{"id":12535,"date":"2025-01-04T16:46:20","date_gmt":"2025-01-05T00:46:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=12535"},"modified":"2025-01-04T16:46:20","modified_gmt":"2025-01-05T00:46:20","slug":"the-books-of-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=12535","title":{"rendered":"The Books of 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"
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French Braid<\/p><\/div>\n

So many books, so little time\u2014part 18.<\/p>\n

My son started keeping a reading list in third grade, so I did too. This is the 18th year I\u2019ve done this. He still reads quite a lot, but I don’t think he catalogs it the way I do anymore. It’s been another really busy year, but I still managed to read a LOT, and listened to a number of audiobooks as well.<\/p>\n

I’m usually a completist when it comes to my reading \u2014 when I find an author I like I try to read everything they’ve ever written and have to really force myself to read other things in between each book so I can savor them a little longer. I did that with Anne Tyler’s early work many years ago, and I loved The Accidental Tourist, Celestial Navigation, Breathing Lessons<\/em>, The Amateur Marriage<\/em>, which are just a few of her many, many excellent titles. \u00a0For some unexplainable reason she slipped off my radar in the past few years and I only recently picked up her 2022 title, French Braid<\/em><\/a>. She’s 83 years old now but I’m happy to report that Anne Tyler hasn’t missed a beat.<\/p>\n

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The Winners<\/p><\/div>\n

This novel \u2014 a multigenerational story set in Baltimore, which could describe every one of her books \u2014 is a beautifully written, slyly subversive character study in the hands of a master. It doesn’t really matter what happens. Plot is almost beside the point with characters so real and vivid. This was definitely one of my favorite books of the year.<\/p>\n

I also really enjoyed two Fredrik Backman titles: The Winners<\/em><\/a>, and Us Against You<\/em><\/a>, which both are continuations of his excellent Beartown<\/em> series. Set in rural Sweden in a hockey town with as much commitment to the sport as the Friday Night Lights<\/em> of Texas, I thought this intensely gripping series was excellent. Fair warning it is pretty graphic and can be quite brutal at times (I gave it to my dad for Father’s Day and he hated it), but to me the violence was warranted and true to the characters. And the books are hard to put down.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The Rom-Commers<\/p><\/div>\n

On the lighter side, also on my list for this year are three titles from Emily Henry: Happy Place<\/a>, Book Lovers<\/a><\/em>, and Funny Story<\/em><\/a> all of which are romantic and funny.
\nA really good romantic comedy by Katherine Center was The Rom-Commers<\/em><\/a>, about an aspiring screenwriter who is hired to help a big name writer write a romantic movie, even though he despises the genre. If you groan at that premise you might like the one for Alison Espach’s The Wedding People<\/em><\/a> a<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The Wedding People<\/p><\/div>\n

little better: a newly divorced, suicidal woman decides to splurge on a ridiculously luxurious hotel as a place to commit suicide, only to find that she’s the only person there who’s not affiliated with a wedding party that’s bought out the place, and preventing her from ruining the \u00a0picture perfect celebration becomes the bride’s mission.<\/p>\n

Other favorites this year were Sorrow and Bliss<\/em><\/a> by Meg Mason, about a woman who suffers from X (a non-specified mental illness), and how she learns to cope; an adult book called In the Unlikely Event,<\/em><\/a> by my beloved Judy Blume of Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret<\/em> fame; and Alice Sadie Celine<\/em><\/a> by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright, a great story about a young woman who has an affair with her best friend’s mom.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Alice Sadie Celine<\/p><\/div>\n

A few of my other most liked from this year’s list were books I read in order to prepare for speakers that came to town via UCSB Arts & Lectures. These included the wonderful The Covenant of Water<\/em><\/a> by Abraham Verghese (read my story about the lecture here<\/a>, Oprah liked this book too), and two books by Xochitl Gonzalez, Olga Dies of Dreaming<\/em> <\/a>and Anita De Monte Laughs Last<\/em><\/a> (read my interview with her here<\/a> and report on her lecture here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

