I’ve been thinking a LOT about my reading life these past few weeks, and one of the things I know I want to change in 2023 is to be more intentional. This reading year, while full of some really good books, has felt like a blur. I lost my focus, I stopped reading for the JOY of it and read because I wanted to read as much as possible. So as this year ends, I’m wanting to kick of 2023 with the books that will help me reclaim my reading life. Books that find their way into my list of favorites, books like my past favorites: Beartown, The Heart’s Invisible Furies, Tiny Beautiful Things, What My Bones Know, How Much of These Hills is Gold, All the Lonely People, The Stationery Shop, The Storied Life of AJ Fikry, Pachinko, Tell the Wolves I’m Home. Books that bring me back to the reason I love to read: to step into the shoes of someone else’s life, to be entertained, to learn, to find an escape.
Do you have any books that you’d recommend? What are you hoping for your reading life in 2023? Share below so this wonderful community that I am so very grateful for can help us all aim for a richer, fuller, more satisfying reading life this next year.
I loved Kal Penn's memoir, You Can't Be Serious! He's had a very interesting career and it was also so cool to read from a fellow Gujarati Indian American's perspective. I also loved What A Happy Family by Saumya Dave so much that I bought a copy even though I had already gotten it from the library. I knew I would want to reread it and I'm really glad I did! Hoping to read (and listen to more audiobooks) more in 2023 - my goal is going to be at least 25 books!
Demon Copperhead is a sweeping saga of someone's life story. I loved the Marriage Portrait, historical fiction without being cheesy (and Maggie O'Farrell can do no wrong). Loved the House in the Cerulean Sea for coziness and found family.
I have a similar goal. I'm focusing on quality over quantity in 2023. I'm currently reading Black Cake and I can tell it's going to be a favorite for the year.
I did this this year, reading much less but with much more intention, and I have loved every second of it. One that is blowing me away right now is The Force of Such Beauty by Barbara Bourland, and I know it’s one I’ll be thinking about for years.
If you have not read them already, my top 3 of 2022 would be: Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (Zevin), Lessons in Chemistry (Garmus), and Sea of Tranquility (Mandel). Also recommend Code Name Verity & the Pearl Thief (both by Elizabeth Wein), Klara and the Sun (Ishiguro), and Great Circle (Shipstead). And for a series that is a ton of fun, check out the Thursday Murder Club!
How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water, the Man Who could Move Clouds, Stories from the Tenants Downstairs, Assata (backlist title), and You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty
Hoping my 2023 reading life sees me FINALLY complete a personal challenge to read an entire author's canon (like Morrison, Walker, etc). Appreciate you and this newsletter!
This may seem like an odd recommendation, but I suggest you read The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt. I read it for the second time this year and I realized it is an all-time fave for me. The sense of place and time is impeccable, the tie-ins to Shakespeare make his plays come alive, and it runs the emotional gamut from laughter to devastation. All while a young man comes of age in a complicated time with a complicated family. And if you like it, definitely follow it up with Okay For Now.
Adding themes to my reading months back in the end of 2021 reinvigorated my reading life and made it more purposeful and enjoyable. I am going to continue with that in 2023, so over the next few weeks I need to choose new themes. For this year I also did a list of 12 priority reads, and I’m definitely going to do that again. I’m just not going to leave most of the nonfiction reading for December next year. 😬😆
Remarkably Bright Creatures was a terrific read
A memory called empire-Arkady Martine
Psalm for the wild built and a prayer for the crown shy-Becky chambers
Notes on your sudden disappearance
I loved Kal Penn's memoir, You Can't Be Serious! He's had a very interesting career and it was also so cool to read from a fellow Gujarati Indian American's perspective. I also loved What A Happy Family by Saumya Dave so much that I bought a copy even though I had already gotten it from the library. I knew I would want to reread it and I'm really glad I did! Hoping to read (and listen to more audiobooks) more in 2023 - my goal is going to be at least 25 books!
Demon Copperhead is a sweeping saga of someone's life story. I loved the Marriage Portrait, historical fiction without being cheesy (and Maggie O'Farrell can do no wrong). Loved the House in the Cerulean Sea for coziness and found family.
Dinosaurs by Lydia Millet took me back to what I love about reading! It was thoughtful with compelling characters I really rooted for.
I loved Nothing to See Here
Take My Hand was an excellent book (in audio and print)
I have a similar goal. I'm focusing on quality over quantity in 2023. I'm currently reading Black Cake and I can tell it's going to be a favorite for the year.
I did this this year, reading much less but with much more intention, and I have loved every second of it. One that is blowing me away right now is The Force of Such Beauty by Barbara Bourland, and I know it’s one I’ll be thinking about for years.
If you have not read them already, my top 3 of 2022 would be: Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (Zevin), Lessons in Chemistry (Garmus), and Sea of Tranquility (Mandel). Also recommend Code Name Verity & the Pearl Thief (both by Elizabeth Wein), Klara and the Sun (Ishiguro), and Great Circle (Shipstead). And for a series that is a ton of fun, check out the Thursday Murder Club!
How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water, the Man Who could Move Clouds, Stories from the Tenants Downstairs, Assata (backlist title), and You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty
Hoping my 2023 reading life sees me FINALLY complete a personal challenge to read an entire author's canon (like Morrison, Walker, etc). Appreciate you and this newsletter!
This may seem like an odd recommendation, but I suggest you read The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt. I read it for the second time this year and I realized it is an all-time fave for me. The sense of place and time is impeccable, the tie-ins to Shakespeare make his plays come alive, and it runs the emotional gamut from laughter to devastation. All while a young man comes of age in a complicated time with a complicated family. And if you like it, definitely follow it up with Okay For Now.
Adding themes to my reading months back in the end of 2021 reinvigorated my reading life and made it more purposeful and enjoyable. I am going to continue with that in 2023, so over the next few weeks I need to choose new themes. For this year I also did a list of 12 priority reads, and I’m definitely going to do that again. I’m just not going to leave most of the nonfiction reading for December next year. 😬😆