My 2024 most anticipated new books
Books I can't wait to read being published in 2024
Last week, we read about the most anticipated books from writers around the bookish internet space. This week, I’m highlighting my own personal most anticipated books!
Each month, paid subscribers get to see what new releases are on my radar that I’m looking forward to reading. There are buy and preorder links (preorders are incredibly helpful for authors) for all books featured.
Weekly Tuesday book recommendations will always be free! The best way to support this newsletter is to become a paid subscriber, but if that isn’t your thing and buying books is, consider sending me a book from my wishlist to review for an upcoming weekly recommendation.
This will be the last roundup of new releases free for everyone to read. Thanks for being here, and check out paid subscription options if you’d like a monthly list of new releases!
How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin (March 26): I really enjoyed The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, where we knew instantly who would die. That, combined with this book that claims to have a Knives Out vibe, makes me incredibly excited to pick this one up. It’s about a woman who spends her whole life trying to prevent her own murder, which was foretold sixty years before her death, and now her great-niece is finally going to catch the killer.
There’s Going to Be Trouble by Jen Silverman (April 9): Silverman’s debut was one of my very first recommendations in this newsletter and remains one of my top reads and recommendations of the last decade. Messy relationships and messy characters are my favorite, and I’m hoping to love this one.
Beautyland by Marie Helene-Bertino (January 16): I love a good strange book questioning the meaning of existence, and phew, does this sound like it’s right up my alley. There’s space travel, communication across time and space via a fax machine, and finding friends in the universe. Let’s go!
Real Americans by Rachel Khong (April 30): This modern generational family saga about identity and belonging is one that I predict will top the book clubs lists this spring when it arrives. Count me among its readers!
First Love: Essays on Friendship by Lilly Dancyger (May 7): If you know me IRL, you know I have Opinions on how society is set up for couples and not single people. (Being in a partnership is great! But many times, single people are simply left out.) I’ve been single and independent most of my life, and sometimes the ubiquitous nature of romantic relationships in movies, books, media, ads (and everywhere) is exhausting, and friendships are often forgotten, treated as less important than romantic relationships. I can’t wait to read this book on how friendships shape us as people.
The Z Word by Lindsay King-Miller (May 7): QUEER ZOMBIE STORY! Do you need anything more? I sure don’t! It’s billed as a comedy, so a chaotic gay funny book about a zombie invasion cannot excite me more.
Interesting Facts about Space by Emily Austin (January 30): The tagline for this is “a hopeful novel for anyone who may be worried they’re a terrible person,” and there is not another sentence that has hit so close to home in a while. Plus, the main character has some strange interests and some anxiety, and it sounds like I’ll relate quite a bit.
The Stars Turned Inside Out by Nova Jacobs (March 19): I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw this. I adored Jacobs’s last book, The Last Equation of Isaac Severy (which also made me realize I’ve not featured that book here yet, so you may see one soon!), so this book immediately jumped to the top of my list. It seems like a high-octane thriller with complex relationships and many interweaving storylines.
Hum by Helen Phillips (August 6): Aside from this stunning cover that certainly catches the eye, this book isn’t out until August and yet is collecting tons of 5-star reviews. It’s got climate change, the dour effects of AI taking over, and more things that we’re all terrified of! Yay!
One of Our Kind by Nicola Yoon (June 11): Yoon is most well known for her hit book Everything, Everything, and this is her first foray into adult fiction, about a family who moves to the planned city of Liberty, a Black utopia that claims to be the place where Black families can find true happiness. But as the main character digs deeper into the city, the more concerned she is for her own and her loved ones’ safety.
Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe (June 11): New Rufi Thorpe!!! Sound the alerts!!! If you’ve had side hustles, OnlyFans how-tos, and the lucrative career of “accounting” come up on your FYP on TikTok at all, you’ll understand the exact predicament Margo is in, and she needs to figure out how to make ends meet — fast.
Housemates by Emma Copley Eisenberg (May 28): Another 2nd book from an author I’ve loved (Eisenberg wrote the part-memoir, part-true crime The Third Rainbow Girl, which was excellent, and also may be featured on this newsletter soon!), this contemporary novel follows two friends who try to find their places through their art.
Which books have you the most excited this year? Any that have already come out in the first weeks in January I absolutely need to read?
Can’t get enough, or looking for a different recommendation? Browse the archives, or check out some popular past recommendations:
Prisoners fight to the death in a gruesome late-capitalist dystopia
Read about the longest and loneliest horse race in the world — and the woman who won it
I also love hearing from readers! Let me know what kinds of books you’re looking for that you’d like to see featured, or send in your most recent five-star read (or two) and get a recommendation just for you. You might be featured in an upcoming newsletter! Reply to this email to get in touch!
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First Love: Essays on Friendship is exactly what I've been looking for! I'm of the same mind that our society never gives platonic relationships their due while disproportionately uplifting romantic relationships. I'm always looking for compelling books that approach friendship with real weight and care. Thanks for recommending it and The Z Word which seems like the sapphic horror comedy I didn't know I needed in my life!
I can’t wait for Hum! I requested it on Net Galley and …crickets. Each time I check I’m reminded I have 50 books ready to read, so why do I keep asking for a new one? Because I loved her last one!