Best Books of 2023

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have discovered what whatever the Goodreads readers love, I hate. They lost their minds for the Midnight Library and Lessons in Chemistry and I don’t think I’ve ever hated two books more

Same here! I was the only one in my book club that wasn't raving over Lessons in Chemistry.

I liked Midnight Library ok, but not enough to rave about it. I jsut thought it was OK.

Lessons in Chemistry was a hard read. I think it's another one of those books that I got something different out of. I thought it was deeply sad - so many missed opportunities and misalignment. The rape scene in the beginning was very hard to read, and her wearing a pencil in her hair ever after was very sad. The sheer number of people who lied or intentionally hurt the main character or Calvin or others in the book was just horrifying.

[Anonymous]

The Guest was great summer reading

[Anonymous]

I don't like making "best" lists but here are some books I enjoyed this year. They may not have all been published in 2023.

Some were recommended on this forum so thank you! I've already added some books from this thread to my to-read list.

Memoir:
Hello, Molly! by Molly Shannon & Sean Wilsey
A Heart that Works by Rob Delaney

General fiction:
Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie
Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng
Beartown by Fredrik Backman
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moyes
An American Beauty by Shane Abe
Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

Suspense/mystery:
It Girl by Ruth Ware
The Villa by Rachel Hawkins
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

Romance:
The Boyfriend Candidate by Ashley Winstead
Getaway Girl by Tessa Bailey
The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood
The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren
Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade
When in Rome by Sarah Adams
Partners in Crime by Alisha Rai
The Belle of Belgrave Square by Mimi Matthews

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't like making "best" lists but here are some books I enjoyed this year. They may not have all been published in 2023.

Some were recommended on this forum so thank you! I've already added some books from this thread to my to-read list.

Memoir:
Hello, Molly! by Molly Shannon & Sean Wilsey
A Heart that Works by Rob Delaney

General fiction:
Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie
Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng
Beartown by Fredrik Backman
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moyes
An American Beauty by Shane Abe
Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

Suspense/mystery:
It Girl by Ruth Ware
The Villa by Rachel Hawkins
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

Romance:
The Boyfriend Candidate by Ashley Winstead
Getaway Girl by Tessa Bailey
The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood
The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren
Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade
When in Rome by Sarah Adams
Partners in Crime by Alisha Rai
The Belle of Belgrave Square by Mimi Matthews

Glad to see Someone Else’s Shoes on your list. I enjoyed it. A fellow patron at the library pointed it out and recommended it to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really loved Tom Lake. Loved it.

I keep saying this (in other situations in real life mostly) but you know how there's a lack of books/movies/music/entertainment about the spanish flu of 1918? I've read that people were just so relieved it was over that there was no looking back. I've certainly felt I don't want to consume media of people in lockdown or worried about covid.

Well, I thought this was just the perfect book about covid. It's there, but very background. It frames out why the mother is able to tell the story to her daughters, but otherwise it remains just a situation. I just think she handled it perfectly.

This is so beautifully put. I loved Tom Lake so much, and the ingenious structure of the book really made it special.

[Anonymous]

Hello Beautiful
Wellness
Tomorrow, and Tommorrow, and Tomorrow (have not finished it but Love it)
Quietly Hostile (Samatha Irby's latest)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Old God's Time by Sebastian Barry
Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez

I really liked Our Share of Night, too.

Would add Big Swiss, Bandit Queen, People Collide. Also liked my Murder, mother daughter murder night.

[Anonymous]

So many great suggestions here and I am impressed with how many books people are able to read. I am such a slow reader (audiobooks too).

Best fiction: My Name is Lucy Burton
Best nonfiction: Hidden Valley Road
Best memoir: The Soundtrack of My Life (Clive Davis)

[Anonymous]

In nonfiction: Poverty, by America, Matthew Desmond

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have discovered what whatever the Goodreads readers love, I hate. They lost their minds for the Midnight Library and Lessons in Chemistry and I don’t think I’ve ever hated two books more

Same here! I was the only one in my book club that wasn't raving over Lessons in Chemistry.

It’s like reading a book about the Big Bang Theory characters. Awful.

I didn't make it very far into this one. I’ve learned that if I hate a book right way, it rarely gets better.

Better than having a book be good in the beginning and middle and then have a deeply crappy ending. And that's why, after Cutting for Stone, I am never reading another book by Abraham Vergese

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't like making "best" lists but here are some books I enjoyed this year. They may not have all been published in 2023.

Some were recommended on this forum so thank you! I've already added some books from this thread to my to-read list.

Memoir:
Hello, Molly! by Molly Shannon & Sean Wilsey
A Heart that Works by Rob Delaney

General fiction:
Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie
Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng
Beartown by Fredrik Backman
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moyes
An American Beauty by Shane Abe
Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

Suspense/mystery:
It Girl by Ruth Ware
The Villa by Rachel Hawkins
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

Romance:
The Boyfriend Candidate by Ashley Winstead
Getaway Girl by Tessa Bailey
The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood
The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren
Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade
When in Rome by Sarah Adams
Partners in Crime by Alisha Rai
The Belle of Belgrave Square by Mimi Matthews

Glad to see Someone Else’s Shoes on your list. I enjoyed it. A fellow patron at the library pointed it out and recommended it to me.

Gosh, I absolutely hated Someone Else's Shoes. It was so deeply depressing and I didn't like a single character. It's my most regretted book of the decade--I wish I hadn't bothered finishing it or, even better, that I'd never started it. Yuck.

[Anonymous]

So many Hello Beautiful fans. I can’t get past the title, which is annoying and gives me “gross, leering dude” vibes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have discovered what whatever the Goodreads readers love, I hate. They lost their minds for the Midnight Library and Lessons in Chemistry and I don’t think I’ve ever hated two books more

I’d love to hear someone explain how Lessons in Chemistry differs from something a high school student might write. I just found it clunky and childishly written.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't like making "best" lists but here are some books I enjoyed this year. They may not have all been published in 2023.

Some were recommended on this forum so thank you! I've already added some books from this thread to my to-read list.

Memoir:
Hello, Molly! by Molly Shannon & Sean Wilsey
A Heart that Works by Rob Delaney

General fiction:
Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie
Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng
Beartown by Fredrik Backman
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moyes
An American Beauty by Shane Abe
Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

Suspense/mystery:
It Girl by Ruth Ware
The Villa by Rachel Hawkins
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

Romance:
The Boyfriend Candidate by Ashley Winstead
Getaway Girl by Tessa Bailey
The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood
The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren
Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade
When in Rome by Sarah Adams
Partners in Crime by Alisha Rai
The Belle of Belgrave Square by Mimi Matthews

Glad to see Someone Else’s Shoes on your list. I enjoyed it. A fellow patron at the library pointed it out and recommended it to me.

Gosh, I absolutely hated Someone Else's Shoes. It was so deeply depressing and I didn't like a single character. It's my most regretted book of the decade--I wish I hadn't bothered finishing it or, even better, that I'd never started it. Yuck.

I hated it too and I usually like Jojo Moyes' books. I didn't even find it deeply depressing like you did, my problem with it was that it wasn't deeply anything actually. I found it superficial and asinine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have discovered what whatever the Goodreads readers love, I hate. They lost their minds for the Midnight Library and Lessons in Chemistry and I don’t think I’ve ever hated two books more

I didn't really like these. I'll give Lessons in Chemistry some points for creativity.