For the third year in a row, I read more nonfiction books than fiction. As a fiction writer, that causes me a little bit of angina. I love fiction and I want to read more. But there are also so many interesting things in the world to read about. What’s a reader to do?
It has become a quasi-tradition each year when I list the ten best books I read to also include a book or two that disappointed me. There are four books that come to mind for me this year—two fiction and two non-fiction—that I want to mention as disappointments. But keep in mind, that doesn’t mean they were all equally bad.
The first is Eat Only When You’re Hungry by Lindsay Hunter. It’s a work of fiction, and it was really bad. Lindsay Hunter is a respected writer who I read previously, and liked. I read her book of short stories, Don’t Kiss Me, several years ago, and remember enjoying it. I wanted to read more from her. But when I picked up Eat Only When You’re Hungry, I was disappointed.
I will say that I have a bit of a history of reading a book, thinking it stinks, and coming back years later to find that I like it. I did that with Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises. I thought it was horrible when I first read it in my mid-20s. By my mid-30s, it had become one of my favorite books. Perhaps the same thing will happen with Eat Only When You’re Hungry, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
The other work of fiction that disappointed me was All the Demons are Here by Jack Tapper. Tapper, of CNN fame, previously wrote two books that I really liked—The Hellfire Club and The Devil May Dance. All the Demons are Here did not live up to his two previous attempts at fiction. It wasn’t horrible, certainly not as bad as Hunter’s Eat Only When You’re Hungry, but it was still a disappointment.
A nonfiction book that disappointed me was In My Time of Dying by Sebastian Junger. Junger is a terrific writer who is best known for his book The Perfect Storm. That book is exciting and really grips the reader, making it hard to put the book down. Just the opposite is the case with In My Time of Dying. In the book, Junger recounts a brush with death he personally experienced. I’m sure it was a scary situation for him and his family, coming that close to death. But the book doesn’t make us feel the same thing. While reading it, I felt like what Junger was experiencing was at arm’s length and didn’t really invest me in the outcome. Junger tells an interesting story, but not a great one.
Finally, I was disappointed in Wright Thompson book The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi. It pains me to say that because Thompson is one of my favorite writers, and I don’t remember ever being disappointed by anything he’s written, whether in a book or magazine article. It also pains me because I’ve written about the barn (where Emmitt Till was killed), so I was familiar with the story before reading Thompson’s book.
Unlike the other books that disappointed me this year, Thompson’s The Barn is actually very good. It’s meticulously researched and well-written. But for me, it gets bogged down in the weeds too much. There’s too much minutiae and deeply researched, but unimportant, facts. A third of the book could have been eliminated and it would have been a better story. Because it was a Wright Thompson book, my expectations were sky high. Sadly, it didn’t quite reach my lofty expectations.
Okay, enough about disappointments. Let’s get to the good stuff.
This year, my top ten list is split evenly between fiction and nonfiction books. Some of the nonfiction books I read were for research for my own books of fiction. I gleaned some good information from many of these books, but there were only a few that I also really enjoyed.
Here are the ten best books I read in 2024:
10. The Big Book of Reincarnation by Roy Stammen – I have a novel coming out in a couple of months that involves reincarnation, so I’ve been reading a lot about it. Several of the books contained good information, but only Stammen’s told a story interesting enough to make me look forward to reading it. In The Big Book of Reincarnation, Stammen travels with Dr. Ian Stevenson from the University of Virginia, trekking across India investigating people (mostly children) with memories of a past life. Incredibly, during their investigation, they are able to confirm the memories these children are having, and they are able to reunite families, even after death. If you’re not interested in reincarnation, this may not be the book for you. But if you’re a believer, I think you would find it very interesting.
