited by a fake journalist who interviews everyone connected to said case. I recommend going in blind. Maybe check the trigger warnings.

3. Ejaculate Responsibly by Gabrielle Blair

I don’t usually read a lot of non-fiction, but this year was my best in this regard, I read about 5. I’m here to report that none of them was as influential as this one. This book is like 100 pages and could be read in one sitting, but I simply wasn’t able to because it made me so. so. angry I had to close it and do breathing exercises for 10 minutes. The rage this book made me feel is indescribable, and I can’t recommend it enough.

I can’t say that I learned a ton of new things from it, but the arguments are so well structured and simple in explanation that you will always have a way to argue if you ever need to.

4. I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai

Look, I’m not even remotely a true crime fan, but this year for some reason I read a few books that are centered around this topic.

This book is just incredibly fun to read and unputdownable, despite being pretty thick. It is partially set in a boarding school and explores the topic of our fading and faulty memory, among many others. This is a very well-crafted mystery, but it is also so much more. I’m excited to read more from Makkai in 2025.

Additionally, I strongly recommend listening to an episode from the “Reading the Room” podcast, where Rebecca Makkai talks about how she crafted it, as well as her struggle with the inclusion of COVID and other things.

5. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

I don’t read a lot of classics. I barely read any classics, even in my mother tongue. Almost every year it is my bookish resolution to read more classics. All this to say, I can’t tell you how long I’ve been putting off reading Wuthering Heights, and I’m so happy I pushed myself to do it this year.

I don’t think I can say anything that hasn’t been already said before about this book, but I still wasn’t prepared for the dread and misery that awaited between these pages.

I cannot believe how modern it reads; it’s hard for me to comprehend how strongly I felt for the characters. And don’t get me started on that structure. We are 3 times removed from the main characters of that story!! We can’t get any closer; we are behind at least two unreliable narrators! What a move.

Again, I’m not knowledgeable enough to name this book revolutionary or anything like that, but I can clearly see how the modern literature that I enjoy now would’ve never been the same without the immense influence of this novel.

Tell me what were your best reads of 2024!