A List of “Best Books of 2024” Lists
“Best Books of the Year” listing season is a book lover’s delight. And to celebrate it, here is a list (with links) to lots of wonderful “Best Books of 2024” lists that were shared by a wide variety of readers. The lists come from libraries, news organizations, blogs, bookish companies, nonprofits, podcasts, Substack newsletters, and BookTube videos.
This is a long list of lists, so you may want to scroll through the entire post quickly first before deciding which of the “best of” lists you want to spend your time perusing.
You also may want to get out a notebook or open whichever app you use to keep track of your To Be Read (TBR) list and prepare to find some wonderful reading recommendations. To find tips for how to use the Libby library app to manage your TBR list, you can check out my post on the topic here.
The lists that are listed below focus on books that were published in 2024. There are many great “Best Books Read in 2024” lists that are not included in this post.
Some BookTube video lists are interspersed between sections and there are also links to additional ones included in a section below.
If you are a Bookishly Delightful subscriber reading this post in an email, click on the option at the bottom of the email that allows you to download the entire message, as this list of lists is too long to fit in a standard-sized email. Alternatively, you can read this post on the website or within the Substack app.
The wisdom of the crowd
No single reader or small group of readers can read enough books to determine accurately which books are the definitive best of the year. And as every reader has unique tastes, what is best for one reader will not always be precisely what is best for every other single reader. But collectively, best books of the year listers cover an enormous amount of ground and provide extremely helpful information for book lovers.
As I was compiling this list of lists and learning from all of the readers that I found who shared their favorite books of the year, I was also reading WONDERFUL book after WONDERFUL book thanks to their great recommendations. And as I was doing so, I found myself reflecting about how I was benefiting from “the wisdom of the crowd” as discussed by James Surowiecki in his interesting book The Wisdom of Crowds. Surowiecki wrote:
[U]nder the right circumstances, groups are remarkably intelligent, and are often smarter than the smartest people in them.
The “right circumstances” are: 1) a diversity of opinion, 2) independence, 3) decentralization, and 4) aggregation. When those conditions are met, the crowd’s “judgment is likely to be accurate.”
Best books of the year listers are diverse in their opinions, usually share their opinions fairly independently, and are decentralized. And this post helps aggregate many of their opinions.
However, listers collectively are not perfectly “wise” according to the model because listers can be influenced by each other and by book marketing. Unfortunately, some great books that are not heavily marketed or that do not otherwise catch the eye of an early influential lister can get left out of the collective best books of the year conversation altogether or not be discussed within it as much as they deserve to be.
Nevertheless, I think listers collectively do a wonderful job of shining a light on many of the great recently published books that many readers will love.
I hope that this list of lists will help you benefit as much from “the wisdom” of the “Best Books of 2024” listing crowd as I have.
Some of the content creators’ names (with links to their Substack pages) are included below if they are active on Substack.
Now on to the list of lists …
“Best Books of 2024” lists by bookish companies
Amazon:
Audible:
Barnes and Noble:
Blackwell’s: “Our Favourite Books of 2024”
Foyles: “Foyles Books of the year”
Hudson Booksellers: “BEST BOOKS of 2024”
Indigo: “Best Books of 2024”
Libro.fm: “Libro.fm’s Top 10 Audiobooks of 2024”
NetGalley’s We Are Bookish:
Penguin Random House: “The Must-Read Books of 2024”
Powell’s Books: “Picks of the Season”
Rakuten Kobo: “The best books of 2024”
Tertulia:
Waterstones: “The Best Books of 2024”
“Best Books of 2024” lists by libraries, nonprofits, and schools
If you do not see your own local library listed in this section, you may be able to find your library’s list (if it has one) on your library’s website. And many libraries put “Best Books of the Year” lists on their home pages in the Libby app.
Capital Area District Library: “CADL's Best Books of 2024”
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh:
Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature: “CSMCL Best Books of 2024”
Chicago Public Library: “CPL Best of the Best Books of 2024”
Evanston Public Library: “Announcing Evanston Public Library 101 Great Books for Kids List for 2024!”
Hamilton East Public Library: “Best Books of 2024”
King County Library System:
Mid-Continent Public Library: “Best of 2024”
National Science Teaching Association: “Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K–12: Books Published in 2024”
New York Public Library:
San Diego County Library: “Top Books of 2024”
Santa Clara County Library District: “The Best Books of 2024”
“Best Books of 2024” lists by news organizations and blogs
Most of the following lists are available to everyone. However, some of them are only available to paid publication subscribers or to people who sign in on those websites. If you are not a subscriber and do not want to become one, or if you do not want to provide those organizations with your private information, just skip those lists and move on.
