2024 has been a wonderful reading year. I’ve read somewhat fewer books than the last couple of years, but there have been some absolute gems in the mix.
From dystopia to historical fiction, fantasy, romance and magical realism, you’re bound to find something that tickles your fancy in this list of my 5 favourite books from 2024
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
Genre: Magical realism
A beautiful exploration of friendship, connection, and hope woven around a giant Pacific octopus named Marcellus, who walks around the Sowell Bay Aquarium late at night filching snacks and getting up to all sorts of mischief
He forms an unusual friendship with 70-year old Tova Sullivan. Recently widowed, and having lost her 18-year-old son almost 3 years ago, Tova works the night shift at the aquarium. During one of her shifts, she finds Marcelleus, who has escaped his enclosure for one of his midnight excursions, in a tight spot and saves his life.
Thus starts an unusual friendship between a giant Pacific octopus and a 70-year old woman.
When Cameron Cassmore arrives at the aquarium as Tova’s assistant, the intelligent Marcelleus deduces what happened the night Tova’s son disappeared. Now, he must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it’s too late.
What follows is a heartwarming and utterly compelling story. If you haven’t read this blockbuster debut, you absolutely should!
We Are All Ghosts In The Forest by Lorraine Wilson
Genre: Dystopia
The internet has collapsed, leaving its digital ghosts behind, and they are hungry!
In a different world, Katrina was a photojournalist. Now, she lives a solitary life in the relative safety of her grandmother’s village on the edge of a forest, devoting her days to herbal medicine and beekeeping. Until a wordless boy finds her in the marketplace with nothing but her name in his pocket.
But his arrival brings with it rumours of harvest failure and a rampant digital disease, and the mood in the village starts to sour. Accused of witchcraft, Katerina and Stefan escape into the forest, searching for his missing father and the truth behind the disease.
This is an absolute cracker of a novel with some very interesting and highly relevant themes woven through the narrative. Highly, highly recommended, even if you’re not a fan of dystopian novels. You can read more about the themes in the book here.
Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshanathan
Genre: Historical fiction
In 1981 Jaffna, 16-year-old Sashikala’s dearest dream is to become a doctor like her eldest brother Niranjan and her late grandfather, who was a renowned physician in Colombo. But over the next decade, a vicious civil war tears through her home.
As violence ensues between the warring factions — the Sinhalese government and the Tamil militants who are fighting for an independent state free of persecution of the Tamils — her idyllic life shatters. And as her four beloved brothers and their friend K are swept up in the mounting violence, Sashi is drawn into a life she had never imagined for herself — a medical student also working as a medic for those serving in the movement.
As she bears witness to the politics, the violence, and the activism of the 1980s, Sashi begins to question where she stands. When one of her medical school professors, a Tamil feminist and dissident, invites her to join a secret project documenting human rights violations, she embarks on a dangerous path that will change her forever.
Set during the early years of Sri Lanka’s three-decade civil war, Brotherless Night is a heartrending portrait of the devastating civil war in Sri Lanka and one woman’s moral journey as she navigates the violence. This is one of those rare books that is difficult to read yet impossible to put down; often reading as a true account rather than a work of fiction. It’s a fascinating glimpse into the working of the LTTE; the impact of the war on civilians and even the role of the Indian peacekeeping force; and left me wanting to learn more about the civil war in neighbouring Sri Lanka. I can’t recommend this book highly enough!
Elements of Cadence duology (A River Enchanted & A Fire Endless) by Rebecca Ross
Genre: Fantasy
Enchantments run deep on the island of Cadence: gossip is carried by the wind; plaid shawls can be as strong as armor, and the smallest cut of a knife can instil fathomless fear.
Jack Tamerlaine hasn’t set foot on the island in 10 long years, content to study music at the mainland university. But when young girls start disappearing from the isle, Jack is summoned home to help find them.
When he’s forced to work closely with Adaira, heiress of the east and Jack’s childhood enemy, he wants nothing more than to complete his mission as soon as he can and return to his life on the mainland. But as he sings to the spirits of Water and Earth, it becomes apparent the trouble with the spirits is far more sinister than they first expected, and an older, darker secret about Cadence lurks beneath the surface, threatening to undo them all.
With meticulous world building, a well-paced plot, and some very interesting character arcs, this duology is the perfect atmospheric, cozy read to escape into when you want to leave the world and all its troubles behind.
The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis
Genre: Romance
Rare-book dealer Ashlyn Greer’s affinity for books extends beyond the intoxicating scent of old paper, ink, and leather. She can feel the echoes of the books’ previous owners — an emotional fingerprint only she can read.
When she discovers a pair of beautifully leather bound volumes that appear to have never been published, her gift quickly becomes an obsession. Not only is each inscribed with a startling incrimination, but the authors, Hemi and Belle, tell conflicting sides of a tragic romance.
With no trace of how these mysterious books came into the world, Ashlyn is caught up in a decades-old literary mystery, beckoned by two hearts in ruins.
Determined to learn the truth behind the doomed lovers’ tale, she reads on, following a trail of broken promises and seemingly unforgivable betrayals. The more Ashlyn learns about Hemi and Belle, the nearer she comes to bringing closure to their love story— and to the unfinished chapters of her own life.
Interspersed with beautiful “quotes” from Ashlyn and reflections on the power of books and stories, about life lived or missed, about regrets and finding second chances, this is a compelling, heartwarming, feel-good novel that is perfect for lovers of books and stories well told.
Over to you: Which were your favorite books of 2024? Do tell us in the comments.
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That’s a great selection. I’ll give the 1st one a try for sure!
You can’t go wrong with that book! 🙂