My 2023 started off reading at record pace, but then as the year went by I ended up reading less books on average than other years. In theory, I could add to my list all of those books that I read to my kids, including the final three Harry Potter books and Judy Blume’s Fudge series.
Having spent time in California over the summer sparked my interest in the John Steinbeck classics I had never gotten around to be before, of which I absolutely loved East of Eden, and then to learn more about the history of Chinese Americans. Perhaps the highlight of the year was reading my friend Joaquin del Palacio’s first novel Todo puede empeorar published in November. If you’re a Spanish speaker, I couldn’t recommend it enough.
Here is the full 2023 list:
- The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer
- Ghosts of Gold Mountain: The Epic Story of the Chinese who Built the Transcontinental Railroad by Gordan Chang
- Todo puede empeorar by Joaquin del Palacio
- Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
- Ignorance by Milan Kundera (re-read)
- Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne
- Strategy: A History by Lawrence Freedman
- The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann
- Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
- All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby
- The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
- King: The Life of Martin Luther King by Jonathan Eig
- Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez
- Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn
- East of Eden by John Steinbeck
- The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris
- Saxophone Colossus: The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins by Aidan Levy
- Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret by Judy Blume
- Nights of Plague by Orhan Pamuk
- It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
- Prisoner of the Infidels: The Memoir of an Ottoman Muslim in Seventeen Century Europe by Osman of Timisoara
- Empire of Ice and Stone: The Disastrous and Heroic Voyage of the Karluk by Buddy Levy.
My favorite of the year go to, as mentioned, East of Eden and Todo puede empeorar, as well as Empire of the Summer Moon (I also spent time in Texas), and Empire of Ice and Stone. I already have a long backlist of books to start off 2024 with.
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