Books have always been my primary source of entertainment, but post-Oct. 7, 2023 they also became my support system. Once proud of my membership in the 50-books-a-year club, I reached a new milestone in 2024: 100-plus! If you assumed this made culling a of” list more difficult, you’d be wrong.
More than anything in 2024, reading was my escape. Holding a hard copy book makes it difficult to do anything else, like check the news or social media for updates about Israel, especially when the genre is page-turning psychological thrillers.
My only five-star in this genre this year was The Five Year Lie by Sarina Bowen, in part because I learned a lot about privacy and door camera technology. There was also a really cute child character, which always helps!
Here are my other best reads of 2024:
“What if” novels, which explore roads not taken, featured heavily. These typically include a time travel or an alternate history element. The most poignant was Maybe Next Time by Cesca Major. The most bonkers was The Husbands by Holly Gramazio, though its ending didn’t quite live up.
Despite my aversion this past year for sad books, I read some excellent literary fiction. The top was My Friends (mentioned in Snapshot, Dec. 13). Another was Priscilla Morris’ Black Butterflies, which takes place in the early months of the 1992 siege of Sarajevo. Despite the grim setting there is an airiness to the story. Without being obvious, the author conveys how devastation transforms the structures that define our lives — home, work, friendship, family — into mere filaments, represented by the titular black butterflies.
A surprising read came in the memoir category with children’s author Beverly Cleary’s On My Own Two Feet. I hadn’t realized how much of her malt shop novel The Luckiest Girl was based on her own experience. Cleary’s story took me into the Great Depression, and in addition to learning about her personal journey, it was fascinating to see what daily life was like during that time of deprivation.
As a companion, I read the nonfiction The Art of Ramona Quimby, which chronicles and compares the four major illustrators of Cleary’s most famous character. It was not only a joyous read but challenged my biases toward certain illustrators. I loved how author Anna Katz was able to see the unique aspects of each illustrator’s interpretation. I became appreciative of the softer, emotional aspects of complicated and beloved characters that the more contemporary illustrators evoke.
My funnest book was My Husband, by Maud Ventura. It won’t be to everyone’s taste, but if a novel makes me laugh out loud, it goes on the list. If you love crazy, engaging female narrators, this is for you.
What were your best 2024 reads? I’d love to hear your reading tips: shana@ijn.com
© IJN 2024
