goodreads choice 2024 (picks and thoughts for round one)

The Goodreads Choice Awards came out last night! And, surprising no one, there were a lot of really poor takes, bad calls, and questionable decisions. But there are officially 225 books that were released in 2024 for all of us to talk about and vote on.

I've read a total of 206 releases this year! (~30 of those were DNFs) And surprisingly, there are very few categories where I don't have anything to vote on from experience!

Even Fiction and Historical Fiction, which are really not my jam at all, are represented as I have a Fiction book in my favourites of the year, and a Historical Fiction in my holds on Libby (we'll see if I get to read it in time to vote, but my current eta is 10 weeks so I'm gonna say it's highly unlikely). But without further ado, here's my commentary on all the categories!

Note: all the bookcovers will link to their Goodreads pages if you wanna check em out further or add to your TBRs ;)

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f i c t i o n

Margo's Got Money Troubles was a surprisingly fun book that I absolutely fell in love with earlier this year. It's the only purely Contemporary Fiction I've ever read and wanted to own and re-read again. I think part of what really worked for me is how over the top the premise and characters are, so it almost feels like a speculative fiction. But also the humor just gets me and any book that makes me laugh gets a whole lot of bonus points and fond recollections. (Some people automatically give books that make them cry 5 stars, I'm generally the same for books that make me genuinely laugh out loud.)

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h i s t o r i c a l f i c t i o n

I haven't yet read James by Percival Everett, but it's the only Historical Fiction that's made it to my TBR. Now I haven't had a chance to rant about it yet on this blog, but I firmly believe that the "Classics" that are chosen to read during compulsory education are a big reason that most adults don't enjoy reading. They're dated and not relevant to modern issues and thoughts and sometimes the writing is just too esoteric. But James (at least based on the premise) sounds like exactly the sort of book I think should be used to replace them. It's the story of Huck Finn, but told from the perspective of the enslaved Black man in the original story.

So not only is the book in conversation with the original tale, but it has a lot to say about point of view, perspective, bias, how we write history, and whose stories get to be preserved and remembered. It's a story that demands that the reader engage with it critically and emphasizes how important the author and framing are; and it's exactly the sort of thing the next generation should be taught. I'm so incredibly hopeful that I'll end up loving and recommending it, because it's exactly what I want to see in the world.

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m y s t e r y t h r i l l e r

This category is always the same every year. Ruth Ware, Riley Sager, Frieda McFadden, Lucy Foley... there are some bestselling authors who publish a new book nearly every year so it's the same crowd time and again. yawn

I've only read two books in this category. The Society of Lies was an entirely pedestrian dark academia that I read the ARC of earlier this year. It had no teeth and so very little social commentary to offer. Sitting at a 3.61 avg rating, I don't think I'm the outlier in finding this debut forgettable and lackluster, but somehow it's been on a ton of Goodreads list this year (nepotism? Princeton connections?).

The other book I read was We Solve Murders which I really enjoyed but didn't love. There were certainly some moments that tickled me, but I also wasn't expecting it to be a new fav as I felt The Thursday Murder Club was also the weakest book in the series. Osman needs time to let his characters cook and I'm okay with waiting patiently. But it was a solid read and I'm happy to vote for it.

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r o m a n c e

I'm not big on Romance, but to me this seems like a solid selection. We all know Emily Henry will win, but then you have a lot of popular authors like Abby Jimenez, Ali Hazelwood, Tia Williams, Elsie Silver, Ana Huang, and Casey McQuiston. I've seen that cowboy series everywhere this year, so it makes sense to see it on the awards list too. The only one that's a bit of a weirdo is The Cinnamon Bun Book Store which doesn't feel Romance nor popular enough to be on this list.

I was a bit torn between Bride by Ali Hazelwood and Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez as my pick for this year. While JFTS lives in my head rent free, it also has a lot of Contemporary elements that are less my cuppa. And Bride has the fantasy elements I love and it's one of the few books where I immediately wanted to re-read it the moment I finished! So ultimately Ali gets my vote.

Mr Shelf Note: he was very amused that Ali Hazelwood and Kirsty Greenwood are both authors on this list-- they're both 'name-ending-in-ee colorwood'

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r o m a n t a s y

I didn't publish it, but my predictions for Romantasy were:

• House of Flame and Shadow

• Bride

• When the Moon Hatched

• Heartless Hunter (The Crimson Moth in the UK)

• A Fate Inked in Blood

• The Spellshop

• Quicksilver

• Apprentice to the Villain

I'm pleased that all of my picks made it to the awards, but a little surprised that Bride ended up in the Romance category and The Spellshop was in Fantasy. Bride is definitely the more surprising of the two, and I'm guessing it's mostly based on the author's name and backlog (much like how Stephen King ends up in Horror no matter what he writes).

