The Washington Post’s Ten Best Books of 2024

The Washington Post revealed its favorite books of the year for 2024 (five fiction and five nonfiction). Here’s what made the list, what got left out, and what looks interesting for my TBR (and yours). Expand for more information. 👇

Links 💻

Further Viewing 🎥

Titles Mentioned 📚

Other Titles Mentioned 📕

If you would like to support this channel, please feel free to use Super Thanks or the affiliate links to Bookshop, but please do not feel obligated. I appreciate your presence regardless.

But wait, there's more!

[altanava]

Dear Greg, maybe it’s worth looking at other country’s politics and history to find some answers for America, I’m Mexican-American living in Mexico and over here we’re living a glorious political, social, economic and liberal period that started 6 years ago but has its roots in the final years of the 90s. I’d be so glad to let you know all about it so you can regain hope, I used to think it would never ever happen but it did and millions of Mexicans are enjoying the results of years of resistance and hardship.

[mariana]

I deeply appreciate that you make the review of the list. I hold the same core belief that you have about both papers so think of it as a public service to all of us book lovers😊

[MMjones]

Thanks for talking about Bezos and The Washington Post. I enjoy reading their book reviews. I'm swayed by the fact that these are real people with ever shrinking journalism careers.

[larquel]

As a bookseller, new shiny objects (covers) coming out and distracting you from what you want to read is such a mood....

[martham]

My next TBR is a reread of Huckleberry Finn, followed by James.

[karakoppanyi]

I have stopped my subscriptions to the Washington Post and the NYT but appreciate your comments about this list !,

[booksandbags]

I quit the NYT, but I am able to get the book review as a digital magazine from my library for free. You may want to consider that option.

[mame-musing]

James won the 2024 Kirkus Prize for fiction in addition to the National Book Award. The Kirkus Prize is almost never mentioned on Book Tube. At $50, 000 for each of the winning authors, it’s pretty significant.

[leslieshort]

Just finished listening to “The Overstory” and I recommend the audiobook. I am sure I wouldn’t have been able to get through it otherwise.

[MJ-in-Canada]

I'm always up for one of your list videos. Thanks, Greg.😀

[marylt]

I really enjoyed Colored Television and would be interested in hearing what you think about it. It's nice to see it featured in one of the best of the year lists because it didn't seem to get as much attention as it deserved. I am looking forward to checking out some of her other books.

[dmurfval]

I happen to like your videos sharing best books...gives me ideas. I have cut way, way back on what I buy from Amazon. If there's a lot of people like me doing this, it could hurt a little.

[ten]

I love your description of books that some people love and some people hate as “cilantro books.”

[philstrand]

Colored Television is definitely satire and done very well. I think it would likely appeal to fans of Percival Everett, in general, and Erasure, in particular. Not surprising the two have similar taste in fiction. James and Colored Television are both in my top five books of 2024. James is #1. Congrats to Everett and Senna on their recent success and recognition. Thanks, as always, for sharing your thoughts, bookish and otherwise!

[minohan]

V13 is a great book. The author maintains a distance with the trial, since he is a journalist, but the compilation of his observations is quite touching. Carrere is a marvelous storyteller.

[arekkrolak]

I like your preamble and totally support it even though I myself probably would not go to such lengths at explaining my reading choices :)

[melissafirman]

I'm in the same situation as you with The Overstory. I started it earlier this summer and keep putting it aside for other books, then coming back to it briefly, rinse and repeat. I always (or, most often) am reading several books at once and The Overstory feels like one best read in longer chunks of time because of the many characters. I have a flight with a 3 hour layover next week so I'm thinking maybe that's the time to finish this. We'll see.

Agree with you on the WP and NYT re: the election coverage. It's very distressing and upsetting, especially considering the outcome.

[carriegarlock]

I appreciate you doing these lists. Most of the booktubers I watch only go over the Goodreads awards. And I find other books that I have an interest in that are not the most popular books.

[DBabs-bj]

I'm in the middle of When the Clock Broke. It does dip back even farther than the 90s- Huey Long in Louisiana, Reagan, Duke, and much more. Just so sad how long this has been going on and how entrenched it is.

[HakimALIGHT]

Great video. I love Carrère and haven't read V13 year, I look forward to it now.