Finally! Let’s talk reading again, specifically my favorite books of 2023 so we can move onto what lies ahead in 2024.
It was an interesting year in that I don’t remember another time when I had this many 5-star nonfiction books. I’m not even sure I’ve ever read so much great nonfiction in one year (and I’m too lazy to go back and check)! Somehow, 2023 came together neatly with four fiction and four nonfiction favorites in a wide variety of genres and topics.
Clicking on the icon will take you to my review.
The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger
Published by Atria Books
Publication date: September 5, 2023
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Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
Published by Harper
Publication date: September 15, 2022
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Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
Published by William Morrow & Company
Publication date: May 25, 2023
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Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
Published by S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books
Publication date: September 19, 2023
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The Many Lives of Mama Love: A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing by Lara Love Hardin
Published by Simon & Schuster
Publication date: August 1, 2023
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Exit Interview: The Life and Death of My Ambitious Career by Kristi Coulter
Published by MCD
Publication date: September 12, 2023
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A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy Egan
Published by Viking Adult
Publication date: April 4, 2023
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The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession by Michael Finkel
Published by Alfred A. Knopf
Publication date: June 22, 2023
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There you have it, my 5-star favorite books from the year. But…I’m not done. I’ll be back on Friday with a brief post about a handful of books I also read in 2023 that deserve more attention.
This post contains affiliate links to Bookshop.org and Amazon.com which means if you click on a link and make a purchase of any kind, I get a small commission (at no cost to you).
*I received free copies of some of these books from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.*
Really interested in Mama Love, Fever in the Heartland, and The Art Thief. My 5 star reads this year were all memoirs! I’m blown away by the honesty and beauty with which people write about their lives. Lately it takes a truly extraordinary novel to outdo that for me.
Oh, what memoirs did you read? I’m the same way I think. Most of the nonfiction I love is memoir. I’m just not good at finding what’s upcoming.
I’m not great about keeping with what’s current! Some of these are fairly recent, some quite old, but I loved them all: Everything Is Fine by Vince Granata, Drinking: A Love Story by Caroline Knapp, Run Towards the Danger by Sarah Polley, The Salt Path by Raynor Winn, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby, Shy by Mary Rodgers (with Jesse Green).
I love hearing about titles I nothing nothing about especially as I read so little nonfiction. I’m going to look for all of these!
I have your review to thank for getting me to read Bright Young Women and it made my best of the year list too.
Wasn’t it outstanding?! Dark, yes, but I love how she completely shut down the myth of Ted Bundy. I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed (probably not the right word, but you know what I mean!) it.
Yellowface, Mama Love and Fever in yThe Heartland were in my favorites this year too! I hope to read a few more in your list too.
By the way, I wanted to tell you how much your recent post regarding your MS moved me. In the last couple of months I received a diagnosis of PPMS which explains a lot of symptoms I have had over the past few years. I admire your honesty and vulnerability and wish you the best.
Today, I have an appointment to be fitted with a brace for my foot drop and hoping for a good outcome with that!
Take care and I really look forward to more newsletters and reviews.
Oh, Beth, I’m so sorry to hear this. Is this your first MS diagnosis? Or is it a progression?
I’m not at the point of foot drop, but I am having to “uptrain” myself to work around the effects of MS in my feet and legs. I just started PT and am optimistic. I hope you get some relief. Feel free to email if you want to vent or have questions. I’ve had MS for 20 years.
Thank you for your list! I appreciate your reviews and thoughts. While I am not a mythology reader I am going to read Stone Blind.
Let me know what you think- even if you don’t like it. I’m always curious how my thoughts on books compare to other readers.
Wow you impressed & surprised with your nonfiction reading! OMG nice job. I need to get to the Egan & Finkel – a perfect combo. I thought Yellowface was well done! Fun and diabolical. I’ve put Bright Young Women on my TBR per your review. I’m #152 in line for it … at the library with 8 copies in the mix. Speaking of Bundy, I lived in Aspen for a few lost ski years after college … and knew people who remembered when Bundy escaped there for six days in 1977. It was a terrible panic!
My nonfiction year was crazy! I don’t think I’ll ever achieve that again. The Egan is mind boggling and should be required reading in every high school in America.
Seriously?! Wow. That must have been insane. My family was living in Northern Colorado and I remember, even though it wasn’t happening near us, everyone was on edge.