As we wrap up the last few days of 2024, it’s time to talk about what my top reads of the year were as well as what books really captured my attention. I managed to get in 17 books this year, which is wild compared to 2023’s measly two or three books. I wrote in a separate post earlier this year about how I went through a four-year reading slump and had no motivation to read as much as I did when I was younger, but I broke that and managed to get back to reading, bought more books, and am generally more looking forward to reading again like I used to. In any case, today’s post will be my top 5 reads from 2024 as well as what my general thoughts are regarding them and why they were such good books in my opinion.
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My Favorite Books This Year
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
The best book I read this year had to be, without a doubt, Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. This book has been stuck on my mind since I finished reading it and I haven’t really gotten over just how much I loved it. The characters, the setting, the progression, the brutality of the story–all of it really fit what I was looking for in a gritty, realistic book. The themes are also very engaging, the story itself was well-written, and although the writing style was different than standard conventions usually call for, I loved it.
I think for me, Blood Meridian was definitely one of the more intense reads of 2024. The book itself was dark, had a lot of really grim and harsh elements, but was an overall amazing story. I don’t think I minded the grimness of it simply because grimdark happens to be my favorite subgenre of fantasy, but I was really into this book and I wish it didn’t end just from how strung along I was.
If there is one book I could re-read again for the first time just to experience the emotions I felt then, it would be Blood Meridian without a sliver of doubt. I whole-heartedly recommend this book and if you want to know more about my thoughts on it, you can check out this post here.
We Are the Dead by Mike Shackle
We Are the Dead is a book I sort of stumbled upon by accident. I didn’t see it on TikTok, which is where I tend to get a lot of recommendations for books (though, I’ve diverted more to just browsing Goodreads since a lot of TikTok books kinda disappointed me). However, I just happened to find it on Goodreads and I am so glad that I found this book because it was more than a book; my friends, this thing was an experience that never let me guess its next move.
Do you want a book where everything is bleak and hopeless? Do you want a book where it’s actually grim for a grimdark? Do you like Abercrombie’s writing style but with more action, adventure, war, and just insanity? This is the book for you and upon reading literally the first page, I knew this was going to be amazing.
This book was written so well and it wasn’t short, mind you, but it flowed so well that I blasted through it faster than maybe any other book I read this year. I loved this book so much and I can’t wait to read the rest of the trilogy because I was seriously, seriously, seriously, hooked the entirety of this story.
This is genuinely a grim story. This is genuinely a dark story. And that is exactly what I wanted out of it. I saw that title and said to myself: “If this isn’t a real grimdark, I’ll be mad.” And it was a real grimdark. Loved it. Great action, great characters, great progression, great story. 100% recommend this one. Seriously, this book is severely underrated.
King of Thorns by Mark Lawrence
I read the Broken Empire Trilogy earlier this year and haven’t been able to stop raving about how much I love it (just ask my sister). King of Thorns was probably my favorite of the entire trilogy. Jorg of Ancrath is my favorite main character ever, I actually have the image from the cover of this book as a widget on my phone that I themed after fantasy books, and I loved this book more than maybe most books I’ve read in my life. Not only was Jorg an actually interesting character, but he was a well-written one, a true protagonist I’d expect to see in a grimdark, and was redeeming while being unredeemable all the same.
I loved the writing style, Jorg’s sarcasm, his wit, and just how intelligent he actually was. He figured ways out of predicaments, he was smart, he calculated, and he knew how to act. He was ambitious and he had goals in mind. I loved the sort of strange sci-fi elements lingering in the background of this grimdark fantasy and I really felt every moment of this book. You’re missing out if you haven’t read this trilogy yet, to be honest. It is quintessential for grimdark fans.
Instantly hit the 5-star button on Goodreads. I didn’t even hesitate, I’m not joking.
Animal Farm by George Orwell
I read 1984 back when I was in high school and I instantly loved it. I reference a lot of its elements and I consider it to be one of the best dystopian stories probably ever written. However, I finally decided to read Animal Farm after putting it off for some time and honestly, I wish I read it earlier.
