The Best Books of 2024!

It’s that time of year again. I can’t believe that we’re already halfway through December. I’ve gone back over the year, and it’s been filled with so many good books! I had a difficult time bring the list to just ten books, so this year it’s eleven. This year held a lot of difficult moment for me, and I wanted this list to feature the books that brought me comfort and made me forget the difficult times. These are the books made me feel like I was home somewhere within their words.

The normal rules apply: the books had to have been published this year and could be from any genre and the numbers are not indicative of rank. They were all awesome and helped to get me through one heck of a year and were my touchstones in a time where a lot of my life felt uncertain.

All the books on this list touched me in some way. Their words crawled into the soil of my mind so that more thoughts and emotions could grow in my mind garden. They are books that inspired me and helped me to realize that I matter, that my life should be celebrated and that being unique was not a curse, but an advantage.

I don’t care how a book was published, if I connected with it in some way, it’s on the list.

Here are my Best Books of 2024:

Upon the Midnight Queer by ‘Nathan Burgoine

I loved this book so very much. Bugoine give us eleven tales of Christmas retold from a GLBTQ perspective and does so this so wonderfully. What’s wonderful about the collection is that every person who felt othered by Christmas will find their home within the stories contained in this collection. This book was so good, the stories so incredible, that I often found myself stopping to think on what I had just read. It’s a book that made Christmas feel like home to me. It contains magic, love, wrongs made right and it’s everything I could have hoped for. Read theses stories and feel seen, heard and loved.

Queen of the Mist by Caroline Cauchi

A novel based on a true story, Queen of the Mist is a novel about female empowerment, togetherness and about rising above what others think possible. Annie Edson Taylor is a heroine of epic proportions not only because she went over Niagara Falls in a barrel and survived, but because of who she was. She was an older woman that many looked upon as finished in life and at the end of her years. Annie shows that, no matter what other people think of you, it’s what you think of yourself that makes you capable of anything you set your heart to. A beautiful novel full of characters that became friends by the end, it’s a tale I will read again and again. Captivating and so damn good. Annie became a kindred spirit and she will stay with me for a long time.

Bits and Pieces by Whoopi Goldberg

This book was a surprise for me. I love Whoopi Goldberg as an actress and as an author. She’s starred in so many of my favourite movies. This memoir took me behind the scenes of her life and what it was like during the filming of certain films. It’s not a complete memoir, but as the title suggests, merely bits and pieces about her life that are important to her. I was expecting something incomplete, but instead was treated to a lovely book filled with memories that felt as if I was looking into photographs. Inspired by the passing of her brother and her mother, Whoopi Goldberg has given them both life again in this beautiful and heartwarming book. When I finished it, I was uplifted and joyful.

Bring Me Sunshine by Alex Brown

Alex Brown’s novels always bring me somewhere special and make me look at life in a different way and this book was no exception.  It’s the story of Gina who is living a lonely life in a loveless marriage and is caught in a life filled with mental and emotional abuse. She finds refuge and finds herself by visiting an island she had fallen in love with so many years ago in her youth. Kalosiros in Greece is still alive in her and when she goes back to the island, she finds the parts of herself that she left behind and allows herself to find life and love again. Brown always tells women’s fiction in a different way, dealing with the pricklier issues that life throws in our way. What’s more, she does so with heart and care. I reacted so much to this book, having survived a marriage and a relationship that was full of mental abuse. When Gina takes her life back into her hands, I cheered and what a joy it was reading along as she found herself again.

The Infinite Heist by Stephen Graham King

How do you perfectly blend humour, the coolest space system ever known and a delight group of characters just trying to find their way through life? Added to that intergalactic awesomeness, fantastic dialogue, representation and mystery. I mean, c’mon! King’s world is so wonderful and when I read his The Infinite Heist, I found myself in a world filled with intrigue and heart. King’s world building is amazing, but it’s his characters that shine. By the end of the book, I felt like I had read about friends that I’ve known for years. I read this over a grey and rainy weekend, and it was wonderful to be one of the crew of the Maverick Heart. I can’t wait to read this book again and take flight into space.

