My Top 22 Books of 2024. What are YOURS?

Here come the lists. Join the fun.

I don’t like to choose favorites. But I’m going to. Right here.

Who knows why a particular book hits us all so hard personally?! And yet, they just do. Each read is like a personal relationship — with chemistry.

I’ve devoured tons of books this year that I really enjoyed. In fact, any book I included on my podcast is one I think is totally worth recommending. (I mean, really. If I’m dedicating 30 minutes to talk to an author, not to mention all the prep work and reading time, you can assume I’m a huge fan!)

But out of all of those, these are the 22 books I’ll be recommending for years to come. (22 is my lucky number.)

I’ve realized in making this list that my favorite books of the year all have a lot in common:

• They’re novels and memoirs, typically set in contemporary life

• They center around relationships: with our spouses, our families, and ourselves

• They are stories about getting through difficult things and difficult times in life — and coming out the other side

• The author’s voice is vulnerable, authentic, open — and often funny

• They teach us how to live and how to appreciate the everyday

• They inspire us to take the next steps to improve our own lives

• The authors show us what helped them (or their characters) so we can feel less alone in whatever we’re coping with ourselves

• They are well-written, fast-paced, warm, original, and clever

• They are emotional and made me think and feel

• They are hopeful!

What they are not:

• They’re not all bestsellers or award-winners

• They’re not all by established authors

• They’re not all by women

• They’re not all about moms or midlife (but some are!)

• They are not books that other people or media outlets deemed “important” or that I really “should” read; they are what I loved and wanted to read.

We all need to listen that inner voice more. Right? So this is what really stuck with me. Stories about people. Stories that inspire. No pretense. No artifice. Real life. Really awesome. I hope you find stories in my list here that also inspire you to live well, take the next steps, and do good in the world. But it’s really about knowing how to choose books for you.

What are your favorites and why?

Make your list of your favorite 22 books in 2024. Then share it with the world. MAKE IT YOUR OWN. Post the list on Substack and/or on social and tag the authors (and me @zibbyowens and @zibbysbookshop). See what all your favorites have in common. Analyze and learn more about yourself and what you’re looking for in your reading life.

Here are templates for posts and stories. We’ll have printouts at Zibby’s Bookshop. And a new shelf with my top 22! Go, go, go! Mine are below.

My Top 22 Books for 2024

Here they are, sorted by theme. (Shop all books here. Podcast links below.)

Coping with and/or Overcoming…..

A Terminal Diagnosis

1. Sophie Kinsella, What Does it Feel Like: A Novel. (Podcast coming soon! Listen to our last episode here.)

Matriarch Loss:

2. Anna Quindlen, After Annie: A Novel. (Listen to our podcast here.)

3. Susan Rieger, Like Mother Like Mother: A Novel. (Podcast coming soon!)

Heartbreak:

4. Alison Espach, The Wedding People. (Listen to our podcast here.)

Complicated Families:

5. Griffin Dunne, The Friday Afternoon Supper Club: A Family Memoir. (Listen to our podcast here.)

WWII and the Holocaust:

6. Georgia Hunter, We Were the Lucky Ones (I know this came out in 2017, but I only just read it, so making an exception. Whatever. It’s my list!) (Listen to our podcast here.)

   

Grief:

7. Clare Mackintosh, I Promise It Won’t Always Hurt Like This: 18 Assurances on Grief. (Listen to our podcast here.)

8. Amy Lin, Here After: A Memoir. (Listen to our podcast here.)

Marriage and Toxic Relationships:

9. Sarah Manguso, Liars: A Novel. (Listen to our podcast here.)

10. Emma Grey, Pictures of You: A Novel. (Podcast coming soon. Listen to our last episode here.)

11. Molly Roden Winter, More: A Memoir of Open Marriage. (Listen to our podcast here.)

12. Zibby Owens, Blank: A Novel (I mean, I have to make it onto a year-end list!). (Listen to my podcast about Blank here.)

Motherhood Madness:

13. Julie Chavez, Everyone But Myself: A Memoir. (Listen to our podcast here.)

Eating Disorders

14. John Schu, Louder Than Hunger: A Novel. (Listen to our podcast here.)

Poverty and Difficult Circumstances

15. Jonathan Conyers, I Wasn’t Supposed to Be Here: Finding My Voice, Finding My People, Finding My Way. (Listen to our podcast here.)

Abuse

16. Kimberly Shannon Murphy, Glimmer: A Story of Survival, Hope and Healing. (Listen to our podcast here.)

Antisemitism

17. Zibby Owens, On Being Jewish Now: Reflections from Authors and Advocates. (Listen to our podcast with 40+ contributors, also on Rebecca Minkoff’s podcast, here.)

Finding….

Love (Again) as a Mom

18. Annabel Monaghan, Summer Romance. (Listen to our podcast here.)

19. Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out With Him. (Podcast coming soon. Listen to our last episode here.)

Your Voice in Midlife:

20. Ann Leary, I’ve Tried Being Nice: Essays. (Listen to our podcast here.)

21. Julie Fingersh, Stay: A Story of Family, Love, and Other Traumas. (Podcast coming soon!)

The Power of Books and Community To Get You Through Anything:

22. Glory Edim, Gather Me: A Memoir in Praise of the Books That Saved Me. (Podcast coming soon! Listen to our previous episode here.)

    (Shop all books here. Podcast links above.)

    

p.s. Have you checked out my other, new Substack??

On Being Jewish Now

. Head over there if that interests you!! Original essays! Connection and community! onbeingjewishnow.substack.com.

p.p.s. My podcast is nominated for two awards! Can you please vote for me? Signal Awards and Lovie Awards. Please??! THANKS!

p.p.s.s. We’re doing a GIVEAWAY and offering a discount code right now: two tickets to a play, “Mrs. Stern Wanders The Prussian State Library,” and a copy of On Being Jewish Now! To enter, tag friends in my post on Instagram.

Enter MrsFriend for $10 off $44 tickets here: tinyurl.com/mrsstix

Description: Berlin, 1933. With martial law in effect, political activism has become a capital crime. A young Gestapo officer arrests a graduate student suspected of doing illegal research. Inspired by real events, this fantastical drama delves into the life and mind of the iconic thinker Hannah Arendt.

Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library: By Jenny Lyn Bader, directed by Ari Laura Kreith at 59E59 Theaters, 59 E. 59th St. (between Park & Madison Ave.), New York City, Run time: 90 min. Enjoy!