Every year, I make a list of my favorite books for the year. “Best books of 2024” simply means my picks for the year. This past year, I was homeschooling a couple of kids while caring for a newborn, so my original booklist had to be truncated. I also kept the content pretty easy: most of the books were published within the last fifty years.
Sometimes I turned to audio for help (I listened to Hard is Not the Same Thing as Bad while rocking a fussy baby to sleep). Audio still counts as reading and learning!
I’d love your recommendations for my booklist for next year! You can drop them in the comments below or leave them on Facebook or Instagram. And even if you aren’t a reader yourself, check out the list below for next year’s gift ideas for your book-loving friends and family.
Best Books – Nonfiction Category
You may feel like scrolling on if you’re more of a fiction reader. I often prefer reading fiction, too. But I challenge you to choose a nonfiction book for this winter to help your mind grow!
Christian Nonfiction
Hard is Not the Same Thing as Bad, Abbie Halberstadt
This book was the book I needed at the time I jumped back into homeschooling after giving birth. It is a call for mothers to choose what’s best even when it’s hard. And it’s an encouragement that when trials not of our own choosing seem insurmountable, God is using them to work an eternal weight of glory. When we walk through difficult seasons with children and family or friend relationships, our faithfulness will not be in vain. If you’d like to read a bit more of a summary of the book, check out my review HERE.
Teatime Discipleship, Sally Clarkson
A simple, short read with Sally Clarkson’s trademark blend of practical (scone recipe, anyone?) and spiritual (what does reading Scripture do for you?).
On Getting Out of Bed, Alan Noble
Every religion, self-help technique and business promises a way for you to get a pleasant life if you merit such. But tragedy is a normal part of human life, Noble points out. “Life is far more difficult” than we assume it will be.
This is a book that offers honest hope to those who are fighting chronic depression, or for those who love people with depression. For more of my thoughts, read my review here.
The Lord of Psalm 23: Jesus Our Shepherd, Companion, and Host, David Gibson
This book was a beautiful blessing to me in a time of great anxiety. It’s in-depth and not for the light reader, but I will always have sweet memories of my husband calmly reading it aloud in the evenings as I held our newborn baby and thanked God that He walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death.
Habits of the Household, Justin Earley
Everything that we habitually do is its own liturgy, author Justin Earley proposes in this book. He talks about the liturgies of leaving the house, of sitting down for a meal, and of tucking children into bed. Will they remember our patterns of impatience and anger, or of peace and Godward focus? I loved this book and wrote more of my thoughts about it HERE. If you read only one book together as a couple this year, I would recommend that it be this one.
Rembrandt is in the Wind: Learning to Love Art through the Eyes of Faith, Ramsey
Beautiful. I expected this to be vague and academic. Instead, it was gripping storytelling! Please read this book to increase your interest in art and its surprisingly rip-roaring history. This was absolutely one of the best books on my list this year.
Did you know that Van Gogh whacked off his own ear? That there is a beautiful Rembrandt painting that is still “in the wind” after a successful heist? Did you know that Caravaggio was sometimes a violent criminal? Did you even know who Caravaggio was? If not, pick up this book!
General Nonfiction
If You Can Keep It: The Forgotten Promise of American Liberty, Eric Metaxas
Benjamin Franklin supposedly said after helping with the Constitution that they had given the people not a monarchy but a republic—“if you can keep it!” Metaxas here examines the history of American democracy and draws the Americans of today to see the value of guarding democracy for the generations that will follow us. This book was one of my favorites this year, and it made me re-examine some of my own thoughts about “Merica.” For my more in-depth review, see this post.
The Professor and the Madman, Simon Winchester
Who knew that the story of the making of the grand old Oxford English Dictionary was such a fascinating interweaving of scholarship and insanity? This book gives us a look at the immense and important undertaking that the OED was. It also tells the story of two men: the Scottish professor, Dr. James Murray, and the American lunatic, Dr. W.C. Minor.
Dr. Minor’s story is a sad one: born to missionaries in the “Indies,” he became a skilled surgeon who worked in the American Civil War and began losing his mind while still young. He shot and killed a man in London while suffering from a delusion, and was committed to an English asylum for decades. There, he volunteered to read and write down quotation after quotation for Dr. Murray’s use in the OED. His painstaking search for the first use of thousands of ordinary English words still lives on in certain definitions.
Dr. Murray was a very different person from Dr. Minor. And yet, he formed a lasting bond with the most prolific and possibly most insane contributor to his massive project. The two men’s unlikely friendship may have helped sustain the troubled Minor through his many years in an asylum.
The author closes this book with a tribute to the victim of Dr. Minor’s crime. He also points out that with modern treatment, Minor’s years of dedicated service to the English language’s definitive dictionary may have never happened.
