Books I Read (and recommend) in 2024

(from mid December 2023 up until Nov. 18^th 2024, anyway.)

I surrendered my volunteer reading position with Orca Literary Magazine this summer, and this has allowed me to read (or at least start to read) more published works this year than last, fifty-five including a few “read” as audiobooks as of the time I decided to compile this list – the other books I might read before the end of 2024 will be considered for next year’s “I recommend” list.

Which books do you recommend from your reading this year?

Here are the 14 reads I enjoyed the most, giving them four or five stars out of five, ordered by year they were originally published.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (1922) – written by F. Scott Fitzgerald

This is a short story, not a book, but it came bundled in a book and I read the other stories in the book as well although now I couldn’t name them to save my life. I read this short story for library classic book club. I enjoyed it, it was funnier than I was expecting at the start, and I admire how it shifted to something more serious as it went along.

The Big Sleep (1939) – written by Raymond Chandler

I did not intend to re-read this hardboiled masterpiece this year, but when I saw two matching volumes of mid-century mysteries at the flea market, I couldn’t resist buying them – and then I found I could not resist revisiting The Big Sleep.

In a Lonely Place (1947) – written by Dorothy B. Hughes

Dorothy B. Hughes is just as interesting to read as Raymond Chandler. This noir novel is not as great as the first of her’s I read, (Ride the Pink Horse) but In a Lonely Place is still very enjoyable. Is – or is not – the narrator of this story a serial killer? And if he is, will he be caught?

The Searchers (1955) – written by Alan LeMay

I read this entire 220-ish something paged book in one day, despite the fact that it was the middle of the summer and the temperature got over 40C. Every once and awhile I needed to take a break, because man this book gets intense. It was the last title of a four-novel collection I was gifted a couple of years ago -(The Western: Four Classic Novels of the 1940s and 50s, as collected by The Library of America) – and it may well have been the best read I experienced all year. An epic quest tale of violence and vengeance, it’s definitely not going to appeal to everybody, but I think everyone should give it a try, even if they’re not “into” westerns.

The Talented Mr Ripley (1955) – written by Patricia Highsmith

We’re doing the 1960 French film adaption of this famous crime novel in my movie club in November, and I took that as a good excuse to finally read the source story. It’s certainly enjoyable, albeit different than the film (as I expected it would be.)

Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1958) – written by Truman Capote

Another short story I read for classics book club, I found the ending of this story particularly satisfying, although I’m not sure everyone liked the way it was wrapped up.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962) – written by Shirley Jackson, audiobook narrated by Bernadette Dunne

My favourite novel read of this year’s classic book club offerings, I both listened to and then read this spooky tale of witches and murder, brought to us by a profoundly unreliable narrator. I’m really glad that I finally got around to reading this book, which has been floating around in my head as a title to check out for ages.

The Dead Mountaineer’s Inn (1970) – written by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, translated from the original Russian by Josh Billings

I purchased a copy of this novel on a whim for a dollar, and it proved to be a dollar well invested. This is a bizarre murder mystery crossed with a fantastical element, set in an isolated ski chalet. Don’t read the introduction before you read the story!

Le Meunier hurlant (1981) – written by Arto Paasilinna, translated into French from the original Finnish by Anne Colin du Terrail

And I purchased a copy of this rather randomly from the rather random collection of French-language books at The Book Shop in Penticton, and it worked out too. This is a funny book which surprised me by actually being serious as well – the titular miller who howls is persecuted for not behaving the way society expects him to behave, and there’s a certain degree of pathos to it all. I’m sure there were also historical allusions I completely missed, because I know next to nothing about Finnish history, but I enjoyed this book so much I bought another book by the same author the next time I was at The Book Shop. Even though it was also in French. (And it was enjoyable also, but not as fun as this one. Or maybe my French reading energy was getting low.)

The Nine Pound Hammer (2009) – written by John Claude Bemis

This was recommended to me a few years ago. Marketed primarily as middle grade/young young adult, I found that this first novel in a series of fantasies based off of American folklore has something to offer adults too – alternative history with a touch of steampunk, a fast-paced adventure through an American south where pirate queens ride alligators. I’ve added the other books in the series to my “read this later” list.

All Worlds Wayfarer Magazine – Issue VI (2020) (various authors)

I continued my extremely slow perusal of the AWW magazine’s back catalogue this past year, and in this issue I particularly enjoyed Death and Natalie, Natalie and Death by Jordan Taylor; also, Kafka and the Castle by Austin Shirey was fun. There were several other solid stories in here, and only one, perhaps two that I found slightly subpar.
I also found the overall tone of this issue more friendly than some previous issues.

I also gave four stars to AWW issue VIII, highlights for me in that collection included The Man Who Never Returned by Jennifer Quail; In the Blink by Rowan Rook; Of Feathers and Flowers by Xan van Rooyen – which was very strange but beautifully written; The Youngest by Susan D. Smallwood and Ascending Earth by Sarah Jane Justice for it’s hope.

Act of Oblivion (2022) – written by Robert Harris

Adventure-escapism set in the 17^th century, following the lives of two used-to-be-heroes who are, following a dramatic change in political tides, chased from England to America, where they hope to hide. This is something of a door stopper at close to 500 pages, but it kept me engaged throughout.

Dark Frontier (2024) – written by Matthew Harffy

Mr Harffy sent me a digital copy of this book to review, and I’m glad that he did. It proved to be quite fun. This is a western-adventure tale, written by one of Britain’s best-selling historical novelists. He also co-hosts a cool podcast for writers and readers, called Rock, Paper, Swords. Despite Dark Frontier being set in 1890s America, he does manage to get some sword action into it!

Honourable Mention: All the Quiet Places (2021) – written by Brian Thomas Issac, audiobook narrated by Lincoln Mcgowan

The narration for this audiobook is fantastic. The story, a coming of age story which begins in 1956 and is set for the most part on an Indian Reservation in the north of the Okanagan Valley, didn’t quite hit four stars for me, but it was close.