Amazon editors say this is the best book of 2024 — plus 8 more riveting reads

Amazon book editor Ben Grange said this book unlocked a core memory within him on his first read. "I was taken back in time to when I first saw Remember the Titans at the cinema," he said before noting that this top-earning book sees Fuller deliver a "thought-provoking American underdog story that hits all the right notes."

"Thomas Fuller provides factual insight into the deaf community and struggles that the coaches and players faced," one reviewer wrote. "He shares the inspirational story of how these men and boys overcame obstacles and difficulties."

The Barefoot Contessa is peak comfort TV, and the woman behind the show just released a memoir that pulls the curtain open, revealing exclusive details about her life, marriage and career. "What kept me glued to the page is her grit, kindness, humor and optimism," wrote Seira Wilson, Amazon book editor.

"After reading her story, I wish with all my might that I could be her friend," one reader wrote. "She is wise, caring, sincere, talented and humble. Her story is more than events and experiences." (Get in line: We all want to be friends with Ina!)

You know a book is special when it's being developed as a feature film by the one and only Steven Spielberg. That's the case for this New York Times bestseller that Amazon Editor Al Woodworth says is "rip-roaringly American, wry and hard-hitting."

"I love a book that is so richly written that I read it in one day," one five-star fan wrote. "Everett blends history, satire and the horrors of humanity against the enslaved prior to the Civil War as a reimagined telling of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."

This is among the most viral books on the list. Even former President Barack Obama dubbed it one of his favorite books of summer 2024. It also blends subjects and themes like time travel, spies, government conspiracies and love.

"I've never read anything like it, and I loved every second," said Amazon editor Abby Abell. "It's near-future London, and a time travel device has been discovered by a top-secret government agency. The operatives bring back 'expats' from different times in history when they would not have survived (to avoid disrupting the future) and pair them with 'bridges' — people to help them acclimate to current times."

Please hold while we grab our popcorn!

Amazon book editor Lindsay Powers said this is the kind of nonfiction book "you could hand to literally anyone and they would disappear for hours with their head buried in its pages." If that doesn't get you excited, we don't know what will! This New York Times bestseller explores how a small number of people or a tiny action can cause an epidemic. Editors say it's one of those reads that will inspire you to take action.

"Another amazing book by Malcolm Gladwell!" one impressed reader wrote. "He presents different cases of tipping points and brilliantly brings it all together in a thought-provoking manner."

John Lewis, a leader of the Civil Rights movement, lived an impressive and impactful life, and it's immortalized in this beautiful biography. Amazon Editor Al Woodworth said it best: "This is a man who dedicated his intelligence and body to equality in America, and Greenberg's biography is a worthy and viral artifact of Lewis' legacy."

"This is a rare biography that manages to be thoroughly researched and briskly told at the same time," a five-star reviewer wrote. "The pages on the Civil Rights movement are completely gripping — you can feel yourself at the marches and sit-ins with Lewis himself."

When a book has other well-known authors viscerally reacting to its story, it's usually a winner. Hannah, author of The Women, said this title "kept me frantically turning the pages and somehow made me cry at the end."

Romance lovers, this one is for you. It's described as a "soaring thriller" and an "epic love story" set in 1975, when the Vietnam War is ending. It's set in a small Missouri town where girls are disappearing. The story centers around Patch, a local boy who saves the daughter of a wealthy family.

"The settings are so well-crafted," one reviewer wrote. "You exist in the story as you read it."

This is historical fiction with a magical twist, literally: Its heroine, a lowly scullery worker in 16th-century Spain, finds that her very special skills have put her in the crosshairs of the king ... and potentially the Inquisition. 

"Truly surprising and uplifting," said a reviewer. "This story gets slowly better and better, continuously, up to the magical ending, through its last sparkling sentence. A historical fiction treasure."

Talk about escapist! Bestselling author Enger weaves a mythic tale around his protagonist, Rainy, a musician/fugitive who embarks on a search for his wife across a tempestuous, foreboding, supernatural Lake Superior. It's an odyssey, a love story, a fantasy and a dystopia set in a terrifying-yet-magical future. 

Said this devotee: "Enger always brings a mystical quality to the page — every emotion in beautiful prose. Characters that are lovely and sad and horrid and beautiful." She added: "This book — like all of Enger's — will stay with you. But buckle up; it will carry you across life's best and worst."