Note: this story is not one I’d allow young children to read, as it doesn’t shy away from telling about Dr. Minor’s insatiable lust and eventual drastic measures to rid himself of that lust.
Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, David Epstein
Some of the fascinating tidbits you’ll find in this book:
- Everyone expects the greatest in any field to have specialized from early childhood–the Tiger Woods story. Epstein says that, in reality, more creativity and problem solving ability may emerge from the people who, like Roger Federer, generalize instead of doing the same thing over and over their whole lives. (Federer started out with many sports before specializing in tennis.) For example, Epstein tells of the orphaned musical virtuosos of Venice, who picked up any donated instrument and learned to play it while continuing to work full-time.
- Math researchers found that students who gave their professors good ratings and did well on tests may forget most of what they’ve learned, unlike students who struggled.
- Jazz virtuosos learned the hard way, often picking up an instrument later in life and figuring it out on their own.
This book also makes me really want to figure out how to use analogies to teach problem solving to my kids. (Johannes Kepler is a prime example of someone who used seemingly unrelated analogies to figure out previously unknown facts about our universe and begin the science of astrophysics.)
Epstein has a gift for making a lot of seemingly random information connect well, and his writing is very accessible.
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope, Boo
Half biography, half investigative reporting, Behind the Beautiful Forevers follows the lives of Muslim trash pickers and a Hindu want-to-be woman slum lord and their families. Read more about this gripping story in my longer review HERE.
Raising Critical Thinkers: A Parent’s Guide to Growing Wise Kids in the Digital Age, Julie Bogart
How can we become critical thinkers? How can we teach our kids to spot bias in themselves and others? Bogart gives us the tools we need to raise kids in the Internet Age of over-information and misinformation. For more of my thoughts on this book, read my short review. Or see more reviews here on Amazon.
The Four Hour School Day, Wilson
Experienced homeschooling mom of eight, Durenda Wilson, urges in this easy read that we open the world to our children and leave them time to pursue their interests. Go from an “industrial” model of education that focuses on “batches” of people, she says, to an “agricultural” model. By that she means that we ought to follow their seasons of interests and facilitate their learning in that way.
Low stress homeschooling is the style encouraged here—not necessarily unschooling. I appreciated the personal stories shared to show how different children will progress at different rates. Parents don’t have to panic when their kids are struggling in an area, this experienced home teacher assures us. Our patient and consistent education of our children will eventually bear fruit.
We can’t let comparison with other children impact our choices of curriculum or scheduling. “When our kids are allowed to learn through their interests, learning happens much more naturally….It is often so efficient and free of stress that we can miss it completely,” she points out.
Mrs. Wilson is a firm supporter of homeschooling, so this isn’t a book to read if you’ll be offended by her strong preference for that type of education. (She quotes Voddie Baucham’s words about not sending your children to Caesar.)
“Education is not neutral.”
The Secret Wisdom of Nature, Wohlleben
This book surprised me with its ability to fascinate and hold me as a reader. Who knew a German forester could be such a gifted transmitter of his careful observations of nature? He makes bark beetles and bird species’ migrations feel important to all of us, rather than simply unrelated phenomena. Even better, he shows that there are layers of nature’s interactions that are endlessly interesting and that make perfect sense. Read more in my review HERE. It appears HERE that it has been repackaged as The Secret Network of Nature.
Biography
When the World Didn’t End: A Memoir, Guinevere Turner
A look into the brain of a child raised in the Lyman Family cult. This isn’t easy reading because of the things she witnessed, but it is interesting.
Being Elisabeth Elliot, Vaughn
This second book about EE’s life is not quite as well written as the first volume, but it is a worthwhile read that has caused me much pondering. For my more thorough review, click here.
Fiction – a little joy for your booklist!
You nonfiction readers, don’t stop here! Fiction can be such a beautiful way to portray truth! And it can also be just plain fun!
A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles
Saved from Siberia by the pro-Revolutionary poem he is famous for, the aristocratic Count Alexander Rostov is put under house arrest in a famous hotel. Whisked from his spacious suite to a tiny attic room, Rostov begins a long life within the Metropol Hotel of Moscow. As his physical surroundings become more and more circumscribed, Rostov finds lasting friendships and surprising purpose in life. Aristocratic values and aphorisms are no longer honored, but the count finds them a solid prop.
I also read Towles’ Lincoln Highway a couple years ago, and enjoyed it thoroughly for its Puckish Odyssey of a romp through America. A Gentleman in Moscow is less entertaining, perhaps, but with even better character development and apparently painstaking research by the author. Towles himself seems to have grown up as an upper-class Bostonian, but I often felt while reading as though the author were Russian.
