Obviously, you’ve got your stacks of Western Living on hand for your holiday reading… but when you’ve read all our back issues cover-to-cover, we’ve got a few recommendations for what to grab next. From a clever Irish love story to a workplace comedy, these are the reads that stuck with our editorial team this year.

The Best Books Our Editors Read in 2024

The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: not enough books are funny. Even when you pick up something that says “wickedly comic” or “full of dark humour” on the back,  I’ve found those are just euphemisms for “snarky story about how people living in the suburbs aren’t as perfect as they seem” or “the main character takes a lot of pills” and not necessarily a guarantee of lols. So when I went to an event at Vancouver’s Upstart and Crow last Christmas and begged the self-appointed ‘book sommeliers’ for something that would bring me just the slightest bit of joy in this dark time, just a single chortle, even, I took home The Rachel Incident with a certain amount of skepticism. I’d been burned too many times before. (Also someone had described Irish author Caroline O’Donoghue as “like Sally Rooney but funny” which is a personal red flag—do not get me started on how it feels to be the only person in the universe to hate Normal People). But I was pleased to discover that the debut novel from O’Donoghue was the satisfying, clever romp I had been promised—the story of a college girl and her gay roommate and a love triangle that’s full of personal, sly observations, a great wit and an absolutely perfect twist. It’s 300 pages of good craic, as the Irish say. Thats’ right: you get some laughs and some cultural immersion with this one.—Stacey McLachlan, senior editor

One Thousand Vines: A New Way to Understand Wine by Pascaline Lepeltier

When you’re the wine editor, you get shoehorned on round-ups like this. Sometimes I want to write about Elena Ferrante and the subtle joys of dialogue that meanders and wends and then never goes anywhere and then….well you get the point. But once every few years there’s a wine book that comes along that’s such a joy to dig into that it makes the shoehorning a breeze. And this year it’s One Thousand Vines by Pascaline Lepeltier (a name equally as resonant as Elena Ferrante, and real to boot). It’s tough to categorize: it’s part linguistics lesson, part travelogue and it’s beautifully illustrated with detailed maps of key regions. It’s both meditative on the subject and broken up into easily digestible building blocks that allow for a piecemeal digging into (as opposed to a slavish grind through) the 1855 Bordeaux classification. Perhaps the best way to describe it as a sort of wine-knowledge Karate Kid: you end up diving into different parts and different disciplines and you’re having so much fun you end up being a wine master of a kind when you’re done without ever “studying.” The best wine book this year by a country mile.—Neal McLennan, wine and spirits editor

I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue

So technically my favourite book of the year was scooped by Stacey, but since she’s the one who recommended The Rachel Incident, I can’t exactly be mad about it (though we’re clearly on opposite ends when it comes to Sally Rooney). But this book was a close second. The gist: Jolene is an outsider, and has been most of her life—though clearly she’s had trauma in her past that’s led to her insulating herself from any kind of present-day connection with coworkers. To deal with hostilities at work, she writes secret messages in her email responses to colleagues, changing the colour to white before hitting send—until she forgets to do the latter, and suffers the humiliation of an HR rebuke. Only problem is: the new settings on her computer—meant to ensure she keeps in line—actually give her access to every person’s messages in the office. Author Natalie Sue manages that rare gift of writing a story that’s both laugh out loud and a heartbreaker. Plus, it takes place in a fictional superstore head office in a non-fictional Calgary, and I’m all for spotting the local favourites (hello, Chicken on the Way!). You’ll cheer for Jolene, you’ll want to hug her and her fellow misfits—and I promise you won’t be able to put this down. —Anicka Quin, VP content

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

It’s not very often that I get to make parallels between the books I read and the games I play, but if you’re on the cozy game train and What Remains of Edith Finch moved you or Spiritfarer made you cry, this book is for you. I have a soft spot for books about friendship, especially ones that explore the ebbs and flows of platonic love and how things change over time. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow builds a universe around childhood friends turned video game entrepreneurs, Sam and Sadie, and throws everything life has to give at them—ambition, jealousy, grief, fame, joy and more. I have no idea how accurate a depiction it is of being a video game creator, but I do know this book is very sweet and also made me shed a tear or two. —Rebekah Ho, digital marketing manager

 

This City Is a Minefield by Aaron Chan

I’ll admit, this book didn’t technically come out this year—but it’s when I finally got around to reading it, so it counts! Full disclosure: I know the author. But that doesn’t make Aaron Chan’s This City Is a Minefield any less deserving of a spot on everyone’s must-read list. This heartfelt collection of personal essays is an honest, critical and deeply moving look at Chan’s experiences growing up and navigating Vancouver as a young, gay Chinese man. It’s a powerful memoir from a writer I believe everyone should know—and when you inevitably fall in love with his work, I reserve the right to say, “I told you so.” —Kerri Donaldson, assistant editor

Sunshine Nails by Mai Nguyen

Toronto-based Mai Nguyen debuted in 2024 with a banger of a book; Sunshine Nails follows (all four members) of a Vietnamese-Canadian family as they do whatever it takes to keep their small nail salon open after a luxe mega-corp nail salon opens across the street. It’s somehow heart-wrenching and sweet while also funny (to me! I don’t know if it’ll pass the Stacey test, but to be fair, she is way funnier than I am!) as it weaves through the parents’ history as Vietnamese refugees, and the children’s present as first-gen Canadians. But truly, the levels of sabotage in this novel are what hooked me and had my jaw hanging wide open.—Dani Wright, managing editor

 

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Tell Me Everything by Minka Kelly

After American actress Minka Kelly (of The Roommate and Friday Night Lights) released her memoir last year, it quickly became a New York Times bestseller. The Washington Post called it one of the best celebrity memoirs of 2023. And although I had it in my Books app for a while, I didn’t pick it up until halfway through 2024.

Based on memories, journals and conversations, Kelly’s deeply emotional memoir explores her traumatic childhood (with a mother who battled addiction and worked as a stripper), her rise to fame, and her journey of triumph and resilience. This book served as my travel companion on flights, hotel nights and bus rides for several months this year. I had to pace myself given the subject matter, but Kelly’s incredible stories make it a serious page-turner. It was definitely worth the time.—Rushmila Rahman, associate editor, BCBusiness magazine