2024 Year End Survey and Top Picks List

 

I thought my reading in 2023 was outstanding, but this past year was equally enjoyable. I didn't have as many 5-star reads in 2024 as I did in 2023, but the combination of 5 and 4.5 star ratings came out only one book shy of last year's totals. Remarkable!

Much like 2023, I surpassed my Goodreads goal of 60 books, and my numbers in November and December were better than anticipated. I also gave up on a lot of books. I might post a collage of those disappointments, eager to hear why others loved them, but doubt I'll be swayed to give them a second chance. I also sampled over two dozen books in December that have been on my shelves for years. They have gone in the donation box and it feels great to see some space in my bookcase!

Now for the fun stats of 2024!

Total Books Read: 63

Print Books: 50

Audiobooks: 13

ebooks: 0

Female Authors: 48

Male Authors: 15

New-To-Me Authors: 23

Fiction: 51

Nonfiction: 12

General Fiction: 29

Classics: 2

Poetry: 0

Historical Fiction: 5

Horror: 0

Science Fiction/Fantasy: 1

Time Travel: 0

Dystopia: 1

Mystery/Thrillers: 13

Westerns: 0

Epistolary: 1

Childrens: 1

Young Adult: 2

Memoir: 8

Travel/Food: 1

Nature/Science: 1

Essays: 0

Rereads: 7

Debuts: 9

Over 400 pages: 8

Over 500 pages: 3

ARCs: 12

Borrowed from Library: 11

From My Stacks: 40

Total Pages Read: 15,130

Pages not included from books I gave up on: 711!

Total Hours Listened: 163 hours and 8 minutes

Time not included from books I gave up on: 10 hours and 23 minutes

Ratings:

5 stars: 7

4.5 stars: 14

4 stars: 24

3.5 stars: 6

3 stars: 7

2 stars: 5

Top Picks of 2024 (5 stars):

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

In Memoriam by Alice Winn

Sandwich by Catherine Newman

You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith

Left on Tenth by Delia Ephron

Since We Fell by Dennis Lehane

Billy Summers by Stephen King

Honorable Mentions (4.5/5 stars):

Still Life by Sarah Winman

Holly by Stephen King

Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten

The Bird Hotel by Joyce Maynard

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

September by Rosamunde Pilcher

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

The Comforts of Home by Susan Hill

The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane

The Soul of Discretion by Susan Hill

Find my previous Year End Surveys and Top Pick lists here.

2023 Year End Survey and Top Picks List

 

I can't remember the last time I had such a great year of reading! And to think that every book in the above collage was a 5-star read is truly amazing. Was I more generous than usual with those gold stars? I like to rate my books quickly after reading because I my first reaction. As time passes, I question those early impressions, but as I look at those beautiful covers, I know those books all left a lasting imprint on me. The sign of an excellent book is that I want to own a copy in order to read it again, and while I already have most of these on my keeper shelf, I'm going to buy two that I borrowed from the library.

I surpassed my Goodreads goal of 60 books, reading 5 more than last year. June, July, and October were my slowest months, and not so coincidentally, the months we were traveling in our RV. November and December were very good with regard to numbers and quality, which surprises me since I'm usually too busy with holiday events, and reading typically falls by the wayside. Not so in 2023.

I gave up on more books than ever before, particularly audiobooks, but I reread more books from my keeper shelves, enjoying some, but finding others less impressive than the first time around.

Here are the fun stats:

Total Books Read: 65

Print Books: 52

Audiobooks: 13

ebooks: 0

Female Authors: 50

Male Authors: 15

New-To-Me Authors: 26

Fiction: 61

Nonfiction: 4

General Fiction: 33

Classics: 4

Poetry: 0

Historical Fiction: 4

Horror: 0

Travel/Food: 0

Science Fiction/Fantasy: 2

Time Travel: 1

Dystopia: 1

Mystery/Thrillers: 19

Westerns: 1

Childrens: 0

Memoir: 1

Essays: 2

Rereads: 8

Debuts: 7

Over 400  pages: 10

ARCs: 1

Borrowed: 20

Gift: 1

From My Stacks: 43

Total Pages Read: 17,565

Total Hours Listened: 171 hours, 54 minutes

Ratings:

5 stars: 13

4.5 stars: 9

4 stars: 23

3.5 stars: 8

3 stars: 10

2 stars: 2

Top Picks of 2023 (5 stars):

Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher

Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro

We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman

Foster by Claire Keegan

These Precious Days by Ann Patchett

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

Recursion by Blake Crouch

These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant

Love & Saffron by Kim Fay

The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton

Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark

Count the Ways by Joyce Maynard

A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny

Honorable Mentions (4.5/5 stars):

The Lost Man by Jane Harper

Maame by Jessica George

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green

The Vows of Silence by Susan Hill

Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult 

Forsaken Country by Allen Eskens

The Push by Ashley Audrain

Find my previous Year End Surveys and Top Pick lists here.

