I’ve been setting the ambitious goal of 150 Books Read on Goodreads for the last few years and have consistently reached the uninspiring, yet also probably unsurprising, record of missing it each and every time. This year, after setting that same goal, what with the big move and, you know, life, I haven’t even been keeping track.
So, between now and the end of 2024, I’d like to take a stroll through all the stories and information I’ve added to the already overcrowded library in my head, briefly share them, give credit to the inspiring authors and publishers (who, as of a few Tuesdays ago, became even more vital to our world), and see how close I’ve come to this ever optimistic goal.
The Women by Kristin Hannah is heartbreaking, eye-opening, and unputdownable. Set during the Vietnam War, it is an inspiring illustration of the courage, resilience, compassion, sticktoitiveness, and all-around badassery of girls. It is one of my top 2 Kristin Hannah favorites (Great Alone anyone?) and a top ten 2024 read!
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson is, in a word, enchanting. It is the first of his four “Secret Project” novels set in the Cosmere Universe. Again, the main character is female, this time brought to life by a male author. She is courageous, curious, ingenious, and brilliant. She also collects tea cups. Part fairytale, part science fiction pirate story, and set in a fantasy world you’ve never before experienced, it’s another one of my 2024 top ten favorites! I purchased two hardback copies for Christmas, one for my daughter – and one for ME!
The Shepherd King Duology by Rachel Gillig is a medieval Romantasy (spice level 1/5) with the usual magic/good-vs-evil, but with a healthy helping of completely unique and interesting twists. The world-building is breathtaking – castles, mist-covered forests, medieval gardens, enchanted ruins, dark horsemen, royal feasts, family discord that rivals any 1980’s TV drama, yet also tight-knit family love and unity. I’ve added it to my long list of literary worlds I’d visit in a heartbeat (Night Circus anyone?).
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano: This one is a subtle, modern tribute to a favorite classic, Little Women. It’s written as artfully and beautifully as the cover suggests – not that I ever choose books by their cover (just all the time). It’s a family coming of age story about sisters, loyalty, love, growing pains, and basketball (?!). Even the origin of the book’s title is heartwarming. I love this author and I loved this book, another 2024 top ten for me.
Burn by Colorado Author, Peter Heller – Heller is the Master of outdoorsman, nature adventurer, dystopian stories that leave you saying to yourself, ‘Wait, could this actually happen?’ Burn, his newest novel, starts out with a buddies’ hunting trip that quickly turns into a fight for survival in the midst of what looks like the beginnings of civil war in Maine. Nonstop action. Hard to put down.
The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni is a unique coming of age novel. Sam Hill is born with ocular albinism, making his pupils red, thus, the title. As you can imagine, this makes for a tough road, especially during childhood. It’s a sweet story of resilience, acceptance, the love of family, and forgiveness. This novel is special and another of my 2024 top 10 contenders.
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner is a memoir that navigates a complicated yet fiercely loving relationship between mother and daughter. Layered with the challenges of being biracial in America, and the desire and pressure to remain true to her Korean roots, this is a fascinating, touching read. It sent me on an immediate side trip through Google wanting to know more about the author.
By Any Other Name, Jodi Picoult. As an English major, way back in the dark ages (the 1980’s), I heard whispers questioning whether or not Shakespeare truly authored his great works. At the time, it felt disloyal, even sacrilegious, to consider such whispers. Picoult spins a rich, Elizabethan story, juxtaposed with a modern day female playwright, based on some pretty solid research, giving at least some credence to the rumors. Let me know what you think? Could it be? Plus . . . the cover!
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, Brandon Sanderson. This is another one of Sanderson’s Cosmere Secret Projects. (This man was BUSY during covid!) Again, fantastic world-building, with perfectly timed twists doled out in an unexpected sequence. Also, fighting evil with actual art – including actual battles?!?! Definitely ordering this one in hardback, the illustrated version, of course, to keep for myself!
The Last Murder at the End of the World, Stuart Turton. You’ll surely remember The 7 1/2 Lives of Evelyn Hardcastle? I love it when an author surprises you by creating something so different from his or her previous writings. This is a dystopian murder mystery with enough twists and turns to keep even the biggest Hardcastle fans on their toes. Like nothing I’ve ever read before!
True West, Betsy Gaines Quammen. This book not only takes the reader on an honest and unromanticized trip through the American West, it shows us that we really can talk to each other, regardless of which side of the barbed wire fence we live on. Also . . . the cover!
