11 books you need to read in 2024 *fiction*

[@diagonall_y]

0:39 - Sula by Toni Morrison 2:40 - Alone With You In The Ether by Olivie Blake 4:19 - Mayflies by Andrew O'Hagan 5:20 - Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson 6:29 - By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept by Elizabeth Smart 8:06 - Almond by Won-Pyung Sohn 10:13 - In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado 11:28 - There There by Tommy Orange 13:30 - Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart 14:58 - The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy 16:16 - Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan edit: hi, i would really appreciate it if u would recommend more books for me to read in 2024 if u see this

[@lilkakow]

Writers and lovers, Piranesi,Who runs the frog hospital, Light from uncommon stars, Self portrait in green,Count Luna, Sunburn by Chloe Michelle howarth and the broken earth trilogy by n.k.jemisin

[@lilbeans]

Any specific genres?

[@bikashnath01]

Hey buddy, here's a book recommendation for you - it's called "Before the Coffee Gets Cold" series by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. It's a short story book where people come into a restaurant where they can time travel to the past or to the future.

[@emptythoughts3060]

A very happy new year to especially you!!

[@chacha-ox9wv]

i'm reading 'A Tale for the time being' by Ruth Ozeki rn and I'm loooving it. Highly recommend!

[@joeawad4325]

You just know whenever Jack mentions Toni Morrison the words “the Human Condition” will soon follow

[@SuryanshiAgrawal]

Could analyze the 'men written by woman' and the 'women written by men' trope in books? It would be so awesome to hear you speaking on authors' unrealistic (and sometimes even sexist) expectations of the opposite gender.

[@majacervin8867]

Yess!!!

[@twosunies]

This would be interesting!

[@emptythoughts3060]

💯💯💯

[@meganlsanders]

I find this so interesting and hadn't given it a thought until my mum said she doesn't read books by male authors. She couldn't give me a reason why (I think she just thinks it's a coincidence) but after discussing the idea with my friend we realised that too often, male writers don't write women well. It's something I really look for now when I read male authors

[@fluffg-nx7ns]

That would be sooo interesting to watch for sure!!

[@juanfa98]

love how poetic and dramatic are Jack's reviews on books he likes

[@DrawtheCurtains]

Bro expects me to read 11 books in a day and a half???

[@scarlett2692]

LMAO

[@anuththaraherath9714]

He said “make them your tbr in 2024”

[@jonthasnas]

Better start quick !!

[@jonthasnas]

​@@anuththaraherath9714 The title is 2023 😅

[@jo.mb97]

😂😂 same thought

[@nothingtoseehere316]

“As I pulled to Tokyo station, I turned the final page”- this is pure poetry and could and a great book opening line- Happy New Year

[@Ida2170]

“hurts your heart but also expands your soul” yep, that’s exactly the subgenre I gravitate to

[@michellesiderio1010]

Leads to the bottle….. let me go….

[@jibby1986]

My wife and I should have left for a New Years’ trip 90 minutes ago, but she is predictably not ready. Thanks for letting me pass the time while she gets ready. And thanks for all the videos throughout the year. Happy New Year to Jack and his book community!

[@hellohellohi18]

idk why but this comment made me so happy

[@weammessead5271]

also me​@@hellohellohi18

[@isla.g]

hope you and your wife have a nice trip :)

[@hugitkissitloveit8640]

I'm panicked Did you make it in time ? 😅

[@jibby1986]

@@hugitkissitloveit8640 Yes, we did. With 23 minutes to spare to be precise :)

[@thatmediocreartist1234]

I just recently got Emma and I'm so excited to start reading. I only got it because I've heard such good things and this channel has expanded my literary horizons so much. So, just thank you

[@Emmy-rw8yl]

I LOVE Jane Austen!! But for me personally Emma wasn’t my favourite of the books I’ve read by her. (Maybe a 4 stars, which is still high) I really really loved pride and prejudice and persuasion which were both 5 stars so if you like Emma I’d recommend to read those books as well❤❤

[@CricketGirl33]

I read Emma in 2023 for the first time, and I liked it a lot! Hope you like it too. I've bought Persuasion as well, but still haven't gotten around to reading it.

