My Top 6 Books of 2024

Sharing my favourite non-fiction and fiction reads of the year

Listen to me read the post above. ⬆️

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Notes from a Kindred Spirit is a bi-weekly newsletter about embracing curiosity, exploring hobbies, living with chronic illness, and finding contentment in the everyday.

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Hi friends,

I love a good book roundup, don’t you??

Last year I shared my top 6 reads of 2023, and I’ve decided to make this a tradition so here we are.

If you missed my last post, I wrote a roundup of all the reading tips I shared here on Notes from a Kindred Spirit in 2024. You can read it here ⬇️

Becoming a Bibliophile

I’d love to hear about your favourite read from last year. If it’s hard to pick one (I get it!), maybe share your favourite fiction and non-fiction? I’ll meet you in the comments!

Now, without further ado… 🥁

From My Shelf to Yours

Non-fiction

Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman | Self-help | Published in 2021

Subtitled Time Management for Mortals, Oliver Burkeman’s book invites us to face the fact that no matter what kind of productivity systems or hacks we use, we will never have enough time to do everything we want to or think we should.

So instead of trying to do it all, we should focus on what actually matters to us. Burkeman shares wisdom from ancient and contemporary philosophers, psychologists, and spiritual teachers, with dashes of his own humour and practicality to help us let go of the fear of not having enough time.

My Thoughts

I absolutely loved this book. It was exactly what I needed to read when I read it, and I highlighted so many passages to return to.

I appreciate that this is not another self-help book stuffed with productivity/time management hacks and ways to optimize your time down to the millisecond. The book helped shift my perspective to realize how freeing it is to accept the reality that doing everything is utterly impossible. As Burkeman illustrates, it’s freeing to acknowledge your own finitude.

I also found it helpful to understand how we’ve developed the relationship with time that we currently struggle with, and how shifting our perspective and understanding of the concept of time will help us live more fully. Read this book!

Trigger warnings: death

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah | Memoir | Published in 2016

As the subtitle, Stories from a South African Childhood suggests, this memoir focuses heavily on Trevor’s childhood and teenage years and doesn’t really delve into his career.

Trevor was born to a white father and a black mother at a time when such a union was illegal. Even with the end of apartheid and the abolishing of the law that made his parents’ act illegal, Trevor still struggled to figure out where he belonged in a society whose racial groups he didn’t neatly fit into.

His relationship with his mother is also a large focus of his story as he shares the adventures they’d go on together and the pranks he would pull and then be punished for.

My Thoughts

I don’t love rating memoirs, and I’m not really familiar with Trevor’s career, but I raced through his book very quickly. There was a great balance between the comedic moments of his childhood and the seriousness of some of the trials he and his mom endured.

I also learned so much about apartheid, a period of time that I, admittedly, didn’t know a lot about. Learning about apartheid through the firsthand experiences of Trevor and his mother as well as his reflections on that time as an adult, left a lasting impression.

My only complaint about the book is that, at times, I found it difficult to discern what age he was in a chapter because it was not structured chronologically.

Overall, I highly recommend this book!

Trigger warnings: domestic abuse, racism, gun violence, alcoholism, violence

Fiction

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver | Literary fiction | Published in 2022

Demon was born in a trailer to a teenage mother with addiction issues. His father was dead and his future looked anything but bright.

In this novel, inspired by Dickens’ David Copperfield, Demon tells his story of survival. He shares candidly, and with an acerbic wit, about his experiences in the foster care system, being forced into child labour, becoming a high school football star, dealing with drug addiction, a life-shattering love, and more.

My Thoughts

I’m struggling to articulate what drew me so deeply into this book, which makes it tricky to write a review!

Yes, it’s a longer book, but it just grabbed ahold of me and wouldn’t let go. I think that’s a testament to Barbara Kingsolver’s writing. Demon felt so real to me, and I was enthralled listening to him tell his story.

I have never read David Copperfield, so I didn’t know what I was getting into, but the depths of the poverty and the gut-wrenching feelings of anger and despair were a wake-up call to what the opioid crisis in southern Appalachia has wrought. I will be thinking about Demon and his story for a long time to come.

Trigger warnings: drug abuse, addiction, death of parent, death, child abuse, abortion, miscarriage, suicide

Photo by Jingxi Lau on Unsplash

The Celestial Wife by Leslie Howard | Canadian author | Historical fiction | Published in 2024

WOW, I raced through this book!