2022 Year End Survey and Top Picks List

Another year, another list. I am so pleased with my year of reading, but can you tell I have a difficult time narrowing my favorites down to a Top Ten list? I decided to include the 4.5-star reads since they are so close to perfection.

While I didn't reach my Goodreads goal of 75 books, averaging more than one book a week is pretty good for me. With travel and my husband's health scare, it's a wonder I got that many read. 

Here are the fun stats:

Total Books Read: 60

Print Books: 43

ebooks: 1

Audio Books: 16

Female Authors: 47

Male Authors: 13

New-To-Me-Authors: 23

Fiction: 49

Nonfiction: 11

General Fiction: 28

Classics: 1

Poetry: 1

Historical Fiction: 7

Horror: 2

Travel/Food: 2

Science Fiction/Fantasy: 1

Mystery/Thrillers: 10

Childrens: 1

Memoir: 8

Rereads: 5

ARCs: 6

Borrowed: 4

Gift: 1

From My Stacks: 49

Total Pages Read: 14,460

Total Hours Listened: 180 hours and 11 minutes

Ratings:

5 stars: 10 

4.5 stars: 10

4 stars: 15

3.5 stars: 5

3 stars: 16

2 stars: 4

Top Picks of 2022 (in no particular order):

Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher (5/5)

Taste by Stanley Tucci (5/5)

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell (5/5)

The Absolutist by John Boyne (5/5)

The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher (5/5)

Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson (5/5)

Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout (5/5)

We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker (5/5)

These Precious Days by Ann Patchett (5/5)

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell (5/5)

The Stars Are Fire by Anita Shreve (4.5/5)

Water Like Stone by Deborah Crombie (4.5/5)

Setting Free the Kites by Alex George (4.5/5)

Monogamy by Sue Miller (4.5/5)

A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson (4.5/5)

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah (4.5/5)

Sailing by Starlight by Rod Scher (4.5/5)

House Lessons: Renovating a Life by Erica Bauermeister (4.5/5)

This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett (4.5/5)

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult (4.5/5)

My plans for 2023 include reading several of the "chunksters" on my shelves, as well as taking part in my favorite reading challenges (20 Books of Summer & Nonfiction November). I have acquired quite a few new books this past year, many of which were on several bloggers' "Best Of" lists for 2021 & 2022. We'll see just how many I can get to!

Find my complete 2022 list (with links to all reviews) here.

Find my previous Year End Surveys and Top Pick lists here.

2021 Year End Survey & Top Reads List

2021 may not have been the best year thanks to the continuation of the pandemic, but with regard to my reading, I am very pleased. I met my goal on Goodreads, completing 63 books (my goal was 60) and surpassing the past two years' numbers by 8 books. Once again, I participated in three reading challenges (20 Books of Summer, RIP XVI and Nonfiction November), which helped to motivate me to read more of my own books.  

Books Read: 63

Print: 41

Audio: 21

Ebook: 1

ARCs: 5

Rereads: 4

Fiction: 45

Nonfiction: 14

Poetry: 4 (I never know how to categorize this!)

Mystery/Thriller: 17

SciFi/Fantasy: 3

Classics: 1

Teen/YA: 1

Memoir: 6

Travel Memoir: 2

Self-Improvement: 1

History: 1

Books in Translation: 1

Male Authors: 12

Female Authors: 51

New Authors: 27

From My Stacks: 51

Borrowed: 12

Ratings:

5 stars: 6

4.5 stars: 8

4 stars: 19

3.5 stars: 2

3 stars: 14

2 stars: 10

1 star: 4

Top Reads of 2021:

The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson (5/5) 

A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg (5/5)

Circe by Madeline Miller (5/5)

The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti (5/5)

Bear Town by Fredrik Backman (5/5)

All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny (5/5)

Writers & Lovers by Lily King (4.5/5)

Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin (4.5/5)

28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand (4.5/5)

The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo (4.5/5)

Testimony by Anita Shreve (4.5/5)

Still Me by Jojo Moyes (4.5/5)

House Rules by Jodi Picoult (4.5/5)

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult (4.5/5)

Honorable Mentions:

The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny (4/5)

Falling by T.J. Newman (4/5)

Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver (4/5)

The Daughters of Erietown by Connie Schultz (4/5)

Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano (4/5)

On Island Time by Hilary Stewart (4/5)

Commonwealth by Ann Patchett (4/5)

The One I Left Behind by Jennifer McMahon (4/5)

Mourn Not Your Dead by Deborah Crombie (4/5)

And Justice There is None by Deborah Crombie (4/5)

Kissed a Sad Goodbye by Deborah Crombie (4/5)

A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie (4/5)

#1 Book of 2021: The Splendid and the Vile

Find my complete 2021 list (including all reviews) here.

Find my previous Year End Surveys and Top Ten Lists here. 

How I kept track of my reading:

 

I'm going to try a spreadsheet for 2022.

2020 Year End Survey & Top Ten List

Well, that's pretty amazing. I read the exact same number of books in 2020 as I did in 2019! I missed my Goodreads goal of 75 books, but I'm still quite pleased with my year of reading. I participated (unofficially) in three reading challenges (20 Books of Summer, RIP XV and Nonfiction November), which helped motivate me to read more from my own stacks. I listened to a lot more audiobooks than last year, knocked a few of the older ARCs off the stacks, but didn't read a single ebook. Contemporary fiction and mysteries (look at all those favorites by Louise Penny!) were the main focus of the year, but memoirs and historical works were also favored.

Books Read: 55

Print:  39

Audio:  17 (one read/listen combo)
Ebooks:  0
ARCs: 6

Rereads:  1

Fiction:  42
Nonfiction:  13

Mystery:  15

Series: 3
Science Fiction/Fantasy:  1
Classics:  0
Poetry:  1
Teen/YA:  0
Children's:  1
Memoirs:  8

History: 4
Graphic Novels:  0

Books in Translation: 1

Epistolaries: 0

Culinary Memoirs: 0

Male Authors:  12

Female Authors:  43
New Authors:  28

From My Stacks:  34
Borrowed:  21

Ratings:

5 stars:  7
4.5 stars:  3
4 stars:  19
3.5 stars:  1
3 stars:  15
2 stars:  8
1 star: 2

Top Ten of 2020:

The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett Graff (5/5) - Favorite Nonfiction

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver (5/5)

Option B by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant (5/5)

A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny (5/5)

Glass Houses by Louise Penny (5/5) - Favorite Mystery

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (5/5) - Favorite Novel

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins (5/5) 

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson (4.5/5) - Favorite Audiobook

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey (4/5)

The River by Peter Heller (4.5/5)

Honorable Mentions:

Two Girls Down by Louise Luna (4.5/5)

Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center (4/5)

The Janes by Louise Luna (4//5)

Oona Out Of Order by Margarita Montimore (4/5)

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (4/5)

The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny (4/5)

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (4/5)

The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson (4/5)

Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny (4/5)

Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith (4/5)

A Better Man by Louise Penny (4/5)

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (4/5)

The Summer Guest by Justin Cronin (4/5)

Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough (4/5)

When My Time Comes by Diane Rehm (4/5)

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett (4/5)

Blood Harvest by S.J. Bolton (4/5)

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz (4/5)

A Field of Darkness by Cornelia Read (4/5)

Find my complete 2020 list (including all reviews) here. 

A Decade of Favorites (2010 - 2019)

2010

Mudbound by Hilary Jordan (5/5)

The Help by Kathryn Stockett (5/5)

Lift by Kelly Corrigan (5/5)

Every Last One by Anna Quindlen (5/5)

Faithful Place by Tana French (5/5)

World Without End by Ken Follett (5/5)

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski (5/5)

Room by Emma Donoghue (5/5)

Left Neglected by Lisa Genova (5/5)

Stiltsville by Susanna Daniel (4.75/5)


2011

Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult (4.5/5)

Shoot to Thrill by P.J. Tracy (4.5/5)

Joy For Beginners by Erica Bauermeister (4.5/5)

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown (4.5/5)

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson (4.5/5)

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery (4.5/5)

