The best books I've read in 2024

Welcome to the bookclub without a club – a section of this newsletter where we talk about books everyone is talking about.

It’s this time of the year. The time of Spotify Wrapped and Pantone color of the year and IG influencers posting their #2024recap reels. I decided the only thing worse than jumping on the bandwagon would be to stay and watch others jump, so here I am with my own year in review.

Let’s start with a bit of stats. According to GoodReads, this year I read 48 books (still aiming for 50), which equals 16,399 pages, which equals who knows how many hours of reading because GoodReads doesn’t provide this kind of stats. Anyways, I’ve read enough to have a list of 10 books that are worth adding to your 2025 list. Of course, I’ve read mediocre and overrated books too, but let’s focus on the great ones here.

Fault Lines by Emily Itami

Keywords: ridiculously beautiful writing, Tokyo, extramarital affair

If you like deep, witty, first POV stories written by modern women, I swear you’re going to like Fault Lines so much. It’s a story of a young mother and wife living a seemingly perfect life in one of the luxury buildings in an upscale neighborhood of Tokyo. The operating word in the last sentence is “seemingly.” Once the main character starts to tell her story, it is impossible not to feel for her deeply and root for her even when at times she might act like an anti-hero. This book made my laugh and it made me cry. What a gem of contemporary fiction!

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

Keywords: (very) dark humor, great setting, beach read that’s not shallow

I picked this book up at a local bookstore quite randomly, mostly because I wanted some light reading for the weekend. Little did I know it would be so f*cking good that I’d end up recommending it to all my friends who read (and even those who don’t). It’s the story of a woman going through one of the toughest periods of her life, battling depression and suicidal thoughts, with nothing bright on the horizon. But bear with me! It’s not dark-dark—it’s very funny, life-affirming, and hopeful. One of the funniest books I’ve read in 2024. A perfect beach read for those who don’t like their beach reads fluffy and shallow.

Good Material by Dolly Alderton

Keywords: breakup from a male perspective, incredible writing, page-turner

Dolly Alderton’s most recent novel, Good Material, is another funny story about times in life that are anything but. It’s the story of a middle-aged man going through a breakup with his long-term partner. Written from a male perspective, it offers fascinating insights into the tender and vulnerable world of heartbroken men. It’s hilarious and smart and real. And, as is always the case with Dolly Alderton’s writing, there will be paragraphs that make you want to scream, “Yes, this is EXACTLY how it feels!” because somehow, Dolly knows exactly which words to use to describe the beauty and ugliness of life.

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors

Keywords: interpersonal dynamics, London and NYC and LA, nice aftertaste

If you haven’t seen the beautiful cover of this book everywhere this year, you must be living under a rock. Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors was one of the most-anticipated books of 2024—and rightly so. It’s a sad but life-affirming story of four sisters and the invisible strings linking their lives together over the years. We follow the stories of three sisters coping with the loss of their fourth, dealing with grief, and trying to move on, each succeeding and failing in their own way.

Anita De Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez

Keywords: women in art, multiple plot lines, New York City in the 80s

I love books with multiple plot lines, especially when each one is as captivating as those in Anita De Monte Laughs Last. If you’re into the world of arts, female power, and all things New York City from the last century, you’re going to love this one. It tells the story of two women: one, a talented artist in the ’80s, and the other, a first-generation Ivy League student studying art in our times. The stories of these two women intertwine despite taking place in different times and places. It’s sassy, passionate, and hilarious. And the ending—oh my god. Add it to your reading list!

Descendants by Kaui Hart Homing

Keywords: Hawaii, great/dark humor, extramarital affair

I read the first chapter of this book as a homework assignment for my writing class at UCLA. As is often the case with books recommended by our teacher, it turned out to be a gem. I was instantly hooked, so I ordered a copy and read it in two sittings. It’s the story of a man, a father of two, learning about the dark secrets of his wife, who happens to be in a coma. This is a tender story about parenthood, love, and loss. And, surprisingly, it’s so, so, so funny. It will make you laugh more than once, I promise. Trigger warning: reading this book will make you want to move to Hawaii.

Every Summer After by Carley Fortune

Keywords: coming-of-age, summer read, love story that goes through many years

Another beach read that is anything but shallow. It’s a coming-of-age story about friendship, love, and summer traditions. If I had to describe this book in one sentence—and my life depended on it—I’d say it’s a child of One Day by David Nicholls and The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han. It features young people growing together, falling in love, and growing apart. Beautiful writing, a great story, and a nice book to add to your list.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Keywords: incredible humor, first POV, fascinating main character

I love first-person POV stories, but only if they’re told by someone funny, smart, and unpredictable in the best possible way. The Story of Eleanor Oliphant is one of them. We follow the life of a woman living a seemingly boring life but telling it in a way that is anything but. Being in the head of someone so weird, controversial, judgmental, and unlikable even turns what could be an average story into a beautiful and engaging one. One of the funniest books of my 2024.

The Most Fun We Ever Had by Clair Lombardo

Keywords: big family dynamics, big secrets, sisterhood and parenthood

It’s a long book. It’s a slow book. It’s not the kind of book I would normally like and recommend, but here we are. Essentially, it’s the story of one big family, with each of its members going through life’s highs and lows, together and separately. This book tells the story of one happily married couple growing up, raising kids, growing old, and watching their kids grow up. There are secrets and heartbreaks and life-altering choices and envy and love. Lots of love. A beautiful book that has left a mark on my heart as a reader.

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Keywords: pandemic, post-apocalyptic world, alternative history

I love it when I read a book, find it great, recommend it to my friends, and then some of them become even bigger fans of it than I am. This is exactly what happened with Station Eleven. I feel like my husband and my dear friend Ira are now even better ambassadors of this book than I am, and I love it. It’s the story of a pandemic ruining the world as we know it, far more drastically than Covid-19 did to us, with only 1 percent of people surviving. It’s a story of people trying to rebuild their lives on an almost empty planet. Life-affirming, atmospheric, and making-you-appreciate-all-you-have kind of book.

There you have it, a list of my favorite reads of 2024. I hope some of them will become your favorites in 2025. In the meantime, let me know if there’s anything you’d like to recommend to me (I’m always on the lookout for the next great story).