Whether you’re looking for a last-minute gift or building your 2025 reading list, Mexico News Daily has you covered with our staff’s favorite books of 2024. As we head into the new year, keep an eye out for upcoming staff recommendations for movies, podcasts, music and too-good-to-miss tacos.
I’ll Sell You a Dog by Juan Pablo Villalobos
Set in Mexico City, this funny and witty novel focuses on the life of a retired taco vendor who lives in a rundown cockroach-infested building with other elderly folk. Very entertaining! —Peter Davies, chief staff writer
Canasta de cuentos mexicanos (Basket of Mexican Tales) by B. Traven
This is a collection of short stories written in 1946 by the author Bruno Traven, whose birth origin is unknown. He arrived in Mexico in 1924 after fleeing Germany, where he was condemned to death for his anarchist ideals. In Mexico he immersed himself in the culture, getting to know the Indigenous communities, especially in Chiapas. These 10 short stories amusingly convey this 20th century Mexican world view. —María Ruiz, assistant editor
Queer by William S. Burroughs
An American heroin addict cruises Mexico City’s Avenida Amsterdam and the historic center throughout the 1950s, in search of drugs, company and chasing an unhealthy obsession with someone who does almost anything but return his affections. —Chris Havler-Barrett, features editor
The Last Emperor of Mexico by Edward Shawcross
The fascinating story of European royalty Carlotta and Maximillian as they try to establish themselves as the leaders of Mexico. Reads like a telenovela! —Travis Bembenek, Mexico News Daily CEO
Salvar el fuego (Saving the Fire) by Guillermo Arraiga
The story: Marina, a married woman from Mexico’s elite, starts an affair with a man in prison. The background: a country divided by class, violence and inequality. The book is equal parts painful and suspenseful in showing a reality that many of us Mexicans completely ignore. —Gaby Solís, staff writer
México, manuel de usario (Mexico, User’s Manual) by Chumel Torres
Mexican comedian Chumel Torres explores various aspects of Mexican culture, including history, politics, religion and food as he tries to answer the question, “Mexico, why are you like this?” His unorthodox, often provocative approach will have you LOLing. —Bethany Plantanella, features writer
Almanac of the Dead by Leslie Marmon Silko
A “retired” mafia hit man from Jersey, a successful Indigenous psychic, a Chiapas insurance salesman and an ambitious Arizona real estate agent are just a few of the characters whose lives intertangle in this magic realist exploration of the Mexico-U.S. border. —Rose Egelhoff, senior news editor
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