'The Conversation' experts share 2024’s best books

Australia Overnight with Clinton Maynard

'The Conversation' invited 30 writers from diverse fields to share their top books of 2024, celebrating the reads that left a lasting impression. While "best of" lists are always subjective, they offer a glimpse into the stories that resonated most.

The Books & Ideas team joined the fun, sharing their own picks.

• Suzy Freeman-Greene chose Hazzard and Harrower: The Letters (NewSouth), a vivid four-decade correspondence between two brilliant writers, as gripping as a fine novel. (Honourable mention: Samantha Harvey’s Orbital).
• James Ley picked Vladimir Sorokin’s Blue Lard (NY Review Books), a wild mix of science fiction, alternative history, and irreverent satire of Russian literature. (Honourable mention: Rachel Kushner’s Creation Lake).
• Jo Case, The Conversation's Deputy Books and Ideas Editor, loved Sarah Manguso’s Liars (Picador), an electric and poetic fragmented divorce novel blending precision with raw emotion. (Honourable mention: Fiona McFarlane’s inventive Highway 13).

Clinton discusses the highlights with Jo Case, diving into these standout selections.

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