From octopus narrator to the end of the world: My favorite books of 2024

This book was about the first book I read after reading almost exclusively romance books for a very, very long time. It sounded like a very odd story, something I wasn’t sure I’d enjoy. It was a risk, and I can’t begin to describe how happy I am that I took that risk.

Remarkably Bright Creatures is a masterclass in character writing. There is Tova, the elderly woman who starts working the night shift as a cleaning lady at an aquarium after her husband passes away. Keeping her hands busy is the best way to cope, she learned after her son went missing at eighteen. The second perspective is Cameron, the struggling thirty year old who was raised by his aunt and grew up in poverty. He is trying to find his way and arrives in town, hoping to meet his father.

The final perspective is that of Marcellus, the giant pacific octopus who lives in the aquarium Tova works at. I never imagined to care so much about this octopus and his friendship with Tova, but I cried over it. Every character is so beautifully written, how they deal with hardships and grief in their own way & how they are tied together in ways they could never expect. It’s a beautifully written, emotional ride.

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I read so much (good and bad!) romance in the beginning of the year. (Thesis-fried brain, I’m sure you know the drill.) Some were good, some were bad, but most of them were pretty cute. One stood out above all the rest, and that is All Rhodes Lead Here.

I listened to this as an audiobook & loved every second of it. Any minute I had where I didn’t need to think – doing dishes, folding laundry, taking a walk, crocheting, etcetera – was spent listening to this. All Rhodes Lead Here is the flirty, tense, romantic enemies to lovers book of my dreams. It follows Aurora, who moves back to a small town she used to consider home, but left behind long ago. She leaves behind her life of touring, fame, and wealth to start over. (Of course). The (hot and single) landlord didn’t know his son secretly rented out the apartment above their garage. (Of course). He lets her stay but is very grumpy about it and dislikes her. (Of course). Slowly he starts to warm to her, both of them secretly pining after each other. (Of course).

It’s got almost every classic romantic trope you can find under the sun, the mutual pining, enemies to lovers, getting rescued from unfortunate weather circumstances, etcetera. Yet Mariana Zapata writes them so well, it feels like I’m reading every single trope for the very first time. I was on the edge of my seat, hoping they will finally kiss. Mariana Zapata, you are a genius with this one.

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Before the Coffee Gets Cold opened up a whole new area of literary fiction to me, namely the cozy, enchanting, magical, speculative fiction of Japanese authors. Toshikazu Kawaguchi creates a charming, small setting of a cafe, but gives it a magical element: time travel.

The rules of time travel are strict. So strict, that most people don’t see the point in even going. You have to wait until the lady, a ghost, leaves her seat, then sit in that particular seat, you can’t get up from either. You can go only once, and it will not change the present. Most importantly, you have to return before the coffee gets cold. These limits create a difficult question: Would you travel back in time? What would you change? But most importantly: who would you meet there, maybe for just one more time?

My mom always says that sometimes a story that makes you cry is good, because despite the fact that it feels sad, it’s good for the soul. It’s good to get lost in a story, empathize with the people, feel for them, and let the emotions flow. Afterwards, your heart feels a little lighter. Before the Coffee Gets Cold is one of those stories for me.

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I had this book on my shelves for years and never really felt interested enough in it to actually read it. It was only after I’d already gotten rid of it, that I heard Ariel and Raeleen rave about it in their podcast, Books Unbound, that I read it as an ebook.

Boy, how have I missed out. Station Eleven is a post-apocalyptic dystopian novel about a group of actors and musicians, who travel around the empty lands that used to be the Great Lakes area in Canada and the USA. In a world destroyed by a devastating pandemic, they travel to the small towns that still exist and perform Shakespeare.

It is the first post-apocalyptic book that actually made me feel more hope than despair. Because despite the disaster, there is still music being played, there is still art being made, there are still communities being found. There is love and there is kindness. Every single character in this story is tied to each other in ways that are hard to grasp, as every person is entangled in their communities, leaving impressions on every person they meet. A must-read for everyone struggling to find hope in these politically complicated times.

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Lara is the most unassuming narrator that I’ve read about. She’s a middle-aged woman living on a cherry tree farm in Michigan, spending time with her three daughters, who love listening to her stories. Especially the stories about her short-lived acting career, especially the story about how she dated the famous actor Peter Duke. During the cherry harvest season, while Lara’s daughters are sent home because of a covid lockdown, she tells the full story for the first time.

It’s a beautiful novel about first love, family, and finding your way. Over the course of Tom Lake, you learn of Lara’s acting career, her struggle to find her place, and her whirlwind romance with Peter Duke. Between flashbacks to the summer she meets him, and the present where she’s living on a farm with her husband and three daughters, Ann Patchett balances the storylines perfectly.

It’s charming, it’s beautifully written, it made me cry. What more could you wish for in a book?

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I’ll keep the raving about this book a little shorter, as I already gushed a lot about it in my December wrap-up. But let this book be the evidence why it’s a good idea to hold off on publishing any ‘Best of’ yearly lists until the very end. This was the very last book I read this year, but it catapulted itself on the list of favorites very quickly. Hell, it might even be my number one book this year.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow centers around Sadie and Sam, two passionate gamers and childhood friends, who meet again by chance in college. Throughout the book you follow their journey navigating adulthood and the gaming industry. They develop a game together, and soon after a game company, which intertwines their lives forever, for better or worse.

It’s such a beautiful story about love, friendship, and ambition in a creative field. I loved every inch of it, and I still think about it regularly. Gabrielle Zevin writes people and relationships like no other.

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