My Favorite Books of 2023 (An Evolving List)
Expanding the top 5 I shared on the podcast in December
Back in December, when we recorded our end-of-year wrap-up episode, I said that I’d share a longer list of my favorite book releases of the year. Now that it’s mid-February, here that list is (finally): My 23 favorite books of 2023 (so far; I’ll probably update the list as I finish other titles I’m enjoying but haven’t completed yet).
I created a Bookshop.org list with these titles on them. You can find it here. We’re certainly grateful for any purchases you make there through Goldberry Books.
.Please note: I did not include Daniel Nayeri’s The Many Assassinations of Samir the Seller of Dreams, Joshua Gibb’s Love What Lasts, Kate Albus’ Nothing Else But Miracles, or Karen Swallow Prior’s The Evangelical Imagination, or Jessica Hooten Wilson’s Reading for the Love of God simply because they are all friends and I made a rule not to include books by friends. That way I don’t need to rank them. I wouldn’t know where to begin. But those are excellent, thoughtful books you should absolutely buy and read and I did include them on the Bookshop.org list.
Okay, here’s the list. Since you already know my top five, I will go in order from 1 to 23.
Remaking the World: How 1776 Created the Post-Christian World (Andrew Wilson)
You can listen to my thoughts on the podcast about this one, but I will just add that I haven’t stopped thinking about it. I’ll probably re-read it again soon.The Sun Walks Down (Fiona McFarlane)
As I wrote in World Magazine, McFarlane’s novel is “a miraculous polyphonic novel by Australian Fiona MacFarlane that features the best prose I have encountered this year . . . It’s about the difficult work of creating a home in the midst of wilderness, about the complicated nature of civilization, about the relationship between beauty and desire, and ultimately about the demands of surpassing love. Yet it’s also replete with allusions to the Old Testament and Shakespeare and the ancient epics and for all this is the closest thing I’ve read to John Steinbeck in years.” Note: This one actually is out in paperback this week!The Blazing World: A New History of Revolutionary England (Jonathan Healey)
A must-read for history nerds, Anglophiles, and revolutionaries of any variety. Oh, but also for people who care about the history of the church, coffee, and bookmaking.The Feast (Margaret Kennedy)
As I wrote for World: “Told from the perspective of several survivors [of a cliffside disaster], Kennedy’s book is an upstairs-downstairs take on a morality play, featuring a rather heady contemplation of the seven deadly sins.”The Eyes and the Impossible (Dave Eggers
Just won the Newberry Medal! My thoughts in World: “One of the most fun reading experiences I have had in a long time, largely because Johannes and his eccentric canine view of the world is so delightful, but also because the book offers a menagerie of rich themes to linger with: the power of art, the beauty of deep friendship, the wonder of nature, the complexity of language. But, unlike most modern books for young people, it’s not filled with platitudes: It’s not saccharine or sentimental or about becoming your ‘true self.’ Instead, it claims that ‘freedom begins when we forget ourselves.’”Tom Lake (Ann Patchett)
Not a perfect novel, but incredibly up my alley and so precisely written. My reviewProphet Song (Paul Lynch)
Winner of the 2023 Booker Prize. My Review
Crook O’Lune (E.C.R. Lorac)
A new re-issue of a classic mystery novel by a writer who is quickly becoming a favorite. I’m working my way through all of her available titles and I’m convinced she does place and atmosphere as well as any of the Golden Age mystery writers.The Novel, Who Needs It? (Joseph Epstein)
Do you care about fiction? Read this book. Simple as that. Then pass it along to someone who ought to care about fiction. It’s popular criticism written for both the newbie and the already in love. (Also showed up in Sean’s top five).North Woods (Daniel Mason)
My reviewThe Madstone (Elizabeth Crook)
A dash of True Grit. A pinch of Lonesome Dove. As I wrote for World, Crook’s Western “perfectly balances a wry sense of humor with a melancholy contemplation of loneliness and love.”The Secret Hours (Mick Herron)
Mick Herron’s Slow Horses series is a favorite, and this standalone novel will scratch the espionage itch for lovers of John LeCarre, David Ignatius, and Eric Ambler.Camille Pissarro: The Audacity of Impressionism (Anka Muhlstein)
A bio of my favorite Impressionist painter. Pissarro is a complicated and under-appreciated figure, and Muhlstein’s book offers a look at what inspired his work.Loved and Missed (Susie Boyt)
An English novel about a woman named Ruth and her relationship with her granddaughter, Lily—may be the book that most surprised me this year. I included it here on my list at World.My Father’s House (Joseph O’Connor)
A page-turnery bit of historical fiction featuring a Catholic priest who forms a Nazi-fighting spy ring (under the guise of a choir) in WW2-era Rome. Based on a true story. Both moving and thrilling.The Rest Is History: From Ancient Rome to Ronald Reagan--History's Most Curious Questions, Answered (Tom Holland and Dominic Sandborn)
A jocose look at a myriad of historical figures and events (alongside some delightful list-making). One of the most fun books of the year. A great gift book!Letters of Tolkien (Expanded and Revised)
I feel okay including this on the list because of the degree to which it’s been expanded. I’ll keep a copy close for a long time. A great bedside book. So much wisdom.Chasing Bright Medusas: A Life of Willa Cather (Benjamin Taylor)
A winsome and relatively brief—but comprehensive enough—biography of a favorite novelist. Side note: My mom read this one and like it a lot, too, so I take that as a vote of confidence in my taste.Crook Manifesto (Colson Whitehead)
My reviewThe Creative Act: A Way of Being (Rick Rubin)
Honestly, a touch too pithy for my taste, otherwise it would be way higher on this list, but nonetheless it contains a ton of great insight into the highs and lows of the creative life, with just enough thought-provoking aesthetic philosophy to make it a book I’ll keep handy.The Puppets of Spellhorst (Kate DiCamillo)
The whimsical tale of five puppets (a king who is really into the notion of kingship, a wolf who is really into having sharp teeth, a boy who is really into the idea that he is destined for greatness, a girl who is really into the beauty of existence, and an owl who is really into saying clever things), DiCamillo’s latest is an absolute delight. A great read-aloud option.The Farmer’s Wife: My Life in Days (Helen Rebanks)
Helen and James Rebanks are Lake District farmers looking to do things in the proper fashion. James’ two books (The Shepherd’s Life and Pastoral Song) were released to great acclaim (Wendell Berry actually told me to check them out!) and here his wife tells her story (and shares plenty of her favorite recipes along the way).The English Experience (Julie Schumacher)
The story of an aging English prof who is coerced into leading a a group of university students on a literary excursion to England. Hilarious. Mildly satirical. Melancholy in all the right places. Schumacher’s character, Jason Fitger (this is his third appearance), is a worthy addition to the long tradition of the campus novel narrator.
Some books I’m still reading and liking:
Paul Murray’s The Bee Sting
Ed Park’s Same Bed, Different Dreams
Tom Holland’s Pax: War and Peace in Rome’s Golden Age
Gary Saul Morson’s Wonder Confronts Certainty
Walt Hickey’s You Are What You Watch
Sam Wasson’s The Path to Paradise
Listened to The Sun Walks Down and The Feast, both great recommendations!
I have been waiting not-so-patiently for the Cather biography to be available to rent from my library! (Living in Nebraska means the hold list was instantly 30 people long.)