December 19, 2024

Ep 250: Best Books of the Year!

December 19, 2024/ Laura Tremaine

It's the reading episode we look forward to all year! My real life book club members Yasmin Dunn and Stephanie Newman-Smith join me for a supersized conversation about the best books we read in 2024.

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Since Stephanie, Yasmin, and I did a half-year Best Books episode together during the summer, we only gloss over a few of the books we discussed in depth in June. You can see the show notes from Ep 224: Best Books of the Year (So Far).

Also an EXTENDED CUT of this episode and the BONUS episode where the three of us share books that didn't work for us this year (including a big surprise from me) is available for paid members SECRET STUFF (now on Substack!)

Follow me @laura.tremaine on IG

Follow Yasmin @yasminheartsbooks on IG

(Stephanie doesn't post books on IG)

MENTIONED in this episode:

Yasmin’s Best Books:

Ours by Phillip B. Williams

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

Guilty Creatures: Sex, God, and Murder in Tallahassee by Mikita Brottman

Us: Getting Past You & Me to Build a More Loving Relationship by Terrence Real

Stephanie’s Best Books:

This Motherless Land by Nikki May

Real Americans by Rachel Khong

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors

Laura’s Best Books:

Dinner for Vampires by Bethany Joy Lenz

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Link to Patreon episode about the Bee Sting - (Available for $3!)

JOIN THE SECRET STUFF BOOK CLUB

ALSO MENTIONED:

Yasmin’s Best Books (So Far) in the June Episode:

You Like It Darker by Stephen King

James by Percival Everett

Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie

Stephanie’s Best Books (so far) in the June Episode:

Long Island by Colm Tóibín

Neighbors and Other Stories by Diane Oliver

Slow Horses by Mick Herron

Laura’s Best Books (so far) in the June Episode:

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

The Book of Love by Kelly Link

How to Walk Into a Room by Emily P. Freeman

The Way of Integrity by Martha Beck

Holly by Stephen King

Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King

Secret Windows by Stephen King

The Body by Stephen King

The Stand by Stephen King

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

You Can Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith

Sociopath: A Memoir by Patric Gagne, Ph.D.

All Fours by Miranda July

The Life Impossible by Matt Haig

Share Your Stuff, I’ll Go First. by Laura Tremaine

Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

A Year to Live by Stephen Levine

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

Within Arm’s Reach by Ann Napolitano

Martyr! By Kaveh Akbar

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera

Couple Found Slain by Mikita Brottman

NPR Best Books of the Year list

NYT 10 Best Books of the Year list

NYT Best Books of the 21st Century

Ep. 243 Best Books Lately (with Sophie Hudson)

More Episodes with Yasmin and Stephanie:

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I'm Laura Tremaine.

I live in Los Angeles. I'm a reader, a podcaster, a wife, and a mom.

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That is what this prompt is about. Perhaps it is time to address that issue that is giving you anxiety and weighing on you.

Take some steps to decide on this before the end of the year! T

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Happy Thanksgiving, my friends! ❤️ This is my life philosophy every day, but especially through the holiday season.

Thankful for you, always.

🎨 = @lisacongdon

Our time is valuable, friends. And this doesn’t have to be a negative prompt. Sometimes taking space from something opens up room for something else, in a positive way.

Empty kitchen, outfit with pockets, and a bigger bowl than needed - the keys to a happy Thanksgiving.

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Use those five senses for this one. Your space matters, and there is always someone that has to set the tone. Why not you?

Light that candle, put up the tree, DON’T put up the tree, these are all choices you can make now. Think about what you

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