2023 was a year for both classics and chunksters: from the Little House books to The Count of Monte Cristo and Clarissa, I read lots of old books, lots of long books, and lots of long old books. And I read plenty of other stuff as well!
As has become usual for me, a lot of my reading this year was influenced by my favorite bookish social media outlet: Litsy. I can’t resist a good Litsy buddy read! I continued to facilitate my Kindred Spirits group on Litsy, this year largely reading L.M. Montgomery-adjacent books: biographies, literary analysis of LMM’s fiction, and a few Anne retellings for good measure. I greatly enjoyed diving deeper into the life of a favorite author. And Auld Lang Spine, my favorite way to kick off my reading year, continued throughout 2023 as I read my way through a list of great book recommendations. Highlights and standout reading experiences are described below, but if you want to go right to a best-of list, you can skip down to the Auld Lang Spine section at the end!
Long Old Books
I started the year with a spontaneous last-minute decision to read Samuel Richardson’s Clarissa. This was a surprising decision for someone who, in college, proclaimed the 18th century to be their least favorite era of English literature. Although the 18th century turned out to be my favorite grad school professor’s area of expertise (and I even took his class on the Augustan Age), after grad school, I planned never to read another 18th century novel if I could help it. Apparently 20 years’ distance and a Litsy buddy read were sufficient reason for me to alter that plan.
Clarissa is an epistolary novel, and the days and dates of the letters in the book corresponded with the days and dates in 2023 (i.e., the book begins on January 10th, which falls on a Tuesday both in the book and in 2023). I loved the idea of reading the longest novel written in the English language, in (mostly) real time, with a group of people cheering each other on.
Reading this gave me a greater understanding of Clarissa’s influence on later writers, but also, I just really wanted to know how things turned out: to see the villains punished, and find out each character’s fate. The voices of the different characters were so individual—it says a lot about Richardson’s skill as a writer, and his usage of the epistolary format, that I was able to picture each of the characters so distinctly, and that they all evoked such strong emotion. (Never mind that the emotions evoked often consisted of rage and disgust.) Ultimately I’m glad I read it, and not just for the bragging rights: it was a delight to discuss (i.e., rant about) it each week. I wouldn’t have read this without the camaraderie of the group to keep me going, but the weekly chats also immeasurably increased my enjoyment of the book. Learned Slatterns Unite!
Other long old books this year included:
The Once and Future King by T.H. White: Such an interesting and rewarding book. The first section was delightfully playful and lighthearted, and then the subsequent sections were much darker and more thought-provoking. It was fascinating to read how T.H. White frames the Arthurian stories.
The Agony & The Ecstasy by Irving Stone: The depth of research that went into this is staggering. I loved reading the historical and biographical background for Michelangelo’s art, as well as seeing Renaissance Florence and Rome through his eyes.
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas: I can see why this classic is so well-loved: it’s fascinating, engaging, and meticulously planned out. I don’t think I liked any of the characters, but it was so satisfying to see all the threads come together in the end.
Continuing the theme of long books…
I read Edward Rutherfurd’s Sarum the summer before I began grad school. That fall, on the first night of my class on the English novel, the professor (the aforementioned favorite grad school professor) asked each of us to share the most recent book we’d read. I mentioned Sarum, and his response was “Ohhh, Barbara… I don’t think you’ll have any trouble getting through this semester’s reading…” Context: that semester, we read approximately one 400-500 page novel every week. (I think we got two weeks to finish the 800-page David Copperfield.)
All this to say, reading Rutherfurd’s London this year felt like another piece of my reading history being picked up 20 years down the road. I enjoyed Sarum enough, hefty tome though it was, to have purchased the 800-page London at a long-ago library book sale. It has followed me through the years, until in 2023 I decided to participate in a “Chunkster Challenge” on Litsy. London fulfilled one of the five categories and, naturally, this completionist wanted a full set. As with Sarum, I enjoyed following the history of London through the eyes of several fictional families. It was fascinating to see their fortunes rise and fall against the backdrop of familiar and not-so-familiar historical events—and to root for or against certain individuals based on grudges built over generations.
Classic Mysteries
Another thread in my 2023 reading was classic mysteries: from Josephine Tey, Cyril Hare, and Agatha Christie to Dorothy Sayers. I’m thoroughly enjoying reading my way through Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries: the dialogue is witty and hilarious, and Lord Peter has a delightful combination of flippancy and earnestness that’s incredibly endearing.
Favorites:
Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey: A delight. The dialogue throughout is witty, the characters are well-developed, and the observations of human nature are fascinating.
