2024 book awards
Highlighting my favourite reads of the year through creative categories.
The past couple of years, I shared my best books of the year in my newsletter through the now-defunct TinyLetter platform. I have archived versions of those somewhere, and maybe one day I’ll put them up on the blog. This year I’ll keep it simple and post here.
2024 By the Numbers
First, some stats: I read 78 books in 2024, down slightly from 85 books in 2023. In general, my reading quantity has been on a downward trend in my thirties. This isn’t a surprise, and I actually see it as a positive development: I am busier, yes, but I am busy with exciting and fulfilling projects—old hobbies like knitting and ongoing ones like podcasting and new ones like Ultimate Frisbee!
I read 12 five-star books and only 3 one-star books. These days, I’m trying my best to be more selective about the books I read while still leaving myself open to being surprised. I think I’m striking the right balance!
The final stat I really care about is the ratio of fiction to nonfiction. Generally, I aim for a 2:1 ratio. This year it was closer to 3:1—not bad! For much of the year, I generally wanted to bury my head in escapism. Also, more of my review copies were coming from indie authors and publicists rather than NetGalley, and those requests tend to be biased in favour of fiction.
The Award Show
Now on to my book awards! As in previous years, rather than trying to rank my reads, I’ve started making up arbitrary award categories. Not all of these books earned five stars from me! If I think a book deserved an award, I made up a category for it to win.
Now Don’t Kiss
Dear Wendy, by Ann Zhao, is hands-down the best book with aroace protagonists I have read. I am so happy this book exists and hope more and more people, allo and ace, read it.
Cozy With a Cuppa
“Cozy” genre fiction is a big trend these days. Honestly, it isn’t my go-to. However, it’s good to have around when you want it. I’ve been privileged enough to read every installment of The Chronicles of Nerezia, starting with Awakenings. This series of novellas from Claudie Arseneault typifies my favourite aspects of cozy fantasy: a diverse cast of characters who are flawed yet still fun to hang around.
I Can’t Believe It’s Horror
From cozy to the opposite! Horror, along with romance, is a genre I seldom read, especially straight horror. Bad Cree, by Jessica Johns, proved a delightful exception. With a strong backbone of female friendship and elements of chosen family, this is a perfect blending of Indigenous storytelling with contemporary horror vibes.
Most Tragic Trilogy
I finally read R.F. Kuang’s Poppy War series: The Poppy War, The Dragon Republic, and The Burning God. I can confidently say these are some of the most tragic books I have read in many years. If you want truly grim fantasy—not grimdark porn, but actual “there really isn’t hope for a better tomorrow, is there?” fantasy—then this is the trilogy for you. Brava.
Space Opera Is So Back
I finally read A Memory Called Empire, by Arkady Martine, and immediately ordered its sequel, A Desolation Called Peace and read it as soon as possible. This is an exquisite science fiction duology that showcases why space opera is undergoing its most exciting renaissance in thirty years.
The Stars Not My Destination
Sometimes, science fiction is better closer to home. The House of Saints is the conclusion to Derek Künsken’s Venus Ascendant duology. This is a prequel series set in the same timeline as his Quantum Magician series and follows a family of Québécois in the clouds of Venus. Full of political intrigue and strained family relationships, this is as good as science fiction gets.
Satisfying Series Send-Offs
This category is a three-way tie because not only was a sizable chunk of my reading this year series (yay), but I actually finished several series.
All three winners in this category are the third books in fantasy trilogies. First up, Freya Marske’s A Power Unbound. This alternative Edwardian England is perfectly imagined.
Next, Tasha Suri’s The Lotus Empire. This trilogy was uneven, but this final book has made the journey so worth it. Suri’s originality and grasp of tragedy is exquisite and rewarding.
Finally, though I technically finished it on New Year’s Day, Labyrinth of Hearts, by M.A. Carrick. This trilogy has consistently been phenomenal, and the final book is no exception. Emotional, exciting, and full of crowning moments of awesome.
All three books feature queer romance (Marske and Suri’s very prominently) too!
Goals and Wishes for 2025
As you might be able to tell from how the awards tilted, I read a lot of fantasy in 2024. This doesn’t surprise me, but maybe I’ll tilt back to science fiction in 2025. We’ll see. I want to read a bit more nonfiction.
Other than that … honestly, I’m happy with how the year went. In general, I’m trying to slow down and take pressure off myself. That might mean reading more, if it will help me relax. That might mean reading less. Only time will tell.
My final thought, however, is simply this: amazing genre fiction is out there. Fantasy and science fiction are jacked right now with incredible contemporary talent, both indie and traditionally published. I feel so excited for what I might read next.
I hope you enjoyed my awards. You can read all my reviews over at Kara.Reviews and even subscribe to an RSS feed should such archaic technologies be within your ken.
You can also listen to me on the Prophecy Girls podcast anywhere podcasts are found, watch me stream on Twitch most weeks, or hire me to copyedit your indie novel or academic manuscript.