WOW. That’s what I can say for this book. When I say this was one of the best books I’ve read this year, I mean it. A revolution on an animal farm delves into chaos and class warfare after some animals decide to take advantage of the situation and dominate the others. It was a telling philosophical tale about the bleak nature of revolution, the nature of humans, and the dichotomy of class and economics. I loved it and I felt like it was honestly compelling. I sat down and managed to read it in one sitting and I didn’t want to do anything until I finished the book.
If you want to read a book that will make you think a lot about the world around you, this is a must read any day.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
I saw a special edition copy of Wuthering Heights while browsing through HomeGoods and I couldn’t resist the gold-foil edges. Also, I wanted to read some classics, so I thought, why the hell not? And I’m so glad I thought that because this book had me gripped to every page. This wasn’t a simple romance, this was an amazing, emotional, sad, beautiful book. Honestly, I couldn’t find really anything bad about this book. It’s not a happy story, but it’s a well-written one that reflects on humanity, the lives of women, the difficulties of classism, the effects of trauma and change, and so much more.
I didn’t know what to expect when I first started reading this book, but I honestly couldn’t put it down. I’m not the biggest fan of romance novels, but this wasn’t really just a romance novel. This had a lot more than just romance going on and I think that’s ultimately why I ended up enjoying it. But the romance story in it was compelling enough to keep me reading. Really, really recommend this book. I loved it honestly.
DNFs of 2024?
As much as I loved a lot of books this year, there were some books that I just couldn’t force myself to read no matter how much I tried. Some books were just too painful for me to get through and I honestly didn’t want to keep reading them. It’s unfortunate; I hate DNFing stories and I love to read them all the way through, but some books just didn’t really stick the landing with me.
One of those is Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. Apparently that is not the popular opinion, but I couldn’t force myself to read past 30% or so of the book. I had no love for this story, for the world building, for the characters, for really, anything about it. Logically, there were too many flaws for me to overlook, the dialogue made me want to throw the book, and I couldn’t stand the characters. At all. Also, the world building hurt my head. There was no indication of any cultures, any languages, any really in-depth work put in on it. It was just another disappointing romantasy for me. Also, it makes no sense that the leaders of a country would put the children of their enemies into their elite dragon-riding academy. That is illogical and if that country was making decisions like that constantly, how is it not crumbling?
Another book I couldn’t force myself to finish reading was The Tower of Fools by Andrewj Sapkowski, which was disappointing for me. I like The Witcher, so when I saw that the author wrote another story, I was really intrigued! Although the premise seemed interesting, I guess maybe this wasn’t a story for me. I wasn’t a fan of the characters and the book just info-dumped way too much on history, religion, and politics that it felt like I was reading a history book and not a historical fantasy. This just went on for too long for me to enjoy the reading process and I ended up putting it down, sad as it is to say.
The last book I’ll mention on this list is A Fire in the Sky by Sophie Jordan. Alright, I should’ve probably seen it coming when I read the synopsis, but I thought I might enjoy it. I thought, you know, maybe this won’t be so bad! But upon reading the first chapter, I realized quickly where this was going. It was like a mid version of those isekai webtoons I read when I’m bored of thinking. Except there was no isekaing going on. Basically, the plot doesn’t exist and most of it is just… sm*t. Not a fan. Not my type of story. I prefer action, adventure, war, etc… This book didn’t interest me. I just couldn’t keep going.
Conclusion
2024 was full of many reads for me, both amazing and disappointing all the same. Some books were awesome and made me love reading. Others were bad and made me sad. That rhymed, haha. But in all seriousness, some things I ended up reading this year made me excited and fall in love with reading again like I did all those years ago as a kid. There were so many amazing books that I read as well, and if you want to see more of what I’m reading, go ahead and give me a follow on Goodreads so that you can keep up-to-date with what’s what on that end!
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