I started a draft of this post towards the end of 2024 and never published it. I can hardly believe it’s already 2026. Some of these books are ones that I still think about regularly. So I thought it would be worth sharing these top reads from 2024.

I read 61 books in 2024. My reading life fell into a few different categories. Working in a church, I tend to read many books about spirituality and faith (I will recap 4 of my favorites in a separate post). My own personal interests for reading cover a range of topics from popular fiction, science fiction, romance, and more. 

My top 3 favorite books I read this year were all powerful stories about people struggling with complex decisions.

Margo’s Got Money Troubles was probably the biggest surprise of my reading life in 2024. Published in June 2024, I listened to the audiobook at the end of July. The narration by Elle Fanning was perfection! She nailed the comedic voice. I fell in love with the characters and rooted for Margo. If you haven’t heard of this book, the basic plot is almost a coming of age story for a 20-something young woman, Margo, with a very complicated family situation. Struggling to find work, Margo tries OnlyFans, but takes a quirky unconventional approach and entertaining events follow. Laughed out loud countless times while listening to this book. 

Another top read of the year was If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio. It is a mystery/thriller which is not a typical genre that I read. I was intrigued because of the Shakespeare references and comparisons to The Secret History by Donna Tartt, one of my all-time favorite books. Published in 2017, If We Were Villains was moody and perfectly captured the campus vibes. It kept me guessing until the end.

The Covenant of Water is 700+ pages in print or 31 hours in audio. Only Abraham Verhese can write such a beautiful family drama spanning multiple generations over so many pages and keep a reader on the edge of her seat. The characters were wonderfully complex and well written. It was a top read of the year.

10 Five Star Reads in 2024

• Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe
• If We Were Villains by ML Rio
• Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
• Real Americans by Rachel Khong
• The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
• The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
• Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
• Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore
• Annie Bot by Sierra Greer
• Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Stay tuned for two more short blog posts with my favorite spirituality/faith books that I read in 2024 and my favorite romance reads of 2024!