Book List of the Best Books We Have Read So Far This Year
2024 Best Books So Far – First Quarter Wrap Up! The first quarter of 2024 has already flown by, so it is time to do some of our favorite posts – our quarterly wrap up of the best books we have read so far this year.
This post is a wrap up of the favorite books we have read in the first quarter of 2024. The books included are not necessarily ones that were released in 2024, just that we read them in 2024.
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Best Books Wrap Up Schedule
We really love it when book reviewers post “best books” lists to see what we might want to add to our TBR. Not every month is a winner, (either in having books we recommend, or in the amount of reading we do!) so we are going to do a quarterly wrap up, then our year long wrap up in December!
Book Wrap Up Caveat
Its probably obvious, but our book reading wrap ups are going to be based on books that we read during the designated time period. They will not necessarily be of a new book or debut novel released after the new year.
We know House of Flame & Shadow was released, or the new book by Alex Michaelides is out, but since we read mostly library books, we rarely release brand new books. Actually, none of the books on this list were released as a new novel this year.
In fact, on this list we have some that were released in the 1970s all the way to being released in 2022. The only thing they have in common is that they are a good book that we would recommend!
First Quarter of 2024 – Reading Recap
So far this year we have read a total of 15 books. Reading = physical books & audiobooks. We are not at all about that debate as to whether audiobooks are considered reading! We love them – especially thriller books. They are perfect for that book aesthetic.
We have 9 books that we put on this list. All of these books we would definitely give as book recommendations. Not to say these will all make it to our “best of the year” wrap up come New Years Day, but we shall see!
January was an absolute dud of a reading month, yall. We did not read a single book that was worth recommending. It did cause us a bit of worry, as a lot of the books we read were highly recommended but did not work for us.
But then, February. February came along and saved the day! So many great books.
That carried over into March, which also had some winners.
2024 Best Books So Far – Genres Included
We always try to keep some variety in our reads, so hopefully we will have recommendations in several different genres in each of our book wrap ups.
For the first quarter of 2024, we have several thrillers! So happy about that because as much as we love a good thriller book, we find that this is the genre that will disappoint us the most. Typically we love to listen to a thriller, so usually if a thriller book is on the list, it is one we listened to.
Also on this book wrap up list is horror, magical realism, a memoir & a fantasy book. These are some of our favorite books to read, so you can expect to see lots of these in our wrap ups or book reviews. We also love to read literary fiction, historical fiction, science fiction so you may see those on our future lists as well.
We will say that romance novels are usually our least favorite genre, so you may not see many of those on our wrap up lists. Never say never, but they are not the books we gravitate towards on a regular basis.
We will put our little blurb after each book description below, and will link our full review if we have that up on the blog book review section. [Side note – we struggle to do book reviews of books we didn’t really like. We need to get better at that. But if it is a book we liked we immediately want to do a review so we can talk about it.]
2024 Best Books So Far
In no particular order, here are our favorite reads so far this year!
Simon and Vicky couldn’t seem more normal: a wealthy Chicago couple, he a respected law professor, she an advocate for domestic violence victims. A stable, if unexciting marriage. But one thing’s for sure … absolutely nothing is what it seems. The pair are far from normal, and one of them just may be a killer. When the body of a beautiful socialite is found hanging in a mansion in a nearby suburb, Simon and Vicky’s secrets begin to unravel. A secret whirlwind affair. A twenty-million-dollar trust fund about to come due. A decades-long grudge and obsession with revenge. These are just a few of the lies that make up the complex web...and they will have devastating consequences. And while both Vicky and Simon are liars, just who exactly is conning who?
We loved this thriller! It grabs you right in the first chapter with the mystery, and the rest of the book tells you the story of how it unfolds as well as another timeline that takes you on the investigation. Very clever, very fun. We did a full book review of Look Closer, so check that out for more!
Every day I clean the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor. I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew’s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina’s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband. I only try on one of Nina’s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it’s like. But she soon finds out… and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it’s far too late. But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don’t know who I really am. They don’t know what I’m capable of…
What an absolute blast we had reading this thriller! It has had a lot of hype, and we fully support it because it lived up to our expectations. Some great twists here! If you are looking for a thriller to add to your beach reads this year, we highly recommend this one.
Piranesi lives in the House. Perhaps he always has. In his notebooks, day after day, he makes a clear and careful record of its wonders: the labyrinth of halls, the thousands upon thousands of statues, the tides that thunder up staircases, the clouds that move in slow procession through the upper halls. On Tuesdays and Fridays Piranesi sees his friend, the Other. At other times he brings tributes of food to the Dead. But mostly, he is alone. Messages begin to appear, scratched out in chalk on the pavements. There is someone new in the House. But who are they and what do they want? Are they a friend or do they bring destruction and madness as the Other claims? Lost texts must be found, secrets must be uncovered. The world that Piranesi thought he knew is becoming strange and dangerous. The beauty of the House is immeasurable; its kindness infinite.
Oh my goodness, we LOVED Piranesi. This little fantasy book absolutely stole our heart. So creative and unique, and certainly a book we consider to be our kind of weird. It’s so magical. We did a full review of Piranesi, you can find it here.
After four and a half years in a coma, Johnny Smith awakens with a knowledge of the death zone and an ability to see the future, a horrible power that he does not want and cannot escape.
We are long time Constant Readers (the name King gives to his fans) & this is the first Stephen King book we listened to. We don’t really have any complaints about the audio version, but we learned that we prefer to read the physical copy of his books. They are just such an experience with his writing style, and we missed that. However, our reading preferences aside, this was great. Loved the story and really really loved the ending.
