24 Books To Read In 2024

No matter what 2024 may bring, one thing is certain – there will be brilliant new books to educate, inspire and delightfully distract you! We’ve picked 24 books across 8 categories that we think everyone will be reading and talking about this year…

We’re kicking off our selection of new books for 2024 by cheating and not selecting a new book at all! Much as there are lots of new books to get excited about, it would be remiss to not mention that the story of a mouse and a monster that has found its way into the hearts and bedtimes of an entire generation of children celebrates its 25th Anniversary this year, and there is a lovely Gruffalo Gift Edition to commemorate! Books that explore complex feelings and emotions for very young readers remain a focus for publishers with some fantastic titles due, like Kim Hillyard’s Frida the Rock-and-Roll Moth which speaks to inner confidence. March sees the publication of the 5th Luna Loves title which is a favourite of Browns customers; in the latest of this wonderful series, Children's Laureate Joseph Coelho shows us how gardening digs up a world of stories in Luna Loves Gardening.

Our debut recommendation for 2024 is Siobhan McDermott, who grew up on a steady stream of stories filled with Chinese legends and Irish folklore from her Chinese mum and Irish dad, and weaves these magical elements into Paper Dragons which features a Hong Kong inspired fantasy setting, a magical boarding school and 12-year old heroine Zhi Ging. We’re pleased to see more high-quality graphic novels and comics for young readers being published in 2024, and have been giggling uncontrollably at the unlikely duo of home-bird Pablo and adventure-seeking Splash and their time travelling adventure. We highly recommend Pablo & Splash and can’t wait for the penguin besties’ next adventure! April sees the new novel from the stellar Onjali Q. Rauf, and this time she sensitively addresses children as carers in The Letter with the Golden Stamp. The story of Audrey, her extensive stamp collection and her plan to get her mother the best possible medical treatment is a compassionate and compelling tale from this phenomenal author.

Indie publisher Magic Cat brings us Patrice Lawrence’s beautifully told story of Black History interwoven with a tale of family and belonging - we highly recommend Our Story Starts in Africa for readers 6-8 years. Artificial Intelligence is much-discussed and we’re starting to see some great books on the topic being published - our pick for the first half of 2024 is award-winning author-illustrator Neal Layton’s What is AI? : The curious kid's guide to artificial intelligence, perfect for Key Stage 1 children who are always asking how something works. We’ve not seen much of this as it’s published in September, but are already excited about Hamza's Wild World: A fun and fascinating guide to the animal kingdom – which promises to be a brilliant, fun look at the animal kingdom from the naturalist and wildlife cameramen who won all our hearts when he lifted the Strictly glitterball in 2022.

We eagerly devour anything the phenomenally talented Sarah Crossan writes in her signature free verse, and can’t wait for Where the Heart Should Be, a story of romance and tragedy set during the Irish Potato Famine which asks the question whether we can survive on love alone? Certainly not new, but the extra exposure of the adaptation on Disney+ has resulted in a readily-available edition paperback of American Born Chinese, so we’re flagging this funny, action-packed and poignant graphic novel for Young Adults as one to read in 2024. In a Secondary market that feels like it’s dominated by American fantasy, Nevin Holness’ promising debut is a breath of fresh air – King of Dead Things is an urban YA fantasy about found family, steeped in Afro-Caribbean folklore and mythology with a cast of Black British characters set in a London that is both familiar and magical – she is certainly an author to watch! 

March undoubtedly sees one of the literary events of the year: the publication of a final novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, released a decade after his death.  Having suffered from dementia, he decided in his final days that the novel he was writing, Until August, should not be released. Now, his sons have reconsidered, and Marquez’s last work will be shared with the world. Set in the Caribbean, it tells the story of a middle-aged woman's search for freedom and features Marquez’s trademark magical realism. It’s hard to choose just one debut novel for 2024, but The Painter’s Daughters by Emily Rowes is a standout for us, this features sisters Peggy and Molly Gainsborough and the secrets one sister must keep to protect the other – it’s powerful, gripping and historical fiction at its most compelling. In 2018 we were completely captivated by the time-bending murder mystery The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and now author Stuart Trenton is back with another high concept murder mystery - The Last Murder at the End of the World. Last time I had to get a notebook to jot down thoughts on whodunnit, so I’m looking forward to another ingenious puzzle against an extraordinary backdrop and a mind-boggling solution! 

