Well. This post is very late. Normally this is my way of kicking off a new year of reading in January, but 2024 has been…let’s just say it’s been a lot. Things haven’t eased up in the last few months, but something about spring is reawakening my motivation to read and to write. And there are so many books being released this year that I’m excited about. It feels like a particularly good book year. Whatever crap we’ve all been dealing with so far this decade, the writers out there are composting it into excellent novels. It’s always a task to narrow down this list (so. many. books.), but these top 10 books to read in 2024 are the ones I’m most excited about.
1. Beautyland by Marie-Helen Bertino (January 16)
The premise of Beautyland is simple. A child is born who possesses knowledge of a faraway planet, and as she grows up she uses a fax machine to communicate with her alien kin, sending dispatches of her observations on humans. I don’t think this is going to be heavy on the sci-fi element, but rather more on the coming-of-age story—one that offers up a different perspective of the human experience. Quite simply, I think it’s going to be gorgeous and kind of heartbreaking, but ultimately hopeful, which is my very favourite kind of literary fiction.
“Beautyland is a novel of startling originality about the fragility and resilience of life on our Earth and in our universe. It is a remarkable evocation of the feeling of being in exile at home, and it introduces a gentle, unforgettable alien for our times.”
2. Parasol Against the Axe by Helen Oyeyemi (January 30)
I have been meaning to read more of Helen Oyeyemi’s work since reading the delightfully odd Gingerbread. Rather than dive into her backlist, I might have to start with Parasol Against the Axe. First of all, what a gloriously strange title. Second of all, Prague itself is a character—a living city with intentions of its own, meddling in the lives of its occupants. That is extremely up my alley. It’s a story about stories and the way they influence us and vice versa, and I can’t help myself, I absolutely live for that kind of meta. Get it in my eyeballs immediately.
“In Helen Oyeyemi’s joyous new novel, the Czech capital is a living thing—one that can let you in or spit you out.”
3. An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson (February 13)
Oh, hello, S.T. Gibson, I hear you’re gifting us with more vampire retellings. I absolutely loved Gibson’s reimagining of Dracula’s brides in A Dowry of Blood a couple years ago, so I have no doubt that her Carmilla retelling will be just as delicious. It’s dark academia and vampires and queer romance all rolled up together. What more can you ask for?
“Sumptuous and addictive, An Education in Malice is a dark academia tale of blood, secrets and insatiable hungers.”
4. The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo (March 19)
Everything by Lee Mandelo sounds like it was written for me personally (though I still haven’t read Summer Sons despite it living on my Kobo for actual years now). We all know I’ve been on the horror train lately, and frankly, no one does horror like queer writers. Lee Mandelo’s latest book takes place in 1920s Appalachia in a religious town surrounded by haunted woods. He’s giving us trans romance, horror, and revenge all rolled into one. I simply can’t say no to the southern gothic queerness of it all.
“The Woods All Black is a story of passion, prejudice, and power—an Appalachian period piece that explores reproductive justice and bodily autonomy, the terrors of small-town religiosity, and the necessity of fighting tooth and claw to live as who you truly are.”
5. Rainbow Black by Maggie Thrash (March 19)
In case you haven’t already noticed, I love a weird book, and Rainbow Black sounds delightfully weird. The story begins with our young main character, embroiled in the upheaval of Satanic Panic that lands her parents in jail. Then we flash forward to 20 years later, where she’s trying to live a normal life with her girlfriend until the past comes back to rear its ugly head. The buzz around this one is promising, and quite honestly, I’ll read just about anything if it’s gay, and this one is.
From HarperCollins:“Rainbow Black is part murder mystery, part gay international fugitive love story—set against the ’90s Satanic Panic and spanning 20 years in the life of a young woman pulled into its undertow.”
Top 10 Books of 2024 To Be Continued…
Yeah, I know. It took me four months to write about my top 10 books of 2024 and now I’m going to be a tease about it. Luckily for you, you’ll only have to wait a week, and even luckier, all of the above books have already been released. So you have lots to keep you occupied until I post the second half of this list. Which one are you diving into first?
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