[@Mario-p2h6g]

I loved that book. I recently found another KZbin channel very intresting that suggested Mansfield Park and I'm going to read it this weekend. The channel is called IntoTheBooks23. She's good at what she does.

[@karismithasasidran9430]

Alone With You In The Ether is my all time fav book!!! And seeing that Jack analyzing a beautiful book, in a beautiful way is such a blessing!

[@mitalishinde6890]

I generally do not enjoy romance books but Alone with you in the ether is the only romance book I enjoyed reading.

[@NovelFindsByKassi]

I also read Almond this year and was blown away by it. Thanks for doing what you do!

[@emilysaunders1424]

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke was the first book I read in 2023, and it was also my favorite! Highly recommend to anyone who likes dark academia with fantasy elements! It's also a pretty quick read

[@_dandaramr]

i just love the way Jack describes the books

[@Beyond_Reads_]

Yes😊

[@abbie3540]

i’ve been lucky enough to read sula in two different classes and truly every time i read it i get so much more from it, genuinely the best book i have ever read

[@shruteeh07]

You should definitely try some NEW authors this year... 1. The kite runner 2. The thousand splendid suns 3. Malgudi days 4. Mahabharata unravelled 5. The pearl that broke it's shell 6. The palace of illusions Love from India ❤

[@trueservitude]

Kite runner and thousand splendid suns are both by Khaled Hosseini who is a Afghan-American.

[@hobicheekz7645]

​@@trueservitudeyes and very emotional

[@aamnahere6250]

Khaled Housseini is an Afghan American author, not Indian. Indians need to stop claiming other South Asian authors as Indian when they're clearly not.

[@seaof_stars]

Khaled Hosseini is Afghani, he's an incredible writer and I'm pretty sure Jack has talked about his books on this channel before but y'all gotta stop lumping in the rest of South Asia with India, we're all incredibly unique cultures we don't need to be put in those boxes of expectations.

[@himanshikaushik721]

@shruti0007 Ladki research your facts comment karne se pehle. 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ @sana-ip9jl @aamnahere6250 @seaof_stars Very sorry for the error she has made. Clearly she didn’t know what she was writing.

[@adityakadam024]

I really loved the book Foster by Claire Keegan. So really looking forward to reading Small Things Like these.

[@tristanprather3739]

Hey Jack, I think you should read Alibis by Andre Aciman. They're labeled as "essays on elsewhere" and I think that, as the world-traveller that you are, you would really like it. The essays are lyrical and wonderfully thoughtful. Since you liked Aciman's fiction, I think you'd absolutely love his essays.

[@alishalee6618]

In the Dream House was one of my favorites from 2022 and also was put on my list of one of my favorites I've ever read. When you talked about it earlier in the year I got so excited because I had not ever seen anyone talk about it and it really deserves to be so I'm glad to see it on this list too.

[@pickyourpopculturepoison]

I love that you talk about books that aren’t the same ten I always see!

[@rubyanddelilahandnani]

Have you watched Ana Wallace Johnson?

[@pickyourpopculturepoison]

@@rubyanddelilahandnani No but thanks for the Rec!!

[@rubyanddelilahandnani]

@@pickyourpopculturepoisonyou’re welcome. She’s great.

[@karat24x]

Jack, you NEED to read “Betty” by Tiffany McDaniel. It is HEARTBREAKING, gut wrenching and is a masterpiece! It’s about this girl Betty who is telling the story of her family who are of Cherokee Heritage. It deals with some really hard topics so TW but it is amazing. It is also based off of the authors mother, it’s a true story which makes it even more devastating. It’s A little life level of sad. LOVE YOU

[@irenesellier8714]

🙏

[@lindasreading]

Sounds very interesting. Could you tell me if it has a TW for s.xual a.buse?

