My wrap-up includes literary fiction, memoir and historical fiction
Top favorites include Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe: Witty, unexpected, engaging, and so entertaining; Bonnie Jo Campbell’s The Waters: A brutal and compelling novel of three generations of strong women living in rural Michigan; and Susan E. Wadds’ What the Living Do, with a tough but flawed narrator who ultimately surprised me with how endearing she became. Loved it. Also, Self Care is an uproarious (fictional) inside look at the wellness industry!
Some people raved about Miranda July’s exploration of sexually, All Fours, but I abandoned it. It felt contrived.
Aaron Hamburger’s Hotel Cuba is a must read if you like historical fiction. The book was inspired by a photo of Aaron’s beloved bubby dressed as a man, which compelled him to learn more about Jews who emigrated to the US via Cuba in the 1920s.
I’m sorry to say I never finished Patchett’s Tom Lake or Thank You for Listening
I loved the narrator in Frese’s The Baddest Girl on the Planet–witty and self-depreciating.
Feeney’s Daisy Darker felt like a mean trick played by a cast of unlikeable characters.
In the end, it was a great year in books
I’d recommend any one of these books.
Like a good reader, I also wrote brief reviews of all of them on sites such as Amazon and Goodreads. I hope you’re doing the same as you read! Authors and publishers need the boost in the algorithm that comes from reviews.
What did you read in 2024?
