2023 Books

 This year I read 63 books: 12 on Kindle, 3 on paper, and 48 audio. (Technically one was a mix between audio and Kindle, but I credited to audio since that is where the bulk of it was consumed.) One of my goals this year was to consume some amount of book every single day. I think I ended up forgetting to read or listen fewer than 10 times over the entire year. Since I've been running a lot less, I've needed to find other times to listen to books. 

My top 10% of books this year:

• Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave
• Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang
• The Last Slave Ship by Ben Raines
• Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
• I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys
• Die With Zero by Bill Perkins

I always find it interesting to compare how my top 10% aligns with my overall total. This year I read a total of 18 non-fiction books and 45 fiction books, so about 28% of my total books were non-fiction. But among the six books in the top 10%, four of them are non-fiction!

January:

1. Light to the Hills by Bonnie Blaylock - Sweet story about the WPA project to deliver books to rural areas during the Depression.

2. The Joy of Sweat by Sarah Evers* - Who knew sweat was so interesting?

3. The Guest List by Lisa Foley* - Dark and disturbing, and I couldn't stop listening.

4. Other Words for Home by Jasmin Warga* - Loved this so much in so many ways.

5. Reputation by Sarah Vaughan* - Definitely has some tough topics, but man, this was a good one.

6. Happier Hour: How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, and Focus on What Matters Most by Cassie Holmes - This book had so many good things to think about when considering how to use your time in ways that actually bring about happiness.

7. Hello Molly! by Molly Shannon* -  I loved Molly's candor about hard topics, and I loved her optimism. I laughed out loud throughout this book and shed a few tears too.

February:

8. The Last Slave Ship by Ben Raines* - Everyone, go read this book right now. I cannot stop talking about it.

9. The Bird and the Sword by Amy Harmon - I think I prefer her historical fiction, but this one was pretty good.

10. Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou - Man. What a dumpster-fire Theranos was, and nobody seemed to notice. Those who did were bullied into silence.

March:

11. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens* - I read this right after my freshman year of college (nearly 20 years ago!), and I really loved it. It definitely held up for me in this audio version.

12. Mom Life Versus the Everday Apocalypse by Megan Whitmer* - A fun little book about the adventures and hilarity of mom life.

13. Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center* - I was surprised by how much I liked this one.

14. Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng* - I find her books engaging, but then I just feel frustrated by the characters.

April:

15. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald* - What a delightfully fun one to listen to on our road trip.

16. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery* - Always a delight. Even better to share it with my children, most of whom loved it.

17. Ten Thousand Tries by Amy Makechnie* - This was for book group, and I wasn't expecting much, but I really liked it. It was a hit with everyone in the group. I'll definitely recommend it to my children.

May:

18. Les Misérables by Victor Hugo* - There is just no need to read the unabridged version of this book. So much of this book is amazing, but then there is so much nothingness. Jean Valjean is amazing. Marius and Cosette's love story is ridiculous. (Marked as audio, but I also read some of it (maybe 20%) on Kindle.)

19. Good for a Girl: A Woman Running in a Man's World by Lauren Fleshman* - So good. I want all my running friends to read it. And all parents.

20. Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool* - This is a sweet and fun one. Read it once before, and read it again for book group.

21. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins* - A good book, written well, but it seemed a little like grief-porn.

22. Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton* - Such a delightful listen. I listened to most of it while on a long run, and I'm sure some people thought I looked like a weirdo, smiling from ear to ear as I listened to some of Tom's stories.

23. A Girl Called Samson by Amy Harmon - This was my least favorite of any I've read by Amy Harmon so far. I didn't love the romantic slant of this story based on a real person.

June:

24. White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg* - Intereting, but I didn't think she proved her points as a historian as well as others have.

25. I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys* - The scene with Christian watching the video that Daniel's friends in America sent to him was so amazing. I have told countless people about that scene.

26. The Running Girls by Matt Brolly - A decent suspense/thriller.

27. The Terrible Two by Mac Barnett and Jory John* - Our family loved listening to this one on our road trip.

28. The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale* - Even the kids who didn't want to listen to a book about princesses were surprised by how good this was. It wasn't my first time reading it, so I knew that the title doesn't do the book justice.

29. Out of the Ashes by Kara Thoams - I really liked this suspense book, far more than I expected.

30. The Half-Life of Ruby Fielding by Lydia Kang* - Ugh. Should have quit this one early on, but I wanted to know what would happen. And then it was just so ridiculous.