The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels & The Swifts: A Gallery of Rogues by Beth Lincoln – middle grade mystery adventure. What’s not to love about a family that uses a special dictionary to name its members?! Shenanigan, a precocious 13 year-old protagonist, her sisters, budding scientist, Phenomena and fashion forward Felicity, Uncle Maelstrom, who left his life at sea to help care for the girls. You get the picture. Gallery of Rogues came out just this August and I already can’t wait for the next book!
The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate DiCamillo is a beautiful story of four puppets with ambitions and dreams. It reads like a fairytale as old as the Brothers Grimm themselves. I’ve loved everything this author has ever written. This book is no exception.
Quintessence by Jess Redman. Twelve-year-old Alma is struggling to adjust to her new town, new neighborhood, and especially, her new school. A mysterious Shopkeeper, the school’s Astronomy Club, and an extraordinary falling star help her to find her purpose and, her people. Recommended by a local middle schooler who assured me I’d love it. She was right!
A Pinch of Magic by Michelle Harrison – middle grade fantasy adventure. Three sisters discover their family’s curse and must use all of their brainpower and courage – along with a little help from three ancient heirlooms – to go where they must in order to break it. Book 1 in a series of 4, so there’s plenty more magic and adventure just waiting to be discovered!
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (2005). This is a reread for me. I picked this one back up when the newest installment, Inkworld: The Color of Revenge, was recently released. We read these to our kids, and they were just fantastical, exciting, and scary enough to keep my middle graders asking for, “Just one more chapter!”
The Secret Language of Birds by Lynne Kelly (2024) is the story of 13-year-old Nina, a budding birder, who spends the summer at her aunt’s nature camp and discovers a pair of rare cranes. It’s all about discovering your strengths and talents, your passion, and your people. It’s also about the fascinating and very popular world of birding!
Better with Butter by Victoria Piontek (2021). Twelve-Year-Old Marvel suffers from debilitating anxiety until she rescues a lost miniature fainting goat from a group of bullies. Butter becomes her emotional support animal, but does she really belong to Marvel? A heartwarming story that will have you rooting for Marvel and Googling ‘fainting goats’.
Winterhouse (2018), Secrets of Winterhouse (2018), & Winterhouse Mysteries (2020) is a middle grade mystery/thriller trilogy with a bit of magic thrown in – some good magic and some scary magic. Set in an old historical hotel full of fascinating, quirky guests, it’s another place I so wish I could visit in real life!!
City Spies by James Ponti. I started with the intention of reading just the first one of this fun, exciting, and, also, pretty informative, series in order to connect with the kids who loved it so much and recommend it to other customers. I ended up reading all five and can’t wait for the sixth one, London Calling, to come out in February 2025! Similar to the Spy School series (which I also read in its entirety but reads like the target audience is a bit older. Each volume takes place in a different city, and the young spies who solve crimes under the tutelage of 2 experienced M16 members, ‘Mother’ and ‘Monty’, are also recruited from different cities around the globe Super fun and exciting to read about innovative and resourceful young people fighting crime while discovering cities around the world.
The Cure For Women, Lydia Reeder (2024). If you’re a ‘dude’ (not my word – saw this reference in a recent review), this book will make you uncomfortable. Discrimination aspiring female doctors faced in the 1800’s, as well as aspiring female college students in general, was an eye-opener and, often, infuriating. Well written, well researched, information dense, an important book by a Colorado author.
The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt (2006) explores a full spectrum of philosophers and their theories and writings on the often illusive emotion, happiness. I listened to this one but plan to purchase a physical copy so I can reread it and do some serious highlighting.
Reasons to Stay Alive, Matt Haig (2016) “. . . the oldest cliches remain the truest. Time heals. The bottom of the valley never provides the clearest view. . . Words, just sometimes, really can set you free.” Beautifully written by the author of The Midnight Library, Haig shares his experience with clinical depression and how he came out on the other side of a dark and intense battle.
T-Shirt Swim Club by comedian Ian Karmel (2024). Weirdly, people are more comfortable talking about cancer or mental health or maybe even race or gender roles than about obesity. Karmel shares his life as a fat person in humorous prose, while never losing the very serious thread of the damage bullying and discrimination does to people struggling with this disease that we are just beginning to understand and involves way more than just a lack of self control.