Last year was not my best for reading. 

I tend to read a healthy mixture of genres in both fiction and nonfiction. These people who read just one genre have my respect but I could never do it because there’s just so much interesting stuff out there. Plus, I’m a moody reader so my tastes can change. Nonfiction is handy when my mind is quiet and able to concentrate. Different fiction genres are reserved for when I wish to just be entertained or when I need a palate cleanser between harder books. Historic fiction has been my favorite for a long time. Photography books and children’s books come in handy for when the mind needs help quieting. 

This year, the bookshelf was sparse. I read about half what I would normally read and abandoned at least a dozen books either because they just weren’t for me or because I truly disliked them. 

Historic fiction was once my go to fiction category but I have become extremely picky about what I will even consider reading. That’s because there have been some troubling trends in that genre these last several years. The first is that it seems every book cover features a woman facing away from the author. Yes, yes, we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but this style choice is often our first clue that the word cookiecutter might be part of our review. The second is that they’re all about ordinary women doing extraordinary things during World War II. It’s like a few of these books performed well and publishers decided to churn out as many as possible without regard to quality. The third trend is that the story starts to drag a little more than half through and you wonder if the author knows how to end the book.

I tell you that to say this: most of my DNF list was World War II historic fiction published in the last two years. 

In 2024, I read far less nonfiction than normal but most of those choices were rock solid. Overall I felt rather uninspired by my reading life last year. Yet, when I went to choose my very favorites to share with you, gentle reader, it was hard to pare down to a manageable number. That’s because the books I did enjoy were mostly books I loved.

Without further ado, here are the books I would recommend!

Nonfiction:

The Art Thief by Michael Finkel

This true crime book reads like a thriller, telling the story of the world’s most prolific art thief. He pulled off over 200 heists, mostly in broad daylight in museums across several countries. Priceless paintings, sculptures, tapestries, silver pieces and more were expertly whisked away to his sad attic room that resembled the inside of Ali Baba’s cave. He lived in that room with a girlfriend who was a partner in the spree. I did not want this book to end. If you are a lover of fine art, museums, or true crime, this is the book for you.

Come Fly The World by Julia Cooke

The author is a travel writer and daughter of a former Pan Am executive. She gives us a glimpse inside the golden age of travel and the glamorous life of the Pan Am Stewardess by weaving together the stories of actual women who wore the uniform between 1966 and 1975. During those years, these women had to be college educated, speak two languages and be well versed on current affairs. There were age, height and weight requirements too. Often treated like glorified waitresses in the air and perceived in suggestive ways, these women helped to define midcentury air travel. They also were put at risk when Pam Am added runs from Saigon to Hong Kong for plane loads of soldiers who were off on five days leave before being flown back to battle in the Vietnam War. What a journey this book takes you on! 

The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert

The woman who brought us Eat, Pray, Love has written several other books including this examination of Eustace Conway who left his comfortable suburban life for twenty years of beautiful, rewarding, harsh and unforgiving living in the Appalachian Mountains. I bought this book on a whim without knowing what was in store. It was shelved in the nature section which seems both appropriate and an odd choice. Regardless, I’m glad it found me. Honestly, this book defies description but it’s a fascinating glimpse into a mind and a life that’s a bit offbeat from what we take for granted today. 

The Man From the Train by Bill James and Rebecca McCartthy James

This book is a ruler by which I judge all historic true crime. Oddly enough, Bill James had a career as a baseball writer rather than a crime writer. He read about a series of crimes that occurred in the midwest at the turn of the twentieth century. The worst of them all was in Villisca, Iowa where eight people were murdered by axe in a locked home. The murderer had disappeared into thin air. When the author read about this series of crimes, he was certain there were more. Using modern technology, he pieced together a much larger group of crimes that he believes were committed by the same person and he believes that person traveled and escaped by train. We will never know for sure but this book made a believer out of me.

When Books Went To War: The Stories That Helped Us Win World War II by Molly Guptill Manning

It is difficult to describe what this book means to me. It opens in Berlin in 1933 where German college students gathered to burn banned books – books that the government had designated anti-German. Imagine the birthplace of the printing press becoming the crematory for books! It was difficult to stomach. Fast forward to America’s entry to World War II when the War Department and the publishing industry partnered to create a program that put lightweight pocket sized books into the hands of American soldiers. Soldiers carried them into battle and some died with them in their hands. These books connected them to home and inspired them to learn. Men and boys who had never read even one book in their lifetime were suddenly excited to read. Ultimately, this book program led to the creation of the GI Bill and the motivation of an entire generation to better themselves through education and career. I struggled with the book burning but am grateful for the author and the work she put into her research.