[@karat24x]

@@lindasreading it does, there is quite a central theme of that. Hope you are okay lovely🥰

[@c_mn_1592]

loved this book! So emotional

[@mayanabrumatte]

This was such a straight forward, good video. I can’t even explain it better. From the beginning to the last second, I believed it and it convinced to read all of it. Thanks Jack! Have a good new year! Happy new year Jack watchers!!!

[@marieh4280]

I absolutely LOVED ‚Almond‘. I flew through this book and loved it so much, it actually surprised me because it’s not what I normally read. But it out me on a new literary path. I cried and laughed so much.

[@OlinGarrison]

I love that you talk about books that aren’t the same ten I always see!

[@melaniek6714]

Based on you loving 'Alone with you in the ether', I think you would really love 'The Solitude of Prime numbers' by Paolo Giordano. I bought this because of the wonderful title, but it is an amazing book with two very flawed characters you just really grow to love. Check it out... I promise you won't regret it ;)

[@onourpath]

Wow, I don't often come across folks who've read that one! Agree completely -- such an amazing book. 💚

[@melaniek6714]

@@onourpath It was very popular in Germany when it was published.. maybe that's why I know it :)

[@onourpath]

@@melaniek6714 I wish it had been everywhere here. I handsold the heck out of that book. The author was 25 when that was published, *and* he was a physicist! 🤯 It won the equivalent of the Pulitzer in Italy. So deserved! 💚

[@melaniek6714]

@@onourpath I know. Went to one of his readings when he published his 2nd book which I don't like as much, but means that I have a copy with a personal signing :)

[@sarasuarezacebes9969]

Could you do " books recommended by Jess Mariano " please? I'd LOVE it

[@MARKJamison-r5i]

Okay. You are literally my new favorite human. Love this list so much.

[@AC-dz9yq]

JACK I read 100 books this year because of you

[@MyHumbleNest]

HUGE Claire Keegan fan!! I love Small Things... and Foster, both in my top five (of 88) books this year! I can't get enough of her. Also, LOVED Ivan Illyich in 2023!

[@fabiplvcn9513]

The way Jack describes books is simply beautiful, he’s the reason why my tbr list is so long

[@38k25m]

dude. first video like this that actually makes you want to read EVERY SINGLE ONE.

[@615yeo]

Recently bought Small Things Like These by Keegan from a charity shop! Never read her work before, but i’ve heard her name in your videos before so I definitely knew I had to read it, the synopsis sounds brilliant. Glad you enjoyed it + happy new year!

[@GabrielTucker721]

What a blessing you have to have a life where you read books and make an income from it. Love your book recs, they are not the highly marketed novels!

[@sunglory4488]

I read Almond last year, And at that time I felt like that well it was a really good story but it is short and I believe characters could have been more explained in details. But I was incredibly mistaken! This book is a masterpiece and I do still think about it, It was really really beautiful~

[@hollyeatsbooks]

would love to see a video about how to effectively consume poetry collections! It’s so hard to know what pace to read at and how much time to leave between each one and if I should reread it etc.

[@lezaabm9610]

I wish I could describe a book like you do you're so articulate about it love it and i'm so excited to read all these books thanx

[@jessicaloomis2687]

Thank you so much for these amazing book recommendations. I love the way you talk about books! Tommy Orange is amazing--I love There There so much. His new book talks about the Indian School that was in my home town of Pennsylvania, and I think the book will wreck me in the best kind of way. Here's a quote you might love: "A book must be an ice axe to break the sea frozen inside us."

[@MARKJamison-r5i]

I’ve been teaching SULA for decades in my honors English class. I’m going to show this clip when we get to it this year. I feel exactly this way about this book.

[@kmlkai]

young mungo dug a hole in my heart,made me cry like no other book omg

[@mariajuliateja2973]

Yes! Sula is one of my favorite books as well!! It’s amazing, toni morrison’s writing is exquisite

[@ahonachowdhury2527]

what Toni Morrison book do u recommend reading first?

[@claricedoudement1570]

Jack, you could make a video rating all the books read/mentioned by Rory on Gilmore Girls! I’d love to see if you like Rory’s taste in books!

