2 days ago5 min read

Favorite Reads of 2024 for You to Consider in 2025

Because books enrich your life!

Stack of books topped by a peach-colored mug.

Favorite Reads of 2024

I read - and listen - to books every spare moment I have. While I didn't get nearly as much time as I'd like to read, I did squeeze in several dozen books this year, both audio and print. (My goal for 2025 is a minimum of forty.)

Not all of these are recent books. I read them in 2024, but they may have been published in a different year. All were compelling, entertaining reads, whether or not they rose to the status of "great" literature or Pulitzer prize-winning material. (I think there's an article there in what, exactly, is considered to be "great" literature!)

You can never read enough, but if you're looking for meaningful books, here are my favorite reads of 2024. Great for you in 2025!

North Woods by Daniel Mason, published September 2023

Imagine a house on a remote piece of land in coastal Maine. Envision all the people and events that have inhabited that space over the last three hundred years, and you've got the gist of North Woods by Daniel Mason.

A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, North Woods encapsulates American history with all its charm - and all its terrors - in stories told through letters, speeches, crime reports, articles, medical notes, film clips, and real estate ads.

North Woods is the most inventive novel I've read in a long time. I liked it so much that I both read it and listened to it in audio - which gave the novel a whole new dimension. Each story and the character who told it had a different voice, cadence, and accent. It was like listening to a play - only better because I could stop it and didn't have to wait until intermission for a bathroom break!

I gave this book a fervent thumbs-up,but several of my reading friends weren't charmed by it, finding it too long and "boring." To each her own! I was NEVER bored by North Woods, enjoying the stories and concentrating on finding the commonalities and connections between the diverse characters inhabiting the same ground over time.

Book cover for North Woods featuring a bobcat on a green pasture.

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker, published June 2024

I cut my reading teeth on Nancy Drew before moving on to Daphne DuMarier, Barbara Michaels (pen name of Barbara Mertz), and Victoria Holt (pen name of Eleanor Alice Burford and lots of other mystery writers.

In the last fifty years, I've read dozens and dozens of good mysteries, but I think All the Colors of the Dark is not just a good read, but a memorable one.

This is a powerful story not limited to one genre. It's a mystery, love story, and crime thriller in one. It's about friendship, love, obsession, goodness, imagination, survival, art, and creativity. It's also a haunting survival/captivity narrative.

Most importantly, it's a look at how trauma affects not only individuals but also the psyche of an entire town. It's the ripple effect of crime, and how the impact of that crime continues for years.

All the Colors of the Dark is also a study of creativity...and how even in the worst circumstances, we can create beautiful pictures in our minds.

Book cover for All the Colors of the Dark by Christ Whitaker featuring a picture of the woods at twilight with a big red streak of paint running through it.

Frozen River by Ariel Lawson, published in December 2023

If you think that the people living in America after the Revolution were boring, this book will make you think again.

The Frozen River is a marvelous read featuring a mature heroine with a full family life in late 18th-century Maine. The novel is based on the real life of Martha Ballard, a midwife who knew how to read and write and kept meticulous diaries chronicling her daily life.

The Frozen River is a compelling story, layered with tensions and power struggles.

Martha is atypical because she can read and write, thanks to her husband's tutelage early in their marriage. She, unlike many of the women in the community, has acquired some status due to her decades of work delivering babies and treating minor illnesses. Martha Ballard is often called into the courts to testify about the paternity of babies or to give details about victims.

It is Martha who is called to examine the frozen body when it is hauled from the river, and she determines that the death was not accidental. It was a murder.

Ariel Lahon skillfully weaves multiple conflicts into the daily lives of the townspeople of 18th Century Maine, painting a realistic picture of their lives - and making us feel that their lives are not so different from ours.

History-buff that I am, fierce admirer of strong women, and lover of a good story, The Frozen River hit all my buttons for an amazing read.

book cover for Ariel Lawhorn's novel, The Frozen River showing ice crystals on either side of a frozen river.

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett, published in August 2023

Tom Lake is a beautifully told story set during the Pandemic. Lara Nelson's three daughters are all home because of COVID, and they work together to harvest the family's cherry crop. All those hours together give them the time to ask their mom questions about her youth. Most of all, they want to know about their mother's prior relationship with the now-famous actor, Peter Duke, whom she dated during her college years. The novel is based on Lara's experience portraying Emily in Thorton WIlder's classic play, Our Town.

Truth be told: I played Emily in Our Town my Junior year at Clarksville High School in 1975, exactly the same time Lara Nelson gets her first acting gig. I was the middle girl of three daughters born to Mel and Molly Johnson, the same as the three-girl family that Lara has. I've been a mother to two of my own daughters, and understood Lara's thoughts about motherhood. Many elements in the novel Tom Lake hit home with me.

I loved this book, a story of the secrets we hold in the past, the relationships we have with family, the effect of our youth on our future, the worry of a changing world, and the healing love of a good family.

Book cover for Tom Lake by Ann Patchett illustrated with a field of daisies.

The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks, published in October 2015

This book shook me awake to the story of the Biblical King David.

The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks made King David real to me. I had heard parts of the murky stories of his life but didn't fully comprehend them: his rise from shepherd boy to King, his complicated marriages and the politics involved. His brilliant mind, his musical ability, and how beauty was to be held - either in his arms or in his words. Fascinating. Faithful. Flawed.

I loved this book because it had an interesting point of view, told by King David's advisor, the prophet Nathan. The novel helped me understand so much I had missed from the snippets I retained from Sunday School. The Secret Chord added to my admiration for Geraldine Brooks' works. Both Horse and March were compelling stories from this author that I thoroughly enjoyed.