2023 // BOOK LIST

“It was a particularly good evening to begin a book." / The Summer Book, Tove Jansson

Total: 71

Fiction: 44 / Non-fiction: 27

Audio: 33 / Hardcopy: 38

(Covering a couple highlights here ~ complete list is at the end).

FAVOURITES / FIVE STARS:

A Tale for the Time Being

Ruth Ozeki / fiction / 2013 / audio by the author

This one caught me off guard & was quite charming even with some darker themes. Memorable characters enhanced by the author's narration.

"All I'm saying is, if you were a ghost, which party would you rather go to?"

A Gentleman in Moscow

Amor Towles / historical fiction / 2016

My second Towles book at the time; he’s a wonderfully erudite author & this was a lovely world to step into. Great characters - my minds eye cast Benedict Cumberbatch as the protagonist. A bit of a slow burn - maybe halfway through I was wondering where it was going, but every character & scene plays into the final reveal. 

"If a man does not master his circumstances then he is bound to be mastered by them."

The Summer Book

Tove Jansson / autobiographical / 1972

I had zero expectations with this one & found it completely unexpected & charming. She writes with such a discerning clarity. I loved the setting on the island, & found both the grandmother & granddaughter quite fascinating characters. 

"It was just the same long summer, always, & everything lived & grew at its own pace."

The Dutch House

Ann Patchett / fiction / 2019 / audio by Tom Hanks

This was a re-read & I enjoyed it even more the second time around. Loved the setting, the vibe & the audio. This for me was literary comfort food. 

"That was it. The moment of my spiritual awakening on 120th Street ~ my whole life suddenly snapped into technicolor clarity.”

Pachinko

Min Jin Lee / historical fiction / 2017

This had been on my shelf for some time before I picked it up one night & got sucked in. Super engaging & well-paced for a longer read. A multi-generational story set in Korea & Japan. 

"Recalling the dream was like watching another person's life... what she was seeing again in her dreams was her youth, her beginning, & her wishes."

HONOURABLE MENTIONS:

Anna Karenina 

Leo Tolstoy / fiction / 1877 / audio by Maggie Gyllenhaal

I enjoyed this far more than I expected to (I guess I had low expectations!) Surprisingly engaging & by the end I had a whole world of characters in my head. Definitely felt like a feat to finish - I alternated between my hardcopy & listening to the audio by Maggie Gyllenhaal, both of which were lovely. Anna K got its own blog post here.

"the thought that came clearly to Levin that it was up to him to change that so burdensome, idle, artificial, & individual life he lived into this laborious, pure & common, lovely life."

Books for Living

Will Schwalbe / non-fiction / 2016

A lot of food for thought about a wide variety of books.

"Brains are tangles of pathways, & reading creates new ones. Every book changes your life, even just one gleaming insight in a muddy river of words."

“In all great works of fiction, regardless of the grim reality of the present, there is an affirmation of life against the transience of that life.”

Rules of Civility

Amor Towles / fiction / 2012 / audio by Rebecca Lowman

The author does such a wonderful job of the setting & time period ~ it's a whole vibe with lovely audio.

"Most of us shell our days like peanuts. One in a thousand can look at the world in amazement."

 

I Miss You When I Blink

Mary Laura Philpott / memoir (essays) / 2019

I really appreciated the humour & candour about her life & loved the glimpse inside the workings of her brain. Relatable with a few laughs.

"Doing things wrong is part of doing life right. Try it again, more like you.”

I'll Show Myself Out

Jessi Klein / memoir / 2022 / audio by the author

A toss up between sober truths & comedic levity, a delightfully honest take on the beginning of her motherhood experience. I just need her to write a follow-up on the next few years...

"Further years on earth, (should I be so lucky as to be blessed with them), will bring further shedding of everything that doesn't matter, & never really did."

AUDIOBOOK HIGHLIGHTS:

Everything Sad is Untrue - memoir / narrated by the author, Daniel Nayeri

Rules of Civility - fiction / narrated by Rebecca Lowman

A Tale for the Time Being - fiction / narrated by the author, Ruth Ozeki

Anna Karenina - fiction / narrated by Maggie Gyllenhaal

Covenant of Water - fiction / narrated by the author, Abraham Verghese

Heartburn - fiction / narrated by Meryl Streep

I'll Show Myself Out - memoir / narrated by the author, Jessi Klein

The Dutch House - fiction / narrated by Tom Hanks

No Cure for Being Human - memoir / narrated by the author, Kate Bowler

Fantastic Mr Fox - kids lit / narrated by Chris O’Dowd

Anne Lamott, Ann Patchett & Toni Morrison all do lovely jobs of their own narrations as well.

