Em’s 2023 Reading Roundup: The 32 books read + one-line reviews of my top reads
My 2022 round-up opened with me lamenting a sharp dip in my reading – from 52 in 2020 (mostly pre-baby), to 32 in 2021, to 25 last year, a personal nadir.
Now I'm back up to 31 by the start of December. A definite recovery!
How did it happen? Less screen time. The main weapon: weekly Culture Night. This basically means no screens; we usually just read and listen to music. It helps give a good "run at" a book to get properly into it, and making it a fixture overcomes reluctance – we do it on Thursdays. If you're considering this but will find it hard to motivate yourself, try awarding yourself a cheese plate and wine instead of cooking dinner on Culture Night as an incentive. Highly recommended technique.
Below, despite me picking top reads, most of the whole list is highly recommended. If you want to know more or want a personalised recommendation – maybe you’re looking for a Christmas gift for someone? – leave a comment on the blog post (click through to the post on the website, if you're reading this in your email inbox) or check my Instagram for quick takes on most of the others.
My top 5 fiction reads of 2023
Wifedom, Anna Funder (2023) - a blend of fact and fiction that is controversial, timely and frequently shocking. Widely lauded and also widely criticised, this is a guaranteed conversation-starter.
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Carson McCullers (1940) - captured my mind and heart. Another potentially polarising read [see post].
Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir (2021) - another cracking blockbuster from the author of The Martian, which was on my best reads of 2022. I can't imagine anyone not enjoying this. [see post].
Stone Yard Devotional, Charlotte Wood (2023) - a quietly powerful and extremely readable novel of a person who jettisons their whole life in a bid to disappear. [full review]
The Running Grave, Robert Galbraith (2023) - Galbraith (crime pen name of J.K. Rowling) at the height of his/her powers – maybe the most compulsive of the series so far and that's really saying something.
My top nonfiction reads of 2023
Stolen Focus, Johann Hari (2022) - unforgettable, life-changing, outrageously page-turning. Hari is a master of narrative nonfiction. [full review]
Doughnut Economics, Kate Raworth (2017) - should be required reading for every policymaker, not to mention anyone who thinks about humans' ability to survive and thrive for a long future on this planet. More concentration required than for Johann Hari, but overall very accessible considering the subject matter, and absolutely worth the effort.
Full lists
*Australian author
** Perth author
$ Likely to be on shop shelves now and a good gift (for the right person of course)
Fiction
Fantasy
Fairy Tale, Stephen King$
Literary
Tiny Uncertain Miracles, Michelle Johnston**
Art & Lies, Jeanette Winterson [taster]
Along the Shore, L. M. Montgomery
Wifedom, Anna Funder*$
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Carson McCullers [hot take]
The Dictionary of Lost Words, Pip Williams*$ [hot take]
Storylines, Carrie Cox**$ [full review]
The Glass House, Brooke Dunnell**
Stone Yard Devotional, Charlotte Wood*$ [full review]
Alice In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
Crime
Wake, Shelley Burr*
No Plan B, Lee and Andrew Child$
The Murder Rule, Dervla MacTiernan** [hot take]
Holly, Stephen King$ [full review]
Ripper, Shelley Burr*$ [full review]
The Running Grave, Robert Galbraith$
Thriller
Falling, T.J. Newman [hot take]
Drowning, T.J. Newman$
Historical
The Paris Secret, Natasha Lester*
The Silk Merchant's Son, Peter Burke** [full review]
Sci-fi
Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir [hot take]
The Andromeda Strain, Michael Chrichton
Wild Dogs, Michael Trant*
Nonfiction
Journalistic
Stolen Focus, Johann Hari$ [full review]
Memoir
Love, Dad, Laurie Steed**$ [full review]
Q's Legacy, Helene Hanff
Take Risks, John Marsden* [hot take]
The Patient Doctor, Ben Bravery
Biography
The Reacher Guy, Lee Child [full review]
Doughnut Economics, Kate Raworth
Poetry
Spore or Seed, Caitlin Maling** [hot take]
I read a variety of other poetry this year too (I try to read a poem a night) including a fair bit of Shelley, but no “finished” books, Shelley wrote a LOT of poems, many Very Long.
The outtakes: abandoned reads
Imaginary Friend, Stephen Chbosky (horror/fantasy). Promising setup but gave up halfway, too little payoff after 500 pages. [full story]
Diary of Samuel Pepys. (memoir). I really tried, but found it impossible and virtually incomprehensible. I had heard that it was a dull read in which he talks a lot about about what he ate. What I didn't realise were that hearing about what he ate would be the most interesting part. Perhaps only someone with a high degree of familiarity with, and passion for, the Restoration London of the 1660s would be able to battle through this. Or someone with all that and/or a lot of time and old-school attention span.
Did you read any of these, or are any on your list? Leave a comment on the blog post (click through to the post on the website, if you're reading this in your email inbox) and let me know your thoughts!
Finally, thank you again for reading with me this year. I'll be back with more reviews, newsletters and events from February 2024. Until then, let’s all slow the fuck down.
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