July:

31. Elantris by Brandon Sanderson* - I read this several years ago, but there were many details I couldn't quite remember. It was fun to listen to it this time.

32. A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson* - I called a few of the surprises at the ending, but not all of them.

33. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale* - It was fun to share this with the entire family on a road trip.

34. The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough* - Probably not my favorite of his, but it was interesting to learn about this time in history that I knew nothing about.

35. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir* - Such a delight. There were a few times when the science went on a little too long, but I loved this story so much.

36. Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Muderers* by Jesse Q. Sutanto - What a fun one! I loved listening to this one. The characters were delightful, and I laughed out loud many times.

37. The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry* - Another huge winner for me. I couldn't stop thinking about it, and I want to read more about this time period.

August:

38. The Davenports by Krystal Marquis* - I wanted to love this one, but I felt like it dragged on too long.

39. The Accomplice by Liza Lutz* - I really loved the back-and-forth in the timelines for this one. The characters didn't do a lot for me, though.

40. Through a Darkening Glassby R. S. Maxwell* - This was another one where I really wanted to love it, so I kept reading it, but ultimately I was disappointed.

41. Fed Up: Emotional Labor, Women, and the Way Forward by Gemma Hartley* - I allowed myself to give up on this one. It felt like a big whine-fest with no offered solutions.

42. Everyone Brave Is Forgiven by Chris Cleave* - I loved this book so much. The writing was beautiful, and loved the themes. I wanted to listen again as soon as I finished.

43. Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney* - This one deserves all the hype.

44. Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat - We chose this for book group, and I ended up buying a copy. I'll be happy to have it around for reference.

September:

45. The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth* - This was such a good one. I loved so much about it.

46. Animal Farm by George Orwell* - It was interesting to listen to this with my kids and explain all the underlying messages.

47. The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis* - Another good listen with the kiddos.

48. Little Bee by Chris Cleave* - Coming off Everyone Brave is Forgiven, which I loved with my whole heart, I thought I would like this one. I did not. At all. The main characters (besides Bee) are terrible. It was just so ugh.

49. Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang - Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I'd love a graphic novel as much as I loved this one. It was so good.

50. The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter - I stayed up way too late too many nights in a row reading this one. It took some turns I did not expect.

October:

51. The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments by Hadley Vlahos* - The writing isn't stellar, but I appreciated the stories in this volume.

52. The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson* - This is funny, but it's a bit long and ultimately felt like more of the same by the end.

53. Friends, Lovers, and the Terrible Big Thing by Matthew Perry* - I read this right before he died. It turns out, I like Chandler Bing far more than Matthew Perry. His addictions made his life hard, which also made this book hard to read. Another thing that made this book hard to read were the jumps in timelines and the repetitiveness.

54. Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke* - I chuckled throughout this modern-day Metamorphosis, but it's definitely not for everyone.

November:

55. Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be by Becky Kennedy* - If you follow Dr. Becky on Instagram, you'll learn what you need to know. This book has a lot of good content, but by the end, I was skipping to the relevant sections.

56. The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism by Edward E. Baptist* - This is a good, important topic, but it was really long. It's not a history book I'd readily recommend.

57. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume* - I do not get why this is such a classic. It felt really out of touch to me.

58. Die with Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life by Bill Perkins* - I have not stopped talking about this book with anyone who will listen. It really challenged some of my thoughts on money and how I spend it.

59. False Witness by Karin Slaughter* - Really dark, but I couldn't stop listening.

60. Broadway Butterfly by Sara DiVello - Nothing at all happened in this book. Yet another Kindle FirstReads, where I hung on to the bitter end, expecting something to happen, but nothing did.

61. The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton* - Billed as a mix of Station Eleven and Where the Crawdads Sing, I expected to love this one. I agree with the description, but the plot fell flat for me, especially at the end. I wouldn't say nothing in happens in this book, but when big things happen, it was as if they were small blips. 

December:

62. Girl, Forgotten by Karin Slaughter* - I'm to a point where everything from this author feels the same. Her books are highly engaging (if rather sweary and violent), but in the end they all blur together.

63. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus* - I get why this one has gotten a lot of hype. It was funny and tender and deals with important topics. I thought it wrapped up too quickly and cleanly in the end.

64. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin* - I get why this one was wildly popular, but it didn't do a ton for me.