List
2024 Staff Picks: Literary Fiction
Our expert staff members look back at the year and share their favorite titles.
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I Hope This Finds You Well
2024 by Sue, NatalieGet this itemWe could not put this book down. It was heartfelt, laugh out loud funny, and often anxiety inducing. An office drama with a hidden love story, it also touches on mental health. Suggested by Brenna, Monica, Sheena, and Suzanne.
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The Ministry of Time
2024 by Bradley, KalianeGet this itemThis winning debut deftly blends time travel and romance into something sneaky and delightful. And while the time travel aspect launches the book, we most loved the slow-burn chemistry and romance between its leads, a 19th-century explorer rescued from the past, and his modern civil servant guide. Smart, sexy, fun, and utterly delightful. Recommended by Brenna, Chris, Rummanah, and Suzanne.
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Fire Exit
2024 by Talty, MorganGet this itemHow do you define a community? What makes you belong to one? Morgan Talty writes a powerful and poignant story of belonging, dislocation, regret, and legacy. Suggested by Rummanah.
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Mina's Matchbox
2024 by Ogawa, YōkoGet this itemI love how Yoko Ogawa chose to lean into imagery and sense of place more than plot in this story. The book doesn’t rush and takes its time in setting up all of its nostalgic and melancholic goodness. Suggested by Paul.
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Someone Like Us
2024 by Mengestu, DinawGet this itemI wasn’t entirely sure what I thought of this book when I finished it. It’s a slim work of fiction, layered with family secrets where truth is always just out of reach. The protagonist is a journalist haunted by an immigrant past he can’t fully grasp and the story reflects this via fragmented realities, strange detours, and a powerful sense of displacement and dissociation…all of which to say, this is a deeply unreliable narrator. What won me over and has lingered is this strangeness, of how disconcertingly unknowable each of us is to both ourselves and to others. Suggested by Chris.
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The Alternatives
2024 by Hughes, CaoilinnGet this itemI'm a sucker for a character-driven story about sisters, and this one set in Ireland hits all the beats of funny, heartfelt, zany, and poignant. An eldest sister goes missing and the remaining three teaming up to find her makes for a compelling plot. Suggested by Amy K.
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The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years
2024 by Khan, ShubnumGet this itemAn exquisitely written neo-gothic novel that contains a ghost story, a mystery, and a love story with a fabulous cast of characters. Highly recommended for fans of Isabelle Allende, Alice Hoffman, and Diane Setterfield. Suggested by Rummanah.
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Housemates
2024 by Eisenberg, Emma CopleyGet this itemI loved the weaving of histories and identities of both the younger and older generations of queer folk, and the exploration of separation between the artist and their art. Suggested by Suzanne.
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Interesting Facts About Space
2024 by Austin, Emily R.Get this itemI really thought this book was going to be a light read with such a quirky title, but it was a heady story filled with trauma. It's a strange and emotional story that touches on mental health, dysfunctional family relationships, and queer dating. Suggested by Sheena.
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Zero Stars: Do Not Recommend
2024 by Wassmer, M JGet this itemI loved this book because the main character is such a relatable person, with his flaws also seen as strengths. The wit and humor throughout the book made the existential anxiety of the end of the world plot bearable and extremely readable, not to mention the social-emotional and socioeconomic look at who gets a voice at the end of the world. Suggested by Suzanne.
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Anita De Monte Laughs Last
2024 by Gonzalez, XochitlGet this itemA rich and complex story of art, power, identity, the systems that force marginalized people into small boxes, and the resistance to overcome limitations and to take up space. Suggested by Rummanah.
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Margo's Got Money Troubles
2024 by Thorpe, RufiGet this itemWe loved everything about this book. The characters are relatable, but also unconventional, as is the overall story. Hilarious while also heartbreaking, you will be rooting for Margo throughout the story. Suggested by Brenna and Sheena.
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The Husbands
2024 by Gramazio, HollyGet this itemI loved the way the author explored commitment in such a twisty way that made me want to keep reading to find out what and who would be next. Suggested by Suzanne.
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River East, River West
2024 by Lescure, Aube ReyGet this itemThis poignant and thought-provoking debut interrogates what it means to struggle with the consequences of ambition and the difficult search for belonging. While the characters aren't necessarily likable, I appreciated their candor and complexity. I was impressed how this debut took a different approach on both the traditional immigrant and coming-of-age novels. Suggested by Rummanah.
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Real Americans
2024 by Khong, RachelGet this itemI found this book to be beautifully written. I loved that it was written in multiple points of view, allowing you to really get to know each character. A family saga that explores identity, success, love, and more. Suggested by Sheena.
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Table for Two
2024 by Towles, AmorGet this itemI truly enjoyed this fabulous collection of short stories. I loved that I could finish one in about an hour or two and be thoroughly engrossed in the characters and storyline in such a short time. Each story was unique and memorable, not a dud in the bunch! Suggested by Judy.
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The Body Farm
2024 by Geni, AbbyGet this itemI enjoyed this collection of short stories from the author because of the unique way she incorporates nature into most of her storytelling. My favorite story within this book is "Across, Beyond, Through," which I thought was extremely tender and timely with the need to protect trans kids. Suggested by Suzanne.
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A Short Walk Through a Wide World
2024 by Westerbeke, DouglasGet this itemAn engrossing magical realism novel that reminds us that it’s not the destination that matters but the journey. I really liked the storytelling aspect of this book--kind of a nesting doll approach and exploring the different parts of the world and the people that Aubrey meets. Suggested by Rummanah.
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Beautyland
2024 by Bertino, Marie-HeleneGet this itemI thought this book was clever, witty, and a real joy to read and imagine observations from an alien among us who is relatable in their strangeness of self and observation. Suggested by Suzanne.
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The Guncle Abroad
2024 by Rowley, StevenGet this itemI loved this book because I laughed out loud for much of it, all while enjoying the tender-heartedness of the main characters. Suggested by Suzanne.
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Digging Stars
2023 by Tshuma, Novuyo RosaGet this itemA lifelong yearning for connection with the astronomer father she barely knew propels Athandwa “Rosa” Siziba from Zimbabwe to Iowa and an elite STEM program. The author's overachieving characters keep finding their complicated identities compressed to fit the American racial binary, even as they grapple with questions like Can the exploration of space be something other than a retread of colonialism on Earth? The title is the Bantu name for the Pleiades. Suggested by Andrew.
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Blackouts
2023 by Torres, JustinGet this itemI loved the blending of history and fiction in this book that digs into queer history. Suggested by Suzanne.
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Orbital
2023 by Harvey, SamanthaGet this itemOrbital--which I consumed in two sittings--doesn't really feel like a novel. It’s more like a kind of prose poem, less interested in telling a story than in capturing the sheer strangeness of human beings being in outer space...and of the planet below them that is “the answer to every question.” Suggested by Andrew.
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