Looking back at my reading year is one of the best parts of a new year! I'm sure you can relate. I had a great reading year. I read a lot of books (probably more than I have since I was a young teenager!) and enjoyed so many of them. It was hard to narrow it down to my favorites, but this is my attempt to do so.
I read 230 books in 2024 and 71,113 pages, for an average of 309 pages per book, an average of 19 books per month, and 5,926 pages per month. I read 108 five star reads, 76 four star reads, 37 three star reads, and 9 two star reads. I read 66 fantasy books, 47 mystery books, 50 contemporary, 22 historical fiction, 20 nonfiction, and 16 classics. I read 97 middle grade, 25 YA, and 107 adult books. We had 52 read alouds (including books we listened to as a family). I read 84 eBooks, 43 physical books, and listened to 104 audiobooks. I read 170 books by female authors and 68 books by male authors. 163 books were new reads and 62 were rereads. I bought 71 physical books and donated 4, and I bought 206 eBooks, 107 audiobooks, and 49 picture books. It was a great year for reading and buying books!
And now, here are my favorite reads of 2024! I like to use categories to help myself narrow them down.
My Favorite New Release
I read quite a few new releases in 2024 and loved them, but this one was a favorite! It follows Butch Cassidy after he tries to get out of the outlaw life. A lot of the book takes place in Utah, which was fun since that's where I live. I really loved the romance, the character development, and the ending (especially after being worried that I would hate the ending). Amy Harmon continues as a favorite author!
A Book that Surprised Me
I grew up loving Anne of Green Gables but never read anything else by her (and in fact, haven't ever read most of the books in the Anne series, something I want to remedy soon!). I did not know what I was missing out on! I had never even heard of The Blue Castle until the eBook was on sale, but I bought it and then promptly devoured it. The characters had so much to them and the romance was adorable and I loved seeing Valancy grow in confidence and find herself. It was a hidden gem, and you can be sure I'm going to read more books by L.M. Montgomery this next year.
Runner Up: A Book that Surprised Me
This might be cheating a little--putting an extra book in this section, but I simply couldn't narrow it down. I had read another book by Jane Harper a few years ago and liked it, but I kept putting this one off because it didn't really sound like my kind of book. When I finally read it, I surprisingly couldn't put it down. It was a character driven thriller, and I loved both the characters and the mystery in it.
Favorite Nonfiction
I didn't read a lot of nonfiction this year, but I did read some that I really liked (runner up for this one would be The Anxious Generation). This parenting book wasn't ground breaking for me--I've read a lot of parenting books, so I've heard everything already that was laid out in this book, but it was a much needed and great reminder. I loved the way the author talked about boundaries, how it's never too late or too early, emotions in kids, and the way she gave permission to trust your child to learn what they need without a lecture from you.
Favorite Spontaneous Read
I have a big backlog of books to get through and love planning out my TBR, but I do throw in some spontaneous reads every once in a while. This was one of those and I loved it! I tend to enjoy middle grade mysteries, and this was a fun twist--a middle grade kid working with the FBI. The characters and friendships throughout the series are fun and well done as well.
Favorite Agatha Christie Read
Because I read an Agatha Christie book each month (at least one), I started just making this a category until I finish off her books. I loved so many of her books this last year, but The Clocks was my favorite. It's a Poirot, though he's actually not as involved in the mystery as most of his books. Despite that, the characters are just brilliant, and the mystery is a very fun one with a satisfying conclusion.
Favorite Book in a Series
I try to keep up with series that I start, so I end up reading a lot of books that are parts of series. This one is the start of an unfinished series, but can work as a stand alone. It was one of my top favorite books of the year! It was a quirky contemporary with a bit of murder mystery thrown in. I absolutely loved the main characters, especially Vera, and the ending was just my cup of tea! I can't wait for the second one to come out!
Favorite Recommended Book
This book/author was recommended by one of my favorite book bloggers Everyday Reading. I love regency romances, but it can be hard to find ones that are really well written, but this one definitely was! It had a really great hate-to-love relationship with a marriage of convenience during the second half that was really fun to read. I loved the characters and the relationships they had with each other throughout.
Favorite Book That Made Me Cry
I have always cried easily during books or movies, so this gets its own category. The Sugar Queen was a really riveting read for me. The big twist at the end was pretty obvious, but I think it was supposed to be and I actually liked that it was. I loved the way the relationships ended up as well.
Favorite Read Aloud
We had a lot of great read alouds together, but this for sure took the top spot! I loved the book (in fact, I read it on my own first and then listened to it with the girls just a few weeks later). The kids all loved it so much that they wanted to listen to it again as soon as we had finished it. We listened to it together three times total in the year (usually on car trips, because it was a good length for that) and bought a physical copy for them to read on their own or for me to read aloud to them this next year more. It has a fun mystery, great characters, and jokes that even my five-year-old can understand and appreciate.
Favorite Book by a Favorite Author
Some of these categories have overlap, but that's okay. One of my favorite authors is Katherine Center--I love the way she handles romcoms, with fun and quirky characters while keeping some substance in her books as well. In this one, I loved the "writing a rom com" plot line and the romance really worked for me. This didn't take the place of my number one favorite Katherine Center, but it's up there!
Bonus Category-Favorite Reread!
My main rereads in 2024 were Cosmere books by Brandon Sanderson--I talked about my plan in this blog post and managed to reread them all! It was tough to pick just one favorite, but I ended up picking Way of Kings. My favorite in the series is actually Oathbringer, but I just loved rereading Way of Kings this time, even more than Oathbringer. It never dragged for me the way it sometimes has in the past and the ending is just so great. If I got to pick a runner up, I would have picked Mistborn, but I would have had to pick the entire series.
Those were my favorite books this year! I had a great reading year, it was hard to narrow it down. What were your favorite books you read in 2024? I'd love to hear from you!
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