The Best Books I Read in 2024.

     2024 wasn't my best year for reading, but I did still manage to read seven books that managed to get a five-star rating from me!! Each year on my blog, I enjoy sharing the very best of the best (five-star rated) books that I read the previous year. Let's get into my favorites from last year!

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      Something wild and unexpected happened to me in 2024. I lost interest in reading for a good chunk of the year. I blame that 100% on the loss of my radio job last April. There were some hobbies that I dove headfirst into to distract myself post-job loss, like playing golf. And other things that I completely lost interest in for a chunk of time, like reading. It wasn't until November and catching up on reading during our honeymoon that I even had confidence that I'd hit my 2024 reading goal of 30 books. And although I did end up exceeding it by a few books (thanks to really getting back into reading in December), I would've been okay if it didn't happen in 2024. Everything last year was a good reminder that reading is a hobby and should be fun! If I'm not feeling inspired in a point and time in my life to read, it is okay to take breaks from it. The only person holding me to the standard of reading as an adult at a certain pace is myself. 

      Since I did read less in general last year, I didn't have as many five-star reads as years past. But I am still excited to share today about books I truly loved last year.

Best Fiction Books of 2024:

• Dreamland by Nicholas Sparks - Prior to this book, I've always found Nicholas Sparks books and movies to be just okay. But I just loved this story! It is part typical Nicholas Sparks love story, and part thriller, with two different main characters for each storyline. It's absolutely crazy when you see how both storylines intersect further into the book! Such a plot twist that I wasn't expecting. I also loved how the love story part of the book was set in St. Pete, Florida. The book opens on the beach right outside of the famous Don Cesar Resort... and I visited that exact beach just a few months before reading this book! I'd highly recommend this read, even if you have found other Nicholas Sparks books to be just okay. 

• The Daydreams by Laura Hankin - This is a close second to Honey for my favorite novel of the year, and just like Honey it's also set partly in the early 2000s! This book is about former early 2000s child-stars from a Disney/Nickelodeon type network, who end reunite 15 years later. The four of them starred when they were high school aged on a show about a band, but then their show had gotten cancelled after a disastrous season finale. The main character of the book opted to leave show business altogether and ended up going to law school and becoming a lawyer. But things get wild when all four of them reunite years later as adults, and finally have to dig up past traumas from their past. If you love early 2000s pop culture like I do, this is an absolute must-read! 

• Honey by Isabel Banta - My favorite novel of the year! I read this on our honeymoon and had such a book hangover after I finished it. Like The Daydreams, this book is also about early 2000s pop culture. My best friend Ciera recommended it to me and it did not fall short! This book follows the life and career of Amber Young, a teenager in the late 90s who gets the opportunity to sign a record deal with a new girl group. She then must weigh the decision on if she wants to stay in the group or leave to pursue a solo career. This book is both juicy and deep. It really explores a lot of the dark side of fame for young women at this time in pop culture. My only complaint about this book? That the main character Amber's songs don't actually exist in real life! I wish I could've listened along while reading. This is the debut novel for Isabel Banta, and I can't wait to see what else she writes in the future. I also really hope that this book gets adapted into a movie or tv series at some point!

• The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand - I first read this book a few years ago, but reread it in 2024 in advance of The Perfect Couple limited series coming out on Netflix. The good news? I still love this book! It's still one of my top Elin Hilderbrand books, and I loved it just as much reading it a second time. The bad news? I really didn't like the Netflix series! I thought it did a horrible job following the book, and there were way too many plot and character changes. If you're not familiar with the book storyline, it's about a wedding weekend gone horribly wrong in Nantucket. The maid of honor in the wedding dies overnight the night before, and her body is found on the wedding day morning. 

• The Summer Pact by Emily Giffin - This was a sweet and feel-good read. It's about three college friends who reunite for a trip of a lifetime after one of them experiences a traumatic break-up. The threesome was originally part of a foursome, but their fourth best friend committed suicide back in college. Their late friend's memory is a big part of the decisions that the three of them choose to make into adulthood. I loved the friendship dynamics in this book, and also loved that the college flashbacks were set in Charlottesville (at the University of Virginia), since I used to live there! 

Best Non-Fiction Books of 2023:

• What Do I Do? Every Wedding Etiquette Question Answered by Mariah Grumet - This book was kindly given to me by my friend Kelly-Anne as a thoughtful engagement gift! Mariah Grumet is a professional etiquette coach with a great social media presence. This is her first book! She answers every question under the sun (from a modern etiquette perspective) that a bride-to-be could possibly have when wedding planning. Although the chapters aren't long, I did my best to read them slowly so I could really digest all of the information. I really enjoyed this book and got a lot out of it in the earlier months of planning my own wedding! I definitely plan to gift it to other friends who get engaged in the future. 

• The Holy Bible (NIV Translation) - I can't believe I forgot to add much about this in my 2024 year-end recap blog post, but I read the Bible in full for the first time last year! I followed The Bible Recap's Bible in a Year plan (both their reading plan and daily corresponding podcast episodes). Reading the Bible in a calendar year was truly an incredible journey! It was educational, mind-opening, and thought-provoking, as well as a bit overhwelming at times. I do hope to do the Bible in a Year plan again in a future year, but for 2025 I've decided to read scripture more slowly again, and revisit certain books of the Bible that I struggled to understand at last year's fast pace. But anyways- would absolutely give reading the Word of God in full a five-star review. 😊 This is the link to the exact Study Bible I have!

Past Best Books Of The Year posts:

2018 // 2019 // 2020 // 2021 // 2022 // 2023

     God Bless,

     xoxo Annaliese