As an avid book lover, it is always hard to pick any absolute favourite reads, and I did read a lot of books that I loved in 2024. In spite of this, I have decided to compile a list of what books were my favourite reads. They’re in no particular order; I don’t think I could pick an outright favourite. They’re all vastly different and I loved them all for several reasons. So, without further ado, here are my best books of 2024. 

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

This short, evocative tale tells the story of the mysterious Blackwood sisters. 28-year-old Constance and 18-year-old Mary Katharine (Merricat). They live in a big old house on the outskirts of town with their ailing uncle. The Blackwood sisters are hated by the locals, and Merricat certainly hates them as well. Jackson, as always, is a master storyteller when it comes to letting horror slowly unfold, she builds a world filled with dark implications, but is it not until the very end do we learn whether or not there actually is a dark secret held within the Blackwood house, or if the ghost stories and just cruel rumours made up by a hateful small town. Did one of the sisters murder their whole family? Aside from Uncle Julian, every other member of the Blackwood family was poisoned with arsenic six years ago. Now the three survivors and their black cat Jonas live together in practised, tightly controlled harmony. When their long-lost cousin Charles arrives on their doorstep, highly interested in the lovely Constance and the Blackwood family estate, Merricat is determined to keep him away, just as she has always kept everyone else away. 

I loved every second of this book. It was eerie, it was intriguing, it was a wonderfully dark exploration of how houses become haunted and how scary stories come into fruition. Is there something to truly fear in the big house upon the hill? Are the people who dwell there really something frightful? Perhaps not. You’ll have to read for yourself to see. 

Merricat, said Connie, would you like a cup of tea?

Oh, no, said Merricat, you’ll poison me.

Merricat, said Connie, would you like to go to sleep?

Down in the boneyard ten feet deep! 

~ We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

A theme has emerged. 2024 was my year of haunted house reads. 

I have always been a fan of Shirley Jackson’s works, and I think that it would be incredibly hard for me to choose between We Have Always Lived in the Castle and The Haunting of Hill House. 

I think that the story of Constance and Merricat is more curiously dark whereas Eleanor’s tale in The Haunting of Hill House is much more tragic.

 The Haunting of Hill House invites readers to explore whether or not this big house on the hill is truly haunted. It has been the setting for much tragedy, and now a group of misfits have arrived to investigate. The lonely Eleanor being one of them. She’s already terribly nervous to begin with. She’s timid and lonely, and it seems that the house causes her to unravel. Jackson has famously said that she believes it is more interesting to say that the house was not truly haunted, which suggests that the ghosts that inhabited it are all of the characters’ own making. Eleanor arrived with her own struggles, her own fears, and the house was already known to be a tragic place. Tragic and haunted, however, are not the same, and a house being “haunted” by history, is different from when supernatural figures are afoot. I really enjoy the ambiguity of this book. 

 I appreciate the many ways in which it made me think. There are various kinds of ghost stories, some are metaphorical, others are “real” from the outset as it has been established that ghosts are real and there are in fact unexplainable forces at work, but sometimes that is entirely up to the reader. Sometimes the “ghosts” are actually our own fears and projections at work, but that doesn’t change the fact that really haunted or not, Hill House will always be haunted to Eleanor and by Eleanor. Read for yourself. Make up your own mind. 

 No Human eye can isolate the unhappy coincidence of line and place which suggests evil in the face of a house, and yet somehow a maniac juxtaposition, a badly turned angle, some chance meeting of roof and sky, turned Hill House into a place of despair, more frightening because the face of Hill House seemed awake, with a watchfulness from the blank windows and a touch of glee in the eyebrow of a cornice.

~ The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. 

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

Set 1985 in a small Irish village, this short but powerful story follows Bill Furlong’s internal battle with trying to find the purpose in his life and deciding that he cannot look away from the abuse he knows is happening anymore. No longer content to accept that “that’s just how it is,” or “it’s not for us to say,” Bill decides to act in the small way that he can. After all, all those small actions can make the world of a difference to someone else. 

This book made me incredibly angry and sad, and I had to include it in this discussion because I don’t think that the abuse that women and children faced can ever be discussed enough. In Small Things Like These, Keegan addresses the horrific treatment of women in the Magdalene Laundries and how the church was an always present, oppressive presence in 1980s Ireland. I was so glad to see this story get the recognition it deserved this past year, and it was fantastic to see just how many conversations were sparked when the film version came out.

This story challenges us to take those crucial steps towards confronting and disentangling systemic abuse, highlighting how even the small actions of just one person can make a huge difference to someone else. Just one person standing up to say “this is wrong, we should not accept this,” goes a long way. Survivors of the Magdalene Laundries should be highly respected after the horrific ordeals they were forced to endure, especially as still, they are owed immeasurable apologies and compensation, from the Church, from the Government, and from society. I hope that as we move forward, abuse, particularly systemic abuse and hypocrisy will continue to be highlighted, confronted,  and condemned. I think that Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan should be a mandatory text. 

As they carried along and met more people Furlong did and did not know, he found himself asking was there any point in being alive without helping one another? Was it possible to carry on along through all the years, the decades, through an entire life, without once being brave enough to go against what was there and yet call yourself a Christian, and face yourself in the mirror?

~ Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury 

In a world where books are deemed valueless by society, no one asks questions, even walking outside is deemed suspicious. Firemen are no longer heroic figures who put out flames, instead, they light houses on fire. The story follows Guy Montag, a fireman who comes from a lengthy line of firemen. He is happy to be part of the world that never reads until he is not. Guy’s mindset begins to shift when his young neighbour Clarisse awakens a long-forgotten part of his mind, if it was ever awake at all, the part that likes to think, by asking a few questions. When he begins to look at his actions, he does not like his reality so much anymore. He burns books and with them, he burns curiosity, he burns access to information, he burns wonder and stories until he can no longer burn anything anymore. Maybe he should take a look inside these books, maybe he should see what all the fuss is about, maybe he does not wish to be a fireman anymore. 

Fahrenheit 451 is bleak, exploring heavy themes such as conforming vs questioning, the individual vs society, emptiness vs meaning. This dystopian book may be desolate and at times it is quite dark, however it does end on a hopeful note, one that notes the resilience of humanity after exploring how cold humanity can become. I really enjoyed this book, despite it being bleak, as I appreciate the way it made me think about certain things. I have always been in a position where access to books has never been a question. I have always been able to read anything that I wanted, and I recognise that this is a privilege. It is easy to take books and access to all kinds of books for granted sometimes, which is why Fahrenheit 451 was an especially important read. This is one of those books that will always be relevant, especially when we look at the wider goings-on in the world.

 The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us.

~ Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. 

The Third Gilmore Girl: A Memoir by Kelly Bishop

In this book, the witty, incredibly intelligent, resilient, and loving force of talent that is Kelly Bishop aka Emily Gilmore of Gilmore Girls, shares her life story. From her earliest days of falling in love with dance classes as a child, to her performing days in Las Vegas and of course her Tony winning run on Broadway, to her Hollywood credits including Dirty Dancing and of course Gilmore Girls, Kelly Bishop shares the ins and outs, the ups and downs of her life. Her professional life and her personal life, and even if you have never watched one single episode of Gilmore Girls, this is a must read. Kelly Bishop is an incredible storyteller, and her memoir is so open, honest, funny, and very moving. I think I read this book in three days. I couldn’t put it down. Kelly Bishop talks about herself, her experiences, and the people in her life, at work and at home, with an amazing sense of clarity. It is impressive and it is a skill I’d love to further develop. There are also some absolutely beautiful photographs included in the book. It was stunning to see someone’s creative life displayed and celebrated in such striking shots.  

You don’t have to miss out on the joy of learning something you’re passionate about. If it’s in you, it’s out there waiting for you.

~The Third Gilmore Girl: A Memoir by Kelly Bishop.

The Faerie Isle by Síne Quinn

This is a must read for folklore lovers. Síne Quinn breathes new life into folklore in this wonderful book of magic, myths, and legends. It is clear to see that this collection was created with passion and care. In this striking and haunting collection of tales, Síne’s captivating storytelling will pull readers into this magical realm, but she does not shy away from sharing the spookier side of all things mythical. This was the perfect spooky season read, an ideal “starter scare” for younger readers, and perfectly accompanied by Dermot Flynn’s rich illustrations. The mood was set, and I was enthralled. In these tales, Síne has invited readers into a world of intrigue, wonder, longing, and a sense of poignant loss, as well as leaving readers eager to learn more about these once forgotten legends.

I’ve always loved fairy tales, and I love escaping into enchanted worlds of myths and legends, and I think it is wonderful that younger readers especially  have the opportunity to enjoy these once unknown stories. 

He swears that from that day forth his luck in life changed for the better.

~ The Faerie Isle by Síne Quinn. 

While putting together this list, I ‘ve realised that many of the books that I loved in 2024 explored related topics and I think an overlap of themes can be spotted. I gravitated towards stories that explore what makes a place haunted. Are places really haunted by supernatural beings or are they haunted by the history they hold? If something tragic occurred somewhere, can that place ever truly feel disconnected from the events that took place, or will that dark history always be there? Should that history always be there? Should it always be acknowledged? I think so, especially if we are bringing past abuse into the light and acknowledging those who once went ignored or silenced. 

I think that this idea of being haunted and bringing abuse to light went hand-in-hand with the themes of censorship that were explored in some of the books I read in 2024, particularly as I noted above in Fahrenheit 451. Censoring what people read and what people say is another way of attempting to silence people. If we do not read about atrocities that occurred, they can never be confronted, and the people who were mistreated can’t have their stories told or voices heard, and those who participate in the mistreatment of others can continue to do so without facing consequences or condemnation. Interestingly, many of the books I have loved in 2024 commented on what happens when society allows terrible things to happen, and on what happens when society turns a blind-eye to certain situations or certain people. I didn’t choose these books intentionally because I wanted to read about these topics, and I did enjoy other reads, but these are the ones that truly struck chords, and I don’t think that can be overlooked. They stood out for many key reasons that I feel many will understand without having to overly explain. 

I believe that it is more important than ever that we all have access to all reading materials. It is crucial that we all know that we have a right to information and education and in light of recent events, I think it is more vital than ever that we remember to have empathy for others, and that we do stand up for those who have been mistreated and abused by those in positions of power, even if time has passed. Once these things are brought to light, even if society once played a role by staying quiet, it is crucial that society does not stay quiet any longer. We must mind each other and support each other so that we always go forwards and never back towards the dark. 

Literature has always reflected upon and/or critiqued society and societal issues, and I hope that it will always continue to do so, and that we always read these stories with passion.