2024 has been a whirlwind! I welcomed my first child in June, and while a baby isn’t typically conducive to hitting your reading goals, I was still able to read 125 books this year, and my little guy has gotten to enjoy many audiobooks with me during feedings. Pivoting to audio is one big change I’ve noticed in my reading habits this year. I’ve also found myself less drawn to dark and twisty books since having a baby (though they’re still in the mix!). Lighter and more entertaining fare is more appealing these days. If you’re curious about my reading habits in the past, you can take a peek at my roundups from 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020).

In addition to giving birth to a small human, I taught a crisis communication course at Nazareth University this spring, celebrated 5 years of Serve Me the Sky Digital in May, lost a major client upon returning from maternity leave, onboarded several new clients throughout the fall, interviewed two content creators I admire (Dr. Fran and Ella Dawson), and had one of my most profitable months ever in December. It’s been a year full of changes, joy, and challenges. It’s been exciting and exhausting. Reading was a good way to stay grounded while life was such an emotional roller coaster.

Without further ado, let’s dive into my 24 favorite books of 2024! I took a new approach this year and organized by mood.

Unhinged & Unexpected

1) Coffee, Shopping, Muder, Love by Carlos Allende

I love books with a strong sense of voice and unlikable characters. If you don’t, then this book is NOT for you. The protagonists are delightfully horrible people–they’re selfish, greedy, stupid, and honestly hilarious. I could never predict where this story was going next.

2) Patricia Wants to Cuddle by Samantha Allen

Reality TV satire that veers into horror territory? Yes please! This bizarre novel has sapphic vibes, a Sasquatch, and a vivid setting in the Pacific Northwest.

3) Hurricane Girl by Marcy Dermansky

Dermansky is the master of tightly paced novels featuring women making questionable choices and plots that just keep escalating. I enjoyed the punchy short sentences and surreal feelings that accompanied our protagonist’s memory loss.

4) Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe

The less you know about this novel going in, the better. The story tackles complex topics like motherhood, sex work, substance use issues, and toxic mother relationships with nuance and humor. Thorpe also plays with perspective and authorial intent in interesting ways. I loved rooting for Margo; she’s a great character and mom!

5) Live, Laugh, Kidnap by Gabby Noone

This book centers around a chaotic fake kidnapping and explores themes of feeling alone and not being able to be your true self. It’s an entertaining time!

Horrifying

6) Dearest by Jacquie Walters

Perhaps my absolute favorite of the year, I was grateful to receive an ARC of Dearest from the publisher and NetGalley that I devoured on maternity leave. This novel is about postpartum depression/anxiety/psychosis, the beauty and horror of parenthood, mother/daughter relationships, and grief. Every detail Walters uses to depict new motherhood is SPOT ON. The body horror of breastfeeding, the mind melting exhaustion, the paradoxical love for your baby and desperate desire to not be responsible for keeping a vulnerable tiny human alive for an hour or two–it’s perfectly rendered and will give you flashbacks if you’re out of the newborn trenches (or make you feel seen if you’re still in it, like I was when I read this). The pacing is tight and relentless; Walters is a TV writer and it shows in how well plotted this novel is. Walters joined my book club via Zoom to discuss Dearest this fall and we loved chatting with her! I can’t wait to read her next book.

We had an awesome time asking jacquie walters all our burning questions about dearest

7) The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin

Just like Rosemary’s Baby, The Stepford Wives holds up shockingly well. Levin’s prose is sharp and the pace moves quickly. It was hard to put down!

8) I Will Never Leave You by Kara Kennedy

This YA novel explores emotional abuse, trauma, a dead mom, ghosts, new friendships, and healing. The relationship between our protagonist and her ex feels real and vibrant. The story moves backwards and forwards in time in a way that feels effortless and cinematic. This novel is beautifully written.

9) Wavewalker: A Memoir of Breaking Free by Suzanne Heywood

What will horrify you here is the controlling narcissism of Heywood’s parents, who pulled their kids out of school to sail around the world with them for over a decade. They put their children into incredibly unsafe situations, neglected their physical and emotional needs, and eventually abandoned them in New Zealand. It’s a powerful book with a great mix of descriptive writing about terrifying storms at sea and interesting people and places blended with the tale of Heywood’s efforts to escape to a more stable life.

