Hi all. Happy New Year. It seems crazy to be into 2025. It has a futuristic ring to it, eh? I finished out 2024 with three novels that I’ll review next time, but they included Somerset Maugham’s epic classic Of Human Bondage from 1915, which I had started in October as part of Ti’s read-along at Book Chatter. I read half of the book then, which is give-or-take 684 pages, then set it down and picked it up again in December and read the rest of it. Ha, that’s one way to do a big read. More on that novel next post, but now it’s time to wrap up my thoughts about my 2024 reading. Perhaps this comic strip by Mark Parisi says something about it — I had to laugh when I saw it. Did you ever finish all your summer reads?
I completed 61 books this year, which is more or less my usual. I’m a pretty ponderous reader, often I read or listen to parts of books twice before moving on — I like getting the full scoop out of it. I’ll finish a book and then check out the beginning again and sometimes keep going, lol. And often I take a bit of a breather between books, so I’m not the quickest. The good news is according to the stats my female to male author ratio was more equally distributed this year as was my print reads to audio listens, though my number of diversity reads and my nonfiction needs work. Still I enjoyed so many good books.
I had a very hard time picking my 12 Top favorites of the year. I decided they had to be both appealing and strongly written and put together. I still think my Honorable Mentions could be on the list too. This year debut novels were particular strong and three made my list. So without out further adieu below is my list of favorite fiction (in no particular order) and nonfiction (of which I only read 9, so they all made the list, lol.) Let me know what you think.
Stats: 61 books completed & reviewed
Fiction — 52
Nonfiction — 9
Female authors — 33
Male authors — 28
White authors — 49
Non-White authors — 12
Print books — 30
Audiobooks — 31
American authors — 37
British authors — 5
Canadian authors — 4
Irish authors — 4
Welsh authors — 1
French authors — 1
Australian authors — 1
Israeli authors — 1
Chinese authors — 1
Korean authors — 1
Japanese authors — 1
Malaysian authors — 1
India authors — 1
Norwegian authors — 1
Favorite Novels:
(1) Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout (2024) – Strout delivers again with her charm of characters in Cosby, Maine. Writer Lucy Barton meets Olive Kitteridge, and Bob Burgess figures prominently.
(2) James by Percival Everett (2024) – One of the most talked about novels of the year and the National Book Award winner lives up to the hype. My first Everett novel but surely not my last.
(3) Prophet Song by Paul Lynch (2023) – A chilling dystopian tale that won the Booker Prize in 2023 and swept me away on audio.
(4) Western Lane by Chetna Maroo (2023) – A debut novel about a young squash player and her internal family drama that caught me up in its telling.
(5) In Memoriam by Alice Winn (2024) – An epic World War I tale that put me on the battlefield and included a captivating love story.
(6) My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (2012) – I was pleased to get to this modern classic about two childhood friends in 1950s Italy in a read-along discussion with Tina at Turn the Page.
(7) Long Island by Colm Toibin (2024) – The sequel to Brooklyn proved maybe Tony wasn’t the lifelong partner for Eilis. Perhaps more sequels will follow.
(8) The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng (2023) – An atmospheric tale in which author Somerset Maugham comes to visit a couple in Penang, Malaysia and a murder trial unfolds kept me intrigued.
(9) River East, River West by Aube Rey Lescure (2024) – A debut coming-of-age tale set in Shanghai, China that had me rooting for mixed-race teenage Alva.
(10) Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips (2023) – A well told story (winner of this year’s Pulitzer Prize) that’s dark in its Civil War horrors and light with the refuge of an asylum that helps a girl and her mute mother.
(11) Pearly Everlasting by Tammy Armstrong (2024) – A new favorite Canadian author casts a spell with her lyrical writing about a girl growing up in a New Brunswick logging camp with a bear cub.
(12) Beyond That, the Sea by Laura Spence-Ash (2023) – An enjoyable read about two families that mix when a girl is sent abroad to the U.S. during the bombing of London in WWII.
