Top Ten Books of 2024

I read 123 books in 2024! It is always hard to determine what my best ten books are for any year. This year is a little different in that I knew off the top of my head what the top ten five books were going to be. Please note that I am choosing books from among different genres for this list. The list includes mysteries, historical fiction and graphic novels. Among the genres, I read 59 mysteries, 22 historical fiction/historical mysteries, 26 graphic novels, and 10 nonfiction books. There were 6 additional books where I did not classify a genre. 5 of them were Amish fiction novels. In addition, 54 of the books that I read were new releases and 29 were written by new (to me) authors.

Now, for my top books of 2024:

10) The Champaign Letters by Kate McIntosh (historical fiction)

9)  The Phoenix Bride by Natasha Siegel (historical fiction)

8)  Agony in Amethyst by A. M. Stuart (historical mystery)

7) Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang (graphic novel)

6)  Tender by Beth Hetland (graphic novel)

5)  The Merchant's Tale by PK Adams (historical fiction)

4)  Twice on Christmas by McGarvey Black (mystery)

3). Such a Lovely Couple by Hayley Smith (psychological thriller)

2)  Under Water by Rachel Callaghan (historical mystery)

And my Number 1 book of the year is:

1)  Animal Pound by Tom King (graphic novel)

I have had a goal during the past two years to reduce the number of books that I read in a year. I think most years I have been reading over 200 books. With my recent retirement I am spending more time on my art and I have joined a senior group that offers lots of classes. I am trying to re-learn French, which I haven't studied in 50 years. I also am taking classes in art history and drawing. Also, I have begun taking more vacations and spent the month of October in Japan. In addition, I took up card making as well as collage. I have had many people ask if I was selling the cards and collages, which wasn't my intent. However, it's easy for me to create them so this will probably be a side hustle for me.  I am enjoying making art and reading in a more balanced manner than before.