My Top Reads for 2024: Sci-Fi, Science, LGBTQ+ Stories & More

If you've ever wondered how many audiobooks a professional crafter can listen to, the answer is ... a lot! As a chainmailler who spends hours a day working with my hands, plus my daily walks to the PO, I devour audiobooks! It started 20 years ago when I came home from the library with a stack of CDs of The Lord of the Rings—perfect for a mailler, right!?—and was hooked. I thought for sure audiobooks would be my ticket to becoming a hyperpolyglot and trivia master!

Those dreams didn't quite pan out (turns out, I don't retain information well through listening alone), but I rediscovered my childhood love of reading and I'm grateful to have the luxury of being able to listen while I work. Thanks to my library's digital lending program, it's an accessible hobby—and yay, no more more switching CDs! Every year, I buy physical copies of my top 1-5 books to support the authors and get up close with my favorites (and by that, yes, I mean I mark all over the books). 

Although I dabble in a wide variety of genres, it's pretty clear from my Storygraph wrap-up below that I'm heavily into Sci-Fi, Young Adult (YA), and LGBTQ+ stories. Having a dear friend who is a sci-fi loving YA librarian certainly fuels this! But also, when I was growing up, queer YA books were scarce. Sci-fi with female characters of color? Even rarer. Part of me feels like I'm making up for lost time, seeking out the stories I didn’t even know I craved. For anyone who doubts the importance of representation, let me assure you: seeing yourself reflected in literature is powerful. At the same time, I find it eye-opening reading about people and cultures that are foreign to me. I absolutely believe that experiencing diverse characters and viewpoints enriches everyone's understanding of the world and fosters empathy. 

Are you on Storygraph? Let's connect! Storygraph is a Goodreads alternative—but really "alternative" doesn't do it justice, because Storygraph is that much better! It's perfect for folks like me who boycott Amazon (which owns Goodreads) I wholeheartedly recommend it!

Top Picks for 2024

I’ll include my full-year graphic at the bottom of this post, but first, let me share my favorite reads. Keep in mind most of these books were not published in 2024, that just happens to be the year I read them.

Here are my top book picks from 2024, with a few thoughts on each:

At The Edge Of The Universe by Shaun David Hutchinson - This LGBTQ YA book explores grief, love and the nature of reality. A few years ago, I’d read the author's autobiography, which inspired me to check out his books. They did not disappoint, and this one in particular was exactly the book my teenage self would've obsessively read over and over again.

To Sleep In A Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini -  A sprawling sci-fi epic that's a blend of space opera and first-contact themes. The book has such an intriguing start and finish (and in fact, the author said both of those images were his starting points, and then he filled in everything in between). The entire journey was made all the more incredible by the audiobook narration of Jennifer Hale. Like, the book gets an extra star just for her performance. I’d seen heaps of praise about her work in the reviews, and she deserves every single bit of it.

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari - This thought-provoking nonfiction book examines the history of humankind from the Stone Age to present day. It is filled with fascinating tidbits. It also was a completely unexpected catalyst for me to lean more into a vegan lifestyle.

“… we can congratulate ourselves on the unprecedented accomplishments of modern sapiens only if we completely ignore the fate of all other animals. Much of the vaunted material wealth that shields us from disease and famine was accumulated at the expense of laboratory monkeys, dairy cows and conveyor belt chickens. Over the last century, tens of billions of them have been subjected to a regime of industrial exploitation whose cruelty has no precedence in the annals of planet earth.” 
—Yuval Noah Harari , Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

The Every by Dave Eggers - This dystopian satirical novel is a sequel to The Circle. Interestingly, I enjoyed it much more than The Circle (mostly because I found the main character of The Circle to be very unlikable). The book is a so-on-the-nose-it’s-almost-scary look at the reach of tech giants and surveillance culture, with plenty of laugh-out-loud passages sprinkled in.

We Have Never Been Woke by Musa Al-gharbi - A critical analysis of contemporary social justice movements and the concept of "wokeness." A thought provoking read for anyone who was genuinely surprised by the results of the 2024 presidential election and couldn’t imagine how we got here. The book was a powerful motivator for me to lean more into activism that directly supports marginalized individuals and communities.

Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu - A metafictional novel that brilliantly deconstructs Asian representation in media. One of the funniest and most unusual books I’ve read. The screenplay format adds a unique layer to the story—I’m glad I accidentally put the book instead of the audiobook on hold, otherwise I may never have experienced it! (I did eventually listen to the audiobook and found it worked better than I thought. The narrator was excellent!)

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson - A sci-fi novel exploring parallel universes, identity and power. The world building was amazing and I loved the narration by Nicole Lewis.

The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin - A collection of insightful anecdotes and quotes on the creative process. It's a quick listen, and packed with gems.

The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness & Healing in a Toxic Culture by Dr. Gabor Maté - This book proposes that many of our modern-day illnesses are not the result of bad genes or bad luck, but rather a consequence of living in a toxic culture. This is one of the books I'm getting a physical copy of, because I bookmarked countless passages that I want to revisit.

The Possibility of Life by Jaime Green - This nonfiction book takes the "what if...?" approach to extraterrestrial life in part by examining some of the incredible life on our own planet. Green's passion for sci-fi is clear; there were plenty of references I’m familiar with, but my “to-read” list grew even bigger!

Rosewater by Tade Thompson - Afrofuturism for the win! This is the first book in the Wormwood trilogy. The story is complex and I found it a bit hard to follow in audiobook format, but the world building and Bayo Gbadamosi's narration are exceptional.

The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newtz - A queer, punk rock sci-fi adventure that delves into alternate worlds and the power dynamics of different eras. It was an unexpectedly fun ride. Grape Ape forever!

The Light Eaters by Zoë Schlanger - A nonfiction exploration of photosynthesis and the incredible wonders of plant life. I kept pausing the book to travel down a bunch of scientific rabbit holes on Wikipedia, and by the end had a newfound awe and appreciation for the trees and plants around me.

My Complete 2024 Reading List

Below is a look at all the books I experienced in 2024. My current reading queue has 163 books, but there’s always room for more! If you have any recommendations (or any questions about any of the books you see here), please share them in the comments. I always love hearing what books people are into!