Story Street Writers' Favorite Books of 2024

Alex Przybyla Recommends:

Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes, translated by Edith Grossman

Don Quixote’s Bookshop.org link is here

I’ve never read Don Quixote before. Even in a year of fantastic books — honorable mentions are East of Eden and The Eyes & The Impossible by Dave Eggers, which both made me ugly-cry for their sheer beauty — Don Quixote takes the cake.

Nabokov said Don Quixote ”looms so wonderfully above the skyline of literature, a gaunt giant on a lean nag, that the book lives and will live through [his] sheer vitality.” I feel it, that resonance, though it eludes description. There is something vital about being lost in his adventures, some animating force to Don Quixote that makes the rambling of our lives glorious. And there is something lifegiving about Cervantes — his subtle and not-at-all-subtle winking, his jokes that are sometimes groanworthy and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. (He is the ultimate dad slash uncle at a family reunion.)

It is such a strange, strange novel — if it can even be called a novel instead of a list of things that happen. ”Of all plots and actions,” Aristotle writes in Poetics, ”the episodic are the worst.” Aristotle would probably not care for Don Quixote (same goes for the modern-day critics who shred any story with even a whiff of a plot hole or continuity error). But there’s something about this book that frees the spirit to say, Aristotle and all y’all Youtubers can go kick rocks — I’m gonna keep wandering around with DQ. Also, for a reason I can’t describe, I’m happy to be a mess, alive.

I’d be remiss not to praise Edith Grossman’s jaunty, jangling translation. ”I didn’t use any contractions in the narration,” she says, ”and I used Latinate words, polysyllabic words, instead of German monosyllables. Any time I could, I chose a longer word rather than a shorter word, as if Hemingway had never lived.”

E.O. Connors Recommends:

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

Cloud Cuckoo Land’s Bookshop.org link is here

Cloud Cuckoo Land is unlike any book I’ve ever read. From the besieged city of fifteenth century Constantinople to a library in modern Idaho with a hidden bomb to a disintegrating AI-controlled spaceship, the lives of five characters are connected through time by a fantastical book written by the ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes.

Each story in its respective time period unfolds independently, and is spliced with the others in a way that leaves the reader wondering how, oh how, can the novel possibly come together as a whole?

When it does, and all is revealed: magic. Lives entwined through time by love, hope, loss, and story will remain with you, as will the lingering questions that the novel raises about the relationships between humanity, civilization and nature.

Michael Stubblefield Recommends:

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

The Dark is Rising Series Bookshop.org link is here

My choice may seem an odd one for a 2024 list, as it wasn’t published this year. Or this decade. Or this century.

I read several worthy books this year, and don’t want to undervalue any of them. But my recommendation is actually a series of books from my childhood, Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising Series.

Published a full thirty years before Harry Potter, a contemporary with L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, this series of 5 books also tells a story of hidden magic, tied to Arthurian legends and a battle between good and evil. It’s a great story that’s well written and (mostly) manages to remain timeless and appropriate for today’s readers. The series hit the Newbery list twice: one Newbery Award and one Newbery Honor.

I first read this series as a kid, with my father. (The books were a quarter century old, then). We took turns reading out loud, every night–a tradition we continued into other books. When I grew up, I repeated this tradition, re-reading these books with my oldest child. And just this year, I began re-reading these once more with my younger children.

This series of books will probably not mean the same to you as it does to me. But, in a year with so many disturbing or even scary things in the day-to-day, when you might be wishing for a happier time, I recommend finding and revisiting a comfort read from when you were younger.

Michele Alouf recommends:

Swamplandia by Karen Russell

Swamplandia’s Bookshop.org link is here

In my book, Karen Russell’s Swamplandia is the ultimate trifecta: heart-wrenching, humorous, and delightfully weird. Russell weaves eloquent prose through a wretched underbelly world of swamps, seedy theme parks, and alligator wrestling. She tackles themes of child abuse, abandonment, despair, and desolation with the delicate precision of a surgeon who must cut open to heal. Full of suspense, magic, and unforgettable characters, Swamplandia deserves a deep dive.

Margaret Speck Ogawa recommends:

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Demon Copperhead’s Bookshop.org link is here

I get a full press of emotion when I hear or think about Demon Copperfield by Barbara Kingsolver. It is one of those books you live in, rooting for the protagonist, suffering his pain, and hoping for his survival.

Kingsolver is an excellent storyteller and a powerful writer of beautiful, vivid and descriptive prose. Set in Appalachia, the story follows the life of young Demon as he struggles against hardship, steps up to challenges and breaks your heart with his vulnerability. Particularly impressive is Kingsolver’s skill at weaving the opioid crisis into the narrative, offering the reader a first-hand view of its evil, the destruction it wreaked, and its shattering effect on the communities and people it targeted.

Spend some time with Demon this holiday season. You will love his voice and his sense of humor, and I doubt you’ll regret it.

Elisa Maiz Recommends:

Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova

Monstrilio’s Bookshop.org link is here

I believe that you don’t find books; they find you. This was the case with Monstrilio. I don’t remember adding it to my Kindle wish list, where I heard about it, or who recommended it. Yet, the moment I started reading, I immediately connected to these characters. Could it be because the author is Mexican, like me? Possibly. But aside from the references to things I could easily relate to (the intricate and close-knit family dynamics, Mexico City as one of the locations), I was drawn to this drama-horror hybrid with hints of comedy, where you pass seamlessly from tenderness to shock. It’s told from four perspectives: Magos, the grieving mother; Joseph, her husband; Lena, her best friend; and M, each with a distinct voice and pace. It amazes me that this is a debut novel. The prose and word choice are impeccable, admirable for someone whose native tongue isn’t English. This novel will take you on a voyage through grief and acceptance that will keep you rethinking what is real and what isn’t.