Favorites of 2023

Plus my reading plans and recent books.

This liminal space between Christmas and New Years gives me an opportunity to reflect on this year’s reading. Let’s start with my annual bookish superlatives. Books that I read and loved and want to point you to. Then I’ll share a bit about my reading plans for the coming year.

When choosing books that stood out to me this year, I thought of those that gave me big feelings, that I didn’t want to end, with characters I came to love, and stories that opened my eyes to other people’s experiences. I am thankful for books that transport me to another world and those that make me see this world a little clearer.

• Favorite Literary Fiction Novel - The Covenant of Water by Abraham Vergese (reviewed below)

  Runner Up: The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff

• Favorite Historical Fiction Novel - The Postcard by Anne Berset

  Runner Up: Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

• Favorite Memoir - You Could Make this Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith

  Runner Up: Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri

• A Book I Couldn’t Put Down - Yellow Face by RF Kuang

  Runner Up: Happiness Falls by Angie Kim

• Favorite Nonfiction - Rembrandt is in the Wind by Russ Ramsey

  Runner Up: The Wager by David Grann

• Favorite Mystery - The Man Who Died by Antti Tuomainen

  Runner Up: Valley of Shadows by Rudy Ruiz

• Best Family Novel - Sunshine Nails by Mae Nguyen

• Surprised by a Classic - Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim

Reading Goals for 2024

1. Focus on classic children’s books with my sister. This will be our 5th year for our book club of two. We are starting the year off with The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe but still need to select our full list.

2. Read at least one book from my shelves each month (maybe more). I am often distracted by new titles and I like to read books people are talking about when they come out. Still my shelves are very full so I am going to start working through books I already own.

3. Help host our book club at Middleburg Books. We are reading A Council of Dolls in January.

4. Use the StoryGraph App to track reading. I will still keep my spreadsheet but this will give me so much more information about the books I want to read and those I have read.

Recent Reads

The Frozen River is the perfect winter read: propulsive and engrossing historical fiction set in Maine in the late 1700s. Our protagonist is real-life midwife Martha Ballard. Now in her 50s, she has decades of experience in assisting births and healing people. During one very cold winter the body of a man, accused of rape, is found beaten and thrown into a local river. There are many suspects, including some people close to Ballard. Martha takes her job seriously and relies on the journals she has kept fastidiously for decades. This book reads part mystery, part courtroom drama, and part family saga. Lawhon is known for her detailed research — I love that this seems fictional but is actually her interpretation of a real criminal case. If you are looking for a novel to sink into this winter, look no further.

I almost didn’t pick up The Covenant of Water. It is long at 775 pages, and the plot seems a bit obscure. However, this is the title that many customers keep telling me they loved and was worth their time. Once I started it, I could immediately see why. This is a big sweeping novel that takes place over the passage of time — and still feels intimate and complete. The plot centers around a young girl who marries early and goes to live in an area called Parambil, on the southwest coast of India. It’s about the family she married into and the family she creates. There are many other lives woven through the story: a loyal elephant, a Scottish doctor, and boys in the family that drown at an early age due to an unusual condition. I love how the author weaves in disabled characters, imperfect characters, charming characters, and the impact of faith and cultural constraints. There is so much here to love. It reminds me of A Gentleman in Moscow, where you see all that is going out the world but from an inside view. I started listening to this book and then decided I needed the physical copy - to ponder the writing and to be able to read it again.

I have read two mysteries set in Australia towards the end of this year. One is more action-oriented and the other a layered mystery where the past impacts the present. I have noticed that the expansive and varied geography in Australia lends itself to the mystery genre; setting always plays a strong role. In Outback, the weather is hot and dry, the setting is desolate. Two young German backpackers have gone missing. When it appears little effort is being made to find them, a relative from Germany arrives to help. This is book one of three in a series. Dead Man’s Creek centers around an old skeleton found after a dam breaks and the forest floods. An investigator, who grew up in the area, is brought in to identify the body, but much more is going on here. This cold case threatens to upend many peoples’ lives, including her own. Both of these mysteries are excellent options if you are a fan of Jane Harper or Anne Cleeves.

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Thank you as always for taking the time to read to the end. Please consider sharing with a bookish friend. I would love to know what your reading plans are for 2024!