Honorable Mention Novels
* The Road to Dalton by Shannon Bowring (2023) – a wonderful debut
* The Coast Road by Alan Murrin (2024) – another great debut
Absolution by Alice McDermott (2023) – a masterful writer
The Guest by Emma Cline (2023) – love her gritty tales
Favorite Nonfiction
(1) Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage (1959) – This amazing survival tale never seems to lessen for me.
(2) Running With Sherman by Christopher McDougall (2019) – A wonderful account of an abused donkey that gets a second chance at life.
(3) I’ve Tried Being Nice (Essays) by Ann Leary (2024) – Much of this is funny and endearing about the author’s family life, her sobriety, and life as writer. The audio is entertainingly read by the author.
(4) Late Migrations by Margaret Renkl (2019) – A good intro into the beginnings of the author’s family life and awakenings of her joy of nature.
(5) The Wide Wide Sea by Hampton Sides (2024) – A pretty extensive account of Captain Cook’s last fateful voyage that kept me tuned in to figuring out what led to his demise.
(6) The Last Days of Hitler by Hugh Trevor-Roper (1947) – A chilling look at the Fuhrer and his evil regime and the final days in a Berlin bunker at the end of WWII.
(7) My Friend Anne Frank by Hannah Pick-Goslar (2023) – A moving memoir of a classmate and friend of Anne’s in Amsterdam whose path crosses again with her later while at Bergen-Belsen. A glimpse into their friendship and story.
(8) Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie (2024) – An inspiring and heroic look at the author’s life and thoughts after he was almost killed in 2022.
(9) Sonny Boy by Al Pacino (2024) – The lowdown from Al about his life and iconic theater and movie roles with a glimpse into his personal relationships.
Debut Novels
In Memoriam by Alice Winn (2024)
River East, River West by Aube Rey Lescure (2024)
The Coast Road by Alan Murrin (2024)
Beyond That, the Sea by Laura Ash-Spence (2023)
Western Lane by Chetna Maroo (2023)
Women’s Hotel by Daniel Lavery (2024)
Classics:
Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham (1915)
Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster (1912)
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (1876)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (1885)
Apocalyptic tales:
Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice (2018)
I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger (2024)
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch (2023)
Translated Lit:
Brightly Shining by Ingvild H. Rishoi (2024)
Fresh Water for Flowers by Valerin Perrin (2021)
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (2012)
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa (2023)
Biographies & Memoirs:
Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie (2024)
Sonny Boy by Al Pacino (2024)
Historical Fiction:
The Jackal’s Mistress by Chris Bohjalian (2025)
The Women by Kristen Hannah (2024)
A Hundred Flowers by Gail Tsukiyama (2012)
The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng (2023)
James by Percival Everett (2024)
Women’s Hotel by Daniel M. Lavery (2024)
Clear by Carys Davies (2024)
The General and Julia by Jon Clinch (2024)
Absolution by Alice McDermott (2023)
Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips (2023)
In Memoriam by Alice Winn (2024)
Coming of Age tales:
Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham (1915)
Pearly Everlasting by Tammy Armstrong (2024)
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (2012)
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa (2023)
City of Night Birds by Juhea Kim (2024)
True Grit by Charles Portis (1968)
The Guest by Emma Cline (2023)
River East, River West by Aube Rey Lescure (2024)
Favorite Audios:
Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout narrated by Kimberly Farr
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch narrated by Gerry O’Brien
The Road to Dalton by Shannon Bowring narrated by Patrica Shade
True Grit by Charles Portis narrated by Donna Tartt
The Women by Kristen Hannah narrated by Julia Whalen
Long Island by Colm Toibin narrated by Jessie Buckley
Crime /Mystery /or Intrigue
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (2024)
Twist by Colum McCann (2025)
Entitlement by Rumaan Alam (2024)
The Lost Americans by Christopher Bollen (2023)
Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty (2021)
Domestic family /or partner stories
Western Lane by Chetna Maroo (2023)
Going Home by Tom Lamont (2024)
Sandwich by Catherine Newman (2024)
Sweet Vidalia by Lisa Sandlin (2024)
A Great Country by Shilpi Somaya Gowda (2024)
Long Island by Colm Toibin
Leaving by Roxana Robinson (2024)
The Road to Dalton by Shannon Bowring
Welcome Home, Stranger by Kate Christensen (2023)
The Caretaker by Ron Rash (2023)
You Are Here by David Nicholls (2024)
How to Read a Book by Monica Wood (2024)
The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters (2023)
Beyond That, the Sea by Laura Spence-Ash (2023)
Time Travel / or Magical elements
Kindred by Octavia Butler (1979)
King Nyx by Kirsten Bakis (2024)
Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino (2024)
Short Stories
Table for Two by Amor Towles (2024)
That’s all for now. What about you — what did you think about any of these?
