This time of year, nothing sounds better than curling up with a good book near the fireplace.
Or, maybe you’re looking to gift one this holiday season?
NPR’s massive guide to the 2024 “Books We Love” is out now to help you find the best books of this year.
If finding something in those 350 titles sounds a little daunting, three local book enthusiasts joined Up To Date to share their recommendations, too.
For Cori Smith, owner of BLK + BRWN bookstore, and Halley Vincent, owner of Seven Stories bookstore, 2024 wasn’t just about devouring the latest releases.
“I'm running into a lot of people who are revisiting, like, Toni Morrison, James Baldwin," Smith said. "James Baldwin reaches a century this year. I feel like a lot of people are kind of diving back in on some of those good, classic reads.”
Vincent agrees. “I think that's really awesome, because there's a lot that you learn from that,” she said. “And you kind of gain a new perspective every time you read something over again.”
Smith, Vincent, and Kansas City-based author and editor Steve Paul joined KCUR's Up To Date to share their top reads from this year.
Cori Smith’s recommendations
“The Year of the Witching” by Alexis Henderson
A haunting tale set in the oppressive religious town of Bethel, this story follows Immanuelle Moore as she uncovers dark secrets about her family, her forbidden connection to witches, and her own power to challenge the system.
“Stumbling Toward the Buddha” by Dawn Downey
Through essays filled with humor and honesty, Downey reflects on her journey of self-discovery, exploring race, spirituality, and the messy beauty of being human. Ten years after its initial release, Downey has added and revised some sections of this book.
“Lion's Water” by Sheila Ngonzi Hackbarth
This heartfelt children’s story, based on Ugandan folklore, centers on resilience and cultural pride as young Akikii learns the value of perseverance and the beauty of her heritage while facing challenges in her community. Featuring the rare and real tree-climbing lions of Uganda, this is a story of resilience and finding our inner strength when we need it most.
“Grief is Love” by Marisa Renee Lee
A tender and deeply personal guide, this book redefines grief as a lasting part of love, offering compassionate insights for anyone navigating the complexities of loss.
“Black, Queer, & Untold” by Jon Key
This striking collection celebrates the intersections of Blackness and queerness through art and storytelling, reclaiming narratives often overlooked or erased.
“The Afrominimalist's Guide to Living with Less” by Christine Platt
Platt offers a refreshing and practical take on minimalism, blending personal stories with actionable advice to help readers declutter their lives while embracing their identity and values.
Halley Vincent’s recommendations
“Dust Child” by Nguyen Phan Que Mai
This historical fiction novel follows the lives of children born to Vietnamese women and American soldiers during the Vietnam War. It explores their struggles with identity, belonging and the impact of the war on their lives.
“Patriot: A Memoir” by Alexei Navalny
A fascinating look at the struggle for power in Russia, this posthumous memoir from the famed Russian opposition leader was partially written during his final years in prison. Navalny tells the story of his life, explores the importance of freedom and calls on others to continue his work.
“Matty Matheson: Soups, Salads, Sandwiches” by Matty Matheson
Reading a novel is typically a solo activity, but cooking often brings people together. With the holidays in full swing, this cookbook, written by celebrity chef and “The Bear” actor Matty Matheson, offers a great opportunity to get friends and family involved in the kitchen.
“The Serviceberry” by Robin Wall Kimmerer
The author of New York Times bestseller “Braiding Sweetgrass” again blends Indigenous wisdom with scientific insights, exploring the deep connection between people and nature through the lens of remarkable plants such as the serviceberry, a tree that bears blueberry-like fruit.
“Tehrangeles” by Porochista Khakpour
“Tehrangeles” follows an Iranian-American family, owners of a “microwaveable snack empire,” just as they’re about to land a reality TV show. A story full of pop culture references, family drama, and strong sisterly bonds a la Little Women, the book also explores the challenges of navigating life between two cultures.
“The Full Moon Coffee Shop” by Mai Mochizuki
Part of the growing trend of translated Asian literature, “The Full Moon Coffee Shop” is full of whimsical charm and life lessons. Set in a magical coffee shop run by talking cats, it offers a heartwarming, self-help style story that brings comfort and wisdom to its readers.
Steve Paul’s recommendations
Winner of the National Book Award and other honors this year, Everett’s novel retells the story of Mark Twain’s “Huckleberry Finn” through the consciousness of Jim. Everett’s James is smart, literate, philosophical, courageous and cagey. The classic story from his perspective is unforgettable.
“River of Books: A Life in Reading” by Donna Seaman
Donna Seaman’s memoir of a lifetime devotion to the essential act of reading is a delightful and winning procession of connected essays. The book is infused with literary tributes, artistic and creative impulses, and despite episodes of personal loss, a spirit of generosity. Anyone who loves books and identifies as a chronic reader will recognize a kindred spirit and compare influences and reading lists with those that Seaman shares.
“Survival Is a Promise: The Eternal Life of Audre Lorde” by Alexis Pauline Gumbs
This deeply imagined and unconventionally constructed biography tells a compelling life story, tracing Audre Lorde’s journey from her tough and emotionally challenging childhood to her status as beloved poet, lesbian activist, and spiritual thinker. Gumbs brings a poetic eye and empathetic sensibility, especially toward Lorde’s themes exploring science, nature and the physical and metaphorical universe.
“The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism” edited by Denise Murrell
This is a huge and handsome catalogue of a major retrospective exhibit that was recently on exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The sheer variety of style, craft, imagery and narrative content of these works proves how far from monolithic the Harlem Renaissance really was.
The recent winner of the Booker Prize, this short novel is a meditation on human existence. The narrative’s setting inside the minds and lives of six International Space Station occupants as they speed around the planet. It’s a lyrical and evocative read, though one that some readers might find to be periodically precious.
“Creation Lake” by Rachel Kushner
There’s an unusual setup as a mysterious central character, an American woman who may or may not be named Sadie Smith, wrangles her way into a collective of French environmentalist rebels. A cult leader’s lectures on human history and the legacy of Neanderthal life in the workings of the modern world give the novel some intellectual heft.
“The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi” by Wright Thompson
This extraordinary and riveting narrative recounts all the threads of American history that led to the torture and killing of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old Black boy, by white men in 1955. Essentially the biography of a small patch of the Mississippi Delta, which also happens to contain the family home of the author, Thompson performed an enormous amount of research as he interweaves his own story and his quest through deep history and the murky legacies of the civil rights-era tragedy that still resonates today.
- Andrew Limbong, NPR arts desk reporter and host, NPR's Book of the Day podcast
- Steve Paul, Kansas City-based writer and editor
- Cori Smith, owner, BLK + BRWN
- Halley Vincent, owner, Seven Stories