Looking at the picks and my general enjoyment/interest in them, I think it's safe to say that the current Romantasy market isn't really for me. I DNF'd The Honey Witch, A Dark and Drowning Tide, and The Games Gods Play (that last one I did a fairly long review and quotes of on Goodreads cause hoo boy did it wind me up!) I both loved and hated aspects of The Spellshop, and while I didn't like Faebound I also think it belongs in the Fantasy category and is wildly out of place among these picks. (I still want to give Quicksilver a try, though!)

My surprising hit was Phantasma by Kaylie Smith. It's this weird little dark historical fantasy about a deadly competition in a gothic manor and is so, so clearly Danny Phantom fanfic. I had a blast reading the ARC (when I honestly expected to DNF it). No, it's not revolutionary... but it was fun! And I already have the sequel preordered.

If I could add a few titles to this list that I loved this year, it'd be The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love by India Holton and The Maid and the Crocodile by Jordan Ifueko. Ornithologist's is an absolute over the top, silly romp of a fourth-wall breaking humorous book that knows exactly what it is and is completely unapologetic. And yes, I'm kinda breaking the rules since Ifueko's new book is technically YA, but it's my blog! I do what I want! And I loved this West African version of Ten Thousand Stitches with a strong emphasis on being disabled in a world not built for you and a whole lot of heart.

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f a n t a s y

Despite only reading 7 of these titles in Fantasy, I'm actually quite chuffed with the picks. Only 4 of my predictions didn't make it to round one, so that's not too bad! And all 4 were at the bottom of my list since they were the ones I was least confident about. The only nominations that feel like outliers to me are An Academy for Liars (very low rating and reads a lot like YA) and Voyage of the Damned (not a low rating, but also a generally lukewarm reception with no buzz and similarly reads hella YA).

Emily Wilde's my girl, but in another year I could've happily voted for The Tainted Cup or The Dead Cat Tail Assassins or A Sorceress Comes to Call. They're all really strong reads!

I would've liked to see more diversity (roughly 20% of the authors are bipoc and maybe 20% are queer) and maybe an extra debut or two, but most of the picks make sense. Arguably the new Deborah Harkness is Romantasy (it's in the same series as A Discovery of Witches), and The Lost Story and The Book of Doors seem more Literary/Magical Realism than Fantasy, but I don't think either has a big following that will draw votes away from the deserving nominees.

Feels like I should have more to say about my primary category, but I really don't. Well, apart from: fuck Jay Kristoff.

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s c i e n c e f i c t i o n

This is definitely a category where I think there were some big missteps. I'm not surprised to see James A Corey, Jeff Vandermeer, Adrian Tchaikovsky, John Marrs, or Jasper Fforde here. But wtf is The Ministry of Time doing in this category?!

I was even talking earlier this week with some folks who called this their favourite book of the year, and we could all agree that it just has the lightest dusting of scifi for the premise and does not engage with scifi in any other way. Literary? Absolutely. Romance? Arguments could be made! Scifi? Wtf no. And it's a real shame too, since it has double the ratings of the next highest book (Annie Bot by Sierra Greer, a book on my TBR) so it'll obviously sweep and win the category.

But I think it should be really obvious that that means it was entirely misplaced! Scifi books just don't pull huge numbers. The genre is more niche than even Fantasy. So to see the big names --authors who have had their series turned into big Hollywood movies and TV shows-- unable to stand their ground against this debut? I'm so sorry to all the Scifi lovers out there-- Goodreads Choice did you dirty this year.

To make it up to you a little, here are some of the Scifi I liked best this year (note: On Vicious Worlds and We Speak Through the Mountain are both second books in a series that will be a trilogy or more).

And OH MY GOD HOW COULD I FORGET Those Beyond the Wall by Micaiah Johnson! The Space Between Worlds was my absolute favourite book of 2021, and this sequel is so incredible. It's like the angry younger sibling to TSBW, written after Johnson's time spent getting more involved in activism and protests.

