You've been waiting all year for this!! I have created a list of my favorite reads of 2023. I barely reached my goal of 100 books by throwing in some shorter works toward the end of the year. This year, I decreased my goal to 90 so that I wouldn't avoid longer books in order to reach an arbitrary goal.
Some people wonder how I read so much. The big trick is that the bulk of my book consumption comes through audio. I only spend about 30 minutes a day in actual eyes-on-page reading. My audiobook listening has decreased lately, too, with another child getting their driver's license, and I haven't been great at getting in my daily walks for exercise.
Aside from reading and rating books as I went along, I did a little personal analysis of my preferences and learned some things. About 40% of the total books I read were non-fiction, and 33% of my 5-star reads were non-fiction. What does that mean? Who knows, except, looking closer at what type of non-fiction I read does give a little clue. There are a ton of memoirs settled in my non-fiction list, but of the non-fiction books that ended up on my 5-star list, only three were memoirs and five are self-help. One-fourth of my favorite books were self-help. Disturbing? I choose to think I'm curious and ready to learn how I can be a little better every day. :)
Three authors earned five stars twice. Sean Dietrich is a new favorite of mine. Erin Entrada Kelly is an old favorite. From my self-help reading, I want Nedra Tawaab Glover as my own personal therapist--not that I have serious issues or anything, but I found her books helpful and insightful.
I was curious about whether I read male authors or female others. I counted 91 authors--57 female and 35 male. I guess I'm biased, but my preferences are opposite of what people seem to think about book awards mostly going to males. I'm not sure what the data says about that currently, but I do know there is definitely some sensisivity to that bias in the publishing world.
Maybe your tastes match mine. Maybe they don't. But without further ado, in no particular order, my top 23 of 2023:
Stress Resets is a super helpful guide for anybody who battles daily stress or anxiety (everybody). Quick tips are listed with scientific backup for why these strategies work. You can benefit from listening from beginning to end, but now that I've done that, I prefer to have the hard copy on hand to refer to for specific tools in certain circumstances. The author reads the audiobook. Her voice is soothing. Production-wise, I did notice variability in volume from piece to piece. Sometimes, it distracts from the content. Another thing that distracts from the content is when the author says something like, "(Expert) told me." She may have had one-on-one conversations with many experts, but when I heard that phrase, my mind wandered away from the content of the message to what their conversation might have been like.
This is a simple, yet profound story that can be read and reread any time you need reminders of goodness, endurance, love, kindness, or real friendship. I listened to the audiobook. It's excellent. Charlie Mackesy has a soothing voice and the accompanying music and sound effects bring the book to life differently than the illustrated hard copy, yet the tone is the same.
The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street (The Vanderbeekers #1) by Karina Yan Glaser
This is a sweet story about a fictional family that feels real--except that maybe the kids are a little sweeter to each other than most sibling groups I know. The characters are deep and unique. The story flows well. By the end of the story, I'm content, longing to return to the brownstone to continue the series.
The Incredible Winston Browne by Sean Dietrich
I don't even like baseball, but I like a good story about good people who show up for each other in difficult circumstances. This is the kind of feel-good story a person might want to read again and again, not because it's all lollipops and rainbows, but because it's challenge, disappointment, and endurance. The last pages are perfect.
This is the second novel I've read by Sean Dietrich, and I am a huge fan. Thank you to Net Galley and Harper Collins for the audiobook, which is performed wonderfully by the author himself. If you want to read (or listen) to a story about people who are not all good and not all bad, who mess up and try again, who forgive and are forgiven, this is it. And it's not all mushy and gospelly. It's fun and exciting. The cliffhanger chapter endings are expertly executed. I now have a goal to read all of Dietrich's novels.
What I thought when I read it the first time in 2010:
I loved this book! It was a fun, witty, and clean mystery. The author has a talent for similes. After a while, however, I found myself tiring of all of the comparisons because, though creative, they seemed slightly forced. You can tell the author is a fan of Poe, and after reading some of his short stories, her references to his writing were fun for me to read.
Thirteen Years Later: Listen to the audiobook! It's delightful. My favorite character is Gladys, Flavia's bicycle. I also love the tricks Flavia plays on her older sister, Ophelia. One of these pranks is described on the book's Wikipedia page: "Flavia has braces and pigtails like a typical 11-year old girl, but she is also a brilliant amateur chemist with a specialty in poisons and a fully equipped personal laboratory on the top floor of her home. With her scientific notebook at the ready, she steals her oldest sister's lipstick, adds poison ivy extract, and then waits, eagerly anticipating changes in Ophelia's complexion."
Not all middle-grade books can be equally immersive and thought-provoking for children and adults. Goodreads is full of adult reviews, but what do children think of this story? Are they overwhelmed by the deep themes, vocabulary, or circuitous plot devices? I'm guessing they either love it or they give up. This is the first I've read from Kelly Barnhill. I can't wait to pick up another novel by her.
A difficult challenge in fighting depression is to believe you don't have to be at the mercy of your mood. Finding hope and taking control seems like a cruel joke when the darkness is so heavy. This book provides a thoughtful and practical guide by educating the reader about what may cause the symptoms of depression and then guiding them through simple, actionable steps. It's still a fight, but knowledge is power.
This book has been recommended several times, but I avoided it. First, its length is intimidating. Second, it almost entirely takes place in a luxury hotel and revolves around the life of a Russian count on house arrest. Would it keep my attention? To overcome those barriers, I used a book club meeting to create a short deadline and procured both audio and print copies. I needn't have worried, though, because this story has so many layers. It's a work of genius that deserves more than one hurried read-through. The commentary on life, love, community, friendship, religion, artistry, and politics is engaging and good fodder for lively discussion.
If I were a therapist, I'd keep this book as a guide in my office. Since I'm not a therapist, I bought this book as a personal guide. I like that it's set up by lists and categories. Practical examples are used, and encouragement is given. There is an accompanying workbook which I also purchased. The workbook is a useful resource independent of the original text.
**Honorable Mention is a second book by Nedra Glover Tawwab called Drama Free: A Guide to Managing Unhealthy Family Relationships. This is a helpful guide to examining and communicating healthy boundaries in family relationships as well as how to heal from past trauma. The psychology of forgiveness is interesting and applicable to everybody. Nedra Glover Tawwab does not minimize the pain people feel, but she also doesn't back down from encouraging individuals to acknowledge their own responsibility for dysfunction.
Foster by Claire Keegan
Simple, yet profound, as the best short stories are. Definitely worth a reread.
Georgette Heyer has been recommended to me a few times, but I avoided reading it because I thought I wouldn't want to read something Jane Austenish (it's not too Austenish). This is the first of her novels I have read. It's quirky and fun. Her characterization--especially of Sylvester--is masterful. I better see what else she has written.
This is a five-star for me, but I don't see myself recommending it to many friends. Sometimes, a book gets five stars because I want to tell everybody to read it. I don't feel that way about this one. I enjoyed it. I like memoirs. I liked reading about Lee Smith's memories and experiences growing up in a small town in the Appalachian Mountains. I like her thoughts about writing. I like her honesty about mental illness. I can see myself rereading this book, but it didn't pierce me so deeply that I want to tell people about it or recommend it to fellow readers. It's a quiet book I want to keep to myself.
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