ABC News (Australian): “Our top reads for 2024 for the young readers in your life, from babies to teenagers”
American Indians in Children’s Literature: “AICL'S YEAR IN REVIEW: 2024”
AP: “10 notable books of 2024, from Sarah J. Maas to Melania Trump”
Audiofile: “AudioFile's Best Audiobooks of 2024”
Autostraddle: “The Best Queer Books of 2024”
Best of Romance Books: “Best of the Best Romance Books of 2024”
Booklist:
BookPage:
Book Riot:
Brightly:
BRIT+CO: “The 10 Best Romance Books From 2024 That Are ‘So Spicy’”
BuzzFeed: “I Read Over 100 Romance Novels In 2024 — Here Are My 13 Favorites That Bewitched Me, Body And Soul”
CBC:
Chicago Review of Books: “The Best Books We Read in 2024”
Crime Reads:
Debutiful:
Decanter: “The best wine and spirits books of 2024”
Dialogue Earth: “Reading the seas: Our top ocean books of 2024”
Electric Lit:
ELLE: (articles by
)ELLE Australia: “ELLE’s Favourite Book Releases Of 2024” by
Esquire:
Every Book a Doorway: “THE (TOTALLY DEFINITIVE) BEST FANTASY & SCI-FI BOOKS OF 2024!” (queer fantasy and science fiction)
Fashionista: “THE BEST, MOST GIFTABLE FASHION BOOKS THAT CAME OUT IN 2024”
Fast Company: “The best design books of 2024”
Financial Times:
Five Books: “The Best Books of 2024”
Flood Magazine: “The Best Music Books of 2024”
Food & Wine:
Forbes:
Frieze: “Frieze Editors Select Their Favourite Books of 2024”
GamesRadar+: “The 25 best comics of 2024”
Geographical:
Glamour: “The Best Books of 2024, According to Glamour Editors” by
Greater Good Magazine:
Harper’s Bazaar: “The 44 best books of 2024”
HipLATINA: “Best of 2024: 15 of the Best Books by Latinx Authors Published This Year” by
HUFFPOST: “These Are The Best Books We Read In 2024”
Hyperallergic: “The 30 Best Art Books of 2024”
Imagination Soup:
Independent:
Jeeves Reads Romance:
Kirkus Reviews:
Library Journal:
Literary Hub:
Locus: “2024 Recommended Reading List” (science fiction an fantasy)
Los Angeles Times: “The 15 best books of 2024, reissues included” by
among othersLSE: “Eight of the best books of 2024 recommended by LSE blog editors”
Marie Claire UK: “We’ve found the best books of 2024 to curl up with”
Medium: “Here Are My Favorite Books, Movies, and Music of 2024” by Barack Obama
Mombian:
Mpls.St.Paul Magazine: “Essential Minnesota Books to Read from 2024”
Mr. Colby Sharp: “Awesome 2024 Books” (children’s books and YA) by
Ms.: “2024 ‘Best of the Rest’: Our Favorite Books of the Year!” (feminist books)
New York Magazine: “The Best New Books for Kids Published in 2024” by
Novel Suspects: “Best Crime Fiction Books of 2024”
NPR:
Oprah Daily: “The Best Books of 2024”
Ozaku: “Okazu Top Yuri Series of 2024“ (Girl Love Japanese manga)
PBS: “10 of the best books of 2024, according to these experts”
People:
Pitchfork: “The Best Music Books of 2024”
Planetizen: “Planetizen’s Top Urban Planning Books of 2024”
Polygon:
Prospect: “Fiction Books of the Year: 2024”
Publishers Weekly:
Quill & Quire:
Reactor: “Reviewers’ Choice: The Best Books of 2024” (science fiction and fantasy)
Reading Middle Grade: (articles by
)Real Simple: “The 59 Best Books of 2024, According to Real Simple Editors”
Rolling Stone: “THE BEST MUSIC BOOKS OF 2024”
Santa Barbara Independent: “The 10 Best Books of 2024”
School Library Journal:
Science Friday: “2024’s Best Science Books For Kids”
Science News: “These are Science News’ favorite books of 2024”
Scientific American: “78 Books Scientific American Recommends in 2024”
Slate:
“The 10 Best Books of 2024” by Dan Kois
“The 10 Best Books of 2024” by Laura Miller
Smithsonian Magazine:
Sports Illustrated: “10 Best Sports Books Released In 2024”
The Art Newspaper: “Some of our favourite books of 2024—picked by The Art Newspaper’s books team”
The Atlantic: “THE ATLANTIC 10: THE BOOKS THAT MADE US THINK THE MOST THIS YEAR”
The Beat:
The Christian Science Monitor: “A year of plentiful prose: The best books of 2024”
The Conversation: “Best Books of 2024: our experts share their standout reads”
The Economist: “The best books of 2024, as chosen by The Economist”
The Globe and Mail: “The Globe 100: The best books of 2024”
The Guardian: “The best books of 2024”
The Harvard Crimson: “Top 10 Books of 2024”
The Horn Book, Inc.: “Fanfare 2024 Annotations” (children’s books)
The New Statesman:
The New Yorker: “THE BEST BOOKS OF 2024”
The New York Times:
The Quill to Live: (science fiction and fantasy)
The Telegraph:
“The best biographies and memoirs of 2024, from Elizabeth II’s life to Rushdie’s near-death”
“The best books on Ukraine in 2024, from Chernobyl to Zelensky” by
“The best science books of 2024, from lethal technology to eternal life”
“The best sports books of 2024, from cricket’s soul to Sven’s goodbye”
The Times:
The Wall Street Journal:
The Washington Post:
TIME:
Toronto Star: “Best books of 2024: 20 thrillers, literary fiction, sci-fi and more”
Tucson.com: “10 of our favorite 2024 books by Southern Arizona authors”
Under the Covers Book Blog: (articles by
)United by Pop: (articles by
)Vanity Fair: “21 Best Books of 2024 to Read Right Now”
VinePair: “The 10 Best Booze Books to Buy This Holiday Season (2024)” by
Vogue: “Shopping for Bibliophiles? These Are the Best Books to Gift This Holiday Season” by
Vox: “The best books of 2024”
Vulture:
Wanderlust: “The best travel books of 2024”
WBUR: “The best books of 2024” featuring
andWorld Architecture: “WAC's top 10 architecture books of 2024”
Yale Climate Connections: “12 books to gift for the holidays in 2024”
“Best Books of 2024” lists by podcasts
Links below are to podcast episodes on the Apple Podcast app. If you use a different podcast listening app, just search for the episodes within that app instead of using the below links.