[@rosariocardenas5870]

I just wanted you to know that you have inspired my friends and I to start a book club this year. We’re starting February with “Alone with You in the Ether” because it’s the month of love. I just love your videos so much and they encourage me to become a better reader. I strive to read and enjoy literature like you! ❤

[@keiichifuruya]

From your list, this year I read Sula, Alone with you in the Ether, In the Dream house and Small Things Like These. Two of these were on my top ten of the year! Good choices 🎉

[@theincredibleknuffibar4834]

Manifesting someone in my life who talks about words as passionately as you do, Jack. I would fall in love with them and never stop as long as I live and breathe darling ❣️

[@kraz3721]

My favourite books of the year were Sula, In the Dream House, Funny Boy and Elena knows... so yeah. I'm just adding all the books you love to my TBR cause clearly we have similar taste (and thank you for widening my scope, I would've never read Funny Boy if it wasn't for your channel)

[@emilygrace139]

Added these to my list! Would be interested in a video about all the translated books you would recommend, and want to read. I'm trying to expand my reading horizons in 2024!

[@adagio387]

Also your channel has gotten me back into literary fiction so thank you so much!

[@TheIrvman08]

I read Almond on accident, thinking that it was a book Jack recommended. When I went on Goodreads I saw he didn’t actually read it 😅 but I started spamming him every so often to read it. It truly is a fantastic book, one of my favorites from 2022

[@TheRainbowCoach]

'She has been more consistent in my life than some people I know.' Love the sash. A trope in itself. 😆

[@Charellie]

Like this if you're here before Jack changed the title to 2024 ❤

[@StrangerBillie]

Yep

[@paxtonc5326]

jack, sweetie, i can’t read 11 books in 2 days😂

[@luisarickli6738]

I simply adore your way of talking about the things you love, it inspires me so much! And btw, I loved the christmas lights on your shelves!!

[@pinctada_pearl_oyester]

I read Sula in june of this year and oh my god! You are so spot on! It's has some of the most well written and beautifully illustrated depths of human complexities. It's such a page turner. I remember i started reading it at 10'o clock in the evening and didn't sleep a wink that night. I finally finished it at 4:30 in the morning. In my opinion, sula and beloved are just such masterpieces of literature that i feel they are heavy underrated. And can we take a moment to give props to the bluest eye by toni morrison? It's incredible for a debut to be honest and one of my (controversial?) Toni morrison favs

[@MarkelleRayneeSheree]

Video idea: choose 5 booktubers and read their top book for 2023.

[@kristenp6547]

Another Irish novel being made into a movie (Pierce Brosnan, Helena Bonham Carter, Gabriel Byrne) is Four Letters of Love by Niall Williams. I implore you to read this book or any others by him. Talk about beautiful writing! Side note : just purchased Almond.

[@littlefiddlechick1513]

My favorite book is called Mr. Fix It and Miss Sue. I bought it on Amazon. It came out this year, so it’s not very popular but I love it!❤

[@tateshivers7461]

hey jack if your looking for more native authors i absolutely recommend ‘braiding sweet grass’ by Robin Wall Kimmerer. it’s a collection of essays all about indigenous knowledge, our relationship to the earth and each other. it’s writing is really lyrical and sweet while also being incredibly insightful/critical on a variety of issues like colonization. i think it’s a book everyone should read lol

[@ashishchopra9272]

Thanks for sharing your insight will surely go through few of these books. I am also an author.

[@yomismo74]

I read Almond and Small things like this this year (There, there four years ago). But i planned to read Young Mungo in january and probably Sula during the year (i had Beloved for many years at home, but the theme is well, difficult, so i decided to read The bluest eye to introduce myself to Toni Morrison, and well, i want to read everything that woman wrote)

[@hummingawayawayaway]

Gosh I feel you on this. The bluest eye is probably one of my all time favourite books. But it wrecked me and I don't know if I'll ever be emotionally ready again for another Toni Morrison.

