Better Reading’s Top 100 books of 2024 announced

Lessons in Chemistry Bonnie Garmus

#3

The New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller, with over six million copies sold. Now a major Apple TV series starring Brie Larson.

To Kill A Mockingbird Harper Lee

#7

The bestselling, Pulitzer prize-winning classic.

‘Someone rare has written this very fine novel, a writer with the liveliest sense of life and the warmest, most authentic humour. A touching book; and so funny, so likeable.’ – Truman Capote

Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen

#8

The original romantic comedy, brimful of wit and wisdom.

The Other Bridget Rachael Johns

#18

‘Rachael Johns is an absolute force in storytelling and stands firmly alone, no comparisons needed . . . The Other Bridget is Rachael at the top of her game. The writing sings. It’s a superb celebration of libraries, friendship and books. It will be difficult to top this for a feelgood read this year.’ – Better Reading

Cloudstreet Tim Winton

#21

‘A groundbreaking Australian narrative [with an] irresistible combination of the domestic and the mythic.’ – Thomas Keneally

Outlander Diana Gabaldon

#24

'Scotland's answer to Game of Thrones.' – Herald

The Sugar Palace Fiona McIntosh

#27

‘The Sugar Palace is a gripping read for fans of Kate Furnivall and Natasha Lester, and is true to form for The Orphans author Fiona McIntosh, with skilful storytelling and compelling characters that leap from the page.’ – Books + Publishing

The Thursday Murder Club Richard Osman

#34

'A total pleasure . . . very, very funny.’ – Abigail Dean

The Heart's Invisible Furies John Boyne

#40

 ‘It’s been a long time since I read anything so compelling and satisfying. At times, incredibly funny, at others, heartrending.’ – Sarah Winman

The Last Love Note Emma Grey

#42

‘A beautiful, tragic, moving and at times funny story written by someone who not only understands grief but can write bloody well . . . This is not just a romance, nor is it a book with just one love story. It depicts love on different levels, at different times and in different ways, and how every act of kindness can be something so much more.’ – Kerryn Mayne

Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë

#46

A passionate portrayal of a woman struggling to make a life for herself in a cruel and indifferent world.

A Gentleman in Moscow Amor Towles

#51

A four-million copy bestseller, now a Paramount+ series.

‘I think the world feels so disordered right now. The count’s refinement and genteel nature are exactly what we’re longing for. His world was also in shambles but he maintained his grace and humour.’ – Ann Patchett

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow Gabrielle Zevin

#54

‘The sort of book that comes around once in a decade – a magnificent feat of storytelling. It is a book about the intersection between love and friendship, work and vocation, and the impossible and relentless pull of our own west-bound destinies.’ – Rebecca Serle

The Tea Ladies Amanda Hampson

#55

‘A multi-layered fictional world inhabited by vivid characters who bounce off the page . . . Crime, comedy and fashion, it's a layer cake of which any tea lady would be proud.’ – Sydney Morning Herald

The Angry Women's Choir Meg Bignell

#58

‘If you have forgotten why you're angry, if you've forgotten that you are angry, this laugh-out-loud, sob-out-loud, sing-out-loud book will remind you.’ – Minnie Darke

The Secret History Donna Tartt

#61

‘The Secret History succeeds magnificently . . .  A remarkably powerful novel [and] a ferociously well-paced entertainment . . . Forceful, cerebral, and impeccably controlled.’ –New York Times

The Night Circus Erin Morgenstern

#64

‘The only response to this novel is simply: wow. It is a breathtaking feat of imagination, a flight of fancy that pulls you in and wraps you up in its spell.’ – The Times

Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone Benjamin Stevenson

#68

‘An engrossing whodunnit, with an ingenious twist on the classic crime genre. The type of book you finish and want to immediately read again.’ – Kyle Perry

1984 George Orwell

#80

The powerful and prophetic novel that defined the twentieth century.

The Secrets of the Huon Wren Claire van Ryn

#82

‘A mesmerising tale of love, heartache and healing . . . I laughed, I cried, I was totally swept away.’ – Sandie Docker

The Giver of Stars Jojo Moyes

#87

‘What a wonderful novel. The Giver of Stars is the most sweeping, dramatic, richly evocative book, full of brilliantly feisty women. I whipped through the pages, utterly agog, pretty much feeling as though I was on a horse in 1930s Kentucky myself.’ – Sophie Kinsella

Question 7 Richard Flanagan

#91

‘Richard Flanagan’s Question 7 is a profoundly moving love song for the writer’s parents, a forensic excavation, a lament, a confession, a jig-saw puzzle in which Hiroshima connects to HG Wells, and the Martians colonise Tasmania. We are all competitive, of course, so this is not an easy thing to say: but Question 7 may just be the most significant work of Australian art in the last 100 years.’ – Peter Carey

Daisy Jones and The Six Taylor Jenkins Reid

#95

The Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller, now an Amazon Prime TV series.

'I LOVE it . . . I can't remember the last time I read a book that was so fun.’ – Dolly Alderton

The Handmaid's Tale Margaret Atwood

#98

The bestselling dystopian classic that became a cultural phenomenon and inspired an award-winning TV series.

‘Fiercely political and bleak, yet witting and wise . . . this novel seems ever more vital in the present day.’ – Observer