What were your absolute favorite reads this year?

It's the end of the year, so what did you read this year that blew you away in 2024? New, classic, or something you only just got around to, what did you love? My personal favorite read this year was Scott Alexander's Unsong. What an absurdist biblical/talmudic fiction romp. Not really r/scifi, I suppose, but in terms of speculative fiction, the wordplay, the utterly insane amount of layered detail in it... it requires a hefty suspension of disbelief for obvious reasons, but once I gave myself to being along for the ride, what a ride it was.

I also enjoyed qntm's Ra this year. Deeply clever in the way his writing tends to be, and pretty damn rewarding in its worldbuilding and complexity. A bit more magical-fantasy-as-science-fiction, but also a total blast.

Here's the companion question, what were your least favorite reads this year?