2024 Book List | July 1 - December 30
See here for the first half of my 2024 Book List and note that the second half of my list below follows the same “rules” as my 2023 list and the first half of 2024:
The books I reviewed previously have embedded links to those posts
The books with a star next to them are the books I highly recommend
The books with two stars next to them are those that I’ve read before and re-read this year — either because they’re part of a series and I needed reminding of the story before reading the sequel, or because I wanted to re-visit the book and the world created in the book
The books with three stars next to them are those that I read for a book club I joined in September
The Personal Librarian
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I read The Personal Librarian a little more slowly than I typically read fiction books — mostly because other books have been vying for my time and attention. But once I spent more than about 30 minutes with the story, I was hooked. I read a lot of historical fiction and this is easily one of my recent favorites.
I've Tried Being Nice: Essays
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I’ve Tried Being Nice: Essays has been on my Hold List in Libby ever since it came out about two months ago. I have never read anything by Ann Leary before, but this one grabbed my attention because of the title and the cover.
This Is How It Always Is
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I went into this book without knowing very much about it — other than that it was a Reese’s Book Club recommendation, and I tend to like the books she (and her people) highlight.
*|** Soul Survivor
Soul Survivor
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I read this book in 2003, when it was first released, and I enjoyed it so much that I’ve loaned/shared so many people in the years since then. Somewhere along the way, I never thought to get it back (all our moves haven’t helped) so I bought it again last Christmas because I knew I wanted to re-read it.
* Tom Lake
*|**|*** None of This is True
None of This is True
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It’s been a long time since I spent an afternoon reading a book from start to finish. But good grief, None of This is True was just that compelling. “Addictive” as the review (from Lucy Foley, another author whose books I really like) on the front of the book reads.
Your Jesus Is Too American
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The subtitle of this book is “Calling the Church to Reclaim Kingdom Values Over the American Dream” and I can’t think of a more fitting summary of this book than that.
*|**|*** The Nightingale
*|** The Bible Recap
*|** The Bible
I had contemplated including a sentence or two about my why I do or don’t recommend these books, but my reading list posts are already too long for email. So if you have any questions about these books or if you want more details about whether I recommend (or not), please leave a comment! I’m happy to elaborate —
Also, I would also lovelovelove any recommendations from you! While my “to read” list is quite long, I also really value suggestions and recommendations. Please leave any of your own recent (or not recent) favorite books in the comments, too.