Winter’s Song: A Hymn To The North by TD Mischke

The author is a writer, podcaster, former talk radio show host and Minnesota native. This book is his love letter to winter and it is the first book I have read by someone who enjoys the season as much as I do. Of course, his Minnesota winter is far more hardcore than we have in my region of the country. It’s funny, sad and profound and an honest look at the season. He quotes a woman named Nannah who moved from Manilla to Minnesota at the age of 35. When she photographed snow and sent it home to family in Asia she always used the same description “So white, so beautiful, so quiet, so cold.” He wrote “she said she always made sure to include a description of the word quiet, because after each snowfall, that was what struck her most when she stepped outside, the remarkable quiet of the world around her.” It’s a lovely book. 

Honorable Mentions: Nonfiction

Courageous Women Of The Vietnam War: Medics, Journalists, Survivors and More by Kathryn J. Atwood (part of the Women of Action series geared toward young women)

Life Makeover by Dominique Sachse

Out of the Forties by Nicholas Lemann

Stories In The Grove by Phil Nuxhall

What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia by Elizabeth Catte

The Wright Sister by Richard Maurer ((ages 10-14 but extremely well researched and told)

Fiction

The God Of The Woods by Liz Moore

This was a much anticipated release last year and I can understand why. It’s the story of a wealthy family, missing children, and secrets that stretch across time from the 1950s until the current day setting in 1975. That’s when a girl goes missing from a summer camp that the family owns. This is a nonlinear telling of the story, meaning that it jumps around a lot. I personally like that kind of story and especially appreciated it in this case. It kept me engaged and guessing from the first page to the last and that’s honestly something I can’t say about most fiction. 

Heartwood Hotel: A True Home by Kallie George and illustrated by Stephanie Graegin

This chapter book was written for about the 7-10 year old set but I don’t care. It was like a warm blanket and cookie after a long day in the rain. It is the first in a series that follows Mona the Mouse, an orphan who finds her way to the exclusive Heartwood Hotel. This hotel is in a tree in the Fernwood Forest and is a place for all kinds of animals to come together for stays both brief and long and where everyone mostly coexists happily. In fact, the hotel motto is “We live by protect and respect. Not by tooth and claw.” It’s a delightful book that’s well written and beautifully illustrated. It would make a great read aloud book for your family but is awfully nice for us tired grownups who just want to live peacefully among our neighbors. I also read book two in the series and it held up as well. I’m holding on to the next two for a proverbial rainy day. 

Kinfolk by Sean Dietrich

This year gave me a new author. A southern writer. A man who is open about once being a middle school drop out. He studies people and loves traditional music. He sees the good in this world and seems to do his part to make up for some of the bad out there. His oral storytelling is second to none. His written storytelling is probably my new favorite as I read his daily essays online. This book was my gateway into his world of fiction. I won’t try to describe it for you other than to say it’s a beautiful story about rich characters and about what brings us together. It’s set in the seventies but the themes are timeless. Do not miss out on this book. 

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer

Two boys go missing in a West Virginia state forest only to reappear six months later with no explanation for where they have been or how they got back. Fifteen years later one has become a reclusive artist with no memory of what happened. The other is a famous missing persons investigator who knows they spent those six months in a magical realm that he can only access again with help from his friend. The two set off on a journey with a woman whose sister went missing in that very forest. What happens next is a magical, awe inspiring fairy tale that makes you want to go find your own portal into a magical land. 

Olivetti by Allie Millington

Olivetti is a typewriter who despises books and the laptop computer that has replaced him. But he feels deeply for the family he lives with and about protecting their secrets. That is, until one day he realizes that the code of the typewriter is less important than a member of the family who has gone missing. He knows secrets that can help and begins to speak in the only way he knows how. This is fantasy writing at its best because it doesn’t feel like a fantasy. It feels like it could actually happen and I liked that. By the way, I bought this book for its cover and title. I guess you can sometimes judge a book by its cover after all. 

The Women by Kristen Hannah

I actually wrote about this book after I read it. Click here for that story. Meanwhile, I would like to emphasize that this isn’t the absolute best fiction book I read this year. However, it may be the most important. What our men and women endured in Vietnam was unspeakable and the treatment they received when they came home was reprehensible. We owe a debt of gratitude to them but the topic has always been taboo. I was in a store the other day and witnessed a teenager thank a Vietnam veteran for his service and I noticed he stood a little taller after that. It’s important. These women who were nurses deserve to be noticed, thanked and treated just the same as the men but their stories have largely gone untold. I hope this will spark a conversation and inspire more books like it.

Honorable Mentions: Fiction

Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis

Nightwoods by Charles Frazier

Saturday Night At The Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

The Rosewood Casket by Sharyn McCrumb

The Trackers by Charles Frazier

So that’s the cream of the crop. What did you read that you can recommend? I would very much like to know!