9. And Then She Vanished by Nick Jones – This work of fiction kind of surprised me. I’m always up for a time travel story, but before picking up this book, I didn’t know much about it, so my expectations weren’t too high. Boy, did Jones novel deliver. Jones writes a unique take on time travel, including some of the challenges time travelers would face, which readers rarely think about. In the story, Joseph is at the fair with his little sister when she suddenly disappears. He has no idea what happened to her, and the pain of his loss haunts him for years. As an adult, Joseph learns that he can travel through time, and he uses the opportunity to go back to the day he lost his sister, to save her from whatever fate befell her. But what he encounters in his attempt is more difficult than he anticipated. For the last few years, each of my top ten list has included a time travel novel. This year, that novel is And Then She Vanished.
8. Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaraslav Kalfar – Reading the Spaceman of Bohemia was a strange experience. I don’t mean that the story the novel tells is strange, although it certainly is, but the experience of reading it was strange. Let me explain. When Spaceman from Bohemia is good, it’s really good. There were several times I was lost in the story. But when it got slow, it got really slow, causing me to lose interest. The book was interesting enough that they made a movie out of it. Spaceman starring Adam Sandler came out on Netflix in 2024. On the other hand, the movie got a 50% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, so maybe it wasn’t all that interesting (I haven’t seen it). The plot of the book involves an astronaut who left a troubled marriage behind to go on a long space flight. Six months into his mission he begins to question his marriage, when he discovers a mysterious space creature on his ship who can read his thoughts and talk to him about his relationship with his wife. If you’re into absurdist science fiction (I’m usually not), you may enjoy Spaceman from Bohemia.
7. Pronto/Riding the Rap/Raylan by Elmore Leonard – Elmore Leonard was such a terrific writer. He wrote a ton of books, including a few different series. His Raylan Givens series–which these three books come from–was turned into the FX TV series, Justified, then rebooted as Justified: City Primeval. The old Justified series was really good. I’m not so sure about the new series. There has only been one season, so I’m withholding judgement. The three books—Pronto, Riding the Rap, and Raylan—are all typical Elmore Leonard reads. They’re gritty, sexually-charged, exciting, and violent. And they all have Leonard’s trademark punchy dialogue. I’m not sure I could pick a favorite out of the three. They’re all good, and all quintessential Leonard.
6. Under The Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer – I have to make a confession about this book. When I bought it, I thought I was buying another book. Krakauer also wrote a book called Into Thin Air about the death of mountain climbers on Mount Everest. I got the titles mixed up and bought Under the Banner of Heaven by mistake. Thankfully, it turned into a happy mistake. Instead of reading about mountain climbing, I read about the rather dark history of the Mormon church. Krakauer is a terrific nonfiction author who really digs into a story and gets people who would prefer to remain quiet instead talk to him, spilling the inside information on scandals and controversies. That’s exactly what he did in this case, getting people who are currently inside the church, as well as those that were once inside and are now excommunicated, to talk about the history and the sins of the church and church members. The book is interesting and tells a tale of enlightened piousness, murder, and deceit. I still want to read Into Thin Air, but I’m glad I stumbled onto Under the Banner of Heaven.
5. The Good Life by Robert Waldinger & Marc Schulz– Waldinger is a professor at Harvard and he and Schultz are in charge of The Good Life study that has been going on for decades and through generations. The purpose of the study is to determine what makes a happy, fulfilling, good life. I don’t mean for this to be a spoiler, but you may be surprised to learn that things like money, power, prestige, and position don’t lead to a fulfilling life. So, what does? In a word: relationships. The most obvious relationship that leads to a happy life is a marriage. Married people are generally happier than single people. People who have a close relationship with their kids are happier than those that don’t. And people who surround themselves with friends and loved ones are happier than those that don’t have friends or who live far from their friends. All of this remains true, regardless of how much money the person makes, how much power or prestige they have, or what position or status they hold. It’s relationships that make all the difference. I found The Good Life fascinating, learning about the people involved in the studies, the lives they’ve lived, the relationships they’ve had, the relationships they’ve lost, and how it has impacted their happiness. If you want to read about what really leads to people living a goof life, I highly recommend The Good Life.
