More Favorite Reads from 2023
books I read and loved this year
2023 was a great year for books! If you listened to the latest Books Are My People podcast, Episode #115, you know I shared five of my favorite reads from 2023. I also promised that I’d share even more great reads today, so here they are!
There are a ton because I just get so excited about sharing books. I tried to be brief with my descriptions because I could just prattle on and on and on……
These are in no particular order except that I am starting with fiction and then moving to non-fiction. (I obviously read a lot more fiction.)
FICTION:
The Bandit Queen by Parini Shroff
When a Geeta’s husband disappears in a remote Indian village, everyone assumes she’s killed him. She is soon recruited by other women to help get rid of their own husbands. This is a fun, funny romp that would make a great buddy read.
Listen to me interview Parini Shroff on Books Are My People.
A wonderfully unique book that tells the story of a piece of land in New England over hundred of years. This book proves that a place CAN be the central character in a novel. Original and compelling.
Listen to my full recommendation of North Woods on Books Are My People.
It’s 1901 and young Edith Holler lives a lonely life in Norwich where her father runs a theater company. He’s recently started dating a woman whom Edith believes steals children and turns them into jam. Carey’s delightful illustrations are peppered throughout this unique story.
Listen to my interview with Edward Carey on Books Are My People.
A man who has recently lost is father with whom he’s had a fraught relationship is tasked with laying his ashes in their beloved ocean. While performing this task, he gets swallowed by a whale. It sounds preposterous, but Krauss makes it not only wholly believable, but a riveting page-turner. This book reads like a locked room thriller.
Listen to me recommend Whalefall on Books Are My People.
This novel is about two disparate sisters who are forced to live together during the pandemic and reconcile not only their different ways of approaching the world, but also their pain from their past that includes loosing a third sister during their childhood. A funny and heartfelt read.
Listen to me recommend Small World on Books Are My People.
What Never Happened by Rachel Howell Hall
Coco, a member of the only Black family on Catalina Island, grew up feeling so safe and secure, everyone left their doors unlocked. Until one night, she comes home late and someone has broken into her home and murdered her family. Years later, she returns to the island to face the past and find out who committed the crime. This is a slow burn of a thriller.
Listen to me recommend What Never Happened on Books Are My People.
The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill
This is a beautiful retelling of a classic fable relocated in the Midwest. In this version, a single mom weaves tapestries and focuses on her family until she brings home a six-foot-tall menacing crane who changes the family’s balance. This is one of those reads you can pick up in finish in one wonderfully surreal sitting.
Listen to me recommend The Crane Husband on Books Are My People.
This is a character-driven novel about Alex whose time as an interloper on Long Island is running out. Literary and interesting, Alex moves like a ghost through various spaces where she’s not welcomed, leaving chaos in her wake.
Listen to me recommend The Guest on Books Are My People.
The Last Animal by Ramona Ausubel
A scientist takes her two teenage daughters on a work trip to the Arctic, where they discover the DNA of a four-thousand-year-old baby mammoth - a thrilling discovery that can also have devastating consequences. This is a fantastic novel about science, siblings and grief.
Listen to me recommend The Last Animal on Books Are My People.
House of Cotton by Monica Brashears
Magnolia, nineteen and broke takes a job dressing up as dead people in order to have conversations with their loved ones. This is a really weird, gritty novel that takes place in Appalachia.
Listen to me recommend House of Cotton on Books Are My People.
We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman
Truly the funniest book about cancer you will ever read. Ashley’s best friend is dying of cancer. She works through her ever-changing emotions with the help of her teenage daughter, her delightful ex-husband and by sleeping around.
Listen to me recommend We All Want Impossible Things on Books Are My People.
NON-FICTION
Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma by Claire Dederer
I will talk about this one on my podcast in the new year, but Dederer explores how we reconcile great art made by not-so-great and often terrible human beings.
The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime And A Dangerous Confession by Michael Finkel
This relatively slender book introduces readers to Stephane Breitweisser who steals well over two hundred works of art, not to sell them online, but to be able to claim them in his home and admire their beauty. Another book that could be read in one sitting and would make an excellent audio read.
Listen to me recommend The Art Thief on Books Are My People.
Pockets: An Intimate History of How We Keep Things Close by Hannah Carlson
The book about pockets I never knew I needed! A fascinating cultural study about how pockets figure heavily into literature, art, fashion and history. Filled with wonderful illustrations and photographs. I’ll never look at pockets the same again.
Listen to my interview with Hannah Carlson on Books Are My People.
And there you have it! Please add your favorite reads from 2023 below! My backlist loves to grow and grow.
And if you like what you read, please share and restack my Substack with other potential book lovers!
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