1. The Most Pleasant Surprise
The Pleasure of My Company
Comedian Steve Martin’s first-person narration by a neurodivergent person of this lovely piece of fiction was a revelation. I knew he could be funny but this went far beyond that.

2. Made Me Laugh Loudest (tie)
Rental Person Who Does Nothing and
My Life and Hard Times
Two completely different approaches to humor, but they both made me laugh out loud, repeatedly.

3. Best Duo
David Copperfield and
The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep
A great classic followed by a clever and creative modern fantasy into which Uriah Heep, among other characters, is woven.

4. Most Engaging
The Daughter of Time
This was a slow starter that turned into the book that riveted me more than any other this year. And it completely turned my interpretation of a historic mystery around 180 degrees.

5. Best History
Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens
An excellent history of the kings and queens of England, incorporating humor that never becomes crude or annoying. Quite a feat!

6. Most Atmospheric
After Dark
The haunting tale of half a dozen interwoven characters over the course of one night in Tokyo.

7. Best Memoir
The Puma Years
A young English woman’s experiences in Bolivia working with rescued wildlife. This book does a better job of illustrating the impact of deforestation and climate change than anything else I have read.

8. Quirky Pleasure
Bilgewater
The unusual daughter of an unusual professor at an unusual (but not magic!) boarding school has experiences that might be run-of-the-mill, except she is the one having them. Sent both me and the friend I gave this book to down a rabbit hole of reading this author’s work.

9. Opened Up a New World
This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You
This unusual book by a sound engineer, music producer, and neurologist explains why people enjoy the music they do, illustrated by musical examples that can be listened to on YouTube. Completely fascinating.

10. Best Biography
The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World
The ideas of this brilliant polymath influenced everyone he met, from Wordsworth, Thoreau, and Mark Twain to Simón Bolivar, Thomas Jefferson, Goethe and Darwin. He truly created the idea of the world as “nature” and should be familiar to everyone today.

11. Best Science Fiction
The Bobiverse
I read the first book in this series, We Are Legion (We Are Bob), last year, but read through all four books in the series this year. What clever, original, thought-provoking, and funny science fiction.

12. Best of 2024 Overall
The Paper Garden: Mrs. Delany Begins Her Life's Work at 72
Mrs. Delany is another person who deserves to be known far and wide. She invented the art of mixed media collage, and she was sought out and befriended by the likes of Jonathan Swift, George Frideric Handel, and the entire English royal family. Her life is fascinating; this book was a joy to read