There has been some real shining moments of 2024 for us here at LoveReading. We have been honoured with being shortlisted for a number of awards this year, from the Heart of Gold Award at the Small Awards to Retail Business of the Year at the British Business Awards to Book Retailer of the Year at the Nibbies. This is our second year of being an online bookstore with social purpose and we're proud to see word of our work spreading. We've reached some amazing milestones this year, by donating up to 25% of the cover price of every book sold to UK schools (while also giving shoppers 10% off!) and so far we've raised more than £75,000 pounds for our schools. Much needed funds to help stock school libraries and engender a life-long love of reading. 

Even with the celebration and excitement of glittering awards ceremonies the brightest highlights of our year have been the amazing books we've been able to share with you, the very best of which were granted LoveReading Star Book status. For those who are unfamiliar, our Star Books are the cream of the crop of the stacks of books we've read over the course of the year. These books come with our highest recommendation, and if you get overwhelmed with all the latest releases, our Star Books are a great place to start when selecting your next read.

We've seen new releases from popular favourites like Sally Rooney, Matt Haig, Kristin Hannah, Dolly Alderton, and Mark Billingham as well as stunning debuts introducing us to Georgia Summers, Kaliane Bradley, Rowan Beaird, Isabel Banta and more.

In the list below you can browse all the Star Books we've read this year. Many of the books in this list are in hardback as it's their first time on the shelves, however there are a few titles that we've caught in their second format as the paperback has been released. For books that we first read in paperback and so weren't included in our best books of 2023 collection, we have added them here.

It takes a brave writer to revisit a classic, it takes a genius to revisit the classic and write a novel that’s even better than the original, says LoveReading's Maureen Stapleton. That’s precisely what Percival Everett has done with James, an imaginative retelling of the American classic, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In this updated story, which has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize, Jim is now James, as he writes his story with a purloined pencil. He can read and write, but hides it from Huck as they travel the Mississippi River.

Caledonian Road by Andrew O'Hagan is an epic state-of-the nation novel with a huge cast of characters living in a post-Brexit, post-Covid London. A walk down Caledonian Road is a walk through modern-day London, with all of its characters and complexities and definitely worth the read for any contemporary fiction readers.

Chris Whitaker has been a favourite at LoveReading for years and his new novel, All the Colours of the Dark is described by editorial expert Liz Robinson as a heart-piercing, mind-blowing masterpiece. Keen crime thriller readers have also been lucky enough to have new stars from Karin Slaughter, Paula Hawkins and M. W. Craven. 

We've seen plenty of feel-good fiction this year, with uplifting novels of love, family and friendship, hilarious reads that also offer piercing thoughtful depths.

David Nicholls' You Are Here is another standout. Another glorious love story from the master as you urge the walkers on, every step of the Coast to Coast journey. We adore his books. They are such a tonic. Such a joy to read. It is such a pleasure getting to know his characters page by page, chapter by chapter. Consuming them hungrily, whilst also mourning the fastly disappearing pages. If you haven't read this yet, please do!

Beth Morrey's Lucky Day is an absolute blast, The Unfinished Business of Eadie Browne is powerful and intimate with an unforgettable lead. For those looking for a little romance, meet the delightful 90-year-old Eddie Winston in Eddie Winston is Looking for Love in an adventure to have his first kiss. Have your heart stolen in the refreshed Robin Hood rom-com, Not for the Faint of Heart by Lex Croucher. And Casey McQuiston turns the heat up to full for even the most hedonistic of readers with The Pairing. 

Readers looking to reach for the stars can join a hotel hurtling through space with Grace Curtis' Floating Hotel, it's an oh-so clever, brilliantly pointed, witty and wise slice of science fiction. See crime fiction and fantasy meld together with an absolute corker of a read from Robert Jackson Bennett. The Tainted Cup deserves to fly far and wide.  

Moving on to non-fiction and we fell in love with The Bookshop Woman by Nanako Hanada, the transformative power of books and book recommendations is at the heart of this memoir so we couldn't help but fall in love. 

When you think of non-fiction you may think of self-help books, filled with advice to be picked up and forgotten once returned to the shelves, but the environmentalist and vlogger Leena Norms makes self-improvement feel radically doable and fun in the wonderfully grabbable book, Half-Arse Human. 

Fern Brady's unputdownable Strong Female Character, the Nero Book Award winner tells her no-holds-barred account of living as an undercover, undiagnosed autistic. Our MD Deborah says it's brave, powerful razor sharp and an education.

Those drawn to books about nature can find treasures in book form amongst this list. Celebrate the seasons with A Year in Story and Song by Lia Leendertz. Wild Treasures by Hannah Stitfall is a delight that delivers a love letter to Cornwall and the wild and plant life to be found there. For green thumbed readers Caroline Quentin's Drawn to the Garden helps you find solace in in your outdoor space.

For cycling fans, Ned Boulting's Tour de France commentary is an institution. Discovery of a two minute reel of footage from around a hundred years ago unlocks a parallel cycling universe, making 1923 compelling reading, whether a cycling nut or not.

Why We Travel by Ash Bhardwaj is more than just another travel book. Exploring what we can gain from venturing out into the world it threads together reflective memoir, evocative travelogues as well as advice and big ideas. Beautifully written by a leading travel journalist, this wise and moving ode to the transformative power of travel melds memoir with anthropological and psychological insights. A perfect read for anyone with wanderlust. 

Keep scrolling to discover all of our Books of the Year 2024. Add them to your wishlist and share with your family as a nudge for present ideas or add them straight to your basket if you have the perfect person in mind. Shopping with us allows you to make a difference to schools close to your heart. We hope you enjoy these selections as much as we have.