Best Books Read in 2023

Maisie Dobbs, Jacqueline Windspear. Many blog readers had recommended this series to me over the years and after listening to the first one I saw why – I really enjoyed the premise of the book as well as the story. I liked the fact that Maisie wasn’t just sprung on us as someone who can solve cases, but we learn her

background, how she was mentored, and taught to see things and read people. It just made it that much more believable. The balance of the characters and mystery to solve is good so that you want to keep reading even after the case is solved.

A Sunlit Weapon (17), Jacqueline Winspear. When I finished the last two Maisie Dobbs mysteries in the series I was sad to see her – and her family and friends – go. The characters had really come alive in the last five or so books. I don’t know if it’s the fact that I know the characters and setting so well or that Ms. Winspear is

writing better, but I enjoyed the books more with each one I read. It was nice to see Maisie finally have a family and start making decisions to be with them more. I’ve read there will be another book in this series and you can be sure I’ll be reading when it comes. This series has been my favorite of the gentle mysteries I’ve started reading in the last few years because of the historical aspect of the novels. The books start in WWI and go through the ensuing years all the way through to WWII. I learned a lot about what it must’ve been like to live in London during those years – and especially the years of the Blitz.

2. Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story, Bono

As a long time U2 fan I was excited when I heard about this book and the premise. I got this as an audiobook, which I do when its a memoir because I enjoy hearing the writer read his/her own story, and this also includes snippets where Bono breaks into song as well as editions of U2’s famous songs recorded just for this book.

I enjoyed the first half the most – the story of how they came together, their faith as teens and adults, and how God orchestrated much of their success was eye-opening. Bono’s love and devotion to his childhood sweetheart wife was also inspiring. But hearing the story of the songs and the background as to how they got written and made was the best. It is a joyful recounting full of fun insights. While the second half bogged down a bit for me with Bono’s emphasis on his humanitarian work, it was all good. I’m pretty sure I will listen to this again in the future.

3. All My Knotted Up Life, Beth Moore

While I’ve heard of Beth Moore and done a couple of her studies (and read her one and only fiction book, which was pretty good), I didn’t really know much about her or her ministry. Of course her leaving the Southern Baptist Church a year or so ago made all the news headlines, but that’s about the extent of my knowledge.

This memoir fills in more details of her life and gives much background to how many of her women studies came to be. Hearing how she was treated after publicizing her honest response to then presidential hopeful Trump’s remarks on women (honestly what we were all saying…) was shocking. She has hard things she shares for the first time, being vulnerable and truthful while staying true to herself. Between the hard things, the funny things, and the lovely things, this was a book I enjoyed very much and it was impactful to see how God has carried her through everything.

4. Remarkably Bright Creatures, Shelby Van Pelt (My favorite book of the year!)

I absolutely loved this book! I wasn’t sure about it for the longest time after seeing it on many other book lists because I thought it was about a talking octopus. And while an octopus does narrate some sections of the book to give his perspective, he doesn’t talk to the people he encounters. In the first chapters I wasn’t sure

where the story was going – why do we meet people in Washington state and also in California that don’t know each other? AH…keep reading, it is SO worth it. It kept my attention trying to figure that out, but it also was such a lovely and heartwarming story about friends, family and forgiveness. And the ending was perfection. Run, don’t walk to buy or put a hold!!

5. A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder, Diane Freeman (+ series)

I don’t know if it was the mood I was in, the fun covers, or the content, but I just adore this series of books! The books (I’ve listened to all that area available) are fun Victorian “easy” mysteries that were perfect to listen to while gardening and cooking. And I loved discovering the narrator of the books – Sarah

Zimmerman – her inflections really bring the characters to life. It’s a nice mix of British society at the time, light and clean romance and then solving some type of crime. It seems less far-fetched than some mysteries since the main character isn’t a ‘sleuth’ just someone who stumbles into things and helps figure them out. Obviously, they are pretty easy to binge on if your library carries them like mine does (through Hoopla).