// "In literature, I've never been without consolation. Books have found me at every stage of my life, reminding me that if a character could change, so could I, and in turn, the story would pave another path." Min Jin Lee //

SURPRISING / ENJOYED MORE THAN I EXPECTED:

Sea of Tranquillity

Emily St John Mandel / sci-fi / 2022

Surpassed my expectations. I liked the realism of the theoretical setting. Her related book, Glass Hotel, was not a win for me unfortunately.

Heartburn

Nora Ephron / fiction, autobiographical / 1983 / audio by Meryl Streep

I didn't have anything else on the go & was not expecting to enjoy this but I was completely wrong. I found the story & protagonist quite amusing (despite the premise) & I thoroughly enjoyed Meryl Streep's rendition of it. There was also a scene that got my biggest laugh out loud of the year.

NOT FOR ME: 

A Man Called Ove - strongly disliked

The Glass Hotel - didn't go for the characters or plot

Wellness - the beginning drew me in, only to strongly dislike the rest of the book. Good audio, though, thankfully. It's a long one.

DISAPPOINTS:

Hello Beautiful - didn't like it as much as it was hyped up to be

You Could Make This Place Beautiful - some high recommendations, but was less than I was hoping for.

The Lincoln Highway - I had really enjoyed the author's other books, but this one was harder to get into & intimately fell a little flat.

// "But tell me this, which would you rather read - a story about a guy who catches lobsters or a story about a guy who is a lobster?" I Miss You When I Blink, Mary Laura Philpott //

BEST IN KIDS:

Fantastic Mr Fox

Roald Dahl / fiction / 1970 / audio by Chris O-Dowd

We (James) listened to this on repeat for a while & I got a kick out of the story, especially the narrator's rendition. I'm not a huge Roald Dahl fan, but this is a good one.

"Dangit blast that lousy beast!"

Frog & Toad

Arnold Lobel / 1970 / audio by the author, Arnold Lobel 

Hadn't heard this one in a while & thoroughly enjoyed listening with David. The audio is fun & well done. Found myself relating quite a bit to Toad.

The Puppets of Spelhorst

Kate DiCamillo / 2023 / illustrated by Julie Morstad

Found this little gem on our last library trip. Didn't know she had a new book out & it's illustrated by an artist we knew of in Calgary. This one I enjoyed on my own & was intrigued by both the characters & the plot.

"Even though nothing was as it should be, peace descended; it came down gently like the snow."

AUTHOR HIGHLIGHTS:

Amor Towles ~ read all three of his books this year, loved 2/3. Excited for the next one out in April!

Anne Lamott ~ none of her books were on my highlights list, but I read a few & they were all good - I would re-read (or re-listen) to all of them. Excited for a new one by her this year as well.

Ann Patchett ~ read through a few, both fiction & non ~ I like her straight-forward writing style & audio delivery. Her essays are a mix, but personal.

OBSERVATIONS:

Stating the obvious, but the "best sellers" are not always for me. (They also can be, which is tricky). Turns out I enjoy historical fiction more than I thought I did. I like to read seasonally, but also on a whim. Some of the ones I enjoyed most this year were ones I happened across & didn't plan on.

COMPREHENSIVE LIST

// "Fiction is the great lie that tells the truth about how the world lives." "Characters die on the page so that we might live better lives." Covenant of Water, Abraham Verghese //

FICTION:

