This post contains what it sounds like: a list of the books we read aloud in 2024. Please note that “we” means myself, my husband, and the three children we still have at home. At the beginning of 2024, they were 15, 17, and 18. You need to take that into account when shopping from this list — I am not recommending these books for 8-year-olds, though some of them, I’m sure, would be fine. I’m selecting books for teens and it shows! You will have to use your discretion.
I’ve mentioned this before, but I will say it again: once you have busy teens, you really need to keep more than one book going if you want to maintain the habit of reading aloud. I have a book for every possible group our schedule could create: myself plus … three kids, three kids and my husband, just my husband, two of three kids, etc. The reason for this is that the habit depends upon ME. As long as I pull out a book and read every afternoon directly following lunch, for example, the habit will be maintained, regardless of the fact that my college student is rarely home at that time.
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This list contains books we finished in 2024, in approximately the order in which we read them (except if I put a series together). This means the first book on the list was begun in 2023 and finish in early 2024.
Dune by Frank Herbert
This was an interesting tale, to be sure, but we won’t be going on to read the rest of the series. Everyone felt done by the time it was done, if you know what I mean. It is, after all, a long book. The author obviously stole a lot of his religious imagery from Islam and desert religions in general, which made it a more unique read. I wouldn’t conflate it with Islam, though. It’s definitely its own thing. It’s not particularly heroic, and I think that is why it fell flat for us at the end. I’m glad we read it, though, especially since the movies have popularized the book. It’s good to know the source material they draw upon.
Sackett by Louis L’Amour
We’ve been reading through the Sackett series, a few books a year. I love them. In fact, it’s been a while since we’ve read one. I need to make sure we do a few this coming year!
The Hammer by Alfred Church
This is a book I had on my shelf a long time and then, before I got to it, I somehow lost it. I have no idea how that happened, but it reappeared after our move! Miraculous! It’s a basic retelling of some of the stories in Maccabbees, which was fun. The cover at left is not the version I have, and the link goes to another edition, which also is not the one I have. I can’t vouch for these except to say that mine is a cheap scanned reprint, too, and it’s fine.
Flint by Louis L’Amour
I like all the Sackett books, but I think this was one of my favorites so far. I just loved the main character so much. The Sackett books are probably fine, by the way, for elementary students. You might want to read them, though, to make sure you agree with me.
The King Raven Series by Stephen Lawhead
In this series, Stephen Lawhead retells some of the Robin Hood mythology in a fascinating way. He sets it in Wales, shortly after the Norman invasion. Warning: we thought the first book was slow. I’m glad we pressed on and read the rest of the series, though. It was so good.
The Oath by Frank Peretti
There are a few books I’ve read that I think really illustrate the power and/or consequences of sin. This is one of them. I put it in the same category as The Picture of Dorian Gray or (for a bit younger crowd) The Night Gardener (if you only own one of these books, own this last one — it’s my favorite). This is definitely for the older teen crowd; we had some great discussions about it.
The Visitation by Frank Peretti
I inherited two Peretti books from my grandmother, who died a few years ago, and this was the other one. This is about false prophets and cults and deception. It is a good intro into that topic, in my opinion. But also, I wanted to introduce my children to a more charismatic, Pentecostal type of Christianity. They’ve never been around it, and I didn’t want them to be surprised or confused when they finally encounter it.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
This is great fun, but a good one to read aloud because it is better with some light censorship. It is a happy, irreverent type of science fiction. I suspect that I like it more than my kids do.
A Failure of Nerve by Edwin Friedman
I love this book and I am reading it again this year with my local book club. This particular reading was with my husband (kids eavesdropped off and on). It was super helpful giving us some language to discuss various issues that had come up with people we knew. I highly recommend this book even though I wish the author had lived to see the editing stage of his work.
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams
This is the continuing adventures of the Hitchhiker’s Guide crowd. I love that the end of the universe means where the restaurant is situated in time rather than space. The plays on words in this book are so much fun.
Saving My Assassin by Virginia Prodan
This is my favorite of all the books we read aloud this year. It was excellent and such a good reminder of how easy our lives are here in the United States and how little we have suffered compared to those who came before us. Virginia Prodan details her early career as a lawyer fighting for religious rights in Romania. It was so interesting to read, partly because much of what she shares, I remember vaguely from American news media when I was a child during the Reagan Administration. I highly recommend this book!
On That Night by Elizabeth Yates
I try to add a new Christmas book to our collection each year. (I may have forgotten during our frantic packing last season!) This was the new addition for 2024. It’s a sweet little book, good for a quick read aloud.
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