Reading List 2024

I love looking back on the year to recount and reminisce on all of the wonderful books I read for the year. I met my 80-book reading goal just in the nick of time! Twenty-nine thousand five hundred forty-two pages that explored the shadows of the human psyche, traversed landscapes of the heart, and followed cryptic tails of secrets.

Check out my 10/10 reads for the year, including honorable mentions, StoryGraph statistics, and other reading resources.

Favorite Book of 2024

This is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel

“The universe has a way of bringing very topical books into my life just when I need them. This was such a beautifully written story. I fell in love with the writing style as soon as it had begun and I had no idea what the subject matter was. Honestly one of the most beautiful stories I’ve read this year. I loved all of the characters in the quirky family. “Don’t say ass.” 😂 If you’re on the fence on what to think about gender/trans people, I highly recommend reading this story. This story takes you through a lot of the medical, emotional, and moral issues surrounding the topic.”
– Meghen Murphy

Fun fact: I found this on StoryGraph based on similar readers’ favorite reads 🖤

Most Unexpected

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

“I absolutely loved this book. It was funny, clever, suspenseful, affectionate, heartbreaking, and joyful all in one! I’m not usually a sci-fi reader, but this one was so unexpectedly well done that it’s one of the best books I’ve read this year. You can’t help but love all of the characters involved. The way the story unravels as the main character, Ryland Grace, slowly figures out what he’s doing on a spaceship is simply brilliant storytelling. Plus, the science problem-solving was awesome and interesting to a non-science-y person.” – Meghen Murphy

Recommended by Jacob Welly

Most Unique Writing Style

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

“I couldn’t put this one town. I read three pages and was instantly hooked. The format of oral history is interesting and so well done. Reading how each character remembered the same event pretty much the same or completely different felt genuine—brilliant writing. Jenkins writes in a way that brings the characters to life in a way that feels real like this band and these people actually existed in history.” – Meghen Murphy

Most Emotional

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

“I absolutely loved this book; I can’t believe I haven’t read it before. I cried multiple times throughout this story because there are so many thoughtful, heartbreaking moments. Charlie is the kind of emotional character you can’t help but fall in love with. There are so many relationships in this story that I love. This story is a “must-read” for anyone, especially young people. There are so many tough topics talked about in this book that feel approachable because it’s written innocently from the eyes of a young person: depression, relationships, suicide, trauma, emotional intelligence, sexual assault, and on and on. ” – Meghen Murphy

Recommended by Jacob Welly

Darkest Read

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

“This is such an important story. It got very heavy at times, but know that it does end on an upward note. Russell’s storytelling is beautiful and poetic. She does a brilliant job portraying the trials and tribulations so many young women and girls experience throughout their lives. I found myself nodding along to many circumstances in this book that I have personally experienced. Men need to do better. With so much noise around the Me Too movement, there is a lot of pressure for all victims and survivors to come forward in naming their abusers. I especially loved Vanessa’s character because she articulates how complicated and messy her abuse was. It’s not always black and white. I can’t recommend this book enough.” – Meghen Murphy

Yearly Re-read

And Every Morning The Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman

“Whenever I need a good cry, this book delivers. It’s the perfect story to read at least once a year.” – Meghen Murphy

2024 Honorable Mentions

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

For the Love of Men: A New Vision for Mindful Masculinity by Liz Plank

The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work by John Gottman & Nan Silver

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler

Libby Library App

Every book I read or listened to was on Libby. Libby is an award-winning, much-loved app for libraries. All you need to do is connect your library card(s) to Libby to borrow ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines. The more library cards, the better! Libby automatically shows you which library has your book available or who will have one available as soon as possible. This year I added The Dayton Library and it has a fantastic selection.

The StoryGraph

This is your yearly reminder to track your reading with The StoryGraph. This app is an all-in-one platform for your bookish needs. Create reading challenges and goals, preview content warnings, get book recommendations based on your reading preferences, and so much more! I’m a data nerd and love seeing charts and graphs that highlight fun facts about my reading habits.

You can feel good supporting a woman-owned and developed app. It’s easy to transfer over your Goodreads book list! Make sure you add me as a friend @DesignsByMeghen.

Full Reading List

My favorite thing about The StoryGraph was the Reading Wrap-Up they put together. On top of some fun statistics and reading trends, they included a full image gallery of the covers of each book I read in 2024. I love how they look all together in one spot 🥹

If you have a question or want to know more about any of the books listed below, shoot me a message or leave a comment below.

Let’s talk books!

Give me all of the recommendations! What was your favorite read of 2024? Leave a comment below with your all-time favorite book or author. Do you have a question about one of the books listed above? Shoot me a message! I could talk about books all day and I’m always looking to add to my reading list.

Thanks for reading (pun intended).