I read a total of 28 books in 2024, and today I’m going to share my top 7 favorites (books and series). In my opinion, every single one of these books is excellent, and I recommend all of them to those who enjoy speculative fiction.
Here are my favorite books from this year, with links if I wrote about them:
Legends & Lattes and Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree: I didn’t know I wanted cozy fantasy novels until I read these books, and now I want more.- Beartown, Us Against Them, and The Winners by Fredrik Backman: I’ve never rooted for so many different characters in a single book series (and felt so much heartbreak for them).
- The Serpent and the Wings of Night and The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent: This is my second year of “romantasy”, and I really like the vampire-fantasy worldbuilding.
- The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman: This book brilliantly answers the question of what happens after the legend of King Arthur?
- Outland and Earthside by Dennis E. Taylor: I love the concept of building a new society in an Earth-adjacent world after a supervolcano forever changes our planet.
- The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo: This is a dark modern fairy tale of sorts, an area in which Bardugo excels.
- Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara: The one work of nonfiction on my list this year, I love the stories told about how to go above and beyond to serve customers.
These join a lot of other books I really enjoyed, including The Midnight Library, Remarkably Bright Creatures, The Mercy of Gods, and Dungeon Crawler Carl. Brandon Sanderson’s newest entry in The Stormlight Archives will need to wait for 2025, as I still have over 70% of it to read.
What are a few of your favorite books you read in 2024? Are there any specific books you’re looking forward to in 2025?