So this is it. Of nearly seventy fiction and non-fiction titles I’ve read this year, which is the best book? Which ones will I be recommending, or have I been recommending, at my Craft Fair stall? Given that I’m still raving about Lessons in Chemistry which topped my list last year, I fully expect the top books to do the same in 2024.
The Candidates – my Five Star Reads
As usual, I’ll start by simply listing all those I gave a coveted 5 stars to — 28 in all. Strangely that’s only one more title than last year, so I must be getting a little pickier!
- Loot (historical adventure)
- Juicy Ghosts (weird scifi)
- The Wife, the Mistress, and the Guinea Pig…. (anthology)
- Republic (The Emperor’s Edge #8) (fantasy)
- She’s a Killer by Kirsten McDougall (thriller)
- Vet at the End of the Earth (memoir)
- Surviving Transphobia (anthology non-fiction)
- Influenced by Patricia Josephine (YA short stories, fantasy)
- Half Life (Scifi)
- Death at the Asylum by N A Granger (crime thriller)
- Tschiffely’s Ride (memoir)
- Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner (scifi)
- An Acceptable Time (Quintet #5) (MG scifi)
- Monk and Robot books 1 + 2 (scifi)
- Winter’s Keep (Weather Weaver Trilogy #3) (MG fantasy)
- The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn (thriller)
- The Outskirter’s Secret (Steerswoman #2) (fantasy)
- Where to Watch Birds in Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight (fifth edition) (non-fiction)
- Magic at Midnight (YA Fantasy)
- CassaStorm and CassaDawn (scifi)
- Feathers of the Phoenix: the Atlantean Horse (MG fantasy historical)
- You Think You Know Me (MG thriller)
- Shafter by Margaret McGaffey Fisk (scifi)
- The Art of Spirit Capture (fantasy)
- Nightspark by Michael Mann (MG fantasy)
- The Last Remains by Elly Griffiths (crime thriller)
- Love Will Tear Us Apart (Stranger Times #3) (weird thriller)
- Wreck of the Lanternfish (fantasy)
and from these… the shortlists and the winners!
MG and YA
The shortlist is: Influenced, Winters Keep, Magic at Midnight, Nightspark,
And the winner is…
Magic at Midnight
Fantasy, Science Fiction and Time travel
Shortlisted: Wreck of the Lanternfish, The Outskirter’s Secret, Monk & Robot 1&2, Half Life, Juicy Ghosts
And the winner is…
The Outskirter’s Secret
Crime, suspense, mystery, thriller
shortlisted: Death at the Asylum, The Diamond Eye, the Last Remains, You Think You Know Me
And the winner ( and best overall) is…
The Diamond Eye
Historical
Loot, The Atlantean Horse
And the winner is…
Loot
Non-fiction and Memoir
shortlist and joint winners: Tschiffely’s Ride, Vet at the End of the World
Absolutely a great list and worthy winners. I hope you had a good Christmas Jemima and I hope you have a happy, healthy and prosperus New Year 💜😊
I’m honored to be included on your list, Jackie! And I’ve read a couple of the ones you recommend. Wishing you and the boys a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year!
May your 2024 be a wonderful experience for you in every way! <3
As usual, I’m gleaning the list for some of my next reads. And, with a big shift away from MG (no idea why, but I read very few this year) I only read about the same number of books as you.
When I reviewed Coastal Corpse it still wasn’t on Goodreads, so it didn’t feature on my list at all. It is now, so I’ll add my review etc soon 🙂 Tonight would be good…
I’ve only read about that number in total, never mind that number of 5* ones! Hope you had a good Christmas, and all be best for 2024.
I enjoyed Vet at the End of the Earth too – and of course Tschiffely’s Ride years ago.
Aww, thanks for reading one of my books and liking it. I failed big time at reading this year, but there was so much personal life stuff going on that I was too exhausted to get into a book. (I’m making no assumptions about 2024 just to be safe.)