The TNQ Office Team’s Favourite Reads of 2024
The TNQ office team had a successful reading year both in and out of the office. Below, we share some of our favourite books we read for pleasure in 2024.
I decided to filter my search for the best book I’ve read this year by thinking about what surprised me, a joy I hadn’t unexpected, and I narrowed it down to two books. The first is The Rasmussan Papers by Connie Gault, immersive, with delightfully complex characters and exquisite writing. I couldn’t put it down.
Pamela Mulloy, Editor
Middlesex is a book that reminded me what a joy it is to read. As I kept turning the pages, I was completely entranced with this family saga. From a tiny village overlooking Mount Olympus in 1922 to Prohibition Era Detroit, to Grosse Pointe Michigan, Middlesex unravels a guilty family secret through three generations of the Greek-American Stephanides family. Rich, lyrical, and mythic, Middlesex is an unforgettable epic that stayed with me long after I turned the last page.
Eleni Zaptses, Managing Editor
Cyrus is a poet struggling with the loss of his parents. His obsession with martyrs (personal and historical) leads him in a search for meaning in a world he can’t understand. Despite the heavy subject matter — addiction, unrequited love, orphanhood, US imperialism, to name a few — the story is enjoyable throughout and never feels pedantic or overly moralizing.
Georgia Berg, Editorial Assistant
The Blood Trials by N.E. Davenport is one of my favourite books because of how the main character, Ikenna Amari, is written. She is a woman who knows how powerful she truly is, and she is not afraid to let others know it.
Aviana Reid, Marketing and Events Assistant
Orbital by Samantha Harvey
Another book that surprised me is Samantha Harvey’s Orbital, which I read when it came out despite the description about astronauts traveling in a space craft. The rave reviews were not wrong. A quietly lyrical book, full of reflections and day-to-day interactions that define humanity.
Pamela Mulloy, Editor
Beach Read was the first romance novel I had read in years, and it was like a breath of fresh air. The way in which Emily Henry is able to not only create a believable relationship between the two main characters, but also flesh out their own lives and personalities is perfection.
Aviana Reid, Marketing and Events Assistant
Unearthing by Kyo Maclear
Three months after Kyo Maclear’s father dies in December 2018, she learns through the results of a DNA test that she and her father are not biologically related. This sparks Kyo’s journey of unravelling a family mystery, knotted with secrets and unwieldy questions. Unearthing is a lyrical, touching, and meditative memoir about the search for answers, yearning for connection, and the power of art. I loved the creative structure Maclear uses to tell her story and the thoughtful observations she makes about the small moments in life that can often point us toward the most telling answers.
Eleni Zaptses, Managing Editor
Knife by Salman Rushdie
Written as a part of his recovery from a brutal attack where Rushdie was stabbed fifteen times, Knife blends the facts with Rushdie’s own imagination to try to understand how such an attack can be perpetrated. While Rushdie’s anger and trademark sarcasm are very alive in his retelling, he also turns his focus on truth, love, and the power of stories.
Georgia Berg, Editorial Assistant
What was your favourite book of 2024? Tell us, and we will share a full reading list in January.
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