2023 Reads

I proudly checked out of work for the year on Monday, December 18th. I did not even open my laptop for nearly two weeks until I was en route to our company sales meeting the morning of January 2nd.  Diving into the deep end with the sales meeting being the thing that rips the holiday band-aid off is not for the faint of heart.  Which is why, really, my New Year and 2024 are starting...now.  But! Before we get there, let's do our annual reading round up of 2023, shall we?

Here are the 30 books I read last year: 

 Book Lovers - Emily Henry
 Sea of Tranquility - Emily St. John Mandel
 Mad Honey - Jodi Picoult & Jennfier Finney Boylan
 Shrines of Gaiety - Kate Atkinson
 Harlem Shuffle - Colson Whitehead
 Lessons in Chemistry - Bonnie Garmus
 The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller
 The House in the Cerulean Sea - TJ Klune
 The Quiet American - Graham Greene
 The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing - Mira Jacob
 Mean Baby - Selma Blair
The Rabbit Hutch - Tess Gunty
 A Heart That Works - Rob Delaney
 Arcadia - Lauren Groff 
Spare - Prince Harry
 Are you their God? It’s me, Margaret - Judy Blume
 The Burgess Boys - Elizabeth Strout
 I’m Glad my Mom Died - Jenette McCurdy
 Going Solo: My choice to become a single mother using a donor - Genevieve Roberts
 Mary Jane - Jessica Anya Blau
 The Condition - Jennifer Haigh
 Now Is Not The Time To Panic - Kevin Wilson
 Killers of the Flower Moon - David Grann
Tom Lake - Ann Patchett
 Yellowface - R.F. Kuang
 On Writing - Stephen King (re-read from 2001)
 The Likeness - Tana French
 Demon Copperhead - Barbara Kingsolver
 Because of Winn Dixie - Kate DiCamillo
 Motherhood - Shelia Heti

My personal favorite(s)? Demon Copperhead gets top billing - turns out the hype is all true and all worthy. Tom Lake, Sea of Tranquility, A Heart That Works, Arcadia, The Sleepwalker's Guide to Dancing - all top contenders and worthy of the clutched to my chest, sad they're over award. A Heart That Works will destroy you but my goodness it is one of the most beautiful written memoirs I've ever read.

To this day I have zero idea what prompted me to pick up, let alone finish, Selma Blair's memoir, Mean Baby. I don't get the hype that surrounds Rabbit Hutch or I'm Glad my Mom Died. Honestly, I was glad both books died (were over) finally when I closed them.

Spare was exactly what I - and the rest of the world - expected. Skim about every 3rd chapter and you'll get the gist. I suggest you skip Yellowface. Too much hype, no substance.

Unexpected hits included The Condition and The Burgess Boys. Though what don't I enjoy of Elizabeth Strouts? I'd read her grocery list if she let me.

Now, to compiling a 2024 book list - I've got about three more chapters before I can add my very first book. Onward!