Such variety! I’m glad you thought so highly of Beyond That, the Sea, given it was one of my favorites a year ago. I liked Long Island a lot too and my book group enjoyed discussing it in December. Did I mention that Jayne Anne Phillips is in my mother’s book group? I haven’t met her but we’ve emailed and my mother says she is very nice. She has a connection to the author of Beyond That, the Sea and is thanked at the end of the book. Sometimes I think everything is interconnected!
Wishing you a great year of books!
Hi Constance, thanks. I think it was your review of Beyond That the Sea that made me read it. I enjoyed it a lot. And I can’t believe Jayne Anne Phillips is in your mother’s book group! Holy Smokes. Her storytelling blew me away. I look forward to what both of these authors write next. So cool your mother knows them. I hope this year will be as rich in reading as 2024 was. I’m sure it will be, lol. Happy reading & 2025.
This is a great list of books Susan and its given me so many ideas of what to read in 2025. I thought House of Doors and The Road To Dalton were excellent. And I want to read James and Tell Me Everything but before I do that I should read Olive Kitteridge which I never got around to but will. And Sunny Boy is going on my TBR list.
Thanks Kathy, that’s kind of you to say. And I agree I’d like to read more from Tan Twan Eng and also the sequel of The Road to Dalton is a must this year. The Olive Kitteridge novel is pretty good though I think Olive’s grown on me over time (with Olive Again) and the last few of Strout’s Amgash series have been excellent. See what you think. They aren’t for everyone but many enjoy Strout’s style & characters. Wishing you great reading in 2025!
Wow. What a wonderful list of favorites. I am especially interested in your nonfiction selections. I read very few nonfiction titles this past year and want to do something about that!
Thanks Anne. I hope to boost my nonfiction this year too. I only finished 9 nonfiction this past year but they were pretty good ones. Nonfiction usually takes me a lot longer to read than fiction — especially histories but they can be really rewarding too. Wishing you great reads in 2025.
Good morning! Of your favprites listed I have read three and have the Alice Winn book on my list for this year. I very much enjoyed our buddy read. Long Island ended with a possibilty of another book so that would be interesting. Tony was a disapointment me but his family…just wow. Loved the story in Beyond That, The Sea and would read more by that author.
That’s nice you broke the books down by category and that’s helpful to me in selecting more book titles, depending on my goal. Hope you are still enjoying family time and I hope to write a post catching up soon.
Hi Tina, yeah we got busy with family and are wrapping things up here in Calif. It is pretty hard to leave. I like how many of our reads dovetail and we can share thoughts on the books. It’s fun. I agree that Beyond That the Sea swept me away — interested to see what she writes next. Alice Winn’s is a bit of a fat epic story.
I hope you’re enjoying these first days of 2025. Happy reading.
I have read several of your books, which is not surprising — but what is surprising is that so many of them are books that I keep meaning to read but haven’t done it. I need to copy your list into my amazon list (where I use their software to keep track of what I want to read, not what I want people to gift me).
Have a great year of reading in 2025… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Thanks Mae. It seems I need to get an Amazon TBR list to keep track too. It would be helpful. If you read some more of these — I’ll be interested to see your thoughts. Wishing you a great year as well.
Happy New Year, Susan! I agree with Constance, there was such variety in your reading! Out of your 12 favorite novels I have read four, and only one—James— made my top books of the year. I still have to read Prophet Song, when I can find the time. It’s good that despite delays and reading ruts you read pretty much the same amount you always do. I didn’t. 🙁 It’s nice to see all your reading stats. Here’s to another great year of reading for us all!