4. The Great State of West Florida by Kent Wascom – If you know much about Florida, you know that the panhandle—that stretch of land that juts out to the west at the top of the state, is unlike the rest of Florida. In fact, it has more in common with Alabama. But years ago, Alabama conceded the panhandle to Florida, believing that the land was worthless. Residents of the panhandle carry a chip on their shoulders, feeling rejected by Alabama, but not really a part of Florida. As a result, many years ago, a group of secessionists tried to start their own State of West Florida. Although the attempt failed, the spirit remains. Fast forward to 2026 and the Wolcott’s, a family of rowdy outlaws and dreamers, is once again leading the charge to liberate West Florida and create their own kingdom. The Great State of West Florida tells an entertaining story that takes place in a world that is barely different from our own, but grows more realistic every day.
3. How to Not Die Alone by Logan Ury – I’ve been reluctantly single for most of the past twelve years. During that time, I have experimented with several online dating sites, and I don’t have much good to say about any of them. I was commiserating with my friend Diana last winter when she recommended Logan Ury’s book, How to Not Die Alone. My expectations were low, but I was pleasantly surprised. How to Not Die Alone is part online dating guide and part relationship advice. Although Ury is thirty years younger than me, the vast majority of her advice applies to a 20-something as much as it does to someone my age. The one thing that has really stuck with me about the book is the fact that, while most of us think we know what we are looking for, very few of us actually know. Her advice: be open-minded. She uses her own experience as an example. She was certain that she was looking for a physically fit, tall, handsome man with thick dark hair and a brooding personality. She found guys that met that criteria, but they all treated her poorly and really weren’t that into her. So, who did she find happiness with? A shorter guy with thinning red hair and an average body. But she and her new love had a lot in common and he treated her well. They’ve been together for several years now. Thanks for the recommendation, Diana!
2. Shoulder Season by Christina Clancy – I went to a book fair in my little Wisconsin town this past year and I ended up in a seminar with Wisconsin author Christina Clancy. Prior to the book fair, I was not familiar with Clancy, who formerly taught at Beloit College. But I was impressed with the talk she gave, and we spoke briefly about her books, Shoulder Season and The Second Home. Because Shoulder Season takes place in Wisconsin, at the former Playboy resort in Lake Geneva, I decided to give it a read. The book tells the story of Sherri, a Lake Geneva local who is hired at the Playboy Resort and falls into the glitz, glamour, and party lifestyle of the resort employees. The book follows Sherri as she goes from a backwards, innocent yokel to a mature, worldly woman scarred by her experience, but wiser for it. I thoroughly enjoyed Shoulder Season, and I’m looking forward to reading The Second Home, as well as her forthcoming novel, The Snowbirds.
1. Tailspin by John Armbruster – I’m a sucker for a good World War II story, and Tailspin is an exceptional World War II story. The book tells the true story of tail gunner Gene Moran, who’s plane was shot out from under him. He fell out of the plane and through the sky without a parachute…and he survived. Moran was captured by German troops, his body battered and broken. He endured eighteen months in a prisoner of war camp, including surviving a 600-mile death march across central Europe. After the war, he returned home to Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin and, as best he could, tried to live a normal life. He married, had nine kids, and he never spoke about his experiences from the war. That is until a local history teacher, John Armbruster, hears the amazing story of Gene falling out of a plane with no parachute. John is amazed, and convinces Gene to talk about his experience. They begin meeting once a week to talk. At first, the going is slow. Gene is reluctant to revisit the pain he has kept hidden for nearly seventy years. At the same time, John’s wife is diagnosed with brain cancer. As John is telling Gene’s story of pain and survival, his own story of illness and loss is unfolding. Reading Gene’s painful story while John is living his own made for an emotional but wonderful read. Tailspin is the best book I read in 2024.
