All the books I consumed this year
For better or worse
My son likes to tease me because I can’t walk out of a book store without buying at least one book (he has inherited this trait), and it’s true – I love books. I love reading. I love book stores. I love libraries. I wish I had enough time to read all the books I want to read.
So to wrap up this year, I’m sharing a list of all the books I’ve consumed (both read and listened to) in 2023. Some were memorable and moving, some not as much. These are listed in the order I read them, not in the order of preference. And I’ve listed everything, because as Annie Ernaux said “I admit without shame to all my reading pleasures, past and present.” (I doubt Annie Ernaux is reading books about middle school, but her sentiment is appreciated nonetheless.)
Girls They Write Songs About, by Carlene Bauer. Absolutely amazing if you are partial to stories of female friendship taking place in NYC in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times, by Katherine May. This book and author got a ton of press, but I just couldn’t get into it. Didn’t finish.
The School for Good Mothers, by Jessamine Chan. One of my faves from this year. Loved this book and deeply related to the parenting pressure.
The Perfectionist’s Guide to Losing Control: A Path to Peace and Power, by Katherine Morgan Schafler. A perfectionist control-freak? Moi?? Loved this book’s reframing of “perfectionism” as a superpower. With great power… you know the rest.
Sink: A Memoir, by Joseph Earl Thomas. A memoir written in the third-person. Beautiful book.
All You Can Ever Know, by Nicole Chung. A memoir about the author’s experience being adopted and reconnecting with some of her birth family. A perfectly good read, though I wouldn’t put it in the top half of books I read this year.
Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back): A Memoir of Recording and Discording with Wilco, Etc., by Jeff Tweedy. This book has been sitting on my shelf for a few years, and I finally got around to reading it. Well, I actually listened to it, which was a treat because Tweedy himself was the narrator. I’m a big fan of Wilco and Jeff Tweedy, so it was not a surprise that I loved this book. And it made me like Tweedy even more.
Finding the Magic in Middle School: Tapping Into the Power and Potential of the Middle School Years, by Chris Balme. Often when I am faced with a new phase in life or a new project I want to take on, my first action is to read a book about it. I’ve always done that. Want to learn how to play chess? Read a book about it! Trying to bake the perfect chocolate chip cookie? Read a book about it! Kid starting a potentially scary (more for me than for him) new stage? Read a book about it! So I read this one. While a lot of it was kinda “duh” or aimed at educators, I loved the way the author framed this time in life positively. Maybe middle school doesn’t have to suck!
Pineapple Street, by Jenny Jackson. Delightfully breezy, and set in my adjacent neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights. But ultimately unsatisfying ending. I guess being part of the 0.1% can be hard but also comes with an easy, happy ending? Okay.
Romantic Comedy, by Curtis Sittenfeld. Love love love. Go read this book right now.
Quietly Hostile: Essays, by Samantha Irby. I cherry-picked which essays I read and didn’t read them all, but thoroughly enjoyed the ones I did. Hilarious.
The Making of the Atomic Bomb, by Richard Rhodes. On an episode of his podcast, Ezra Klein chatted with a guest about AI, and she recommended this book as a good read to understand how we can think about technological progress and society-altering developments. I listened to all 13+ hours of this audiobook and was rapt the entire time. The history, the science, the politics, the horror – all fascinating. But what I enjoyed the most was learning about the subculture of scientists and how they think and work together. Humans are capable of creating some pretty incredible, and devastating, things.
I Have Some Questions for You, by Rebecca Makkai. Good book.
Yellowface, by R.F. Kuang. Good book.
Love and Trouble: A Midlife Reckoning, by Claire Dederer. At a fraught stage of life in her 40s (ahem), the author looks back at her sexual life starting in her teens. I deeply deeply deeply loved this book and highly recommend for any of my fellow middle-aged travelers.
The Change, by Kirsten Miller. An utterly absurd, ridiculous, insane, silly novel about middle-aged women who use their occult-like powers to get justice for murdered girls. So silly that it’s almost embarrassing to include on this list, but an absolutely delicious read.
Transcendent Kingdom, by Yaa Gyasi. I loved Gyasi’s debut novel Homegoing, but I just couldn’t get into Transcendent Kingdom. Didn’t finish, but might attempt again.
Getting Lost, by Annie Ernaux. My first Ernaux book, and certainly not my last. Short but intense read about passion, aging and obsession.
The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig. Loved this book – the multiverse meets the butterfly effect. Gorgeous. This will stay with me for a long time and will likely merit a re-read.
The Plot, by Jean Hanff Korelitz. Greatly enjoyed this book.
The Latecomer, by Jean Hanff Korelitz. Another book about rich people in Brooklyn Heights, but I vastly preferred this one to Pineapple Street.
More Than You’ll Ever Know, by Katie Gutierrez. Good book.
All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation, by Rebecca Traister. I am a Rebecca Traister fan girl, and I really wanted to like this book. But honestly, I was a bit bored and didn’t finish the book. Most of the first third, which is how far I made it, won’t really be new information for anyone who has done any reading about the history of women, marriage and feminism. But maybe would be enlightening if you’re new to that topic or want a refresher. On the specific topic of women who choose not to get married, I much prefer Spinster: Making a Life of One’s Own by Kate Bolick. But I’ll still (and always) make room on my shelf for more Traister books.
Now Is Not the Time to Panic, by Kevin Wilson. Good book.
The Time Has Come, by Will Leitch. Optimistic and empathetic read with a cast of vivid characters.
Maame, by Jessica George. Good book.
Stay True, by Hua Hsu. Oh how I loved this book! A memoir about the senseless killing of one of the author’s best friends, set in their college years in the mid- and late ‘90s. This book resonated in so many ways.
All the Gold Stars: Reimagining Ambition and the Ways We Strive, by Rainesford Stauffer. A necessary read for me these days.
The Postcard, by Anne Berest. A novel based on the true story of a Jewish family in France during World War II. Loved this book.
Exit Interview: The Life and Death of My Ambitious Career, by Kristi Coulter. Her description of the typical Amazon male employee rang true for so many tech bros I have come across.
Hello Beautiful, by Ann Napolitano. Ostensibly based on Little Women. Good book but not as good as I wanted it to be considering the source material.
Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town, by Jon Krakauer. A straightforward, dogged and detailed reporting of the legal and political issues surrounding a few of the Missoula rape scandal cases. I would have liked more analysis into rape culture from a male perspective, and it was an odd choice to have a female narrator for audiobook.
Holly, by Stephen King. Geesh, this guy is just a terrific storyteller.
Touched Out: Motherhood, Misogyny, Consent, and Control, by Amanda Montei. A more serious / intellectual / rigorous / analytical antidote to the bubblegum pink feminism of the Barbie movie this summer.
The Guest, by Emma Cline. Uncomfortable read, ambiguous ending.
Wellness, by Nathan Hill. Great read. Marriage, social media, the ‘90s, the Midwest, the damage parents inflict on their kids, the onset of middle-age ennui, and sex clubs – what’s not to love?
Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma, by Claire Dederer. This is the second Dederer book I read this year; she is quickly becoming an all-time fave of mine. Here, she addresses the question of “what do we do with the art of monstrous men?” such as Woody Allen, Roman Polanski, Picasso, Hemingway, Kanye etc etc etc. An imperative book if you love and consume art and culture. Her conclusion wasn’t what I expected (not sure what I expected), but once you are there, it is the only conclusion. This book helped me make personal peace with listening to Arcade Fire again, though Woody Allen remains dead to me forever.
Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver. The first Kingsolver I’ve read – what an amazing voice. Heartbreaking but redeeming. It made me think of my rural hometown and others that get written off and written out.
Boys and Sex: Young Men on Hookups, Love, Porn, Consent, and Navigating the New Masculinity, by Peggy Orenstein. Yep, we’re here. Trying to get ahead of the ball and learn what I can about boys so that I can do my best to raise a man. Extremely eye-opening and mildly terrifying. Good companion book to Krakauer’s Missoula.
Land of Milk and Honey, by C. Pam Zhang. Otherworldly, sensuous, dystopian. The food descriptions made me both salivate and gag – so carnal.
Vengeance Is Mine, by Marie Ndiaye. Translated from French, a novel about class, motherhood and memory, with an unreliable narrator.
Hope, by Andrew Ridker. Good family drama with different sections told from the POV of each family member.
Slow Motion: A Memoir of a Life Rescued by Tragedy, by Dani Shapiro. Not my usual type of memoir but very good.
Death Valley, by Melissa Broder. Utterly bizarre and surreal but couldn’t put it down.
Hijab Butch Blues, by Lamya H. Coming of age memoir of a queer Muslim immigrant. Beautiful storytelling.
Absolution, by Alice McDermott. Female friendship, altruism and motherhood set in the early ‘60s in Vietnam. Still thinking about this one.
Fablehaven: Keys to the Demon Prison (Book 5), by Brandon Mull. The best thing about including this book on this list is that I am done with it. Even though my son is 11, I still read to him at night before bed, and I’ll keep doing it until he says he doesn’t want to anymore. We have been reading the Fablehaven series for honestly what feels like five years. This is the last book in the series, and I am positively thrilled that we are done with it. Did. Not. Enjoy. (But the kid loved it.)
I don’t know about you, but I’m bracing for the shitshow that this election year of 2024 is going to bring. Maybe you’ll find something from this list to distract you.
I wish us all the best for 2024. And in keeping with the literary theme, may the odds be ever in our favor.