Hi Carmen, thanks. I can’t believe it’s the new year again, lol. I had a tough time trying to pick favorites – but between those & honorable mentions — I think these were the novels that took me away. The Women actually does too (the first half) but the second half had too many nutty twists.
I hope we both have a good year of reading — life sometimes get in the way so don’t get too hard on yourself. I’ll try to prioritize more reading time this year so we’ll see if that works. I’m a bit off to a slow start but just tying up things in Calif has been busy. Wishing you a great 2025!
Nice breakdown of your reading this last year, Susan. Of your favorites I’ve only read My Brilliant Friend. I do have Beyond That, The Sea to pick up at some point. I laughed at your thought of 2025 seeming futuristic – my thoughts too. I was chatting a bit yesterday with the pharmacist at my drug store and I said that to her. She laughed too and said she had heard that we are beyond the time that The Jetsons was supposed to take place. Ha! Think that’s true? Maybe. Hope you have a good week and some good reading!
Hi Kay, ha, lol – we are past the Jetsons now?! I watched that show as a youngster … funny. I hope we get those flying saucers soon. And thanks someday I’ll graph my stats & categories, but I haven’t gotten there just yet, lol.
I plan to read book #2 in the Ferrante series this year. The books are quite detailed so they take me a while to read. But I think you’ll fall into Beyond That the Sea quickly — it took me away. Happy reading to you as well & 2025!
I love seeing this list! James also made my top novels of the year, I keep thinking about it which is a good sign for a book.
I’ve got Tell Me Everything on tap for early this year and am really looking forward to it.
Happy New Year!
Thanks Helen, I never know which way my reading is going during the year till I make this list at the end of the year, lol. James was so astute how Everett did the retelling and I liked the action-packed ending. I hope you like the Strout book — I have especially liked the last three in her series. Maybe Lucy by the Sea might be my fav but this one is close. Happy reading & 2025 to you as well!
One of my problems with reading is that I read too fast. I know that I miss important things at times. I would like to slow down the experience but haven’t come up with ideas for doing that.
One of my goals this year is to read everything by Elizabeth Strout featuring Lucy Barton, Olive Kitteridge, or Bob Burgess and then get a copy of Tell Me Everything. Don’t know if I can do that or not, but I will try.
I don’t have a copy of Pearly Everlasting by Tammy Armstrong yet, so I won’t be reading that soon, but maybe towards the end of the year. I have copies of The Road to Dalton and Absolution which I do hope to read in 2025.
Hi Tracy, it sounds like you have good reading plans for 2025. All the Strout books Wow, and I think you’ll like the others you mention too.
I try not to read quickly so I can remember details in order to write the reviews. Do you read in print mostly or via ebook? Maybe some note taking might slow you down a bit? I jot post-it notes in books while reading and highlight in ebooks (to get the main details), so I think that slows me some.
Wishing you a fun & happy reading year!
Almost all of my reading is print books. When I do read ebooks, I highlight a lot (too much). I do sometime use sticky notes to add notes in the book as I am reading. Sometimes doesn’t work as well when reading a mystery. Regardless, it would be better if I wrote more notes when I was reading.
I also use a ton of colored sticky tabs when I am reading any book, to note important plot points or words I want to look up, and sometimes keep up with a lot of characters.
Yeah me too. I like using sticky notes when I read in print. I read mostly in print too — but I think I might boost my ebook reading this year as it is a bit easier at night and I do like to highlight sentences. I hope you have success with slowing down a bit. I sort of need to speed up, ha ha.
You read books written by authors from such a wonderful variety of places around the world. That’s fantastic.
I thought James and Prophet Song were excellent reads. I just requested The Wide Wide Sea, and I will probably look for Knife soon.
I’m glad you had such a great reading year.
Thanks Deb. I didn’t realize the variety … while the year was ongoing. I just look for good reads. I’m happy with these on the list — they had some depth to them and took me away. I agree James & Prophet Song were strong. Both were tense and had scary elements. And Knife is a bit of a quick read while Wide Wide Sea is a long one. See what you think. Wishing you a very happy 2025 & reading year!
