In 2023, I read or listened to a total of 36 books. I think I would have read more but I got stuck wading through more sub-par books than usual. When I love a book I can tear through it in a few days, but when I don't it can take me at least a week or two finish it.
I also blame TikTok, an app I removed from my phone sometime at the beginning of the year. Because I have the self-control of a puppy, I spent way too many minutes of my life scrolling when I could have been reading.
And y'all? I'm tired and overscheduled. So I've streamlined my thoughts on each book. And by streamlined, I mean, I'm giving you the cliffiest of Cliff's notes on these bad boys. If you want to know more, the whole internet is out there for you.
One last thing before I share my faves- I LOVE when readers consult my list to find their next great book. If you like my lists, or loved one of my recommendations, for the love of GOD, let a girl know! Thanks in advance.
Fiction
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
This would be the perfect vacation book. It's light, funny, romantic without being cheesy, emotionally honest, and not-so-loosely based on Saturday Night Live. Also, it takes place during the pandemic, which sounds more depressing than it is.
Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur
Brodeur's memoir, Wild Game, was so good, I thought there was a) no way this could be as good or better or b) a writer so skilled at memoir could excel at fiction, too, but c) I was wrong about all of it. I read it in about three sittings. Themes include family, identity, gender, patriarchy, and capitalism.
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
I read this with my kid, but wow it would have been good regardless. So it's kid lit, but with heavy emphasis on lit. What is it about talking animals with rich interior lives that gets me right in the feels!?
Memoir
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
If you read this, prepare to crave Korean food and a hug from your mom. You've been warned. Themes include identity, race, immigration, cancer, grief, family, love, and probably other ones, too, but it's been a while since I read it.
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jeannette McCurdy
McCurdy's memoir of her tortured childhood growing up with a narcissistic, overbearing mom is at turns darkly humorous and heartbreaking, but it's ultimately redemptive. Being an elder millenial or a baby Gen Xer or whatever the heck I am, I didn't grow up watching McCurdy on tv. In fact, I had no idea who she was before she published this book, but that didn't interfere with my enjoyment of this memoir.
Normal Family by Chrysta Bilton
This powerful memoir definitely lives up to the old adage, "truth is stranger than fiction." A timely memoir on the author's experience of growing up with an unstable parent and discovering her (many) biological siblings later in life, it reads a lot like good fiction (as I suppose all good memoirs do).
BFF by Christie Tate
With the same honesty and humor she used in her first memoir, Group, Tate explores her lifelong difficulty maintaining female friendships. This is a story of what she learned about herself and the nature of love and loyalty along the way.
The Longest Race by Kara Goucher
I don't know if you'd love this if you weren't a fan of Kara Goucher or women's distance running. but this book had me turning the pages way past my bedtime. Goucher really bares her soul to reveal the abuse she endured at the hands of the now notorious coach Alberto Salazar and sports giant Nike.
Good for a Girl by Lauren Fleshman
A beautiful memoir by another American runner that I think would appeal to the hearts of runners and non-runners alike. While exploring her own relationship to running, her body, and her dad, Fleshman uses data and her own experiences to expose the rampant nature of eating disorders and body shame in women's running and how a dearth of resources for female runners is responsible for the destruction of dreams, careers, and more.
Best Books I read this year archives:
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
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