A Tale for the Time Being, Ruth Ozeki *****

The Snow Child, Eowyn Ivey ***

A Man Called Ove, Frederick Backman **

Chocolat, Joanne Harris ****

Gilead, Marilynne Robinson (book club) ***

Nothing to See Here, Marin Ireland ***

Rules of Civility, Amor Towles ****

Beach Read, Emily Henry ***

Pineapple Street, Jenny Jackson ****

Sea of Tranquillity, Emily St John Mandel ****

A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles *****

Beloved, Toni Morrison ****

The Glass Hotel, Emily St John Mandel **

Women Talking, Miriam Toews ***

The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison ***

The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho ***

Hello Beautiful, Ann Napolitano ***

Covenant of Water, Abraham Verghese ****

Vintage Contemporaries, Dan Kois ***

People We Meet on Vacation, Emily Henry ***

Heartburn, Nora Ephron (autobiographical) ****

The Lincoln Highway, Amor Towles ***

Tom Lake, Ann Patchett ***

The Summer Book, Tove Jansson *****

The Dutch House, Ann Patchett *****

The Good Earth, Pearl S Buck ****

Wellness, Nathan Hill **

Pachinko, Min Jin Lee *****

Sons, Pearl S Buck ***

Lessons in Chemistry, Bonnie Garmus ***

From Sand & Ash, Amy Harmon ***

A House Divided, Pearl S Buck ****

The True Deceiver, Tove Jansson ***

// "In all great works of fiction, regardless of the grim reality they present, there is an affirmation of life against the transience of that life." Will Schwalbe, Books for Living //

NON-FICTION:

Books for Living, Will Schwalbe ****

Penguins & Golden Calves, Madeleine L'Engle

The Stories We Tell, Joanna Gaines ***

Help Thanks Wow, Anne Lamott ****

Small Victories, Anne Lamott ****

Risen Motherhood, Emily Jensen & Laura Wifler ****

Gift from the Sea, Anne Morrow Lindbergh ****

The Power of Fun, Catherine Price **** (admittedly just the first half which was very enlightening)

Married Sex, Gary Thomas & Debra K Fileta ****

Dad is Fat, Jim Gaffigan ****

// "I can't write the book I want to write, but I will write the book I'm capable of writing. Again & again, throughout the course of my life, I will forgive myself." Anne Patchett, This is the Story of a Happy Marriage //

MEMOIR:

Everything Sad is Untrue, Daniel Nayeri ****

From Scratch, Tembi Locke ***

Mean Baby, Selma Blair ***

Anne Frank ***

I Miss You When I Blink, Mary Laura Philpott (essays) ****

Hourglass, Dani Shapiro ***

This is the Story of a Happy Marriage, Ann Patchett (essays) ****

You Could Make This Place Beautiful, Maggie Smith ***

Yes Please, Amy Poehler ***

These Precious Days, Ann Patchett ****

I'll Show Myself Out, Jessi Klein ****

The Diving-bell & the Butterfly, Jean-Dominique Bauby ****

Sculptor's Daughter, Tove Jansson ***

A Heart that Works, Rob Delaney ***

No Cure for Being Human, Kate Bowler ****

CLASSICS:

Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy ****

Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte ****

KIDS LIT:

The Sky is Falling, Kit Pearson (with Asher) ****

The Lights Go On Again, Kit Pearson (with Asher)

The Saturdays, Elizabeth Enright (with Edie) ***

A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle (half with Asher) ***

The Four-Story Mistake, Elizabeth Enright (with Edie) ***

Number the Stars, Lois Lowry (with Edie) ****

Fantastic Mr Fox, Roald Dahl (audio with James) ****

Frog & Toad, Arnold Lobel (audio with David) ****

The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupery ****

The Puppets of Spelhorst, Kate DiCamillo *****

// "READING BOOKS IS FUN UNTIL YOU FINISH ONE & DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE AFTER." Bookstr //

MEMORABLE QUOTES:

“I was just getting by on books & baseball & fried egg sandwiches.”

Marilynne Robinson, Gilead

"It's important to find poetry where we can."

Jessi Klein, I'll Show Myself Out

"Our lives our bound by time, but our memories are not."

Nathan Hill, Wellness

"Children, set the table. Your mother needs a moment to herself."

Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry

"Carpe Diem ~ unless you need a nap."

"There's no cure for being human."

Kate Bowler, No Cure for Being Human

"Good for her! Not for me."

Amy Poehler, Yes Please

"Middles are a problem. Middles are perhaps the major problem of contemporary life."

Nora Ephron, Heartburn

"Progress ebbs & flows. When one problem is taken care of, another one crops up. Sometimes, there is no solution, so we learn to live a new way."

Risen Motherhood

//

Cheers to a new reading year!