[@charlottekeene3205]

you have to read the green road!!! especially if you love contemporary Irish novels I adored it so much

[@burmakara]

borlest - the hidden truths of wealth (thank me later)

[@undefined-andrew]

Thank you so much!

[@BlaxMedia8]

What's this

[@undefined-andrew]

@@BlaxMedia8 It's forbidden ebook which talks about the mysterious secrets of attracting money and building massive businesses

[@burmakara]

forbidden ebook, if any book is a must-read, then it is this one

[@LuluST-nc6us]

The last two years I read a Toni Morrison book each and I'd like to make that a tradition. My 2024-Morrison will now be Sula. Happy new year everyone!

[@annaelibrunner]

Jack YOU are meticulously crafted.

[@cally393]

My book of the year is Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie. A bit of an epic covering the life of a women just as the bomb hits Nagasaki and then chronicling her life in India, Pakistan and America, while covering issues such as the partition of India, the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan and 9/11. Home Fire was a favourite several years ago, so now I'm working my way through her back catalogue. My recommendation for Jack is Brooklyn by Colm Toibin- coming of age- Ireland meets New York and made me cry, therefore all typical "Jack- categories"!

[@alexandradavies6669]

My best books of the year are (in no particular order): The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin (fantasy/ecofiction), What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo (memoir: child abuse & complex PTSD), Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (SF) and We Are the Weather by Jonathan Safran Foer (non-fiction: climate change). They're all worth a read, though apologies if you've read any of them already!

[@hime7184]

Not me adding all the books in my 'want to read' in split screen

[@gabriellegrimes7164]

I KNEW you were going to say "Alone With You in the Ether" I LOVED this novel!

[@jnicole510]

2:20 I'm sorry, SET ON FIRE?!?! LIKE LITERALLY???

[@solyuki8342]

I've just read "Small things like these" and it is indeed all you said. I'm so happy to find out it's going to be a movie, with Cillian above all! People are talking a lot about Claire Keegan's "Foster" and that will probably be my next reading. Have you read/commented about "On earth we are briefly gorgeous"? I'd love to know what you think of it. Happy New Year!

[@ciara1045]

i think i remember jack talking about and loving On earth we are briefly gorgeous a few years ago! he's definitely spoken about ocean vuong before

[@eullavlogs]

Ooh I'm early! Need to add these on my "Want To Read" list on Goodreads! ^^ You the only booktuber I fully trust with book recommendations!!!

[@eullavlogs]

I just noticed when someone commented about it T.T It should be 2024 lol

[@elotastic7586]

Sula is my absolute favorite Toni Morrison book. I listened to the audiobook, in which Morrison herself reads the book, and was completely enthralled. Do yourself a favor and listen to all her books on audio. She is brilliant and I can't get enough of her stories.

[@noeasykit]

2:40 YES YES YES to alone with you in the ether!!!! i read it because of jack in 2023 and it became my new favourite book, such beautiful characters and stunning prose

[@el_writes]

seeing your face light up with the biggest smile ever whilst talking about the most gut wrenching books to exist is why your channel is my favourite and why i trust your recommendations with my life

[@matteo00111]

Best

[@kat-ft7uz]

CANT WAIT FOR UR HEARTSTOPPER VOLUME 5 VID (MAKE IT))❤❤❤

[@maiarasilva9546]

I read Young Mungo because of one of your videos and it was the best book I read this year (possibly the best from the last few years), at first it was difficult to get into because my first language isn't english so the writing made me confused, but once I got used to it I absolutely fell in love with it. Honestly I think about it all the time, I never thought I would see myself in a story from such a specific european social context but this one really hit. Anyway I will definitely check out the other ones lol

[@careyrmyers]

Thank you for recommending Claire Keegan. I devoured everything she's published that I can find.