I think in all that ranting I forgot to mention the books I've actually read in this category! I DNF'd The Ministry of Time and stayed away from Service Model on purpose (but Mr Shelf picked it up and ended up DNFing it) so I can't really speak to a lot of the picks in Scifi this year.

HOWEVER I did pick up and fall in love with the audio ARC for The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei. If you like heists and strange, lovable aliens and scrappy ne'er-do-wells; if you like intergalactic epics with multiple alien locations and spaceship battles; if you like a dash of sass and humor while still engaging with heavy concepts like communication between fundamentally alien cultures and grey morality and the costs of expansion-- pick this up! I thought the characters in this were delightful, the ~magic system actually made me kind of like one of my least favourite tropes, the villains were logical and sympathetic, and the ending gave me some elements that have been absolute brain candy to me for my entire life. (It's also got a real Stargate vibe with the use of this intergalactic highway of connected portals that were set in place by an ancient, alien race.)

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h o r r o r

Another category where it generally seems like what you'd expect. Stephen King, Stephen Graham Jones (x2!), Josh Malerman, and Simone St. James (even when this is legit one of the most panned books I've seen this year) are all present and accounted for. It's nice to see some debuts like We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer and The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim have been getting some good buzz and made it to the first round.

My fav horrors from this year are too small to have been considered, so I'm not too mad they're missing. But if I could highlight a few more books I would add:

Rest Stop by Nat Cassidy which is a weird, short, grungy, indie, funny little horror novel that, as a member of the Jewish diaspora, made me feel seen in ways no book has before. DO NOT READ IF you have fears of creepy crawlies.

The Specimen by Jaima Fixsen that's a historical horror which is one part Stranger Things (primarily in the storylines for the adults: Joyce and Hopper) and one part Burke & Hare. Historical Fiction is not my genre of choice, but this was stunningly written and captivated me from the beginning.

We Kept Her in the Cellar by WR Gorman which is a Cinderella retelling if the stepsister was sympathetic and acting rationally, and Cinderella was an eldritch horror.

Someone You Can Build a Nest In by Jon Wiswell that is probably(?) my favourite book of 2024 and I will probably(?) do a full post on eventually. It's a cozy, sapphic horromantasy with some great ace rep from a debut ace author. It's all about love and traumatic families and breaking the cycles of abuse... but also knights and monsters and a blue bear named Blueberry.

As for the books I did read in this category-- I thought What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher was a decent book that was truly hampered by being part of a connected series; it should've just been a standalone. So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison was fun, but I didn't love it the way I'd hoped to (but still enjoyed it enough that I want to own it). My Darling Dreadful Thing by Joanna van Veen was a hauntingly beautiful and mournful foreign debut that truly deserves more praise and attention.

But I have 0 qualms voting for Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle. This is such a good, summer-action-movie sort of horror. It's got a lot of Hollywood and a lot of weird and a whole heaping helping of closeted queer rep.

One thing I appreciate about Horror picks for this year is that there's a fair amount of diversity among the authors.

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d e b u t

The nice thing about this category is that I already got my thoughts out about my reads elsewhere! There are only two additions that weren't represented in earlier categories: Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon (one of my fav covers of 2024 but ultimately a DNF because somehow I thought it'd be a nonfiction and instead it was a genre that's severely not for me) and my pick for Debut: Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi.

Masquerade is a loose Hades and Persephone retelling set in 15th century West Africa. I thought it was incredibly well-written and the narrator did a stunning job with the audiobook (so much so that it's hard for me to tease apart my feelings to just the book itself). It's another rare case where it's so low fantasy as to essentially be Historical Fiction in a made up setting, but the story and characters were so good that I barely noticed and didn't mind at all.

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a u d i o b o o k

What a stupid ass waste of a category. Like I don't mind that we lost Humor from last year, because nobody cared about that. But I would have loved to see the Nonfiction (Nature and Science) or Children's categories make a comeback instead of this mishegas.

Audiobooks count as books; auditory reading is still reading. There have been some great strides made in production quality and voice acting and general improvements in the industry (and the sheer volume of books they're able to put in this format, too). I'm glad that can receive some recognition!

BUT I just don't see a good way right now to separate the production from the text, especially not in the current Goodreads website and Goodreads Choice Awards voting format. My Goodreads Choice Awards 2025 prediction right now is that this category will not be around next year.

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y o u n g a d u l t f a n t a s y

No way is Wisteria by Adalyn Grace going to win (not when it has a measly 15k ratings and Reckless has 235k and Ruthless Vows has 280k), but it was one of my favourite books this year and I'm so happy I get to vote for it.

