2024 Midyear Favorites
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First and foremost, I’m sharing a link to a GoFundMe to The Zaynab Project from Project Olive Branch.
“The Zaynab Project is a mutual aid group, led by Muslim mothers of young children, that
distributes fresh, nutritious food parcels
cash aid
delivers clean water tanks
utilizes alternative energy resources (solar power) for powering and operating water wells, charging devices andmedical equipment
organizes an orphan sponsorship of 8 families in severe need
provides weekly psychological and emotional support for traumatized orphans and children through community treats, games, dance, and play-led exercises with our therapy team
as well as to provide miscellaneous aid (tents, community hot kitchens, medicine, baby necessities, blankets and bedding, clothing, special Eid projects, etc.)
to hundreds of displaced families in Deir Al Balah and Khan Younis.”
If you’re able to, please consider donating and sharing.
We are just over the halfway point of 2024 and I’m feeling so grateful for the book community. Every time I go on social media I get blown away by people’s creativity, passion, and love of books like my own. The New York Times list of best books of the 21st century came out. While not everyone, myself included, was content with the list, I loved looking at the resulting outpour of recommendations, lists, and shade.
Even amid a reading slump, like the one I’ve been in for a couple of months, the excitement to browse and see what others are reading doesn’t die down.
That excitement also encapsulates the books I’ve already read this year. Out of the 27 books I’ve read this year, some of them have become fast favorites!
Without further ado, here are my 2024 favorites, so far.
Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid
As soon as I began reading this, I knew it would be a favorite of mine. The prose style is simple but carries a lot of nuance and complexity. I loved the commentary about mothers and daughters, and also the coming-of-age aspects. Kincaid leaves a poignant and strong impression with her imagery and characters. I just got a few more of her books and can’t wait to read them.
Read my full review, here.
Summary: “An adored only child, Annie has until recently lived an idyllic life. She is inseparable from her beautiful mother, a powerful presence, who is the very center of the little girl's existence. Loved and cherished, Annie grows and thrives within her mother's benign shadow. Looking back on her childhood, she reflects, It was in such a paradise that I lived. When she turns twelve, however, Annie's life changes, in ways that are often mysterious to her. She begins to question the cultural assumptions of her island world; at school she instinctively rebels against authority; and most frighteningly, her mother, seeing Annie as a young lady, ceases to be the source of unconditional adoration and takes on the new and unfamiliar guise of adversary. At the end of her school years, Annie decides to leave Antigua and her family, but not without a measure of sorrow, especially for the mother she once knew and never ceases to mourn. For I could not be sure, she reflects, whether for the rest of my life I would be able to tell when it was really my mother and when it was really her shadow standing between me and the rest of the world.”
Kiki's Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono
I grew up watching the movie Kiki’s Delivery Service so it was a treat to read the book finally. It was a fun adventure story that had heart. If you like magical realism, coming-of-age, and witches and cats this is for you!
Summary: “Half-witch Kiki never runs from a challenge. So when her thirteenth birthday arrives, she's eager to follow a witch's tradition: choose a new town to call home for one year.
Brimming with confidence, Kiki flies to the seaside village of Koriko and expects that her powers will easily bring happiness to the townspeople. But gaining the trust of the locals is trickier than she expected. With her faithful, wise-cracking black cat, Jiji, by her side, Kiki forges new friendships and builds her inner strength, ultimately realizing that magic can be found in even the most ordinary places.”
Binti Series by Nnedi Okorafor
I can’t say enough good things about this series. Binti is an incredible read. The world-building alone is epic and the characters are the cherry on top. A wonderful science fiction story with a strong female lead, cosmic settings, and brilliant commentary. I can’t wait to reread this series and read other books by Okorafor.
Read my full review, here.
Summary: “Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs.
Knowledge comes at a cost, one that Binti is willing to pay, but her journey will not be easy. The world she seeks to enter has long warred with the Meduse, an alien race that has become the stuff of nightmares. Oomza University has wronged the Meduse, and Binti's stellar travel will bring her within their deadly reach.
If Binti hopes to survive the legacy of a war not of her making, she will need both the gifts of her people and the wisdom enshrined within the University, itself — but first she has to make it there, alive.”
