The ten best books I read in 2024

Happy cozy season! This month, in addition to the usual Q&A below, I’m going over my top ten reads of 2024. I made this list simply by organizing my 2024 books by rating on Goodreads. I didn’t leave anything out, so the list is fairly random, a mixture of fantasy and non-fantasy; popular and obscure; recently published and older. If you’re more of an omnivorous reader, you may find some things to add to your TBR.

The main update for this month is the obvious one—we’re now only two months out from the official release of Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales! I’m really proud of it, and I hope readers will find this a satisfying conclusion to the story arc. Preorder links here.

I also put together a gift guide for my middle-grade books on Instagram, for those of you buying for kids.

Without further ado, and in no particular order, because these were all 5-star reads for me, let’s dive in!

My top 10 of 2024

1. Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee (fantasy)

This is my first book by Fonda Lee and I’m looking forward to reading more. My fantasy taste tends to skew high fantasy, which is competing with my increasing desire for shorter books. This delivers complex worldbuilding and characters in a small package.

2. Where the Falcon Flies by Adam Shoalts (nonfiction/adventure)

I often like nonfiction that overlaps with my SFF reading preferences; this one reflects my love of the fantasy “journey” book. Shoalts is a professional explorer, and this documents his journey by foot and canoe from Lake Erie to the Arctic, with a lot of fascinating contrasts: dangerous urban waterways and (also dangerous) remote wilderness. Also recommend A Whisper on the Night Wind by the same author if you like your nonfiction creepy.

3. The Little Grey Men by B.B. (folklore/children’s)

Published in the 1940s, this read more like an actual folktale than a modern novel, which I loved.

4. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (fiction)

I have a habit of being late to the party with hugely popular books. I delayed reading this because I don’t play video games and I don’t read much fiction, but as it turned out, neither of those things mattered because this was great.

5. The Children of Hurin by J.R.R. Tolkien (fantasy)

I didn’t care for this as much as The Silmarillion (Turin is just not my favourite), but it’s Tolkien, so it was a guaranteed 5-star read for me.

6. The Wild Robot by Peter Brown (MG sci-fi)

I read this as a buddy read, and hadn’t actually heard of it beforehand. I haven’t seen the film yet, but I think I’ll have to, because I loved this modern classic about a robot marooned on an island of wilderness. The audiobook is great, though you miss the illustrations.

7. The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells (fantasy)

This is just a well-constructed high fantasy adventure that reminded me of classic 80s and 90s SFF. Whenever I discover a new favourite author (I devoured Wells’s Murderbot last year), I like to go back and read their backlist, and I wasn’t disappointed here. The first in a series.

8. The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain (fiction/translation)

Another quick read about a man who falls in love with a woman after finding her notebook, then has to trace it back to her. Both the characters and the chemistry were great. Recommended for anyone wanting to add more foreign lit and books in translation to their TBR, as I am. It gives you a completely different perspective on storytelling.

9. Buried Deep and other Stories by Naomi Novik (fantasy)

Most short story collections are a mixed bag, but I liked all of these and loved several. You can still follow the stories without having read any Novik, but this collection will be most enjoyable to those who’ve read at least a few of her books, as many are set within the same worlds.

10. The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer (fantasy)

A charming fantasy-romance about two boys who grow up and have to return to the fantasy world they escaped to as children. I loved the concept and the romance was sweet. This would likely appeal to Wayward Children fans.

Bonus: The Dallergut Dream Department Store by Lee Mi-ye (fantasy/translation)

I’d recommend this to anyone who wants an escape. This is one of those books that is zero plot, 100% cozy entertainment.

Q&A

I answer reader-submitted questions at the end of each newsletter; you can email yours to heather@heatherfawcettbooks.com or leave it in the comments.

How do you decide what ending for your story is the right ending?

Basically by writing my way there. I’ve talked about being a plantser in a previous newsletter, and part of this looser approach to storytelling includes being open to changing the ending I had in my outline. I always start out *thinking* that I know the destination, but as I get to know the characters better (and because I write character-driven stories for the most part), I allow this to change if it needs to. For this reason, the climax and ending of the first Emily Wilde book were completely different in my outline to how they actually turned out, while the endings of books 2 and 3 stayed true to their outlines. I already knew the characters by that point and could better predict the decisions they would make given a particular set of obstacles.

Does Shadow/Orga survive in book 3?

I’ve had this question a few times, mostly about Shadow. (I suspect readers view Orga as more indestructible, which is no doubt how she views herself!) Obviously I won’t give spoilers here, but for those who would prefer to know one way or the other before they read book 3, I have content warnings for each Emily Wilde book on my website, hidden behind a spoiler warning. “Death of a pet” is absolutely something I would include a warning for.

What I’m reading

This is a depressingly short list! I’ve been trying to meet deadlines for the past 1-2 months, meaning I’m behind on my yearly reading goal again. I know I’ll make it, because I’ll have more time to read over the holidays, but for now, I’m staring at my TBR pile with guilt.

• I’m about halfway through The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley, which is great so far. I love sci-fi, but I think this one would also be great for reluctant sci-fi readers, if that’s a thing.

• I finally got around to reading Yellowface by R.F. Kuang, because once again, I’m late to the party. The audiobook is highly addictive, so I recommend that format if you’ve not yet read it.

• I’m slowly re-reading A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, which I’ve made an annual tradition. I love Dickens, and if you haven’t read it, I highly recommend—it’s a short read, not one of his bricks.

Random Inspiring Thing

I loved this podcast about storytelling in medieval Ireland, which touches on the development of some of the earliest fairy tales.