Book Report: Ron Charles on the best books of 2024 – Blogging Sole

By Washington Post book critic Ron Charles

2024 was full of splendor (“Lake of Creation”), animated (“Someone like us.”), worrying (“eruption”), entertainment (“All four”), educational (“What chickens know”(And fun)“Color television”) Books.

As we look back over the past 12 months, here are five of the best of the best:


Book Report: Ron Charles on the best books of 2024

 – Blogging Sole

W. W. Norton

“stadium,” Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Powers, it is a fascinating novel about artificial intelligence and the race to save Earth’s oceans. The story involves a computer genius, a famous oceanographer, and a small island in the South Pacific.

Powers brings these stories together in a mind-boggling way that will change the way you see the world.

Read an excerpt: “Pitch” by Richard Powers

“stadium” Written by Richard Powers (W.W. Norton), in hardcover, eBook and audiobook formats, available via Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Bookshop.org

Richard Powers (official website)


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doubleday

Move, Mark Twain: A Percival Everett Novel “James” It is a revolutionary response to “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”

Everett retells Twain’s story from the point of view of Jim, Huck’s enslaved friend. You won’t believe how transformative this change in perspective is Everything In this sometimes funny, sometimes terrifying satire of racism and American culture.

Read an excerpt: “James” by Percival Everett

“James” Written by Percival Everett (Doubleday), in hardcover, large format trade paperback, eBook and audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Bookshop.org

Also by Percival Everett: “Dr. No” (excerpt from the book)


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W. W. Norton

Every family has secrets. Claire Massoud has built a fascinating novel around the hidden events of her family. “This strange and eventful history.” It follows three generations as they navigate the world from World War II to the 21st century.

The narrator is a curious young woman determined to be a writer—not unlike Masoud herself.

Read an excerpt: “This Strange and Eventful History” by Claire Massoud

“This strange and eventful history.” Written by Claire Massoud (W.W. Norton), in hardcover, eBook and audiobook formats, available via Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Bookshop.org

clairemessud.com


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Penguin Press

Here is the memoir of a writer who struggled for decades with a sense of mistaken identity. Finally, in 2021, at the age of 66, she wrote to about two dozen of her friends and announced that she was transgender and would be known as Lucy.

“I heard her calling my name” is a brave and timely book that describes the life of Lucie Santi and her struggle to be true to herself.

Read an excerpt: “I Heard Her Calling My Name” by Lucy Santi

“I Heard Her Calling My Name: A Memoir of Transformation” By Lucy Santi (Penguin Press), in hardcover, trade paperback, eBook and audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Bookshop.org


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Riverhead Books

You might think you have a pretty good idea of ​​the world map, but Atossa Araksia Abrahamyan explains how special economic zones, tax havens, and free ports divide the planet for the highest bidder—and leave millions of people worse off.

“The Hidden World: How Wealth Penetrates the World” It makes a very complex financial and legal topic clear, exciting… and deeply troubling.

Read an excerpt: “The Hidden Globe” by Atossa Araksia Abrahamyan

“Hidden globe” Written by Atossa Araksia Abrahamyan (Riverhead Books), in hardcover, e-book and audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Bookshop.org

atossaaraxia.com


That’s it for the book report. It’s been so much fun talking with you all year about good books. Here’s to more in 2025.

I’m Ron Charles. Until next time, keep reading!


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For more reading recommendations, check out previous book report features from Ron Charles:


Produced by Robert Marston. Editor: Joseph Frandino.

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