A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
The world-building in this book was also immaculate. Seeing how Djinns, magical folk, and humans lived together in Cairo, in 1912, felt so immersive. I loved how the mystery unfolded and although I guessed the ending, that didn’t ruin it because the journey to it was so well done.
Read my full review, here.
Summary: “Cairo, 1912: Though Fatma el-Sha’arawi is the youngest woman working for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, she’s certainly not a rookie, especially after preventing the destruction of the universe last summer.
So when someone murders a secret brotherhood dedicated to one of the most famous men in history, al-Jahiz, Agent Fatma is called onto the case. Al-Jahiz transformed the world forty years ago when he opened up the veil between the magical and mundane realms, before vanishing into the unknown. This murderer claims to be al-Jahiz, returned to condemn the modern age for its social oppressions. His dangerous magical abilities instigate unrest in the streets of Cairo that threaten to spill over onto the global stage.
Alongside her Ministry colleagues and a familiar person from her past, Agent Fatma must unravel the mystery behind this imposter to restore peace to the city—or face the possibility he could be exactly who he seems…”
Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin
There hasn’t been a book by Baldwin that wasn’t a masterpiece. This is a book of essays that touch on his life in America and abroad and includes greater commentary on culture, race, and identity. In my review, I say “Baldwin exposes himself with great strength and skill to show us his experience as an African American and what that means in his context and the greater context beyond that. He lends his own journey to us and there is a sort of solidness that comes, a decidedness of who Baldwin is throughout.” I continue to read his books and am never disappointed.
Summary: “'The story of the negro in America is the story of America ... it is not a very pretty story' James Baldwin's breakthrough essay collection made him the voice of his generation. Ranging over Harlem in the 1940s, movies, novels, his preacher father and his experiences of Paris, they capture the complexity of black life at the dawn of the civil rights movement with effervescent wit and prophetic wisdom. 'A classic ... In a divided America, James Baldwin's fiery critiques reverberate anew' Washington Post 'Edgy and provocative, entertainingly satirical' Robert McCrum, Guardian 'Cemented his reputation as a cultural seer ... Notes of a Native Son endures as his defining work, and his greatest' Time.”
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Again, an author that never disappoints. Beloved is my second Morrison and maybe my favorite book of the year. From the first sentence, I couldn’t put the book down even with tears streaming down my face.
Excellent in every aspect.
Summary: “Sethe, its protagonist, was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. She has too many memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. And Sethe's new home is haunted by the ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved. Filled with bitter poetry and suspense as taut as a rope, Beloved is a towering achievement.”
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s Edge by Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe
The way this series talks about purpose, mortality, and friendship is both subtle and beautiful. Frieren draws you in through the art and keeps you with the lessons and character growth. Sometimes humorous and other times serious, this series kept me interested and engaged through 10 volumes. One of my favorite manga series I’ve ever read.
Summary: “Elf mage Frieren and her courageous fellow adventurers have defeated the Demon King and brought peace to the land. But Frieren will long outlive the rest of her former party. How will she come to understand what life means to the people around her? Decades after their victory, the funeral of one her friends confronts Frieren with her own near immortality. Frieren sets out to fulfill the last wishes of her comrades and finds herself beginning a new adventure… The adventure is over but life goes on for an elf mage just beginning to learn what living is all about.”
No Olive Branch For Me by Natasha Alterici, Nadia Shammas
What an impactful story in such a short amount of pages. The art and words made such a big impression I couldn’t possibly leave this off the list. A poignant story about resistance, identity, and how they tie into politics. Another must read.
Read it free online here.
Summary: “NO OLIVE BRANCH FOR ME originally started out as a short story drawn by Natasha Alterici (HEATHEN) for charity anthology THE GOOD FIGHT. After some time, I kept returning to the idea of legacy, primarily, what is the legacy of resistance and revolution for Palestine when you’re part of the North American Palestinian disapora? I then interviewed Palestinian-American creators to ask about their family history, their relationship to Palestinian identity, and how that intersects with their work.”
All these books are compiled on Bookshop, so take a look at the playlist.