We are back with our 5(ish) favorite reads (and games) of 2024!
We try very hard to keep it to five, but it’s simply not always possible. So, per staff member there may be more or less than five titles, but there can also be an A and a B list, memorable reads or just plain marvelous books.
We’re presenting our lists in bite-size chunks to make them more digestible, as there are more than 150 titles for you to sink your teeth into.
We hope to inspire you to try some of them in the new year.
Happy reading (and playing)!
When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut
Unlike anything I’ve ever read.
It follows a few protagonists that were involved in some of the 20th century’s biggest and most dangerous breakthroughs in physics. The tales told will leave you with a sense of wonder and pondering some heavy ethical issues about human nature and its beautiful and dangerous curiosity.
I’m not sure how to categorize this (different to traditional fiction) but it’s very, very fascinating, well-written and highly recommended.
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
A delightful and sweet tale about a young Russian count who is condemned by the Communist party when they take over power in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. However, because of a deed done 10 years earlier, he is not sentenced to death but instead is imprisoned in a posh Moscovian hotel for the rest of his life.
Adventures ensue against a backdrop of the turbulent history of the USSR. The count is not a character you’re likely to forget; you’d gladly have him as a friend.
Odyssey by Stephen Fry
Starts where his last book Troy left us. I enjoyed this just as much as the first three books, which is to say a lot, and am a bit scared this will have been the last installment (or maybe… The Aeneid, Stephen?), but I will reread all of these for sure anyway.
Bloodsworn Saga by John Gwynne (The Shadow of the Gods, The Hunger of the Gods and The Fury of the Gods)
A good action-packed fantasy is a must for me every year and I was fairly confident John Gwynne would deliver, as his first two trilogies (The Faithful and the Fallen and Of Blood and Bone, not related to this one) were awesome.
This one’s just as good. A Norse/Viking inspired world with gods, magic and loads of fighting. Love it.
Ongoing recommended series:
DCI Logan by J.D. Kirk (detective/Scotland) – series starts with A Litter of Bones
The Gray Man by Mark Greaney (commando action) – the first in the series
Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz (vigilante action) – the first in the series
Gabriel Allon by Daniel Silva (espionage) – series starts with The Kill Artist
Playground by Richard Powers
Wow, this is a book to read ASAP, which opens the mind to realizing that, while we live on land, the planet is overwhelmingly oceanic, full of uncountable intelligent, social creatures beyond imagination. A mind-opener. Precious. Wonderful.
The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich
Louise Erdrich is always good – although The Sentence set a new standard, this story set in the Red River Valley of Minnesota stuck with me long after I expected it to do so. Love, betrayal, financial crime, motherhood are the characters the author moves and intertwines.
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amos Towles
Although I had no idea what to expect by the title, so many friends’ recommendations drew me to this book, which made me try to get the author here to visit in the Netherlands.
Masterful story set in 1922 when a Russian count is exiled to the hotel across the street, where he sets up a parallel reality with the inspiration of another hotel guest, an inquisitive little girl. It’s a wonderful read!
Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad
Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlisted title – a novel on several levels, as a London-born Palestinian returns to Haifa and ends up directing a production of Hamlet.
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
This one is destined to be a re-readable classic due to its language, structure, multi-generational love interest. The cycle of despair and renewal is new and yet familiar, Rooney is a master.
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
This book changed my perception of the role of humans on this planet. It’s no wonder that more than a million copies have been printed in the past 25 years – yet I had never heard of it!
Molly Quell is a journalist who covers international justice for Courthouse News Service and is a contributing editor at Dutch News, including writing the site’s book reviews.
She spends pretty much all of the money she makes on books at the ABC. She enjoys reading those books on the couch with her dog.
Molly’s Top Five (in absolutely no order):
Friendaholic: Confessions of a Friendship Addict by Elizabeth Day
British novelist and journalist Elizabeth Day takes on a subject that many of us don’t give enough thought to: What is friend? Part-memoir, part-column, the book digs into how to develop friendships, how to nurture them, when to end them and what happens when they go badly. I’d been thinking a lot about my own friendships and Day’s book sparked a lot of interesting conversations within my friend groups.
Getting Lost by Annie Ernaux
In the late 1980s, French author Annie Ernaux was having an affair with a Russian diplomat. The Nobel Prize in Literature winner kept a journal and Getting Lost is the excerpted memoir of her experience. The work ends with the fall of the Berlin wall and her lover returning to Moscow without saying goodbye. Ernaux’s writing, even in her own private diary, is exquisite and her thoughts on love, infatuation and sex are still relevant today.
Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine by Anne Applebaum
Anne Applebaum’s deep dive in Ukranian history is informative and thorough but mostly it’s extraordinarily well-written and something of a page-turner, even when you know the terrible outcome of the holodomor.
Shit Cassandra Saw by Gwen E. Kirby
Gwen E. Kirby has put together possibly the best short story collection that I have ever read. She touches on everything from feminism to school shootings and brilliantly explores form. There’s a a Yelp review, a WikiHow article and a retelling of a story of the Trojan priestess. Plus the cover art is great.
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
I will not apologise for being basic. I love Sally Rooney and I loved Intermezzo in particular. The story follows two grieving brothers, one of whom is a chess prodigy, as they navigate their love lives and their relationship with one another. The characters are interesting and complex and I enjoyed all of the time I spent with them.