The Psychic Art of Tarot by Matt Auryn

I’m always reading about tarot in some way. Whether it be through a new deck or a new tarot guide, I always have one on the go. I look forward to Matt Auryn’s books because they ask me to look at tarot and witchcraft in different and new ways. This is the tarot book that I didn’t know I needed to read. I use tarot cards every day to delve into my emotions and what’s going on around me. I had no idea that I could use the tarot for developing my psychic ability or that such a thing was possible. I love how Auryn took me through the whole process, and it actually helped me to know my decks better on a more psychic level. The book is beyond incredible and I’m so thankful that Auryn wrote this book. It’s given me something else to look forward to in the mornings when I draw my daily cards. This book brought me so much joy.

Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell

I LOVE Rainbow Rowell. I adore the Simon Snow series SO MUCH and was looking forward to reading Slow Dance. Being her first adult novel since finishing the Simon Snow trilogy with Any Way the Wind Blows was released, I was keen to see where she would take me on her new adventure. Slow Dance tells the second chance romance between Shiloh and Cary and it’s SO lovely. It really is a slow dance, and I found myself getting frustrated and falling in love with Shilow and Cary, but what a dance it is. You’re given their wonderful story and when they finally come together, it’s joyful and so damn good. I heart this book, so much that I got myself a signed copy. Amazing heartfelt writing with real characters and a happily ever after. What more could you want?

The Blackbird Oracle by Deborah Harkness

I was so happy to hear that Harkness was continuing the All Souls series! I was ecstatic when I learned that we would learn what Diana and Matthew were up to since The Book of Life. I wondered if it would feel like a natural continuation, and I was happy to discover that I was sucked into the story. It’s got magic, lust, family lore and it pulls you along on a story that just flows off the page. I know Mathew and Diana so well by now and was thrilled when Harkness built on the already established world that she’s already created and what a story. This novel is brain candy of the highest order, and I can’t wait to read it again.

Geist Fleisch by Christian Baines

This novel was a complete surprise or me. I mean it had everything: a distant country, a man travelling to find himself (or Mr. Right Now), portals to the past, vampires, love, ghosts, people banding together to understand the mysteries of the world and trying to follow their hearts, no matter where the heart might lead them. It defies genre and does away with any kind of trope. There is nothing cliché or formulaic about this book. That’s a tall order for any book and, in another writers hands, it would be a huge sloppy mess. However, Christian Baines manages to pull off the impossible. He combines everything and somehow makes something new. What an absolute gem of a book.

The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop

I am a Gilmore Girls fanatic. I’ve watched the series four times through (currently working on the fifth round through the whole series and the reboot that came out in 2016.) Stars Hollow is one of my forever homes and when I hear that Kelly Bishop was releasing a memoir, I knew that it would be wonderful. Kelly takes us through snapshots of her life, telling us tales of what it was like to be in the original cast of A Chorus Line and her life, both personal and professional, up to and beyond Gilmore Girls. I learned so much about her and just fell in love with her story. I loved this book so much that I have the ebook, the hardcover and the audiobook. The Third Gilmore Girl is an incredible look at a wonderous life. I’m so thankful that I was able to experience Bishops journey.

Triad Magic by ‘Nathan Burgoine

Do you know what it’s like waiting for the third book in a trilogy for a long time and then having the book in your hand? The book you never thought you would be able to read, and the story is finally in your hands? Better yet, when you finally read the book, and it goes beyond what you had expected but blows those expectations out of the water? Yeah, that’s Triad Magic by ‘Nathan Burgoine. I was surprised by how fast I read this book. I read as much of it in each sitting as I could and finished it in two days. This book went beyond my expectations and filled me with so much happy when I was finished. I can’t wait to go back and read this book again. Now that I know what happens, I want to read the trilogy from the beginning again and enjoy the whole tale at once. Yes, this book is that good.

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I would be remiss if I didn’t thank the authors of the amazing books on this list. Their words got me through so much this year and brought me comfort in a sea of uncertainty. Thank you all for making 2024 an amazing year and thank you for captivating me.

I can’t wait to see what books 2025 will bring.