Recently, the Currently Reading podcast released an episode where they ranked the books they listed as their favorite book of the year, going back six years. Since I have ranked my favorite book going back to 2011, I thought, why not go all the way to the beginning? Some of these favorites are embarrassing, honestly, as I have since learned how problematic they are. But they are a glimpse into the reader I was then. (For those books, I’m going to select an honorable mention, another favorite book of that year that has better stood the test of time.)
Without further ado, here are my ranked favorites, from least favorite to most favorite:
14) The Help by Kathryn Stockett (2011)
There’s a reason this book is in the lowest spot. While I loved this book and its subsequent movie, it is a book filled with problematic elements and I cannot in good faith recommend it anymore. My honorable mention for this year is The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen, one of my all-time favorite YA novelists. I can still remember how I felt when I read this novel; it gave me the warm fuzzies!
13) Me Before You by Jojo Moyes (2013)
Oh, how I loved this book when it came out! I was all aboard the Jojo Moyes train. But this book stereotypes people with disabilities and is basically about a guy who wants to die rather than live as a disabled man. My honorable mention is A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, which honestly should have been my favorite of this year. This is one of my all-time favorite books, and it would be much higher on my list if I had chosen it.
12) Becoming by Michelle Obama (2018)
This was the last book I read in 2018, and I think recency bias is the reason I listed it as my favorite of the year. Was it a good book? Yes, especially on audio. But looking at my other favorites of that year, I should have given it to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, as that book stands out more than this one. Honestly, I can’t even remember most of Michelle’s memoir. I’m not sure if that’s an indictment on me or her, though.
11) The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom (2014)
I truly do not have any recollection of this book. Like, I vaguely have an idea of what it was about but if you asked me to name any of the five people, I’d be lost. But it was the best book I read in 2014. Maybe I should reread it to see if I can recapture the magic.
10) The Women by Kristin Hannah (2024)
I loved this book so very much, but there just hasn’t been enough time for it to sit with me and see if it’s going to be an all-time favorite. I learned so much about the Vietnam War and what it’s like to be a nurse in combat, and it’s a book I can easily recommend to just about anyone.
9) The Hating Game by Sally Thorne (2016)
It’s not often that a romance makes my all-time favorite book of the year, but this romance was a standout for me. I’ve reread it multiple times and it continues to be one of my favorites. It’s just so cute!
8) The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall (2020)
I have such a strong sense memory of reading this book. It was during the early days of the pandemic that the only place I was going was the grocery store. I wasn’t even seeing my mom! But I remember sitting on my bed with the sun high in the sky and devouring this book on my Kindle. It was a perfect book.
7) The Martian by Andy Weir (2015)
Oh, my god, this book! My first Andy Weir novel and certainly not my last. I have grown to love the way he tells his stories, even all the technical, science-y jargon that usually goes over my head, but is still fascinating to read about. This one remains my favorite of his. I loved it so much that I’ve been scared to see the movie, even though I know it’s great.
6) Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (2012)
I loved this book. I loved that when I got to the big twist in the middle, I threw the book across the room. I loved the ending. I loved how dark and twisty it was. It was the pioneer in the thriller genre, and maybe it was too good at what it did since it launched hundreds (thousands?) of books promising to be “the next Gone Girl.” I’m glad I read this book when I did because it gives me such a sense of appreciation for the genius of Gillian Flynn.
5) Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau (2022)
This book was so unexpected. I did not expect to love it as much as I did, but it was one of the best stories I’ve ever read. It had such a strong sense of place and the characters were so alive and vibrant. I want this book to be an HBO miniseries.
4) We Are Not From Here by Jenny Torres-Sanchez (2023)
There was a whole controversy surrounding the book American Dirt, and through that controversy, people began recommending other books with similar plots, but written by people of color. This book stood out in a sea of recommendations, and I am so glad it did, because it was sensational. It truly shone a light on what it means to come to this country as an undocumented immigrant and how harrowing that journey is. This is not a happy book, but I am so glad I read it.
3) Know My Name by Chanel Miller (2021)
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. This is not an easy book to read, as it details Chanel Miller’s rape, the aftermath, and the trial that follows. She was raped by Brock Turner, who was convicted but only served three months in jail. Chanel has such a beautiful writing style, and she is honest and vulnerable in this book. This is an important book for everyone to read to better understand what it is like for the victims of rape.
2) The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (2017)
This book should be required reading in all high school classrooms, but we all know that won’t be happening anytime soon. It’s a fictionalized story about the very real epidemic that is Black people being shot and killed by police. But it’s about more than that. It’s also about the idea of being a “good” Black person, the power of standing up for yourself, and holding people accountable for their actions. Angie Thomas wrote a masterpiece with this book.
1) Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (2019)
I knew from the beginning that my favorite book of the last 14 years was an easy choice. It was always going to be Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. This book tells the story of two half-sisters: one sister is sold into slavery and leaves for America, while the other is married off to an Englishman, living a life of luxury in Ghana. From there, we follow their family lines over the next 300 years. It’s a brilliant work of fiction and always my #1 recommendation.
Thoughts on my list? Have you read any of these books?
I’ve read quite a few of these and agree that Homecoming was a fantastic novel.
I’m wondering what I would rate as my #1 read over the last few years. Wow. That’s TOUGH.
I really did love The Correspondent, but that’s recency bias for sure!
I just finished Project Hail Mary (it was fantastic), and REALLY want to read The Martian. I loved the movie and I’ve heard nothing but great things about this book.
I’ve read a lot of those books! In fact, I’ve read most of them! The Five People You Meet In Heaven has one of my favourite lines, and it’s “Taffy. He thinks about taffy. He thinks it would take his teeth out now, but he’d still eat it, if it meant eating it with her.” This book is one of the exceptions to the “I don’t like male authors” rule that I have. I do like this book, it’s very moving.