No electricity, no family, no connection to the outside world. For eight years, Cooper and his young daughter, Finch, have lived in isolation in a remote cabin in the northern Appalachian woods. And that's exactly the way Cooper wants it, because he's got a lot to hide. Finch has been raised on the books filling the cabin’s shelves and the beautiful but brutal code of life in the wilderness. But she’s starting to push back against the sheltered life Cooper has created for her―and he’s still haunted by the painful truth of what it took to get them there. The only people who know they exist are a mysterious local hermit named Scotland, and Cooper's old friend, Jake, who visits each winter to bring them food and supplies. But this year, Jake doesn't show up, setting off an irreversible chain of events that reveals just how precarious their situation really is. Suddenly, the boundaries of their safe haven have blurred―and when a stranger wanders into their woods, Finch’s growing obsession with her could put them all in danger. After a shocking disappearance threatens to upend the only life Finch has ever known, Cooper is forced to decide whether to keep hiding―or finally face the sins of his past.
This was a book that is worthwhile to read to the end because the ending is so great! We characterize this book as a slow burn thriller, so it isn’t a thrill a minute kind of book. We enjoyed it throughout, but can see how it would be considered a bit slow at time. But that ending tho! We did not see it coming and it gave us ALL THE FEELS. Check out our full review of These Silent Woods.
In this exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner proves herself far more than a dazzling singer, songwriter, and guitarist. With humor and heart, she tells of growing up one of the few Asian American kids at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother's particular, high expectations of her; of a painful adolescence; of treasured months spent in her grandmother's tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food. As she grew up, moving to the East Coast for college, finding work in the restaurant industry, and performing gigs with her fledgling band--and meeting the man who would become her husband--her Koreanness began to feel ever more distant, even as she found the life she wanted to live. It was her mother's diagnosis of terminal cancer, when Michelle was twenty-five, that forced a reckoning with her identity and brought her to reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her.
Crying in H Mart was a book that we had heard a lot of hype about and picked up while on a quick trip. It is a super fast read and was engaging enough to earn a spot here. Not sure if it is one of our favorite of all time memoirs, but it is one we liked well enough to recommend. This is a grief centered book with some stark visuals of cancer, death & dying, so just prepare yourself for that if you are interested in picking this one up. Our full review can be found here.
Aidan Thomas is a hard-working family man and a somewhat beloved figure in the small upstate New York town where he lives. He’s the kind of man who always lends a hand and has a good word for everyone. But Aidan has a dark secret he’s been keeping from everyone in town and those closest to him. He’s a kidnapper and serial killer. Aidan has murdered eight women and there’s a ninth he has earmarked for death: Rachel, imprisoned in a backyard shed, fearing for her life. When Aidan’s wife dies, he and his thirteen-year-old daughter Cecilia are forced to move. Aidan has no choice but to bring Rachel along, introducing her to Cecilia as a “family friend” who needs a place to stay. Aidan is betting on Rachel, after five years of captivity, being too brainwashed and fearful to attempt to escape. But Rachel is a fighter and survivor, and recognizes Cecilia might just be the lifeline she has waited for all these years. As Rachel tests the boundaries of her new living situation, she begins to form a tenuous connection with Cecilia. And when Emily, a local restaurant owner, develops a crush on the handsome widower, she finds herself drawn into Rachel and Cecilia’s orbit, coming dangerously close to discovering Aidan’s secret.
We are listening to this first novel from this author as we are preparing this list, so it isn’t even done yet, but we already know its deserving of a spot. This abduction thriller told through the eyes of three people close to the abductor including the young woman he abducted is riveting, tense and really really good. It is an examination of terror in a house of hidden meanings that can live behind a seemingly perfect white picket fence.
Widowed Nessa lives alone in her house near the ocean. In the quiet hours, she hears voices belonging to the dead – who will only speak to her.On the cusp of fifty Harriett’s marriage and career imploded, but her life is far from over – in fact, she’s undergone a stunning metamorphosis.Jo spent years at war with her body. The rage that arrived with menopause felt like the last straw – until she discovers she’s able to channel it.Guided by voices only Nessa can hear, the trio discover the abandoned body of a teenage girl. The police have written off the victim. But the women have not. Their own investigations lead to more bodies, and a world of wealth where the rules don’t apply – and the realisation that laws are designed to protect villains, not the vulnerable.Now three women will avenge the innocent and punish the guilty. IT’S TIME.
We really enjoyed this book for so many reasons. The magical realism, the badass main characters, the mystery and the overall set up, plus the characters being older and addressing a world view from their perspective was great. We feel like it could have been even better if it had underwent a really good edit to tighten it up. We also felt that it did tip toe along the line of getting preachy in its message, but overall this was a good read and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.
After calling off her engagement in the wake of a tragic revelation, Yuko Moriguchi had nothing to live for except her only child, four-year-old child, Manami. Now, following an accident on the grounds of the middle school where she teaches, Yuko has given up and tendered her resignation. But first she has one last lecture to deliver. She tells a story that upends everything her students ever thought they knew about two of their peers, and sets in motion a diabolical plot for revenge.
This book – it is one that will keep you thinking about it for days after you finish it. There are some scenes that take your breath away. This is a sinister, ever evolving thriller told from the perspective of several different people about one set of events that occurred. It is a story of vengeance and wrath in the most unexpected of settings. Check out our full review of Confessions by Kanae Minato.
2024 Best Books So far – First Quarter Wrap Up
We love making these wrap up lists of our favorite books! Hopefully this gave you some new books to add to your TBR. If you want to browse for more books we recommend, check out our books from the blog storefront.
If you are looking for more book recommendations, check out our book section of the blog. We have posts for Stephen King Fans, Sarah J. Maas fans, YA books for adults, book reviews and more!
Please also let us know what your top books were for the first three months this year. We love to get book recommendations from our fellow bibliophiles!
Happy Reading!
Slowprose, book division of Slowestuff
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