The Best Fiction I read in 2024

 

Book Dragon is still around!

It's been two years since I did a "best books" post, and I did not mean for that to happen, but life gets in the way sometimes, even when it comes to one's writing. I am making extremely slow progress, but progress nevertheless on Tristam's Heart. I hope to finish and edit and publish in 2025, Lord willing....

Meanwhile, I do not have "10 top reads" like in years past, because most of what I've read in 2024 has been nonfiction as I have educated myself on alternative healing: acupuncture, NAET, tuning forks, singing bowls, grounding, and of course nutrition. This entire year my "theme song" has been "Staying Alive!" I can confidently say on this date--December 30, 2024--I am still "on the right side of the dirt" as my Dad used to say....

Another large section of my Goodreads challenge and "to be reads" has been picture books, and even though I read some cute ones this year, they are not included.

An Honorable Mention goes to my eldest granddaughter for her first published book (but hopefully not her last). She is a voracious reader and worked very hard to finish her fantasy story with literary techniques she has noticed while reading. I had written several stories by age 12, but none as creative and original as Olivia's Tunnels and Trapdoors. She also helped design the pretty cover.

#5: Shadows: Visible and Invisible

When the Catholic Teen Book authors announced their 2024 anthology, I wasn't sure I wanted to read it because I've never liked horror stories, and the theme seemed to be "Halloween." But the stories are MUCH deeper than mere "scary stories." Instead, the anthology deals with departed souls in seven very well-written stories spanning many times and places. Each one made me think about death and what comes after in a different light with strong themes of forgiveness and redemption.

#4: Running From the Past by Melanie D. Snitker

When I got an email notification that one of my favorite authors was releasing a new Christian romantic suspense novel, I downloaded it, even though it's #5 in a series and I've only read one other. They are stand-alones, so it was no problem to read this one out of order. And wow, was it sspenseful! I could hardly put it down! I think Ms. Snitker just keeps getting better and better! I recommend this one and pretty much everything else she's written--I have paperbacks of almost all her books. She's great!

#3: What's Done is Done (Book 10 of the unSPARKed series) by Corinna Turner

This excellent installment would not be as satisfying read alone because it is part of a series of short novels set in a dystopian future world where dinosaurs have been reintroduced (like Jurassic Park but much more satisfying). This series has been one of my favorites EVER, and my only "complaint" is having to wait for the next installment, because I've grown so attached to the characters! How Ms. Turner is able to combine dinosaurs, grave danger, and faith continues to amaze me! A must-read for anyone age 8-88 who likes dinosaurs, like I do!

#2: Weigh the Odds (Book 11 of the unSPARKed series) by Corinna Turner

I ranked book 11 higher than book 10 simply because there was so! much! danger! my heart was racing in several places, I became so anxious for my young friends, er, I mean the main characters! I'm not sure HOW I'm going to wait for book 12!!! Seriously, if you like this kind of adventure/survival story, start with book 1. You will NOT be able to put it down, and you will WANT to keep reading! As soon as the last one comes out I plan to take a day off and read all of them in one sitting as a single long novel.

#1: The best book I read in 2024 was Pamela Sharp's For What We Receive . . . which is book 3 in her Beth and Sarah series of literary historical fiction.

This series is every bit as good as those by John Jakes, which I read in high school when my mother managed a bookstore and would bring home stacks of books for me to read. Like Jakes' Kent Family Chronicles, this series follows the families of two cousins who are closer than sisters from the 1940's through the 1960's in the American Deep South. The time and place are strongly grounded and part of the story, but it's the characters and their realistic situations that make for an unforgettable, deep, and rich story. This book can stand alone, but I recommend starting with book 1. Though they are very long novels, the pacing is impeccable, and you will not want it to end when you get to the last page! That takes a special kind of talent, which Ms. Sharp definitely has!

Something exciting to share!

My two biggest singing bowls and three favorite tuning forks

It's been TWO years since Fiona's Gift was published, and for many months I struggled to begin the last book in the series, Tristam's Heart. Since the headstrong Fiona completely changed the plot of HER book (yes, I do give my characters their way, since I've learned not to argue with them; they actually know their own story better than I do) of course, the plot of her younger brother's book changed, too. I mean, SO completely changed that I had to begin from scratch....

The biggest problem with that is, I haven't been able to concentrate. At all! Between slowly losing my eyesight, unable to sell our house and buy one with a real pool I could use for therapy for my lymphedema, and having to put our house back together after not selling it in 2022, not many words were written that year. In 2023, for a little while things were better and I managed to write several chapters.

Then my lymphedema got worse, which always increases brain fog, which decreases concentration. I was sitting our cheap little above-ground pool last summer and had a realio trulio Eureka! moment as I watched the wind ripple across the surface of the water: Could vibrations cause the lymph fluid to move like that and not get so clogged up??? I bought a 432 Hz tuning fork (the smallest one pictured) which helped a little, but it wasn't powerful enough.

Long story short, I discovered an entire new world of SOUND HEALING!  One by one I'm adding to my collection of tuning forks and Himalayan singing bowls, which I use daily to help move lymph fluid. By December 2023 I was feeling pretty good about it and felt like I had turned a corner: 2024 was going to be the year I wrote profusely, so I could finish Tristam's story and work on another book I started years ago.

Then on New Year's Eve, my health took a nose dive. After a Herxheimer reaction to antibiotic ear drops, I started seeing an acupuncturist, trying desperately to regain my precariously balanced homeostasis. In February my dependable lymphedema pump, whom I had used since 2018, the year I was finally correctly diagnosed with lymphedema, triggered atrial fibrillation and I had to go to the ER because I couldn't get it to stop, no matter what I tried.

One thing led to another, and by June I was starting to think my lymphoma had returned, I was that washed out. I couldn't write anything, even had trouble writing a note in a sympathy card!!! I discovered Fort Worth Wellness, a holistic clinic not far from us, and decided to give them a try.

Wow, am I glad I did! The very first visit, I immediately connected with the practitioner and founder of the clinic, Allison Blakewell. She spoke my language and then some! She had even trained with the woman who designed the large tuning fork in the picture, which can especially move lymph fluid! That was two weeks ago. My lymphatic system was only functioning at 12% TWELVE! My body had become so full of toxins from the sluggish, stagnant lymph, it was no wonder I felt like I was half dead. I started a detox, and she gave me one NAET treatment (a non-invasive way of teaching the body not to be hypersensitive to substances) and I had a return appointment in 2 weeks.

I felt good that I'd found someone who understood HOW important the lymphatic system is to the body! She had many patients with lymphedema and even had a type of lymphatic pump at the office (though I haven't used it yet). Within a week, I could walk briskly without getting out of breath, and had energy to do things without being completely wiped out. Today was my second appointment, and my lymph is functioning at 42% already! My brain fog is dissipating! I can actually think about writing again! Hooray!

If traditional Western medicine isn't helping, I highly recommend trying alternatives. It might be just the thing to bring back wellness and make life better.

Thanks for being patient, for Tristam's sake. Since the plot has changed (and I'm writing by the seat of the pants, which is exhilarating and very, very scary), the cover needed to change also. Here's a preview: