The Best Books I Read This Year
And a complete list of the 78 books I read in 2023
It’s the most wonderful time of the year—I’m talking about all the best-of-the-year lists!
I love the end of the year because I’m obsessed with finding out the crème de la crème, best-of-the-best, most curated lists of everyone’s favorites. The guys on The Watch podcast told me their favorite TV shows of 2023 so I know what to catch up on next year. Pitchfork reminded me that I am officially old and out of touch with their best albums of the year list. Culture critic and meme-master Evan Ross Katz rounded up the “25 most burned in my brain images of 2023” which really sum up this year better than almost anything. A personal fave: skincare fanatic January Jones posted a roundup of her favorite products that she slathered on her face this year. Maybe you, like me, enjoy the voyeurism of knowing what people were most into this year. So obviously I had to make my own list.
For me, 2023 was a monumentally great reading year. Probably due to the five-month writers strike, I read 78 books. Books kept me sane during the months when we had no idea when—or if—we’d be going back to work. I found my new favorite place to read (a rocking chair on a porch in Maine) and discovered the joy of listening to an audiobook on a solo hike. I read some of the best books I’ve ever read in my life this year, and I was also reminded that perhaps nothing is more fun than getting lost in a bingeable fantasy series. I’ve loved recommending books to you and I’m grateful to everyone who wanted to follow along—thanks for subscribing and sharing with friends and being part of this lil book-loving community.
Here are my final recommendations of the year: the top 11 books I read this year! I tried to cut it down to 10 and failed, so here they are in no particular order. Then, at the bottom, a complete list of every single thing I read this year (the brilliant, the lowbrow, everything). Enjoy!
If you love historical fiction and also donate to Planned Parenthood
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
What I love about Maggie O’Farrell is that she dives into a meticulously researched historical setting—in this case a palazzo in 1550s Florence—and then twists her characters so that they feel subversive, modern, and incredibly real. A young girl in her early teens, daughter of a Duke, is being forced into a marriage arranged by her father (tale as old as time) but how she takes her fate into her own hands will leave you breathless. It’s a delicious imagining of a real woman whose life was defined by court intrigue, life-or-death stakes, and, unexpectedly, feminism.
If you’re already overwhelmed by how many weddings you’re attending in 2024
Cassandra at the Wedding by Dorothy Baker
Cassandra is magnetic, queer, lost, self-absorbed, and self-destructive and you better believe she’s gonna make her twin sister’s wedding day all about herself. This ahead-of-its-time novelette from 1962 is a classic and I can’t believe I didn’t read it until this year because now it’s one of my favorite books of all time. It was the very first book I read this year (on my honeymoon—because I didn’t think I could handle reading about wedding chaos until mine was over). An utter delight. Treat yourself.
If you need a reminder this time of year that all families are complicated, not just yours
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
If you’ve been following this newsletter for even a month, you know that I love a family drama. This is one of the best I’ve ever read. A story of four sisters and the gorgeous mess that is sisterhood. It’s giving Little Women meets My Brilliant Friend. This book is a powerful gem that will make you think deeply about forgiveness and empathy. I absolutely savored it. Just keep the tissues close.
If you think nonfiction is boring and want to be proved wrong
Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe
This is a nonfiction banger. Patrick Radden Keefe, an investigative journalist, deep-dives into reporting about the Irish Troubles and yet the book reads like a whodunit murder mystery that I could not put down. I’ve always been obsessed with Irish fiction but this brought my obsession to a whole new level because now I actually understand the context of everything I’ve loved reading. Nonfiction, man, who knew!
If you wish Sally Rooney’s novels were a little darker
Trespasses by Louise Kennedy
Trespasses is a novel is set in Northern Ireland during the Troubles and I read it directly after Say Nothing. I spent the rest of the year chasing the absolute HIGH that was this literary one-two punch. The novel is about a young woman coming of age and a love affair that changes her life and the lives of everyone around her. I wouldn’t describe many books as both “sexy” and “devastating” so if that combo intrigues you, this is for you.
If you just want to end the year on something tiny and perfect that you can read in one sitting (ideally by a fire)
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Claire Keegan’s writing is so good it makes you wonder why anyone else bothers. Reading her is a masterclass in precise, profound, breathtaking sentences that sharply render complicated characters in nearly no time. I finished the 114 pages of this book and thought, “How did she do it?!” Fittingly this story takes place at Christmastime, in a small Irish town tightly controlled by the church. A coal merchant reckons with his past and considers the complicity of those around him, and himself. It’s stunning.