The Pioneer Woman: From High Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond (4.5/5)

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (4.5/5)

Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson (4.5/5)

Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante (4.75/5)

Beachcombing For A Shipwrecked God by Joe Coomer (4.5/5)

The Arrivals by Meg Mitchell Moore (4.75/5)

Faith by Jennifer Haigh (4.5/5)


2012

The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield (5/5)

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (4/5)

Gone by Mo Hayder (5/5)

Little Princes by Conor Grennan (5/5)

Paris in Love by Eloisa James (4.5/5)

The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus by Sonya Sones (4.5/5)

Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver (4.75/5)

Emily, Alone by Stewart O'Nan (4.75/5)

The Passage by Justin Cronin (4.75/5)

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (4.5/5)


2013

The Lost Art of Mixing by Erica Bauermeister (4.5/5)

Broken Harbor by Tana French (4.75/5)

The Shadow In the Streets by Susan Hill (4.5/5)

The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman (5/5)

The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancy (4.75/5)

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell (4.75/5)

The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin (4.75/5)

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green (4.75/5)

Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler (4.5/5)

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes (4.75/5)


2014

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (4.5/5)

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger (4.75/5)

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell (4.5/5)

East of Eden by John Steinbeck (4.5/5)

Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt (4.5/5)

A Dog's Purpose by Bruce Cameron (4.5/5)

The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe (4.5/5)

This Dark Road to Mercy by Wiley Cash (4.75/5)

The Circle by Dave Eggers (4.5/5)

That Part Was True by Deborah McKinlay (4.5/5)

The Dog Stars by Peter Heller (4.75/5)

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (5/5)

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (4.5/5)

Orphan Train by Kristina Baker Kline (4.5/5)


2015

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (4.5/5)

The Various Haunts of Men by Susan Hill (4.5/5)

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande (4.5/5)

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion (4.5/5)

The Bear by Claire Cameron (4.5/5)

Wonder by R.J. Palacio (5/5)

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz (4.75/5)

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Brackman (4.5/5)

Inside the O'Briens by Lisa Genova (4.75/5)

Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult (4.5/5)

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin (5/5)

Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf (4.5/5)


2016

You Will Not Have My Hate by Antoine Leiris (4.5/5)

Behind Closed Doors by B. A. Paris (5/5)

Leveling the Playing Field by Rod Scher (4.5/5)

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch (4.5/5)

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult (4.75/5)

Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern (4.5/5)

Be Frank With Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson (4.5/5)

A Land More Kind Than Home by Wiley Cash (4.5/5)

City of Thieves by David Benioff (5/5)

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker (4.5/5)

The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar (4.5/5)

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (4.5/5)

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd (4.5/5)

What Comes Next and How to Like It by Abigail Thomas (4.5/5)


2017

The House at Tyneford by Natasha Solomons (5/5)

The Bright Hour: A Memoir of Living and Dying by Nina Riggs (5/5)

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (5/5)

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff (5/5)

Night by Elie Wiesel (5/5)

News of the World by Paulette Jiles (4.5/5)

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (4.5/5)

The Children's Crusade by Ann Packer (4.5/5)

A Celibate Season by Carol Shields (4.5/5)

The Book That Matters Most by Ann Hood (4.5/5)


2018

This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel (5/5)

Tell Me More by Kelly Corrigan (5/5)

Inside the O'Briens by Lisa Genova (4.75/5)

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (4.75/5)

Dear Fahrenheit 451 by Annie Spence (4.5/5)

The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne (4.5/5)

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn (4.5/5)

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles (4.5/5)

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate (4.5/5)

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult (4.5/5)


2019

Maybe You Should Talk To Someone by Lori Gottlieb (5/5)

Henry, Himself by Stewart O'Nan (5/5)

Night of Miracles by Elizabeth Berg (5/5)

How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny (5/5)

Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny (5/5)

Becoming by Michelle Obama (5/5)

The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker (4.5/5)

Devotion by Dani Shapiro (4.5/5)

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane (4.5/5)

A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne (4.5/5)

My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman (4.5/5)

Kitchen Yarns by Ann Hood (4.5/5)

The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny (4.5/5)

After You by Jojo Moyes (4.5/5)

Whiskey When We're Dry by John Larison (4.5/5)

A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny (4.5/5)

The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny (4.5/5)


Click on the link to read my review.