Megan’s 2024 Top Ten Reads

Greetings Readers! Another year, another Best Of list. I usually start these posts by lamenting how difficult it is to pick just ten titles and then going on to list 20 books I loved that year. Not this year, dear reader. This year I came nowhere near reaching my lofty reading goal and of the books I did manage to read, I only awarded five stars to 10 books. This could be the easiest Top Ten List of my life! Let’s go. Update: I picked 12 titles because the formatting was ugly with only 4 nonfiction titles. Update 2: There are 24 titles on my list…

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FICTION

Lucky Red by Claudia Craven is a book I would never have selected on my own. I read it for RRPL’s LGBTQIA+ Book Discussion and now I can’t stop thinking about it! A rollicking western told from a female point of view. What an entertaining escape.
Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune is the much anticipated follow-up to The House in the Cerulean Sea, and it was just as heartfelt and charming as the first. I am a softie for found families!
Gwen and Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher is a queer YA adventures set in the world of Camelot. Witty banter, double entendres, and swoony romances abound in the royal court of the kingdom of Camelot. But there’s more to this than just a romping good time. Throw in political intrigue, espionage, and betrayal for extra excitement.
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman is a slim, but powerful speculative fiction story originally published in French in 1995. Now translated into English for the first time, the story left me with more questions than answers and I will likely revisit it for further mulling over.

NONFICTION *1-4 were five-stars for me.

A Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Egan is a book I chose for my True Crime Discussion Group. It’s an eye-opening and frighteningly timely read about the rise and fall of the KKK in Indiana.
Democracy Awakening by Heather Cox Richardson is an analysis of our current political climate through a lens of history. This is an accessible introduction to the history of American democracy.
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner was my very first book of 2024. I broke my no-cancer-books rule for it and am glad I did. This one packs a punch.
Leslie F*cking Jones by Leslie Jones is a real treat. Looking back at my short review-it was what I NEEDED at the time that I listened to it. It’s brilliant.
Gator Country by Rebecca Renner is another book we discussed in my True Crime Discussion Group. Sometimes we need a break from murders and explore different types of crime. This was a fascinating read about alligator poaching and the undercover operation that targeted poaching.
All in the Family by Fred Trump is a memoir of the famous family from the point of view of Donald Trump’s nephew. It was an interesting glimpse into the relationships between the different branches of the family.