I wonder how I missed Wide Wide Sea until now. I’m looking forward to reading it. It sounds like the sort of tale I love.
Yeah my husband & I listened to Wide Wide Sea in April last year when we were driving to Calif. I was mostly invested in the story towards the latter half when Cook makes some moves that lead to his demise. Then I was really keyed into hearing now why did this happen — as he had been successful with the local people before and as an explorer. I’m still a bit fascinating with what Cook did & all the places he went. I hope you enjoy it.
That’s a lot of books. I like your lists of favorites and the various categories. I hadn’t thought about reading The Women as an audiobook, but that might work well for me.
Hi Joy, thanks. Many of these reads took me away. The audio of The Women is very good and I was pretty gripped to the story. It would’ve made my top list but the second half had one too many twists. The first half is really good. Check it out and Happy 2025!
Yes, 2025 does sound futuristic! Can you believe the Y2K worry was 25 years ago?
Love your year-end summary, Susan. You read about the same amount of books as I did. This year I decided to list my 5-star reads as my Top Favorites, which turned out to be fewer than a dozen. My honorable mentions, however, were quite a lot. I plan to share that post tomorrow. Of your favorites, I’ve only read In Memoriam, which I loved. I have James, Tell Me Everything, Long Island, and Beyond That, the Sea in my stacks. Glad to know I have a few winners in my stacks. I also have Ann Leary’s memoir on audio and will listen in the coming months. Rod got two copies of Hampton Sides’ book, but I’m not sure if it’s for me…
Safe travels home!
Hi Lesley, thanks. We are wrapping things up in Calif. and it’s been a busy week. We’ll leave at the end of the week, argh.
And no I can’t believe how long ago Y2K was, wow. I’m so glad you liked the Alice Winn book so much. It was quite strong. See what you think of the others. The year-end summary is always quite interesting for me to see — but the favorites are hard for me to pick. Many of mine are 4+ stars so then I need to pull out my hair deciding. But I’m happy with this list along with the honorable mentions. Even if maybe not 5 stars — they transported me away.
Wishing you a great 2025 and reading year!
Congratulations on a great year of reading, and thanks for sharing your favourites!
I look forward to seeing what you read in 2025.
Thanks Shelleyrae. Another reading year in the books, ha lol.
I hope we both have another good year of reading. So much ahead. And right now I’m watching a lot of the pro tennis in Australia … so I can see all your hot weather over there. Stay cool!
2025 sounded far away a few years ago. You had a great reading year from the looks of it, Susan! I was surprised how much I read this past year, but then, I did make an effort to pick up a book over my phone and television more often the first eight months of the year. Sometimes more successfully than others. I am trying not to let my expectations for myself get to high this year, but I worry it’s too late for that. Haha. It’s always like this at this time of year for me until reality sets in.
I meant to read The House of Doors this past year but wasn’t able to get to it. I am glad it made your favorites list! I liked James very much, but it wasn’t a top favorite of mine. I can see why it was for so many though. I am glad I decided to read it. I got a copy of I’ve Tried Being Nice for Christmas and am looking forward to reading it.
I hope you have a great 2025!
Thanks Wendy, I’m glad you had such a great reading year. I was aiming for 65 books but only got to 61. I will try to prioritize my time more this year, lol.
I enjoyed I’ve Tried Being Nice as an audio read by the author. See what you think. We’ve been going back & forth from Redlands to the OC (on the 91) during this trip. It’s a pretty frantic freeway, lol. I know you know …. the traffic craziness there. Now we’re wrapping things up and will be leaving later this week.
Wishing you a great 2025 as well.
Love the detail in this post. I could never do a stats post.
I am glad you got through OHB. It was pretty good IMO.
Hi Ti, thanks. Ha someday I’ll have to figure out graphing the stats — but I haven’t gotten there yet. It is interesting to see what I’ve done at the end of the year — b/c during the year I don’t plan on what I’m reading etc. It gives me some ideas. OHB turned out to be an epic read for me. There’s been only a couple times I’ve read a book that long. The ending was happier … than I thought it’d be. Happy 2025!