6. The Stand, Stephen King

Brian and I listened to this together over 2+ months and 47 hours (whew). After kind of slow start that was a bit hard to get into with all the different characters introduced, it pulled us into the world King creates after a man-made “superflu” pandemic kills (gruesomely, of course à la Mr. King) 99.4% of the population. It’s truly

amazing to see how something like this could spread. The characters coalesced into mostly fleshed-out people we could root for or be repelled by. We knew it was a Good-vs-Evil plot and could see the way the characters would land from the first pages. We wanted to listen whenever we could – while eating meals and driving places. It had surprisingly comic parts – and we have phrases we still use (“m-o-o-n spells __” “happy crappy,” etc.) that we laughed about. King writes gore, so when someone is shot, you get all the details of what the bullet did to the body, but this isn’t horror like some of his other novels. There’s a supernatural element to it (people dream the same things and follow the dreams to the same place), but also a lot of talk of the Bible and God as the antidote to the evil. Not for everyone, maybe, but I’m so glad I read it – it really makes you think about society as a whole.

7. Hello Beautiful, Ann Napolitano

I saw this book talked about on social media for months before I my hold from the library came in. This is not a fast book – it’s slow and careful and tells a family’s story over many years with many twists and turns. Some are hard and some are so sweet your heart will ache. It delves into how we deal with tragedy, how our family’s shape

us, and the bonds of siblings. It’s listed as a tearjerker and while it is sad, I didn’t cry – maybe because I didn’t feel deeply connected to any one character, they all had a play in the story. The story and themes stick with you, though, and the hopeful ending made it better for me – it’s no surprise it made my best of the year book list.

8. Be Frank With Me, Julia Claiborne Johnson

I’m not sure what I expected of this book but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It’s the story of a young publisher’s assistant from New York who gets sent to Bel Air to help a reclusive author finish a manuscript. The author has a son, Frank, who is described as “different” – intelligent, interested in things

that his peers aren’t, and likes to dress in 1930s style clothes. He’s very much on the autism spectrum with not understanding nuances, not wanting his things touched or moved and not being touched himself. And oh, this story has so much heart! Both Frank and his mom, Mimi (who is older and clearly overwhelmed) need the love and care that the assistant brings to the home. There is humor, love, chaos, and even danger (in the form of a fire and obsessive fans) and it all comes together in a story where you see them all grow and learn to accept each other for who they are. If you’ve read my reviews before, you will know that I appreciate an ending that is satisfying (and happy, lol), and this one kind of felt abrupt and left me hanging – but that about the only think I didn’t like about this sweet book.

9. Open, Andre Agassi

I was completely surprised by how much I liked this book – and how much I’ve thought about it since reading it. It’s not new – it came out in 2009 a few years after his retirement, but thankfully he’s still in a similar space as the ending: married to Stephanie Graff, father to two kids (who are now older of course), and still running his

charter school for disadvantage youth. What I liked the most were the descriptions of his training (from as soon as he could walk, basically), what it’s like on a tennis tour, and the specifics of some of his best known matches. The behind-the-scenes antidotes he shares are really the things that have stuck with me – what many athletes require of their bodies and what they do to keep them going. Yikes. I wish he had narrated this, but appreciate the candor and the life stories he wrote that have stuck with me.

10. Double Cross, True Story of the D-Day Spies, Ben Macintyre

Brian and I listened to this together and it’s so good in that “truth is stranger than fiction” way that it’s not a surprise you find it on my year end best books list! Many times we looked at each other with our mouths hanging open from what we just heard (like a number of the spies really were like James Bond, romancing

and spending LOTS of money – and they got most of it from the Germans that they were double crossing!!). I mean, I think Ian Flemming based Bond off of some of these characters that he might’ve even known in his WWII work in British naval intelligence (this wasn’t speculated in the book – just me thinking it!). Amazing stuff.

11. A Time for Confidence, Stephen J Nichols

This was published in 2017, and the changes in society in the years since then just reiterate what the author encourages in this book: that we can believe in God’s promises always. I found this to just be really encouraging, and empowering, to be reminded of how God is unshakable even as the world seems to be falling apart.

12. The Museum of Ordinary People, Mike Gayle

I really enjoyed this quirky book – so much so that it made the best of the year list! It’s because it hits the “best” criteria for me of being 1) something I kept thinking about (where do the things you loved go when you’re gone, where should they go, and what is really important?, 2) tells a good story and 3) made me root for the

characters to succeed. While there is a museum of sorts complied of people’s cast-offs that mean something to their families, it’s really a story of a woman who has lost her way after her mother died and how she slowly comes back into her own through this museum idea.