The Books I Read in 2023
A year-end summary from my reading log (28)
I posted twenty-eight books on my reading log in 2023, seven more than last year’s total. Of these, sixteen were novels, seven memoirs, and five non-fiction/essays. Sixteen of the books were released in the 21st century; eleven from the last century. The earliest book read was from 1932 (Brave New World). Fifteen books were by women; 13 from male authors. Unlike last year, when no author made the list more than once, this year, I read two books from three different authors, Valeria Luiselli, Matthew Desmond, and Aldous Hexley.
Picking the most memorable read for the year was not as easy as in previous years, given how many books stood out. Matthew Desmond’s Poverty, by America was heartbreaking, and when paired with Barbara Kingsolver’s novel, Demon Copperhead (2023 Pulitzer Prize), the two highlight the troubles around inequality and addiction that we face as a society. Valeria Luiselli’s two books (Tell Me How It Ends, Lost Children Archive) added an immigration vector to these issues.
Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman from 1985 was a reminder of a different concern: the danger to democracies when its citizens are apathetic and uninformed, and easily manipulated by the media’s blinking lights. See also on this theme, Brave New World Revisited by Aldous Huxley.
The most enjoyable book I read this past year was Anne Lamont’s Bird by Bird. It really is a book about writing and life, as per the subtitle. A book that will stay with me for a long time is Javier Zamora’s Solito. One marvels at the boy’s luck and moxie as he journeys through most of Central America and then the border desert, multiple times, by himself.
The shortest book read was The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector, 128 pages; the longest book was Demon Copperhead at 545 pages.
The Last Days of Roger Federer by Geoff Dyer and Read Until You Understand by Farah Jasmine Griffin, two very different books, provided me with excellent music references which I turned into Spotify playlists (links: TLDoRF, RUYU).
The list is in the order I read the books. Each read-date links to my short reviews. The book title goes to the Bookshop.org entry at my stand. The list is replicated at my Bookshop.org stand.
- Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel (1989) Jan-11
- Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2013) Jan-29
- Just Kids by Patti Smith (2010) Feb–04
- The Last Days of Roger Federer by Geoff Dyer (2022) Feb-19
- Tell Me How It Ends by Valeria Luiselli (2017) Feb-22
- Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann (2017) Feb-27
- The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector (1977) Mar-04
- Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (2022) Mar-13
- Evicted by Matthew Desmond (2016) Mar-29
- Read Until You Understand by Farah Jasmine Griffin (2021) Apr-5
- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (1970) Apr-17
- Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin (1953) May-11
- Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond (2023) May-21
- Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli (2019) Jun-4
- Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut (1963) Jun 22
- The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey (2010) Jul 10
- About Grace by Anthony Doerr (2004) Jul 30
- Berta Isla by Javier Marías (2017) Aug 19
- Solito: A Memoir by Javier Zamora (2022) Sep 9
- Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman (1985) Sep 16
- Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1985) Sep 27
- Up Home: A Girl’s Journey by Ruth J. Simmons (2023) Oct-19
- Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932) Oct-31
- Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott (1994) Nov-12
- Brave New World Revisited by Aldous Huxley (1958) Nov-16
- Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (1966) Nov-26
- Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward (2017) Dec 8
- Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (2022) Dec 31
See previous years on my Bookshop.org affiliate stand.