I’d love to hear what everyone else enjoyed. Here’s my 2024 list:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Turn of the Key<\/td>\nRuth<\/td>\nWare<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
It Starts With Us<\/td>\nColleen<\/td>\nHoover<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Lying Game<\/td>\nRuth<\/td>\nWare<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lost and Found in Paris<\/td>\nLian<\/td>\nDolan<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
How to be Perfect<\/td>\nMichael<\/td>\nSchur<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
In a Dark, Dark Wood<\/td>\nRuth<\/td>\nWare<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
It Ends With Us<\/td>\nColleen<\/td>\nHoover<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bright Young Women<\/td>\nJessica<\/td>\nKnoll<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bad Summer People<\/td>\nEmma<\/td>\nRosenblum<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
A Long Petal of the Sea<\/td>\nIsabel<\/td>\nAllende<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Covenant of Water<\/td>\nAbraham<\/td>\nVerghese<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fellowship Point<\/td>\nAlice Elliott<\/td>\nDark<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
November 9<\/td>\nColleen<\/td>\nHoover<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
First Lie Wins<\/td>\nAshley<\/td>\nElston<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Maybe Not<\/td>\nColleen<\/td>\nHoover<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Poor Ghost<\/td>\nDavid<\/td>\nStarkey<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone<\/td>\nBenjamin<\/td>\nStevenson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Maybe Someday<\/td>\nColleen<\/td>\nHoover<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Maybe Now<\/td>\nColleen<\/td>\nHoover<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Without Merit<\/td>\nColleen<\/td>\nHoover<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
All Your Perfects<\/td>\nColleen<\/td>\nHoover<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Float<\/td>\nNeal<\/td>\nRabin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Confess<\/td>\nColleen<\/td>\nHoover<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
This Bird Has Flown<\/td>\nSusannah<\/td>\nHoffs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Losing Hope<\/td>\nColleen<\/td>\nHoover<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Happy Place<\/td>\nEmily<\/td>\nHenry<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The American Roomate Experiment<\/td>\nElena<\/td>\nArmas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ugly Love<\/td>\nColleen<\/td>\nHoover<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Slammed<\/td>\nColleen<\/td>\nHoover<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Finding Cinderella<\/td>\nColleen<\/td>\nHoover<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Big Swiss<\/td>\nJen<\/td>\nBeagin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Anita De Monte Laughs Last<\/td>\nXochitl<\/td>\nGonzalez<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Olga Dies Dreaming<\/td>\nXochitl<\/td>\nGonzalez<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Book Lovers<\/td>\nEmily<\/td>\nHenry<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Blue Skies<\/td>\nT.C.<\/td>\nBoyle<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Spoiler Alert<\/td>\nOlivia<\/td>\nDade<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
You, Again<\/td>\nKate<\/td>\nGoldbeck<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Love, Theoretically<\/td>\nAli<\/td>\nHazelwood<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Beware the Woman<\/td>\nMegan<\/td>\nAbbott<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Us Against You<\/td>\nFrederik<\/td>\nBackman<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
What Happened to Ruthy Ramiriez<\/td>\nClaire<\/td>\nJimenez<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Boyfriend Candidate<\/td>\nAshley<\/td>\nWinstead<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nothing Special<\/td>\nNicole<\/td>\nFlattery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Moonglow<\/td>\nMichael<\/td>\nChabon<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Come and Get It<\/td>\nKiley<\/td>\nReid<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Never Ever Getting Back Together<\/td>\nSophie<\/td>\nGonzales<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
With a Kiss We Die<\/td>\nL.R.<\/td>\nDorn<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hypnotized by Love<\/td>\nSariah<\/td>\nWilson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers<\/td>\nJesse Q.<\/td>\nSutanto<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water<\/td>\nAngie<\/td>\nCruz<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Everything Nothing Someone<\/td>\nAlice<\/td>\nCarriere<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The True Love Experiment<\/td>\nChristina<\/td>\nLauren<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mrs. Caliban<\/td>\nRachel<\/td>\nIngalls<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Didn’t See That Coming<\/td>\nJesse Q.<\/td>\nSutanto<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dial A for Aunties<\/td>\nJesse Q.<\/td>\nSutanto<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Winners<\/td>\nFredrik<\/td>\nBackman<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Funny Story<\/td>\nEmily<\/td>\nHenry<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Graham Effect<\/td>\nElle<\/td>\nKennedy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Rewind<\/td>\nAllison<\/td>\nWiin Scotch<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pachinko<\/td>\nMin Jin<\/td>\nLee<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Point of Retreat<\/td>\nColleen<\/td>\nHoover<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Practice Makes Perfect<\/td>\nSarah<\/td>\nAdams<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store<\/td>\nJames<\/td>\nMcBride<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Lonely Hearts Book Club<\/td>\nLucy<\/td>\nGilmore<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Magician<\/td>\nRebecca<\/td>\nSearle<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Slow Dance<\/td>\nRainbow<\/td>\nRowell<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Demon Copperhead<\/td>\nBarbara<\/td>\nKingsolver<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fourteen Days<\/td>\nMargaret<\/td>\nAtwood<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Expiration Dates<\/td>\nRebecca<\/td>\nSearle<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Margo’s Got Money Troubles<\/td>\nRufi<\/td>\nThorpe<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cancer Moon<\/td>\nJenna<\/td>\nTico<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
