2023 in Books
This is a drawing of everything I read in 2023. I do this every year, maybe you’ve seen them before. It’s pointless but it is a nice, slightly mindless, task that allows me to remember the books I enjoyed and the places and moods I was in as I read them.
I don’t think I hated any of the books I’ve drawn here and I would, probably endorse reading any of them if you fancied it. This year, in general, I found it harder to focus on reading than usual, which led me to feeling that I’d had a bad year for books but, actually, when I look at the list I think there was some great stuff in there and so if the year felt drab and dull i’m sure that had more to do with me (and the weather, and global and local politics) than the books I was choosing.
People often ask for recommendations from the list and if not for an out and out favourite. I never really have a single favourite and I find it hard to recommend books to people I don’t know so instead I’m going to highlight some that I think might be crowdpleasers…
Monsters by Claire Dederer- Dederer explores the very CURRENT question of ‘What do we do with the art of monstrous men?’ but rather than give us an answer or present us with anything didactic she looks into what it feels like to enjoy art, to be a fan, and to struggle with the fallen reputations of our one-time heroes. I think it’s a generous, playful and wise read, good for anyone who, like me, has asked the question in the pub and than failed for a sufficiently articulate way to explain your own feelings.
Foster- By Claire Keegan- After the wild success of Small Things Like These it’s possible you’ve all read Foster already by now. In case you haven’t though, treat yourself. That’s what this book is, an utter treat. Find a comfy corner, a tea and some toast with salted butter and read it in one delicious go. A perfect gift for anyone with feelings.
The Wager- by David Grann- This will probably be the book we’ve gifted to the most people this year. It’s a failsafe I think, a relentless seafaring nightmare filled with abject misery and wretched, desperate human frailty and yet, AND YET! It’s a great time. It gallops along with each page containing some new, unimaginable eighteenth century horror; truly that rare occurence of a totally gripping work of non-fiction (see also Patrick Radden Keefe’s Empire of Pain). Buy it for anyone who might want to be transported somewhere terrible from the safety of a very-landlocked, sofa.
Quickfire recs!
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld- by it for a friend who likes a romcom but complains that most of them are shit (me).
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver- Epic in both page-count and emotional heft, the kind of book I could read all day long.
Open Up by Thomas Morris- Come for the seahorses, stay for the dazzling short stories about young men figuring out how to be.
The Hard Switch by Owen D Pomery- a beautiful looking Sci-fi adventure by my actual favourite person.
What have you read and loved this year? And what book do you buy over and over as a gift?
Love, love, love it. ♥️ Should try this myself as it might help my crap memory. Struggle to remember authors’ names and titles which is unfortunate in conversations about how much I love reading.
i want to stop what i’m doing and create one of these right away! what a great way to summarise the year. Mine would be more of an Audible list though, sitting down with hard copies is a rare thing at the moment!