[@asoues]

im so happy to see almond getting some love!! what a stunning lil book

[@valeriabotero]

Jack uploads a video, automaticly my tbr grows

[@nataliarotolo7821]

Hi, Jack! I was waiting for your video on the storygraph stats. Hoping that it's still a possibility or maybe at the end of this year haha

[@fluffg-nx7ns]

Also a book to finish completing jack Edwards!! is The seven Moons of Mali Almeida and it talks about a man who is a photographer and has seven days to figure out who killed him and why and it kind of builds up to a crescendo and it talks about self blaming and is written in second person but done beautifully and the horrors of war and the book made me cry and feel so many different emotions I couldn’t stop crying at the end 😭😭😭

[@PsychGal1980]

One of my all time favourite, and very very sad books is Fall on Your Knees by Anne Marie MacDonald. It is an incredibly beautiful (also lyrical), story about love… familial love, love for yourself, accepting self, forgiving yourself. It tells the story of other-ness and connection and both finding and losing oneself. It’s so so good and I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.

[@annikacambigue]

Small Things Like These!!! Loved it!!

[@charlotted3213]

jack reminds me of that really down to earth cousin that’s also so smart and tries not to rub it in 😭

[@optic_lama7737]

One of my favourite books I read this year was Goodbye Tsugumi by Banana Yoshimoto and I thinnk you might really enjoy it. it's one of those ?no plot, just vibes' kind of books that follows very closely a group of three cousins ass they spend their last summer in the sea town they all grew up in. It's a coming of age story about first love and illness (sorry for the shit grammar lol, English isn't my first lenguage)

[@kaelynjill2142]

I love there there! I read it for a Native American English class while getting my undergrad degree. This book has stuck with me ever since. I’m so glad people are talking about!

[@ryanwallace8539]

This is how I find what i am going to read. LOVE the way Jack summarizes stories.

[@heather2026]

Hello, I’m a mom of two early teenagers. They struggle with nonfiction. I believe because they are not interested in what they are reading. Do you have any tips on how to get them more interesting in what they are reading? Especially in school when they don’t get to choose what they are reading.

[@abi1158]

So basically for this year, Jack wants me to shed a lot of tears. And I’m happy to do so

[@nl3064]

Of three books published in 2023 that I read - The Thing in the Snow (Sean Adams), The Shards (Bret Easton Ellis), and Not Forever, But For Now (Chuck Palahniuk) - by far my favorite was The Thing in the Snow. Of books I first read this year that were published at completely other times, my favorites were Invitation to a Beheading (Vladimir Nabokov), Campfires of the Dead and the Living (collected stories of Peter Christopher), and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (John Le Carré).

[@marifer7881]

A book you must read is Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova.

[@warrioroflight6122]

I am writting a book series myself, I hope to hear that kind of compliments said about my books someday... ( Love your videos by the way !)

[@Dinosher]

When I tell you the joy I felt when I saw my favorite booktuber upload 😻

[@cathywilliams1610]

I absolutely love your book recommendations but am very emotionally fragile right now 😅 If you've actually even read any, do you have any recommendations for happy books that don't make you cry? 🙏🏻🤞🏻

[@jbm10148]

Ordered 3 of your recommendations to start my year!

[@jezeldjones]

I wish I could read straight up literary fiction. If there’s not something fantastical/magical/supernatural I just cannot escape fully into a book.

[@MichyyMcLaughlin]

i added every single book except for in the dream house to my TBR. thank you for another year of book content jack! you are one of my favorite booktube content creators and I appreciate your taste and your analyses of books so much

[@ashleighjoy3196]

I have two unread books by Toni Morrison and I'm so excited to get more into her books this next year! (also just noticed that your bio still says you're 24 even though your birthday makes you 25 just so ya know😋)

[@hummingawayawayaway]

Poor guy let him eternally be 24 at least in his bio - I'd do that if I can't get my 2 years spent in the pandemic back lol

[@ReadingIDEAS.-uz9xk]

New to books on youtube. Best wishes to you and your channel in 2024.

[@seleannia4511]

Thanks for the recommendation! I just ordered Sula and Small things like these! I am super excited to read them

[@beththebookworm]

My first and last books of the year were both among my favourites: Tomi Morrison's Home and Akwake Emezi's You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty