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Book Log Highlights: 2024 Reading Challenges

By: Angela & Melissa Updated: As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, we may earn a referral fee from qualifying purchases.

Each month, we take the ratings you submit on the reading challenge book logs and gather them into highlights of the highest-rated books. It’s always fun to see which books rise to the top, and we always bump books up our own TBR lists after seeing the results.

2024 Book Log Highlights

The Read Around the USA and Lifetime of Reading Challenges are self-paced for 2024. Since you can read books for these challenge prompts in any order throughout the year, there are no book logs for the Read Around the USA and Lifetime Challenges this year, and therefore no book log highlights.

Readers’ Favorites From Our Guided Reading Challenges

OCTOBER 2024

Infographic showing five of the top books from the ICYMI challenge prompt of books published in 2021
GET THE BOOKS: The Rose Code by Kate Quinn; The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin; The World Played Chess by Robert Dugoni; The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah; The Music of Bees by Eileen Garvin

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS PUBLISHED IN 2021
Infographic showing five of the top books from the Book Voyage challenge prompt of books set in the Middle East
GET THE BOOKS: The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali; A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini; A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea by Melissa Fleming; Husbands & Lovers by Beatriz Williams; Love From A to Z by S.K. Ali

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Infographic showing five of the top books from the Book Voyage challenge prompt of books set in the 1990s
GET THE BOOKS: Born a Crime by Trevor Noah; The People We Keep by Allison Larkin; The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis; Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts; Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE 1990s

SEPTEMBER 2024

GET THE BOOKS:

GET THE BOOKS: The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel; The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune; Truths I Never Told You by Kelly Rimmer; Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy; The Love Story of Missy Carmichael by Beth Morrey

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BACKLIST BOOKS PUBLISHED IN 2020
GET THE BOOKS: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys; Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano; October in the Earth by Olivia Hawker; The Cuban Heiress by Chanel Cleeton; Nala’s World by Dean Nicholson

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET ON A FORM OF TRANSPORTATION
GET THE BOOKS: The Prettiest Star by Carter Sickels; The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl; The Berlin Letters by Katherine Reay; The Address by Fiona Davis; Diana: Her Story by Andrew Morton

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE 1980s

AUGUST 2024

Infographic highlighting the most popular books from the August In Case You Missed It Reading Challenge
GET THE BOOKS:

GET THE BOOKS: This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger; Know My Name by Chanel Miller; The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides; Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer; The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BACKLIST BOOKS PUBLISHED IN 2019
Infographic feautring the most popular books set in Northern Asia from the 2024 Book Voyage Challenge
GET THE BOOKS: Daughters of the Dragon by William Andrews; Daughters of Shandong by Eve J. Chung; Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See; The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See; I Love You So Mochi by Sarah Kuhn

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN SOUTHERN ASIA
Infographic featuring the most popular books from the 2024 Decades Reading Challenge
GET THE BOOKS: The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah; A Happier Life by Kristy Woodson Harvey; Clover Blue by Eldonna Edwards; Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau; The Masterpiece by Fiona Davis

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE 1970s

JULY 2024

Book Log Hightlights for In Case You Missed It Reading Challenge Publication Year 2018
GET THE BOOKS:

GET THE BOOKS: The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah; The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai; The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni; How to Walk Away by Katherine Center; Winter in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BACKLIST BOOKS PUBLISHED IN 2018
GET THE BOOKS: The Museum of Failures by Thrity Umrigar; The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi; The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese; Dust Child by Que Mai Phan Nguyen; When We Had Wings by Ariel Lawhon

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN SOUTHERN ASIA
GET THE BOOKS: The Women by Kristin Hannah; The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain; The World Played Chess by Robert Dugoni; The Girls We Sent Away by Meagan Church; Love & Saffron by Kim Fay

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE 1960s

JUNE 2024

GET THE BOOKS: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas; The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand; Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate; The Alice Network by Kate Quinn; This is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BACKLIST BOOKS PUBLISHED IN 2017
GET THE BOOKS: The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland; When We Beleived in Mermaids by Barbara O’Neal; Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth; The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman; The Last Love Note by Emma Grey

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND
GET THE BOOKS: Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan; The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot; The Spectacular by Fiona Davis; The Book Woman’s Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson; The German Wife by Kelly Rimmer

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE 1950s

MAY 2024

Graphic with text and book covers

GET THE BOOKS: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles; Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult; One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid; Born a Crime by Trevor Noah; Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BACKLIST BOOKS PUBLISHED IN 2016

Graphic with text and book covers

GET THE BOOKS: The Keeper of Hidden Books by Madeline Martin; A Shadow in Moscow by Katherine Reay; The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway; The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson; Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

