My five favorite reads in 2023. You'll note that only one of them was actually published in 2023! Slow and steady wins the race. I can't wait to read the rest of the best 2023 books in 2024!
I cried at the end. Not because it was sad, but because it was over. A hard read. An illuminating read. A very important read. And a great, great read.
Holy guacamole. Historical fiction and magical realism that's just believable enough that there have been numerous times since reading it where I've referenced it in conversation as if it really happened! A 560 page tome that you can't put down.
Such a beautiful book. I finished it a few weeks ago and not a day has gone by since that I haven't thought about and recommended it. Michigan + Patchett + Our Town. Heaven.
Les Misérables meets Avatar: The Last Airbender. Yeah. That's right. Sound like something you might be interested in?
The Echoing Green - Prager (2006)
The story of the 1951 baseball season and how a simple sign-stealing system involving a telescope and a buzzer in broad daylight led to the greatest home run in baseball history. Branca throws…There’s a long fly… it’s gonna be, I believe… The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!
Oh wait! Four bonus recs of 2023 books in some of my favorite series!
* I thought the most recent Thursday Murder Club book was the best yet. (And sadly, the last for a while as Osman is going to take a break from our favorite retirees.)
* Jane Harper's Exiles is supposedly her last book in the Aaron Falk series, and if so - it was a great ending.
* Chris Offutt has churned out a new Mick Hardin book each of the last three years. I hope he keeps going for the rest of time.
* I loved the latest Hawthorne & Horowitz book by Anthony Horowitz. A new one comes out in March! Now if he would only write another one in the Magpie Murders series!