In 1964 we meet Daisy, a 15-year-old girl living in the polygamist community of Redemption in British Columbia. When the day of Daisy’s Placement comes, she is wed against her will, to a man forty years older than her, and her best friend, Brighten, doesn’t fare much better. The two girls decide to escape to the nearest town but things don’t go as planned.

As an adult, Daisy has been able to make a life of freedom for herself, but she feels called to save the women she left behind. Can she keep her independence while facing her past to show the women of Redemption that there is another way?

My Thoughts

I’ll be honest and say that I find high-control groups fascinating, so I was already interested in the subject matter before I started reading.

It’s abundantly clear that the author did a ton of research for this novel, and I appreciated her lengthy author’s note at the end where she details her process.

Everything about the time period of the late 60s and the polygamist community was detailed in a way that made the setting feel very authentic. The music, Wolfman Jack (a well-known real-life radio DJ), and the hippy vibes of peace and love all brought the 60s to life.

The same can be said for the details of Redemption, such as the large houses with lots of sister wives looking after so many children, the patriarchal nature of the community, and the strained relationships the women had with each other.

This novel can be categorized as a coming-of-age story for Daisy. She’s 15 when she escapes Redemption and we get to follow along on her journey of self-discovery into adulthood. Freedom from the suppression of the polygamist religion allows her to learn more about herself, what she wants, and who she wants to be. I loved watching her grow throughout the novel. The theme of found family is also prominent as Daisy looks for support in her transition to the outside world, and again when she sets out to free the women of Redemption.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and now I plan to read Leslie Howard’s first novel too!

Trigger warnings: bullying, confinement, adult/minor relationships, child rape, sexual assault, cult, miscarriage, misogyny

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas | Romantasy | Published in 2021

This is the 5th book (and the longest!) in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. The story centres on Cassian, the Illyrian warrior, and Nesta, Feyre’s newly-fae sister.

Nesta is deeply struggling to accept her new life and the mistakes she sees as unforgivable failures. But as enemies of the Night Court begin acting suspiciously, Nesta is forced to train with Cassian to prepare her to battle her inner demons and those that threaten the court.

My Thoughts

As expected, this book was another wild ride from Sarah J. Maas, but the themes of acceptance, healing, and forgiveness anchored it and made it relatable. Nesta is a complicated character and far from a heroine, so I’m glad we got to explore her inner world in this book.

And, of course, I love the verbal sparring between her and Cassian! The action really picked up in part 4 and I raced to the end! It was a satisfying conclusion and I’m excited to see where Nesta’s story goes from here.

Trigger warnings: sexual content, violence, rape, alcoholism, high-risk pregnancy, death of a parent, torture, suicidal thoughts

The Last Dragon of the East by Katrina Kwan | Canadian author | Fantasy | Published in 2024

In this debut fantasy inspired by Chinese myths, we meet 25-year-old Sai. Since his father’s death, Sai has spent his days caring for his mother and keeping the family teahouse afloat. But as the emperor’s war drags on, the number of customers is quickly dwindling.

So, Sai has turned his gift into a side hustle to bring in extra money. He has the ability to see the red threads of fate that connect soulmates and he’ll take clients to meet their soulmate—for a price. But there’s something wrong with his own thread—it’s gray and fraying.

Ignoring his thread, Sai focuses on his mother’s ailing health instead. He purchases a pair of dragon scales from his mother’s doctor who claims they’re a miracle cure, but Sai isn’t so sure. He gives the dragon scales to his mother and watches her health improve right before his eyes, but the brutal emperor has learned of the cure and sends Sai on a dangerous mission to find the dragon he’d always believed to be extinct.

My Thoughts

This fast-paced adventure had me sucked into the story immediately! I kept turning the pages, rooting for Sai and his Fated One.

There was so much action as they encountered many new foes on their journey. Sai’s resilience is tested many times and he has to learn to step into his power if he wants to repair his fraying Thread of Fate.

I also enjoyed the mini-chapters that wove in the dragon mythology and piqued my curiosity about where the story was heading.

The only complaint I have is about how the dialogue for one of the characters from a southern territory was written—it was a bit off-putting. But I’m definitely excited to see what’s coming next from this author!

Trigger warnings: injury/injury detail, kidnapping, blood, violence, death, animal death, child abuse

Over to you! What was your favourite read of 2024? Hit reply to this email and let me know or leave a comment!

Happy reading,

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