Wow! The end of 2024 is coming quickly and it’s time to see which Watseka Public Library Book Blog books were recognized with awards this year. (18 of our Worthwhile Reads won literary recognition from various sources.) There were lots of great books published this year – maybe one of these will interest you if you haven’t picked it up already!
“James” by Percival Everett, seems to be the most decorated novel of 2024 – being chosen Book of the Year by Barnes & Noble, the Kirkus Prize for Fiction Winner and also being a National Book Awards Finalist. Book Riot chose it as a Top Fiction novel and it made Amazon Top 10, BookPage Top 10, Goodreads Top 10 Historical Fiction, Publisher’s Weekly Top 10, Chicago Public Library Top 10 and the Times top 100 Must Read as well. This novel was a retelling of “Huckleberry Finn” through James’ eyes.
Two of my favorite mystery novels were “The God of the Woods” by Liz Moore and “All the Colors of the Dark” by Chris Whitaker. “The God of the Woods” earned Amazon’s and Chicago Public Library’s Top Ten and its Best Mystery/Thriller lists. Goodreads named it as its Favorite Mystery/Thriller. It was one of Barnes & Nobles’ and also Book Riot’s Best Fiction picks and it made Time’s Top 100 Must Read. “All the Colors of the Dark” earned Barnes & Nobles’ Best Mystery/Thriller award, was a Goodreads Top 10 Mystery/Thriller, an Amazon Top 20 pick and a Top 20 Mystery/Thriller pick.
“Funny Story” by Emily Henry was Goodreads Favorite Romance and on Barnes & Nobles’ Best Fiction and Best Romance lists. It was the 2nd ‘most-read’ book of the year. It was also a BookPage Top Romance, an Amazon Top 20 Romance and on Times’ Top 100 Must Read list. “Funny Story” was also named Goodreads’ Favorite Audiobook of 2024. Another great romance book was “Just for the Summer” by Abby Jimenez. It made Amazon’s Top 20 Romance, BookPage’s Top Romance and Goodreads Top 10 Romance. “Summer Romance” by Annabel Monaghan was an Amazon Top 20 Romance.
“The Women” by Kristin Hannah, was a terrific novel about nurses in Vietnam and it earned Barnes & Nobles’ Best Fiction, Amazon Top 10, Goodreads Favorite Historical Fiction and has spent 43 weeks on New York Times Best Sellers list. It is the most-read book of the year!
“The Berrypickers” by Amanda Peters won the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and “The Frozen River” by Ariel Lawhon was a Goodreads Top 10 Historical Fiction book. Goodreads also chose “The Briar Club” by Kate Quin and “By Any Other Name” by Jodi Picoult as Top 10 Historical Fiction novels.
If mystery novels are your choice, “First Lie Wins” by Ashley Elston and “Listen for the Lie” by Amy Tintera were both Amazon Top 20 Mystery/Thrillers and on Goodreads Top 10 Mystery/Thriller list. “Middle of the Night” by Riley Sager and “One Perfect Couple” by Ruth Ware made Barnes & Noble’s Best Mystery/Thriller List.
“The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year” by Ally Carter was a Christmas-y novel that was named a Barnes & Noble Best Romance and a BookPage Top Romance. “The Night We Lost Him” was listed on Barnes & Nobles’ Best Fiction recommendations.
If true crime interests you, “Framed” by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey, earned a Goodreads Top 10 Non-Fiction nod.
Happy reading for the rest of 2024! We will be back with our Watseka Library Book Blog in January 2025 with new recommendations of books to check-out!
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