As we come to the end of 2024, I can’t help but think of Jon Lucas’ lyrics in Let The (Filthy) Dance With The (Righteous): “We have spent our days forgetting and remembering your goodness.” I find this to be true of my life and of this year especially. It has been a year full of fulfilled and reminded promises of God, as well as endless doubt. When I began this year, I felt as though my phrase of the year would be “For Such a Time as This.” This was an apt prophecy. This has been a year of preparation and I am excited and nervous about what comes next. This year, I read 52 books, five of which rose to the very top. What details from each book can you spot in the picture below?
Honorable Mention: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
I don’t know, not even humans know why humans do things.
Five novellas and two novels comprise this simple yet earthshattering series (at least, so far). Murderbot was designed to kill and follow orders. After illegally achieving autonomy, Murderbot is on the run, taking contracts, solving murders, and getting into intergalactic trouble. This series followed me around for the first half of the year and I absolutely adored it. It felt difficult to select a single book to highlight in this list so I decided to mention the entire series as an honorable mention. These little books are absolutely worth your time. Equal parts funny and profound, I’m certain you’ll find that even killers are delightful.
(Purchase The Murderbot Diaries from the Queen Anne Book Company, an independent bookstore in Seattle, Washington. The first book is All Systems Red.)
#5: I’m in Seattle, Where Are You? by Mortada Gzar, Translated by William Hutchins
Everyone felt personally responsible for guiding me and fashioning me anew.
Mortada Gzar was a gay engineering student well known for quietly criticizing the Hussein regime in Iraq when he met Morise, a Black US solider waging “war on terror.” Their connection is instantaneous. Years later, Mortada arrives in Seattle in search of his once great love. This stunning and gut-wrenching poetic memoir requires patience. At first, you feel as though you are drowning without any hope of a life jacket. The plot feels uninteresting. As Mortada paints, however, you will find yourself immensely drawn into the web of a master storyteller. I’m in Seattle, Where Are You? is a memoir, yes, but it is also a stunning love story, a travelogue, an exploration of queer identity and marginalization, a history of Islam, a documentation of the complexities of war, and deeply human tale of resilience and heartbreak.
(Purchase I’m in Seattle, Where Are You? from Charis Books and More, an independent, queer-owned bookstore in Decatur, Georgia. Note: This book would be difficult to understand in audio form.)
#4: Anyone’s Ghost by August Thompson
“The human grief instinct is an embarrassing one. Frail and ignored until it is a very part of you.”
Gay. Gorgeous. Unforgettable. Thompson’s debut novel centers around the erotic friendship between Theron and Jake from the time they meet as teenagers to Jake’s untimely death in his third car accident. This novel is full of vice but also full of heart and would be a perfect choice for people who liked the idea of A Little Life but found it too depressing and unrealistic. Thompson writes with searing prose and a devastatingly acute understanding of regret and young love.
(Purchase Anyone’s Ghost from Tommbolo Books, a queer-owned indie bookstore in St. Petersburg, Florida.)
#3: Wayward by Chuck Wendig
I’m done letting the world cut us down any further. It’s whittled us this far, but now it’s going to go the other way. It’s going to whittle us sharp. Sharper. Sharpen us into spear tips, whet us into knife blades.
Wayward is the unexpected sequel to Wendig’s prophetic 2020 novel Wanderers. Due to the nature of sequels, it’s not possible to tell you what Wayward is about without spoiling Wanderers. So, I’ll simply say that Wanderers is a futuristic sci-fi about a mysterious illness causing people to sleepwalk across the nation. As the mystery behind the epidemic unravels, and a rising band of nationalists ravages America, the world will never be the same. This duology is full of magnificent, vibrant characters and a Stephen King plot that wanders and terrifies. By the end of the second book, I was weeping for our humanity and cheering for a way in the wilderness. This book reads well in both physical and audio formats.
(Purchase Wanderers from Off The Beaten Path, an independent bookstore in rural Steamboat Springs, Colorado).
#2: Happy Place by Emily Henry
Everything is changing. It has to. You can’t stop time. All you can do it point yourself in a direction and hope the wind will let you get there.
Famed romance novelist Emily Henry outdoes herself in her 2023 novel about Harriet and Wyn – the perfect couple who break up months before the friend group’s reunion trip. Having told no one, Harriet and Wyn must fake their relationship or risk ruining the last reunion trip at everyone’s favorite costal property. Happy Place was a right time, right book for me, so perhaps my judgement on this one is clouded. However, I can confidently say this book gutted me. Growing old and losing friends and friendships as people change is devastatingly relatable. A few months prior to reading this, my friend group had gone through a turbulent time and this book could not have resonated more. Henry perfectly mixes Hallmark predictability with the acute devastation of the human condition so palpable I simply had to walk away for a few days. If you’re growing up, let The One get away, or have a chosen family, this is the book for you.
(Purchase Happy Place from Eagle Harbor Book Company, an indie bookstore in Bainbridge Island, Washington).
#1: The Limits of my World by Dr. Gregory Coles
Death reaches the members of every race that calls itself human, whether or not they are willing to speak of it or think on it. You may not understand the word death but this will not protect you from it.
English professor and memoirist Gregory Coles delivers the most underrated book of the century in his debut novel. Utilizing queer theory and precise language, Coles’ novel tells a disorienting and thrilling story of blue-skinned Kanan and Tei in a strange society in tenuous relationship with the so-called “humans” that live above them. This book has twists galore and layers upon twisted layer. It is also whip smart and literarily meticulous. At once entertaining and deeply intelligent, The Limits of my World asks us to consider how language shapes our world and personhood. I will be rereading this one for years to come. Run, don’t walk, to pick up this stunning, riveting, horrifying, and human modern classic that will be resurrected in AP Literature classes a few decades from now.
(Purchase The Limits of my World from Raven Book Store, an indie bookstore in Lawrence, Kansas. Note: This book would be difficult to understand in audio format).
Have you read any of these books? Let us know in the comments below! Also drop your favorite books of the year in the comments so we can have a fabulous TBR for 2025!
P.S. Here’s a short list of books I’m most excited for that are releasing in the New Year!
- Three Wild Dogs (and the Truth) by Markus Zusak
- My Friends by Fredrik Backman
- Onyx Storm (Empyrean #3) by Rebecca Yarros
- Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
- Dissolution by Nicholas Binge
Bryce Van Vleet is the #1 selling author of Tired Pages and Before We All Die Let’s Have One Last Chat by the Fireside. He also hosts the podcast Death in Dakota, sells poetry art here, and masquerades as the spoken word artist Liihey. You can support him by clicking through blog posts or donating (scroll to the bottom of the page).
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