A Gentleman in Moscow is a book that feels lasting, as though someday my great-grandchildren might select this weighty novel from the shelves for enjoyment and reflection. Maybe they, like me, will consider the count’s father’s decision to work industriously all morning, enjoy philosophy and friendship all afternoon, and go to bed at a decent hour, so that they never hear the tolling of the clock at midnight. “If one had lived one’s day well, in the service of industry, liberty, and the Lord—one should be soundly asleep long before twelve.” (P. 245, Kindle edition) Perhaps they will internalize the advice of the Grand Duke, the count’s guardian: “that adversity presents itself in many forms, and that if a man does not master his circumstances then he is bound to be mastered by them.” (P. 18)
“For what matters in life is not whether we receive a round of applause; what matters is whether we have the courage to venture forth despite the uncertainty of acclaim.””
— A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles (p. 387)
Persuasion, Jane Austen
I remember reading this book as a young teen and being unimpressed. Too much thinking, I decided. Boring!
Re-reading Persuasion as an adult, I had a totally different experience. Anne is the most likable of all Austen’s characters (especially compared to Emma!). Austen was at the height of her character developing and writing powers, and in Persuasion she wrote a beautiful examination of human nature. Should one trust one’s one heart or the advice of others? Even at the end of Persuasion, I don’t think the author has led one to choose one answer entirely over the other. I loved the book every bit as much as my beloved Pride and Prejudice, and I highly recommend it to anyone who’s wanting a classic read that isn’t terribly long but is deeply considered and expressed.
Code Name Edelweiss, Stephanie Landsem
Hitler has forces abroad, and they intend to take over Hollywood. This historical spy novel is a quick, enjoyable read about a woman who must choose between what is easy and what is right. “If not I, who? If not now, when?” becomes her call to courage as she infiltrates a Nazi stronghold.
This book was the fun and fast paced read I needed at the time I read it, but it wasn’t merely fluff—the main characters were well-developed and believable, and the story felt rooted in pre-WWII America.
Divergent, Veronica Roth
Fast paced and suspenseful. What happens when the apparently last remaining city on earth is divided into four classes and you fit into none of them?
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this dystopian tale geared toward young adults.
Code Name Verity, Wein
A tautly plotted story of friendship and honor during WWII. When a spy is captured in France by the Nazis, she is tortured into telling them the story of how she ended up there. Is she telling the truth—verité—or is she desperately trying to save her own life a la Scheherazade?
Some bad language.
The Long March Home: Lee and Brotherton
Three best friends enlist just as the US joins WWII and are sent to the Philippines. Through the grueling Bataan Death March and the atrocities of Japanese prisoner of war camps, each friend endures the unthinkable to try to keep the others alive. But not all of them will beat the odds.
This story, based on true stories, is beautifully told. The Long March Home is a rare and well-researched glimpse of a horrendous part of history. It is also a tale of human nature, of the power and meaning of friendship, and the reality of human depravity.
The Ways We Hide, McMorris
Is the magician the one we all see doing the underwater escapes, or his assistant? Is love worth the inevitable loss? Are people more or less than the narratives we create for them? McMorris asks and hints at the answers to some of these questions in this fascinating novel based on several true pieces of history. She likens historical fiction to “literary Advil” in her afterword, in that we can learn about history through the sugar coating of fiction.
I enjoyed this book but would caution younger readers, since there is an extramarital (non-graphic) scene or two.
Trust, Hernan Diaz
Four successive narratives—a novel within a novel, an unfinished autobiography, a memoir, and a diary—tell vastly different takes on a single couple’s life together during the days leading up to and immediately following the Great Depression. The diary at the end feels the most true, but the reader is left unsure whom to trust.
Trust is a story of capitalism, money, and how they can be manipulated. And yet, even then we are not sure how they’re manipulated. Through the musicality of math? Or a forceful greed?
A brilliant, eccentric novel. The unfinished autobiography is purposefully bombastic and poorly written, in contrast to the lovely and direct writing of the other three sections.
This book won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2022.
So Brave, Young, and Handsome, Leif Enger
Enger’s way with words is inimitable. He sketches the odyssey of two men and a boy in this story about grace and bitterness. One is an aged, fugitive train robber who pursues forgiveness from his abandoned wife even as he is relentlessly pursued by a self-proclaimed Pinkerton detective. His companion, the narrator of the story, is an author without words who pursues a braver version of himself.
For some beautiful quotes from this book, check out my review HERE.
The Many Assassinations of Samir the Seller of Dreams, Daniel Nayeri
An exceedingly enjoyable novel. This book is tagged as juvenile fiction, but it’s an easy sell to an adult with its layered storytelling and imaginative plot. You won’t regret adding this one to your booklist!
Happy New Year!
May you have a beautiful new year to come, filled with stories of grace. Some true, some fictional, and some happening to you.
And, as always, please leave your recommendations for my next booklist in the comments or on my posts on Instagram or Facebook!
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