7 am (Australian): “The best books of 2024,” 12/22/2024
All the Books: “Our Favorite Books of 2024: December 17, 2024,” 12/17/24
AudioFile Behind the Mic:
“Alejandro Antonio Ruiz Interview: Best Young Adult Audiobooks 2024,” 12/16/2024
“A NEST OF VIPERS: AudioFile Favorites,” 12/24/2024
“AudioFile’s 2024 Best Audiobooks!” 12/4/2024
“BITS AND PIECES: AudioFile Favorites,” 12/26/2024
“Dion Graham Interview: Best Biography & Memoir Audiobooks 2024,” 12/6/2024
“Edoardo Ballerini Interview: Best Multi-Voice Audiobooks 2024,” 12/12/2025
“Elizabeth Knowelden Interview: Best Romance Audiobooks 2024,” 12/13/2024
“Gabra Zackman Interview: Best Nonfiction & Culture Audiobooks 2024,” 12/9/2024
“Hope Newhouse Interview: Best Children’s & Family Audiobooks 2024,” 12/17/2024
“JAMES: AudioFile Favorites,” 12/23/2024
“Jean Brassard Interview: Best Mystery & Suspense Audiobooks 2024,” 12/10/2024
“Julia Whelan Interview: Best Fiction Audiobooks 2024,” 12/5/2024
“Moira Quick Interview: Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Audiobooks 2024,” 12/11/2024
“OLIVETTI: AudioFile Favorites,” 12/25/2024
“THERE’S ALWAYS THIS YEAR: AudioFile Favorites,” 12/27/2024
Book Delight with Chrissy Wright (by
):“Ep 66 - Kidlit Favorites of 2024 - Middlegrade,” 12/2/2024
“Ep. 67 - Kidlit Favorites of 2024 - Short Chapter Books,” 12/9/2024
“Ep. 68 - Favorite Kidlit of 2024 - Graphic Novels,” 12/16/2024
Books Are My People (by
): “Best of Books 2024,” 12/23/24Fated Mates:
“Best Romance Novels of 2024,” 11/19/2024
“Excellent 2024 Debut Romance Novels,” 12/9/2024
From the Front Porch:
“Episode 509 || Best Books of the Year with Hunter Mclendon,” 12/27/2024 (featuring
)“Episode 510 || Unsung Books of 2024,” 1/2/2024
NPR’s Book of the Day: “NPR staffers pick their favorite reads of the year,” 11/26/2024
Reading Glasses: “Ep. 391: Best Books of 2024!” 12/26/2024
Sarah’s Bookshelves Live: “Ep. 183: Best Books of 2024 Superlatives with Susie,” 11/27/2024
She Reads Romance Books: “The Best Romance Books of 2024,” 1/6/2025
The Bookshelf (Australian): “Best Books of 2024,” 12/5/2024 (featuring
)The Stacks (by
): “Ep. 350 The Best Books of 2024 with Greta Johnsen & MJ Franklin,” 12/18/2024 (featuring )Thoughts from a Page Podcast: “Kelly Hooker - Our Top Reads of 2024,” 12/9/2024
“Best Books of 2024” lists and analysis in Substack newsletters
Although some of the following Substacks have paid tiers, none of the specific posts included in this section require payment to be read (as of the time this list was posted).
by
by
by
by
by
by
by
by
posts by
by
by
(mostly children’s books)
by
by
by
by
by
by
by
(about half romance)
by
(picture books and chapter books)
by
and
by
(children’s books)
by
by
by
by
and
by
by
by
by
and
by
More “Best Books of 2024” lists by BookTubers
Brett’s Book Stack:
Colby Sharp (by
):The Colorful Apple:
TheShadesofOrange - BookTube:
The most comprehensive "best of" list I've seen! Wow! Thanks for including my podcast, Books Are My People!
The comprehensiveness! Love this. Thank you for including the Ministry of Pop Culture!