Strong Poison by Dorothy Sayers: This Lord Peter Wimsey mystery is glorious. I fell in love with Miss Climpson and her full retinue of “spinsters” who do most of the actual investigating here.
Mary Westmacott
Related to the classic mysteries, but distinctly different are the Mary Westmacott books: six novels Agatha Christie published under a pseudonym. I’ve seen them referred to as her “romance novels,” but they are decidedly not love stories. The four I’ve read so far do touch on themes of love, but that theme is used to explore the psychological complexities of the characters she draws so deftly. These books are completely different from Christie’s mystery novels, but somehow still have many similarities. The same sharp insight into human nature, for one. They’re also oddly darker than most of her mysteries. All have offered lots of food for thought and resulted in some rich buddy read discussions.
Favorites:
Giant’s Bread: Explores the question of what it is that feeds genius. Its cast of mostly unlikable characters was still utterly compelling and I had a hard time putting it down.
Absent in the Spring: The characterization here is masterful. While leaving the reader inside the main character’s POV, Christie gradually reveals the gap between reality and that character’s own view of self. This was excellent—one of my top reads this year.
Speaking of thought-provoking…
I listed Giant’s Bread above as one of my “favorites” of the Westmacott novels. It was a 5-star read, but honestly, the term “favorite” doesn’t really fit. There are several others I read this year that fit this same category—I’d call them thought-provoking, excellent, fascinating, but would not say I loved them. Our first IRL book club pick of the year was one of these. The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey had SO much to discuss, from free will to personhood to grooming—but it was also full of so many triggers that I have to recommend it with a whole list of caveats. Similarly, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin was excellent, but I still can’t pin down how I feel about it. I both loved and was frustrated by the characters, and the different perspectives were so well done, but there’s also a toxic relationship that stressed me out for a good part of the book. It left me feeling conflicted, but glad I read it—and sad to leave its characters behind.
Other equally thought-provoking books that left me feeling conflicted:
Babel by R.F. Kuang: Excellent in so many ways—characters, historical context/world-building, magic system—but the implications of and responses to colonialism it suggests left me mulling this over for a long time.
The Promise by Chaim Potok: A sequel to Potok’s The Chosen, this is just as thought-provoking and reflective. It follows a young Orthodox Jew in post-WWII NYC, as he struggles to define his faith in contrast to both conservative and liberal sects within his community. I was fascinated by parallels to contemporary debates between fundamentalist/evangelical and more progressive Christians, and conflicted about its descriptions of mental health treatment (granted, this was written in the 60s, but still).
Young Adult and Children’s Books
Surprisingly for this bookworm child, I had never read the Little House books growing up. I enjoyed reading them with a chapter-a-day buddy read in 2023, and found the Ingalls’ adventures (and perils!) fascinating. I’d read so much controversy about whether these beloved children’s classics should still be read/taught, given the colonialism and racism woven throughout the story. I’m glad to now have first-hand knowledge of why they’re both very problematic in places, and yet still so valuable. Especially in the titular novel, the racist characterizations of the indigenous people were difficult to read, as was the settlers’ attitude of entitlement as they settled on land that wasn’t theirs. But at the same time, its bias is a good representation of the usual attitude of those settlers. It’s one-sided, but important to understand—when it’s not represented as the only side of the story.
Other stand-out YA/MG reads this year:
The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill: A middle grade fairytale-like story about a town that grows suspicious and selfish under a selfish, greedy leader—and then re-learns what it means to be a neighbor.
Legendborn & Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn: An intriguing take on Arthurian mythology—with an exclusive secret society and all its trappings of privilege. Deonn deftly uses the Arthurian material to explore themes of heritage and racism, and the books’ treatment of grief is powerful.
The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo: Sweet and reflective and hopeful—and the illustrations are wonderful as well!
Auld Lang Spine
One of my favorite reading events on Litsy each year is called Auld Lang Spine. At the end of the year, you submit your best-of list from the year, and the organizer pairs people up to trade lists. Then January is spent reading titles from your match’s list (although I’m not alone in continuing to read selections from the list throughout the rest of the year). I’ll close by sharing the Auld Lang Spine list I compiled from my 2023 reading, which includes some gems not discussed above.
- The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey
- Babel by R.F. Kuang
- The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill
- The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone
- When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill
- The Narrowboat Summer by Anne Youngson
- The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo
- Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng
- Watch Us Shine by Marisa de los Santos
- The Promise by Chaim Potok
- Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan
- Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
- Strong Poison by Dorothy Sayers
- Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
- Horse by Geraldine Brooks
- System Collapse by Martha Wells
- Absent in the Spring by Mary Westmacott
Commonplace Hope 