If you want your mind blown in 67 pages—which is less time than it takes to do a load of laundry
Address Unknown by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor
This tiny book is a knockout that sneaks up on you and by the end you’ll want to check that you’re still breathing. Told through a series of letters between two friends discussing, among other things, the rise of Hitler. It was published in 1938 but, with the current state of the world, reading it today feels eerily relevant—I actually heard that some middle schools are starting to teach it. It’s perhaps the most unique, affecting, and astonishingly powerful 67 pages I’ve ever read.
If you want to read the book I can’t describe as anything but “perfect”
Dinosaurs by Lydia Millet
This book is like a magic trick because there’s no reason such a simple plot and gentle characters should resonate so deeply and endure in my mind all year. A man walks from New York to Arizona to get over a breakup. Once there, he embraces a quiet life and strikes up a friendship with the young family living next door. Millet's mastery is her restraint as she captures these characters and their everyday struggles. Really it’s about finding something to live for: purpose and community—and isn’t that what we’re all looking for?
If you want to take a dreamy vacation to Italy without leaving your cozy couch
Still Life by Sarah Winman
Even just thinking about this book makes me feel a little happier. I’m usually drawn to dark books but this one shines with light that makes you think, “Isn’t life so beautiful?” The beginning is a little slow but let yourself fall into the rhythm of Winman’s poetic prose and you’ll be swept away. The novel spans four decades and moves between post-WWII London and Florence, about chosen family, how one should live, and love of all kinds (platonic, queer, patriotic). It will make you look around at your own life with a little more tenderness, compassion, and wonder.
If you somehow still haven’t read this blockbuster (no judgement)
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
There’s not much more to say about this book that hasn’t already been said. It’s so incredibly fun that you might actually choose reading this over, well, anything else you might have going on. On the highest level, this novel is about friendship, work, creativity, and ambition. Zevin is controlled and playful in her storytelling—I’m a sucker for creative structure when it works. I just loved it.
If you want a NEW recommendation because the others on this list have already been in the newsletter and you’ve read them all
North Woods by Daniel Mason
One of the most unique and thought-provoking books I’ve ever read. It was also one of the last books I read this year. It’s a creative tapestry of stories that all take place at a house in the woods of western Massachusetts over 300 years—from colonial times to present day. You’re dropped into the different experiences of people, creatures, and ghosts who pass through this house. This book is quirky and poetic and it may not be for everyone, but if you liked Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders, you’ll probably love this one too. I’ll be thinking about it for a long time.
Here’s everything I read this year, in chronological order:
Cassandra at the Wedding by Dorothy Baker
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Mathews
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai
Dinosaurs by Lydia Millet
A Children’s Bible by Lydia Millet
Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler
Sweet Lamb of Heaven by Lydia Millet
Above Ground by Clint Smith
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
Goodbye Without Leaving by Laurie Colwin
Anon Pls by Jessica Goodman and Deuxmoi
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
So Long See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell
Flight by Lynn Steger Strong
The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane
Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx
I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
Trust by Hernan Diaz
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe
Trespasses by Louise Kennedy
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O’Farrell
The Last Tiger by Brad Riew and Julia Riew
Yellowface by R. F. Kuang
I Could Live Here Forever by Hanna Halperin
Foster by Claire Keegan
The Guest by Emma Cline
Shine On Bright and Dangerous Object by Laurie Colwin
Seven Steeples by Sara Baume
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
Address Unknown by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor
The Legacies by Jessica Goodman
Vacationland by John Hodgman
Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro
Family Happiness by Laurie Colwin
You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith
Talking at Night by Claire Daverley
The Art Thief by Michael Finkel
Summer Crossing by Truman Capote
Still Life by Sarah Winman
The Salt Path by Raynor Winn
Midcoast by Adam White
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King
Landslide by Susan Conley
The Creative Act by Rick Rubin
Shy by Max Porter
Babel by R. F. Kuang
How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C. Pam Zhang
Cold New Climate by Isobel Wohl
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger
Mouth to Mouth by Antoine Wilson
Marigold and Rose by Louise Gluck
Tokyo Ueno Station by Miri Yu
Space Invaders by Nona Fernandez
Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward
Expecting Better by Emily Oster
Grief Is for People by Sloane Crosley
The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue
Sure I’ll Join Your Cult by Maria Bamford
The Wager by David Grann
The Children’s Bach by Helen Garner
North Woods by Daniel Mason
World Within A Song by Jeff Tweedy
So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan
Happy reading, happy holidays, and enjoy the last week of 2023!
Love,
Ali
Beautiful prose! Makes me want to crack open a spine by a fireplace ❄️