It sounds like you had a good reading year with lots of variety! There are several books on your favourites list, I would like to get to, including James and Prophet Song. Will check if I can get them from the library. My Brilliant Friend was certainly an interesting portrayal, but it didn’t quite make it to my favourites. Fingers crossed 2025 will be a good reading year as well.
Thanks Stargazer. Many of these had some depth and took me away. The audio of Prophet Song is pretty strong. See what you think. My Brilliant Friend was a bit of an epic read for me — quite detailed in its telling. I will try for Book 2 of this series this year. I hope this year will have good reading as well. Fingers crossed for both of us. Happy 2025!
Looks like a nice mix of reads here. I didn’t read anything on your list, but I remember Pearly Everlasting catching my attention. I need to look it up and see if they have an audio at my library. I still can’t believe it’s 2025!
Are you and your family okay? I’m not sure where you are staying in Southern California, but I remember you saying it was by the beach and I’ve seen these frightening pictures of the fires in Pacific Palisades! I hope are well away from all of that!
Hi – thanks Rachel. Yeah the fires & heavy wind have been scary. My brother in Pasadena evacuated – but luckily he & his place are okay. Thank goodness. We are staying in the Orange County area now and are okay. The winds were crazy last night. And what terrible devastation to L.A. County, ugh! Hope the wind stops soon.
I wonder if Pearly Everlasting has a good audio narrator — I’m not sure but check it out. Hope your year starts off well.
So happy to hear you’re okay and I hope your brother’s home continues to be safe! Glad he’s evacuated if things change.
The devastation is really unbelievable! The winds in Southern California are so turbulent and frequent. I always worried about arsonists when we had wind warnings and there was cause to worry. I wonder if that’s what happened here.
Hi Rachel, thanks, yeah I’m not sure what started the fires but it was really blowing hard. I wonder a bit about the power lines and the trees. I hope it wasn’t arson, ugh.
The devastation is so widespread. Today on Thursday there was no wind so I hope the firefighters gained some ground in controlling them. There’s a wall of smoke near us in Orange County. The air must be really bad in L.A. We start driving back tomorrow.
Happy New Year to you too! 2025 does feel very futuristic. Especially with all the new technology coming out. Have you seen the new Tesla car? Mindblowing. What a good year for reading! This is an amazingly impressive list.
Thanks Lux. I like how these books took me to various places. They were all quite good. And I haven’t seen the new Tesla but there seem to be a lot of Teslas here in California — which we’ve seen while staying here. I hope you have a great start to the new year!
Your stats are wonderful–I don’t even log what is audio versus print, much less author origins, but I love seeing the diversity you’ve achieved. Well done.
James is still on my list. as are the other Ferrante novels. I did also like Brilliant Friend. Took a pass on Long Island, but eager to read the sequel to The Road to Dalton. I also really liked Night Watch.
Thanks Jane. It’s always a bit of a surprise to me to see my stats and what kind of authors I read during the year or in what format. I don’t really plan on anything — other than to read things I think might be good — so I’m curious to see the numbers. I’m glad you liked Night Watch. Her storytelling was great I thought. And I plan to read book 2 of Ferrante sometime this year. I look forward to seeing which ones you read this year. Happy 2025!
Loved reading this post!! Tell Me Everything and James were my favorite novels this year, too. Beyond That, The Sea and Long Island are on my shelf, and House of Doors is still on my tbr list. Glad to see My Brilliant Friend here. Will you continue with the series? I thought the books kept getting better and have considered rereading them all. Ann Leary’s essays are on my list, too. Love the comic!!
Thanks JoAnn, the comic strip was funny! I never did finish my entire summer list. Glad that we liked some of the same books! And I think you’ll really like Beyond That the Sea in particular. I was swept up into that book. I still need to read book 2 of Shannon Bowring’s. I had a hard time choosing my favorites as my Honorable Mentions were so good too. I hope we both have a good reading year in 2025! I’ll try for quality over quantity.