10) Lakewood by Megan Giddings

A research project that preys on vulnerable people by paying them extremely well so that they can exploit them? The government would never do that… In Lakewood, our protagonist is eager to help repay her family’s debts, so she signs on for an experiment that’s riddled with red flags. Every page is saturated in humor, creepiness, realism, and horror. I just wish it hadn’t ended so abruptly!

Nostalgic

11) Log Off by Kristen Felicetti

This novel about a teenage girl documenting her life on LiveJournal made me nostalgic for the early 2000s and my angsty teenage self. Felicetti does an amazing job capturing all the big feelings that come with being a high schooler, feeling like you don’t fit in, having issues at home, female friendships, navigating identity, feeling misunderstood, and more. Felicetti joined our book club in person for a fun Q&A about Log Off and we had a wonderful time chatting about the novel and all things western New York!

we loved our conversation with kristen felicetti!

12) The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Perez

Whether or not you’ve ever made a zine, this YA novel was a fun story about learning to make friends, be yourself, and what it really means to be punk.

13) The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

I reread this old favorite and it brought me right back to my childhood obsession with ancient Egypt. It hits differently as an adult and has lots of funny moments and creepy vibes.

14) The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson

This holds up delightfully well and reminded me how much JK Rowling ripped off from Eva Ibbotson. There are lots of quips that land differently for an adult reader, and I loved being transported back to this whimsical world.

Informative & Engaging

15) How to Be Enough: Self-Acceptance for Self-Critics and Perfectionists by Ellen Hendriksen

Hendriksen does a fantastic job explaining concepts in a straightforward way, sharing anecdotes from her work with clients, and connecting her own personal experiences too. She offers truly insightful ideas on perfectionism and its roots as well as actionable advice for how to manage it.

16) Strangers Assume My Girlfriend is My Nurse by Shane Burcaw

With short and engaging chapters, Burcaw teaches readers what it’s like to live with a disability (specifically spinal muscular atrophy). He’s funny and down to earth (though there’s more bathroom humor in this memoir than I usually like in a book).

17) Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers by Deborah Heiligman

This was my first YA nonfiction book! It was fascinating to learn about the relationship between Vincent Van Gogh and his brother Theo. The language is dramatic and I think it romanticizes things a bit, but it’s still a moving and heartbreaking read.

18) I Survived Capitalism and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt: Everything I Wish I Never Had to Learn About Money by Madeline Pendleton

TikTokker Madline Pendleton blends personal stories with financial advice in a memoir that’s full of heart and emotion. Pendleton keeps it empathetic and smart, never condescending or boring.

Romantic

19) Think of England by KJ Charles

KJ Charles is excellent at what she does. This romance has an intriguing plot, a great relationship to root for, and a traumatized former soldier trying to find purpose in his post-military life.

20) Morbidly Yours by Ivy Fairbanks

What happens when a girl whose husband has just died moves to Ireland and happens to live next door to a handsome young mortician? I think you can guess! The Irish setting, the mortician love interest, and the steamy scenes–were all highly enjoyable to read.

Reflective & Thought Provoking

21) Briefly Perfectly Human by Alua Arthur

Arthur does a beautiful job weaving together stories from her client work and her personal journey to becoming a death doula. She shares lessons about how complicated it is to grieve someone who was not a good person, the nonsense pressure to never speak ill of the dead, and the importance of honesty and truth. The final pages are very moving. I’d highly recommend this to anyone interested in mortality, death doula work, and life.

22) Never Been Better by Leanne Toshiko Simpson

While this is marketed as women’s fiction or romance, it’s actually all about the reality of living with mental illness and the value of finding community.

23) Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City by Jane Wong

This book was intense and beautiful, full of pain, anger, memories, and vivid portraits of Wong’s life.

24) Subculture Vulture: A Memoir in Six Scenes by Moshe Kasher

It’s entertaining and educational to journey alongside Kasher through AA at 15 and falling out of love with it in adulthood to rave culture to Burning Man and beyond. Each chapter closes with lines that are surprisingly deep and beautiful!

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