In 2023, I read 101 books. This is an all-time record beating my previous record of 97 in 2000. In that year, I moved back to Seattle after four years in Boston and into a cozy one-bedroom apartment on Capitol Hill. It was the first time I had ever lived alone, and I both loved it and didn’t know what to do with myself. Apparently, I read a lot (read that as “read” past tense. Language is fun!).
This year’s number was certainly bolstered by the eight audiobooks I listened to. There’s nothing this oldest child Gemini feels more satisfied about than productivity—I listened while I drove, made dinner, folded laundry, and took walks. And, completely in character, I listened to books on how to decouple your worth from productivity. I’m trying.
2023 was the year I started keeping my book list in an Excel spreadsheet rather than handwriting my entries in a battered notebook. I transcribed my lists from 2022 back through 2006. This year, I’ll get the last decade entered and have a file that dates back to 1996 (in which year I read 72 books, the first being Politically Correct Holiday Stories by James Finn Garner and the last The Diamond Age by Neil Stephenson).
And so, in no particular order, here are a list of books I particularly enjoyed in 2023:
Fiction
Foster, Claire Keegan — Compact, gorgeous, and heartrending.
Musical Chairs and Small Admissions, Amy Poeppel — If actually wrote books, these are exactly the kind of books I would write.
The Practical Magic Quartet, Alice Hoffman — Practical Magic is one of my all-time favorite books. I think I’ve read it four times. During the pandemic years, Hoffman wrote a prequel and two sequels.
Nightbitch, Rachel Yoder — A frustrated new mother finds herself becoming canine.
The Wall, Marlen Haushofer — Alone after an otherworldly event, a woman survives. The minutia of her life is both excruciating and fully absorbing.
Small Mercies, Dennis Lehane — 1970s Boston. Southie. A missing girl. A dead young Black man. A mother forcing the truth.
Black Cake, Charmaine Wilkerson —Estranged siblings uncover their late mother’s true origins.
On Rotation, Shirlene Obuobi — First gen med student trials and tribulations in work, family, and love. Written by an actual cardiologist!
Romantic Comedy, Curtis Sittenfeld — Utterly delightful regular girl meets superstar boy, set in a SNL-esque workplace.
The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch, Melinda Taub — Seamless, hysterical, and incredibly affecting alternate telling of Pride and Prejudice.
Crime/Mystery/Suspense
In a Lonely Place and An Expendable Man, Dorothy B. Hughes — Midcentury California Noir novels with tons of suspense.
Killers of a Certain Age, Deanna Raybourn — Retired lady assassins find themselves the target.
The Thursday Murder Club, Richard Osman — Bored, amateur crime buffs in a retirement community solve cold cases.
Nonfiction
The Sisterhood: The Secret History of the Women of the CIA, Liza Mundy—Crazy smart women are not listened to with devastating consequences.
Seattle from the Margins: Exclusion, Erasure, and the Making of a Pacific Coast City, Megan Asaka — I love my hometown AND we created the mess we are in.
Skid Road: On the Frontier of Health and Homelessness in an American City, Josephine Ensign — See above, from a public health perspective.
Memoir
Shy: The Alarmingly Unspoken Memoirs of Mary Rogers, Mary Rogers & Jesse Green — LOL memoir about growing up in musical theater and joining the family business.
You Could Make this Place Beautiful, Maggie Smith — Gorgeously painful scenes from an unexpected divorce.
Broken Horses, Brandi Carlile (audiobook) — How a tomboy finds her authentic voice (even if it is a faux Southern accent), plus songs.
Learning Books
DEI Deconstructed, Lily Zheng — Commonsense guide to becoming a anti-racist organization.
White Women: Everything You Already Know about Your Own Racism and How to Do Better, Regina Jackson & Saira Rao (audiobook) — For white women who think they are doing pretty good with DEI and realizing they still have so far to go.
You and Your Adult Child, Laurence Steinberg (audiobook) — How to parent your almost-grown-up child so you both still like each other now and in the long run.
How to be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Question, Michael Scher (audiobook) — Ethics and philosophy with a big smart dose of humor.
Starting 2024, I’m reading Menewood by Nicola Griffith — it’s a million pages, set in 7th century England, and everyone has an unpronounceable name. I love it. Read Hild first.