In the same way that Romantasy started dominating the Fantasy genre before they gave it its own category last year, I'm sensing a similar vibe in YA. And that's a shame. As much as I personally enjoyed Heartless Hunter and The Prisoner's Throne, this category seems dominated by adult crossover appeal and book boxes and Romantasy picks.

It's good that they have diversity in the category, and even some Horror-leaning titles as well, but if I was a teen right now I think I'd feel very disappointed. When I was first getting back into reading in 2020, I looked through all the past nominees of the Goodreads Choice Awards. It's a great little time capsule to see what was popular in that year, and which books are still being talked about years later. Sure it helps to keep up with the popular reads but also -hopefully- diversify some of your TBR with books you've never heard of before. It just feels like the YA categories are trying to pack in so much that you lose the opportunity to find something new or obscure. Which is sad.

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y o u n g a d u l t f i c t i o n

This is so severely not my genre that I'm shocked I've even read two. But That's Not My Name by Megan Lally absolutely deserves to be here. Not only is this a debut, but it single-handedly made me question if my previous dislike for Thrillers was because I find Adult Thrillers so dull and it's actually YA Thrillers I should be paying attention to: cause this book slaps. Everything about it was so competently written that I struggled to remember it was a debut. And even though the premise for Lally's new YA Thriller in 2025 doesn't appeal at all, she's gained enough goodwill from me that I'll probably be onboard for at least the next 3 things she releases.

Oh! You know what? I do have another book that would fit in this genre and also is in my Best Books of 2024 list and that's The Girl in Question by Tess Sharpe. This is again a YA Thriller (I really think I'm on to something here) and is the sequel to The Girls I've Been which is one of my favourite books of all time. I loved everything about this follow-up, have already read it twice, and will be reading it a third time this year in December.

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n o n f i c t i o n / m e m o i r / h i s t o r y & b i o g r a p h y

I've truly got nothing to say about the History & Biography category, and only the one book in Memoir, but at least it was a good one. Sociopath by Patric Gagne was a very compelling and compulsively readable book. While some of it seems a bit far-fetched or exaggerated for the case of the book, it has a really strong narrative element and some fascinating subject matter. I couldn't put it down and surprisingly learned a lot.

For nonfiction I didn't read too many 2024 releases, and over half of them I wouldn't really recommend. Vulture Capitalism by Grace Blakeley and Legacy by Uché Blackstock, MD were both solid reads that didn't make it to the opening round of nominees (respectively about corporate exploitation of capitalism and America's racist medical practices and history).

Of the actual nominees: I hated Supercommunicators by Charles Duhigg, still need to read All in Her Head by Elizabeth Comen, MD, and would currently vote for It's Not Hysteria by Karen Tang, MD, MPH. I honestly think everyone should read It's Not Hysteria, regardless of their life stage and sex/gender because it has so much useful and actionable information about women's bodies and common diagnoses, treatment, healthcare, and advocacy.

But I haven't voted here yet because I think that The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates has the potential to be my new fav. (I currently have it checked out from the library, maybe I'll update this post below after I've read it)

In case y'all haven't heard about it yet, this book has really been ruffling feathers and there were some truly incredible interviews he took part in while on tour to promote his new book. As a Black man living in America (and honestly just as a human being with any smidge of education and empathy), it should come as no surprise that Coates is morally opposed to an apartheid state, segregation, and slavery. But hoo boy! Folks are NOT happy that he's made connections to what's currently happening in Gaza, based on his time spent on the ground there. And while it's supposedly a very small segment of the book, man has it dominated the discourse.

Watching him speak about his book, especially in the conditions he's been placed in, while maintaining his composure and well-articulated and supported arguments has only hyped me up to read it even more. I love that he's willing to call out the racism and not dance around the attacks lobbied at him.

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Overall this year was a lot of what I expect to see and I feel like my predictions were pretty on point. Certain categories are over-represented, books that received the most marketing and promotion (from subscription book boxes to celebrity book clubs) have a strong hold over the nominees, and there's always at least one category that truly makes you wonder who's in charge and making these decisions.

At the end of the day, this is one of my favourite times of year to generate discussion about the best books we've read and are excited for.

What books will you be voting for? Do you have any darlings you wish had been nominated? Is there a nomination that just makes you so mad? Let me know in the comments! And don't forget to vote!