There is a wealth of quality non-fiction due in 2024 that deserves our attention, many of them seeking to help us make sense of the world around us. Following on from the bestselling and award-winning Empireland, author Sathnam Sanghera shows us in Empireworld that across the globe 2.6 billion people are inhabitants of former British colonies and how this profound imperial legacy plays out on a global scale. Harvard professor and Pulitzer-Prize winning author Charles Duhigg offers a practical guide to becoming a “supercommunicator” - someone with the ability to effectively communicate in any scenario. Packed with fascinating case studies and drawing on cutting-edge research Supercommunicators aims to help us communicate successfully. In over 25 years as a secondary school English teacher, Carol Atherton has taught students from all walks of life but something that has remained constant in her classes are the English literature stalwarts - from Macbeth to Jane Eyre.  In Reading Lessons she blends memoir with social commentary and shows us how to simultaneously rekindle a love of the books we studied at school, while making us look at them with fresh eyes – a highly recommended and thought-provoking read!

At Browns we’re superfans of Faridah Abike-Iyimide since her thunderous debut Ace of Spades and we’ve patiently waited 3 years for another book, but it’s finally here and it was so worth the wait! We don’t want to pigeonhole this as #DarkAcademia, one of TikTok’s hottest trends of 2023, as it is much more than that – the deliciously gothic Alfred Nobel Academy hides dark secrets and dark hearts which makes Where Sleeping Girls Lie a thought-provoking 576-page turner that is sure to get Tiktokkers talking! Emily Henry’s consistently joyful, funny and romantic novels have a legion of BookTok fans and April sees the publication of the eagerly awaited Funny Story. The story, in which Daphne becomes roommates with her ex-fiancée’s new fiancée’s ex-boyfriend (hope you’re keeping up!) epitomises the hugely popular #FakeDating trope. Looking for vampires, secrets and spicy romance then look no further than Hafsah Faizal’s A Tempest of Tea which is the first novel in a new series called Blood and Tea which promises to be a dark, action-packed swoonworthy #Romantasy.

In the Autumn, as every year, we’ll see a raft of powerhouse biographies, like the rumoured political memoirs of German Chancellor Angela Merkell. But for the first half of the year the autobiography that everyone is already talking about is The House of Hidden Meanings, from international drag superstar and pop culture icon, RuPaul which promises to be a revealing account of his life, relationships and identity. On the 12th of August 2022 we all watched in horror as footage emerged of Salman Rushdie being attacked on stage, which left him blind in one eye. For the first time he speaks up, and gives us a deeply personal account of the event and finding the strength to stand up again. Knife : Meditations After an Attempted Murder aims to remind us of the power of words to make sense of the unthinkable. In the 1980s feminist bookshop Silver Moon opened its doors on Charing Cross Road against a backdrop of homophobia and misogyny. In A Bookshop of One’s Own : How a Group of Women Set out to Change the World Jane Cholmeley (one of the three owners) reveals the struggle of being an underdog business and the joys of building a community, hosting events with literary icons from Margaret Atwood to Maya Angelou, and giving women a safe space and a chance to speak out.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our 24 top picks for 2024 so far. Publishing plans for later in the year are still under wraps and may of course change, but rumours are we can expect works from Anita Desai, Irvine Welsh and Matt Haig amongst others. You can also follow the 'See More' link in each section to a bigger list of titles to grow your 2024 TBR pile. Happy Reading!

Claudia, Content Selection Team