I’m so proud to say that this is the 100th issue of Marisa Reads! Whether you’ve been around from the beginning or are just popping in now, I want to extend a big thank you for joining me in all the reading. I’m so grateful to have you here.
In more big news, I’ll be taking a little break for the next couple months as my husband and I get ready to welcome a baby into our family! And so, even though I usually make a list of my favorite books of the year in December, I thought I’d let you know which books I’ve loved the most so far to leave you with a fun send-off.
Here are my top ten books of the year so far—the books that I found most memorable, most compelling, and most delightful.
Note: Not all books were necessarily published in 2024, these are just books that I read in 2024
10. North Woods by Daniel Mason
This inventive novel follows one house throughout history, offering portraits of its various inhabitants. Set in Western Massachusetts, North Woods begins in the 1600s with a young couple fleeing their English colony and, from there, travels through history to give us the perspective of a solider, a bounty hunter, a painter, a true crime reporter, and a beetle, to name a few. Mason creates a distinct voice and style for each chapter so that this narrative of America—with its poignant insight into nature and humanity—feels like a whole stack of books fit into one.
9. You Are Here by David Nicholls
A novel filled with tenderness, You Are Here follows a man and a woman as they hike through England’s countryside, coast to coast. Michael and Marnie are two people who find themselves a bit lost and a bit lonely—Michael is a teacher grappling with his recent separation, and Marnie is a copywriter whose social circle seems to be dwindling as she enters her forties. Pushed together through circumstance, the two find themselves opening up to each other and finding comfort in a new friendship, and Nicholls captures each conversation, each tentative overture, and each emotional breakthrough with brilliant (and hilarious) relatability.
8. The Sun Walks Down by Fiona McFarlane
Sweeping and propulsive, The Sun Walks Down tells the story of a young boy lost in the Australian outback and the community trying to find him. It’s 1883, and the outback is an unforgiving place; all those in search of Denny race against the clock, aware that a person can only survive a certain number of days out in the barren heat. McFarlane creates a huge cast of characters, each with their own distinctive voice—some funny, some deeply emotional—to capture the community of Fairly, and offers insight into Australia’s complex history alongside the riveting search.
7. The Searcher by Tana French
Small-town comfort and danger, tenderness and trauma, starkness and poetry… The Searcher offers juxtaposition at every turn. Cal Hooper is a retired police officer who recently moved to a remote Irish village for some peace and quiet, and when a local teen approaches him for help finding a missing sibling, Cal doesn’t want anything to do with it. However, his soft heart can’t let Trey down, and as Cal looks into the case, he discovers a cache of secrets lurking underneath this seemingly quiet, simple community. French’s lyrical writing gives this crime novel a literary edge.
6. Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan
Hopeful and deliciously funny, Summer Romance is the ultimate comfort read. This romantic comedy follows Ali, a divorced mom of three, as she opens herself back up to the world of dating. She starts a summer romance with Ethan, a hometown guy helping out his parents for the summer; expecting a short fling, she’s surprised when their connection becomes deeper than she ever hoped for. Monaghan’s writing never fails to make me smile, and this book is no exception.
5. Good Material by Dolly Alderton
Alderton flips the script in Good Material, creating a romantic comedy out of a breakup. The novel starts with Andy reeling after being dumped by Jen; they were together for five years, and now he doesn’t know what to do with himself. As Andy works his way through the classic stages of a breakup, we see him fall, fail, and learn—all in a hilarious and all-too-relatable manner—and we gain valuable insight about relationships from the brilliant Alderton along the way.
4.The Book of Delights by Ross Gay
This collection of essays lives up to its title, offering warmth and optimism on every page. When Gay, a celebrated poet, turned forty-two, he decided to write one essay every day for a year about something—anything—delightful. The result is this beautiful book, a mix of humor and wisdom, poetry and anecdote, all relayed in what he calls “essayettes” (one to two page essays). He covers a wide swath of topics, from gardening to grief, and each one inspired me to look at the world with a little more gratitude.
3. Funny Story by Emily Henry
It’s not often you read a book and want to immediately start it again, but that’s how I felt after reading Funny Story. Henry’s latest romantic comedy follows the relationship between Daphne and Miles, two people who’ve just been jilted by their respectful partners (Daphne’s fiancé tells her a month before the wedding that he’s leaving her for Miles’s girlfriend), and watches as their roommate-ship turns into a fake relationship (to inspire jealousy in their exes, of course) and then into something real. With laugh-out-loud banter, charming yet realistic scenarios, and a lovable cast of characters, this romantic comedy hit all the marks for me.
2. James by Percival Everett
James is a retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim—and even though the setting and many of the scenarios stick close to the classic, the excitement and readability is ramped up to a ten. In this version, Jim is a prolific thinker and writer (as are the other enslaved persons), but has to hide it from white people for his own safety. When he hears his family may be split up, he decides to run away in search of a place where they can all stay together, and winds up getting saddled with the master’s boy Huck Finn who is orchestrating an escape of his own. As the two journey up the Mississippi River together, they run into a series of misadventures and develop a mutual fondness and respect. Everett manages to package a weighty narrative into a thrilling adventure tale, and does it all with humor, soul, and deep insight.
1. Sandwich by Catherine Newman
Poignant, tender, and so, so funny, Sandwich narrates a week in the life of Rocky, a woman stuck in the “in-between” period of caring for her children and her aging parents all at the same time. The novel takes place in Cape Cod, where Rocky and her family (including her husband, her young adult kids, her son’s girlfriend, and her parents) spend a week every year, and follows the gang as they joke with each other, cook for each other, open up to one another, and enjoy each other’s company. Rocky is fighting the urge to hold on too tightly to all these people she loves so dearly, and as she navigates this new stage of life, her mind drifts back to memories of summers past and the losses she's still healing from. This is a quiet novel filled with everyday happenings, but it’s bursting with epiphanies on life, family, womanhood, and relationships that filled me up and shook me to my core.