The only books I’ve read on your list are The Help (LOVED!) and Gone Girl (So scary!!). My favorite books of all time:
1. Anne of Green Gables
2. Pride and Prejudice
3. Emma
4. Sense and Sensibility
5. Persuasion
6. Remarkably Bright Creatures
7. Holmes on the Range (A series by Steve Hockensmith)
8. The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith
9. The Chet and Bernie series by Spencer Quinn
10. The Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich
(Whole series count, right?)
JANE AUSTEN SOUL SISTERS
Anne of Green Gables is my all-time favorite, too! I own the first book in multiple editions because it means so much to me!
I’ve never made a ranked book list for the year. I love reading everyone else’s, so maybe I’ll try doing one for 2025. I’ve read a lot of your favorites (Homegoing, The Hating Game, Gone Girl, The Women, and Becoming, and the Hate U Give), but happily for me there are many books on your list I haven’t read that I’m interested in checking out. I think I’m going to check out The Dearly Beloved, Mary Jane, and We are Not From Here.
Yayyyy! You cannot go wrong with either of those books. They are JUST SO GOOD.
I have read most of these books, but not Mary Jane or We are Not From Here. I have Mary Jane on my kindle so should read it at some point, and I do plan to read We are Not From Here!
I don’t necessarily crown a favorite book but I should go back through my favorites list and do something similar!
I have read all of these, and I also adored your 1 and 2!
I’ve only read 4 books from your list: Becoming, The Women, Gone Girl, and Mary Jane. Of the four, the only one that was a meh was Becoming. I love Michelle, but I felt like she was so guarded that I didn’t learn much about her. Gone Girl has a special place in my heart because I think it was the last physical book that I bought before I got my Kindle. It was right before I started grad school, so I was watching every penny but it was one of the rare books that I wanted to read so badly that I didn’t want to wait for the library hold to come in.
I’ve read about half of those books and love many of them, especially Mary Jane (which I never would have read if you hadn’t introduced me to it), The Martian, The Hate U Give, and Homegoing. I have to admit that I have much more mixed feelings on The Hating Game (mostly that Josh is terrible and there is TOO MUCH ABOUT THE BLUE EYES).
The only book I see on here that I haven’t at least heard of it Dearly Beloved!
I totally understand the mixed emotions of The Hating Game. Also, that author hasn’t put out a good book since, which is very disappointing!
This is so hard, Stephany! I do not think I could rank my favorites in this way. Some of them are favorites from a long time ago, too, and I don’t know if they would “hold up” if I read them now, with my adult brain. I sort of feel the same way you do about The Help. I enjoyed it at the time, but it makes me kind of cringe now. Which feels unfair to the author and to Past Me. But there is so much that has aged so poorly. I also loved Homegoing! What a beautiful novel! Some of my favorites are The Friend by Sigrid Nunez, The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey NIffenegger, The History of Love by Nicole Krauss, and The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri.
I’ve read 1 chapter of “The Martian” by Mr. Andy Weir and the foreword of “The Help” by Ms. Kathryn Stockett. I usually don’t rank the books I read. But, since you do make this ranking, Stephany, I actually do think it works better when you list them from least favorite to most favorite. I think the honorable mentions that you made can be useful, too.
I also loved The Martian, and I think the movie did a really good job! I had one or two small niggles, but I can be very critical of movie-of-a-book renditions and I do think this was a good one.
I’ve read a few of these! I loved The Help, and I also loved Me Before You, although I get what you’re saying about it. I haven’t read The Martian, but Project Hail Mary is on my TBR and I want to read it SOON. I’m realizing I should also read Homegoing- it sounds incredible.
This was a really fun post to read! And I loved the CR podcast episode as well.
Having read and loved a number of these books (especially The Martian and The Hate U Give) I had to immediately look up “Homegoing” on my library website. It is actually available so I borrowed it right away. These lists of older books are so fun to read and such a treat for those of us using the library!
I’ve only read two of these books – Me before You and The hate U give – both excellent. The first one maybe problematic, but also well written and touching.
I’ll put Homegoing on my to-read list for sure.
I have only read The Five People You Meet in Heaven and Homegoing of your favorites.
The Five People You Meet in Heaven was just bla and a bit boring.
Homegoing was good but didn’t really blow my mind.
A few of your books are on my TBR.
This is a fun post and another contender for me stealing it.
I love A Thousand Splendid Suns. I also really enjoyed The Help. Know My Name – so good. I’ve read a few others on this list, I think, but there are several that I haven’t read. Oh, I’m seeing Namesake in Suzanne’s comment. I love that book too. I don’t track what books I read. Maybe because I don’t read all that many, so I feel like I can just recall them? I appreciate the recommendations that I’m coming across on this list. I’ve never even heard of Mary Jane.
I love that you still shared the ones you find embarrassing. We are allowed growth and to change our minds and how we view things! Actually, life would be really sad if we didn’t do that. LOL.
Someone recently recommended a Jojo Moyes book to me and I’ve never read ten and wonder if their other books are problematic too. We shall see!
Someone gifted me The Five People You Meet in Heaven and I still need to read it!
The Martian is so good!!!!!!!
I’ve read most of Jojo Moyes books and I’ve loved all of them! Me Before You was well-written, but problematic, ugh. Her other books are not as problematic!
I have not read several of these, but thanks to you and other Cool Bloggers, most of the ones I haven’t read are now on my list. I tried The Hating Game, but unfortunately it was Not For Me. Ah, well, we can’t agree on everything, can we? 🙂