#us fools

[mercerislandbooks]

Our Favorite Fiction of 2024

Although there is still a month and a bit of 2024 to go, and it's entirely possible that one of us will find another novel we absolutely adore, we wanted to give you, our lovely customers, a peek at the collection of fiction we couldn't stop talking about this year. Our staff is a varied lot with diverse tastes (luckily our customers are just as delightfully quirky) and we hope there's something for everyone in this round-up of titles.

Cindy, Laurie, Nancy AND Caitlin all loved Liz Moore's The God of the Woods, with its historical setting, secrets galore, and rich people doing very bad things. If you're in the mood for a thriller set in the '70's this will satisfy.

As for Table for Two, by Amor Towles, Brad says that the concluding 200-page novella of this short story collection is "worth the price of admission", continuing the story of Rules of Civility. He was also charmed to discover the only published mystery of famed Winnie-the-Pooh author A. A. Milne. The Red House Mystery is for those of you longing for a perfect locked room whodunnit from the Golden Age of Mysteries.

For a contemporary thriller, Cindy highly recommends Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera, saying, "Lucy Chase, exonerated in the murder of her best friend, is mortified when a popular (and handsome) true crime podcaster opens a new investigation that thrusts her into national and community scrutiny all over again. Moving back and forth between the events that led to the crime and this new investigation, old friendships and relationships are reconsidered. Let the neighborly finger-pointing begin! Again."

Or, if a week on Cape Cod with your adult kids AND your aging parents in the height of summer sounds appealing (or at the least, amusing to read about), Laurie and I both loved Sandwich by Catherine Newman. Funny, poignant, and perfect for book clubs, this is a short book that packs a punch.

My personal top read of 2024 is The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley. Try this smart and thought-provoking debut if you like time travel, handsome Arctic explorers, and shady government shenanigans.

One of Caitlin's favorites from this year is Small Rain, by Garth Greenwell, a book she calls, "Magnificent! A tender novel about healing, care-giving, and poetry." She also loved Us Fools, by Nora Lange, a heartbreaking yet humorous story about two sisters growing up in the Midwest during the 1980's farm crisis. And check out the testimonials at the front for Caitlin's quote!

Nancy and Caitlin can't stop talking about Fire Exit by Morgan Talty. Caitlin says, "A long kept family secret, inheritance, guilt and mental illness combine into one outstanding novel." While Nancy adds, "I can't say enough good things about this book and author. Incredible writing!"

Becca and I got to buddy read and write a blog about The Spellshop, the coziest of cozy fantasies. This one is for readers who want a warm hug of book with a dollop of whimsy. Warning, it will make you crave toast and jam.

And (in my opinion) our favorite fiction isn't complete without an exceptional romance. Ready or Not, by Cara Bastone was a fantastic, surprise pregnancy, friends-to-love romance. I absolutely loved these characters and all their emotions. Plus, the audiobook is one of the best I've listened to this year.

Check out the link to see our complete list and, as always, we're happy to give you even more recommendations!

2024: Our Favorite Fiction

Up next, our Favorite Nonfiction of 2024!

-- Lori

[thehappyscavenger]

[seagiri]

they turned mickbell into a girl in the latin spanish dub so... congrats mickbell???

[licensedfool]

the collection so far

[ckret2]

I'd like to think Bill was projecting in the paragraph on hibernation.

(fun fact! every color in bill's clothes, breakup recovery objects, and furniture were color picked from ford's body! yes bill did get a leather couch the same color as ford's flesh!)

[puppyeared]

renaissance dogys

characters belong to @canisalbus

[wasabi-gumdrop]

Kabru has a secret admirer in the castle!

[cybercervine]

Booping u with one of these

[pettynun]

So I started playing dragon age: Veilguard. me when I fight the archdemon and realize it's NOT HIS FINAL FORM

[vintageseawitch]

extremely useful little tool for comparison. please check out r/Defeat_Project_2025 on reddit for more info & resources. share as much as you can.

STOP PROJECT 2025/AGENDA 47. VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!! CHECK YOUR VOTER REGISTRATION STATUS OFTEN, MORE THAN ONCE, BEFORE THE ELECTION.

[everchased]

at least it'll be wonderful while it lasts.

(a little post-game downtime discussion, when they have the time and space to talk about these things. also in my canon, scratch gets to stay. :/)

[starscream-is-my-wife]

This is part 1 of a continuation for my other post where LL Megatron gets trapped in the G1 universe, I was thinking about how someone would go insane in this cartoon world and thought "what if Megatron had someone else to accompany him" so, I gave Starscream an existential crisis

Edit: pt 2 here

[wolfchans]

Bang Chan is...

ONE KID'S ROOM 2024 — EP. 8

[slamburger]

Voting is not something that you can boycott. Someone wins the election no matter what.

“B-but Biden-”

It doesn’t matter. I don’t like him either, but it doesn’t matter.

To everyone in the US: you, as an American and as (I hope) generally decent human beings, you have an obligation to elect the candidate who will do the least damage. And the United States, like it or not, possesses the largest proverbial stick, meaning it effects the rest of the world heavily.

You want to stop genocide? Start by voting so that genocides don’t happen here. I want you to look up Project 2025, the Republican plan for if they win, and tell me, honestly, that you think having that happen would be better than electing Biden again?

Grit your teeth, clench your fist, and vote blue.