SEE THE FULL LIST OF EASTERN EUROPE BOOKS

Graphic with text and book covers

GET THE BOOKS: The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer; The Rose Code by Kate Quinn; Go As a River by Shelley Read; Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand; Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

SEE THE FULL LIST OF 1940s BOOKS

APRIL 2024

Graphic with text and book covers
GET THE BOOKS: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah; The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom; Secrets of a Charmed Life by Susan Meissner; First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen; Inside the O’Briens by Lisa Genova

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BACKLIST BOOKS PUBLISHED IN 2015

GET THE BOOKS: The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson; The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah; This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger; The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown; October in the Earth by Olivia Hawker

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE 1930s

GET THE BOOKS: Winter in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand; Moloka’i by Alan Brennert; Mrs. Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce; The God of Good Looks by Breanne McIvor; Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET ON ISLANDS

MARCH 2024

GET THE BOOKS: The Martian by Andy Weir; Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson; Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman; The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens; and The Storied Life of AJ Kikry by Gabrielle Zevin

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BACKLIST BOOKS PUBLISHED IN 2014
GET THE BOOKS: Tisha by Robert Specht; The Second Life of Mirielle West by Amanda Skenandore; The Forty Elephants by Erin Bledsoe; One Summer by Bill Bryson; and Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor.

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE 1920s
GET THE BOOKS: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi; I Will Always Write Back by Martin Ganda and Caitlin Alifirenka; The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Daré; The Bitter Side of Sweet by Tara Sullivan; and Recipes for Love and Murder by Sally Andrew

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN AFRICA

FEBRUARY 2024

GET THE BOOKS: Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline; Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain; Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger; The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown; The All-Girls Filling Station’s Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BACKLIST BOOKS PUBLISHED IN 2013

GET THE BOOKS: From Scratch by Tembi Locke; Beartown by Fredrik Backman; The German Wife by Kelly Rimmer; The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany by Lori Nelson Spielman; and The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE WESTERN EUROPE
GET THE BOOKS: The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang; The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray; The Orphan Collector by Ellen Marie Wiseman; A Night to Remember by Walter Lord; The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner.

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE 1900s & 1910s

JANUARY 2024

Book Log Highlights from ICYMI Challenge: Best Backlist Books of 2012
GET THE BOOKS: Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler; Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple; The Sweetness of Forgetting by Kristin Harmel; The Rent Collector by Camron Wright; A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BACKLIST BOOKS PUBLISHED IN 2012
GET THE BOOKS: The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore; The Address by Fiona Davis; The Children’s Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin; Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard; Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE 1880s & 1890s

GET THE BOOKS: The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah; How the Penguins Saved Veronica by Hazel Prior; Braving It by James Campbell; Madhouse at the End of the Earth by Julian Sancton; Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE ARCTIC & ANTARCTICA

FIND YOUR PERFECT BOOK LIST

BROWSE BY GENRE

The Book Girls are best friends who jointly read over 200 books per year. We started Book Girls' Guide in 2019 to help others de-stress and find joy through the power of a great book. We do in-depth research on thousands of novels and non-fiction titles each year to provide curated book lists covering a variety of genres.

Comments on: Book Log Highlights: 2024 Reading Challenges

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4 Comments

  1. Linda Matthews says:

    I’ve always been a reader and have three or four books underway at any time. Your lists are a wonderful way to reconnect with some old favorites and find new ones, and the visual presentation and care you take is exceptional. Love you guys!

    Reply
  2. Carol Martinez says:

    WOW!!! What an amazing list. Thank you so much for all the hard work. Really appreciate!!! Added more books to my TBR piles. Keep up the amazing job and amazing Facebook page.

    Reply
  3. Renate Pennington says:

    Thank you Angela & Melissa. This retired high school English, Journalism, Creative Writing and German teacher enjoys your Reading Challenges. Since I receive weekly newsletters from a variety of publishers and our local library and independent bookstore posts weekly New York Time best seller lists, your selections are spot on. This is the first year I am taking the Book Voyage Challenge seriously. I love statistics, so the Book Log Highlights are fantastic. Besides seeing what people are reading. I find the Fun Facts interesting – especially the diversity of readers across the nation and world. Best wishes. Happy Spring and Happy Reading.

    Reply
  4. Luanne Bender says:

    I love the Book Log Highlights! It gives me a better sense of what I might have missed that month that I’d like to revisit. For example, Calling Me Home from the January ICYMI List didn’t jump out at me, initially, but I’d like to read it now. Thanks for an easy to digest synopsis.

    Reply