The Bookish Mutant’s 5-Star Reads of 2024

Happy Monday, bibliophiles!

Some years make it difficult to focus on the good things. It would be easy for me to look back at this year and see that it’s been ruled by anxiety, because…well, a good portion of it was. I was incredibly anxious about a number of things this year, I’m on the precipice of some big transitions in my life, and we’re entering a dark time in our country’s history. It can be so all-consuming that I forgot that it did not, in fact, consume all. I do have some pretty proud achievements to count towards myself this year, but most of all, I got through it. Whatever gripped me, whether or not I should have been worrying about it, I got through it. And I’m here. And I’ll be here through 2025.

The amount of books I’ve read gets smaller every year, but it’s allowed me to be more selective. Sure, my 5-star reads shrink every year, but it’s proportional to how much I actually read. I’m more selective now that I have less time to read—that doesn’t mean that bad books slip through, but I feel like the amount of stinkers I’ve read has decreased, and I’ve expanded my DNF criteria to just mean books that aren’t egregiously bad, but that I don’t want to continue with simply because life is short. My 5-star reads this year consisted of the return of old favorites, anticipated sequels, and new-to-me books that blew me out of the water—a diverse patchwork of a rocky but ultimately fruitful year—and they were a part of what made this year good.

NOTE: I will not be including re-reads on this post; I re-read The Galaxy, and the Ground Within as well as the entire WondLa trilogy this year—obvious 5-star reads.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️THE BOOKISH MUTANT’S 5-STAR READS OF 2024⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• The Crumrin Chronicles, vol. 1: The Charmed and the Cursed – Ted Naifeh – Courtney Crumrin returns…WE ARE SO BACK. | Read my review here!
• The Crumrin Chronicles, vol. 2: The Lost and the Lonely – Ted Naifeh – see my comments for vol. 1.
• The Crumrin Chronicles, vol. 3: The Wild and the Innocent – Ted Naifeh – again, see above, but this time, add a buff, gay camp counselor named after a Magnetic Fields song. Do wonders never cease…
• The Brightness Between Us (The Darkness Outside Us, #2) – Eliot Schrefer – I never thought that a sequel to The Darkness Outside Us was necessary, but Schrefer blew it out of the water with this one. I don’t think the emotional heights of book 1 can ever be reached again, but damn, this one sure came close. | Read my review here!
• Radiohead: Climbing Up the Walls – Tom Sheehan – it’s a bunch of behind the scenes photos of Radiohead…do I really have to explain?
• Beautyland – Marie-Helene Bertino – a brilliant exploration of alien identity, longing for a home you’ve never had, and being human. | Read my review here!
• The Stardust Grail – Yume Kitasei – art theft, creatures abound, and a deeply emotional story of preserving history and friendships. | Read my review here!
• The Traveling Cat Chronicles – Hiro Arikawa – essential reading for anyone who has ever loved a cat. Had me crying in my bed. | Read my review here!
• Squire – Nadia Shammas and Sara Alfageeh – an unflinching tale of imperialism from the eyes of an eager young girl. | Read my review here!
• Sister Outsider – Audre Lorde – Audre Lorde. Need I say more?

HONORABLE MENTIONS (4.5 stars)

• The Tempest – Wiliam Shakespeare
• The Heart of the World (The Isles of the Gods, #2) – Amie Kaufman
• Contact – Carl Sagan
• Someone You Can Build a Nest In – John Wiswell
• Freshwater – Akwaeke Emezi
• Babel – R.F. Kuang
• Echo North – Joanna Ruth Meyer

TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! Have you read any of these books, and if so, did you enjoy them as much as I did? What were your favorite reads of the year? Let me know in the comments!

Today’s song:

That’s it for my favorite books of 2024! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!