Hello, everyone! Long time, no chat. It seems like it might wind up being a little tradition of mine to become a little less active on this blog in the latter half of the year, just to come slinking back in the new year — at least I’m hoping to post more again! Before I start making any promises, though, I’m going to get right into ranking all the books I read in 2024 (and try harder for brevity than I did with my 2022 and 2023 rankings…).
Rereads
In chronological order, here are my rereads of 2024! I’m honestly surprised that there are so few for this year. Anyways, I really enjoyed all of these (hence my rereading them).
- She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen
- The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1) by Maggie Stiefvater
- The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1) by Suzanne Collins
- The Hostile Hospital (A Series of Unfortunate Events, #8) by Lemony Snicket
29. Greywaren (The Dreamer Trilogy, #3) by Maggie Stiefvater
Since I’m trying to keep these bits brief, I’ll just say that I really hate to rate this so low, especially considering how highly I’d been anticipating it, but it really just didn’t end up working for me.
[For more of my thoughts, I linked a very long (spoiler-free) rant about this book and its adjacent series if you’re interested.]
28. The Girls by Emma Cline
This one has a lovely, palpable setting and pillowy prose, but seemed to lack a whole lot of substance or subtext. Not for me.
27. This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
This genre-bendy novella is appropriately lauded for its prose which I appreciated as much as the next person, but I found its intangibility a little difficult to follow at times.
24-26. The Seeing Stone, Lucinda’s Secret, & The Ironwood Tree (The Spiderwick Chronicles, #2-#4) by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi
These books are light, pleasant reads but none of them particularly stayed with me (I do recall liking The Ironwood Tree the most, but I’m going to group these all together because they’ve blurred in my mind a bit).
23. The Demigod Files (Percy Jackson & the Olympians companion) by Rick Riordan
This companion to the PJO series is, though brief, quite fun — I’m a total sucker for these sort of series bonuses!
22. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
Remarkably Bright Creatures is pretty different from something I’d normally read, but I picked it up for a local book club and liked it more than I would’ve expected.
21. Still Life by Jay Hopler
I came across this poetry collection while thrifting and was sad to hear of the author’s passing but also glad to have appreciated some of the art he made.
20. Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher
This was the first story I’ve read by T. Kingfisher, and I enjoyed it. Like most novellas I read, I think I probably would’ve enjoyed it more if it were longer but I like it as it is too.
19. Together We Rot by Skyla Arndt
I’ve rambled about my love for nature horror quite a bit on this blog, so rest assured I loved what this book offered in that regard! The characters and tone did feel a teensy cliché/one-note but I didn’t mind so much.
18. The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed
If I’m being completely frank, I don’t recall very much about this novella beyond the fact that I really loved the atmosphere of it — and honestly, I’m okay with that impression because it really was affective on that front!
17. Wand by Landra Jennings
I won a copy of this middle grade book through a Goodreads giveaway, and am glad to report it’s a very sweet and touching story that explores grief, family, and belonging with a little taste of magic.
16. Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay
Though I wouldn’t say this novel was necessarily one of the better one I read this year, it was one I enjoyed quite a lot (aside from the very end, which admittedly felt a little cheap to me).
15. Smothermoss by Alisa Alering
Though I wish a little that this book had either leaned more into its horrory, fantastical weird or more into its thrilling mystery plot rather than taking just a little of both, I quite enjoyed the atmosphere of this one!
13-14. Goldfish Ghost & The Dark by Lemony Snicket
Though the stories of each of these picture books are quite different, they’re both Lemony Snicket so they carry a similar tone — both of which I liked a good deal.
12. Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
I’ve seen the film adaptation of this memoir a few times, and I was very glad to finally read the source material!
11. Hilda and the Troll (Hilda, #1) by Luke Pearson
This graphic novel/comic was such a joy to read! The art is lovely and the story quaint — now that I’m reminded of it, I’m thinking of flipping through it and appreciating it again.
10. Read Something Else by Lemony Snicket
This collection of quotes and adages is similar to Lemony Snicket’s previous collection, Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can’t Avoid, with extra fun added via punchy graphic design. Needless to say, I loved it!
5-9. All the Wrong Questions, #1-#4 (to include #2.5) by Lemony Snicket
I’ve been meaning to read Lemony Snicket’s All the Wrong Questions series for quite a while, and was glad to finally prioritize it this year. While nothing can measure up to ASOUE, I loved the setting, characters, and mysteries found in these middle grade noirs.
4. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
After seeing the movie a few times, I’m glad to finally have read Fight Club (which marked my first Chuck Pahlahniuk read). While there’s some mixed reviews about the book, I really enjoyed it!
3. The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin
Though I’ve mentioned that I tend to wish that novellas would go on longer, I needn’t say such a thing about The Stepford Wives because even in its brevity (perhaps even in part because of it), it’s so deliciously haunting and deservedly a classic.
2. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
I know that this boat has long since passed but I’m just now on it so I’ll take my time to sing this book’s praises! I’m so glad I read this one, even with knowing where it was going (you can only avoid spoilers of a wildly popular, decade-plus-old novel for so long) — it’s really just that good.
1. Rouge by Mona Awad
My first exposure to Mona Awad was through Bunny, her most popular novel, and though I was left a little bewildered by that story (a reread is completely overdue at this point), I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I’d be reading more of her work. Rouge for me was absolutely sublime! The complexity of the protagonist’s relationship with her mother, beauty, and her own dissipating sanity is mixed up in a surreal, succulent fever dream. Though it isn’t for everyone, I loved every bit of it!
Thank you so much for reading! It was a little painful to keep the majority of my comments on each book brief but I’ve talked about most of these books across my blog already so it seemed apt. I ended up reading a lot fewer books than I’d initially set out to (I set a goal of 50, then changed it to 35 but only read 33) but I’m okay with that. I think I needed this so I can hopefully read plenty in the new year!
Have you read any of the books on this list? Any favorites? Least favorites? What were your top books of 2024? Worst ones? I’d love to hear your thoughts below!
Little Bit of All That 
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