This Time Tomorrow<\/td>\nEmma<\/td>\nStraud<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Reunion Beach<\/td>\nElin<\/td>\nHilderbrand, Adriana Trigiani, Patti Callahan, Mary Alice Monroe<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Four Aunties and a Wedding<\/td>\nJesse Q.<\/td>\nSutanto<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Husbands<\/td>\nHolly<\/td>\nGramazio<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Five-Star Weekend<\/td>\nElin<\/td>\nHilderbrand<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Seven Year Slip<\/td>\nAshley<\/td>\nPoston<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Love of my After Life<\/td>\nKirsty<\/td>\nGreenwood<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Housemoms<\/td>\nJen<\/td>\nLancaster<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Garden of Small Beginings<\/td>\nAbbi<\/td>\nWaxman<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Head Over Heels<\/td>\nHannah<\/td>\nOrenstein<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Society of Lies<\/td>\nLauren<\/td>\nLing Brown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Fake<\/td>\nZoe<\/td>\nWhittall<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Good, the Bad, and the Aunties<\/td>\nJesse Q.<\/td>\nSutanto<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Turn of the Screw<\/td>\nHenry<\/td>\nJames<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
One Italian Summer<\/td>\nRebecca<\/td>\nSearle<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
French Braid<\/td>\nAnne<\/td>\nTyler<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Zero Days<\/td>\nRuth<\/td>\nWare<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Always Only You<\/td>\nChloe<\/td>\nLiese<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Transcendent Kingdom<\/td>\nYaa<\/td>\nGyasi<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Before the Coffee Gets Cold<\/td>\nToshikazu<\/td>\nKawaguchi<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Divorcees<\/td>\nRowan<\/td>\nBeaird<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise<\/td>\nColleen<\/td>\nOakley<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
How to End a Love Story<\/td>\nYulin<\/td>\nKuang<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife<\/td>\nAnna<\/td>\nJohnston<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Just for the Summer<\/td>\nAbby<\/td>\nJimenez<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Rom-Commers<\/td>\nKatherine<\/td>\nCenter<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Meet Me in the Margins<\/td>\nMelissa<\/td>\nFerguson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Be Ready When the Luck Happens<\/td>\nIna<\/td>\nGarten<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
None of This is True<\/td>\nLisa<\/td>\nJewell<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sorrow and Bliss<\/td>\nMeg<\/td>\nMason<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Here One Moment<\/td>\nLiane<\/td>\nMoriarty<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Stuck with You<\/td>\nAli<\/td>\nHazelwood<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Under One Roof<\/td>\nAli<\/td>\nHazelwood<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
You Have Arrived at Your Destination<\/td>\nAmor<\/td>\nTowles<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Night Music<\/td>\nJoJo<\/td>\nMoyes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Friend Zone<\/td>\nAbby<\/td>\nJimenez<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Name of This Band is R.E.M.<\/td>\nPeter<\/td>\nAmes Carlin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Check & Mate<\/td>\nAli<\/td>\nHazelwood<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
From Here to the Great Unknown: A Memoir<\/td>\nLisa Marie<\/td>\nPresley & Riley Keough<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
In the Unlikely Event<\/td>\nJudy<\/td>\nBlume<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Yours Truly<\/td>\nAbby<\/td>\nJimenez<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Wedding People<\/td>\nAlison<\/td>\nEspach<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
City of Night Birds<\/td>\nJuhea<\/td>\nKim<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Alice Sadie Celine<\/td>\nSarah<\/td>\nBlakley-Cartwright<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Our Beautiful Boys<\/td>\nSameer<\/td>\nPandya<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Awake Forever in a Sweet Unrest<\/td>\nChuck<\/td>\nRosenthal<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
How to Age Dis-Grace-Fully<\/td>\nClare<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Previous Book Lists<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Books of 2023<\/a><\/p>\n

The Books of 2022<\/a><\/p>\n

The Books of 2021<\/a><\/p>\n

The Books of 2020<\/a><\/p>\n

The Books of 2019<\/a><\/p>\n

The Books of 2018<\/a><\/p>\n

The Books of 2017<\/a><\/p>\n

The Books of 2016<\/a><\/p>\n

The Books of 2015<\/a><\/p>\n

The Books of 2014<\/a><\/p>\n

The Books of 2013<\/a><\/p>\n

The Books of 2012<\/a><\/p>\n

The Books of 2011<\/a><\/p>\n

The Books of 2010<\/a><\/p>\n

The Books of 2009<\/a><\/p>\n

The Books of 2008<\/a><\/p>\n

The Books of 2007<\/a><\/p>\n

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