Ah, Lore! I love a reading list! Thanks for these suggestions. I’m so sad we didn’t discuss Asher Lev in person! People assume my youngest is named Asher bc of my name...but now you know the real reason ;)
I just finished Haven by Emma Donoghue and it was brilliant. I read it on recommendation so when I picked it up I thought monks! What have I gotten myself into!
But it was perfect to come into it with no prior knowledge so I was free to be carried on the story. So so many layers to it
Tattoos on the Heart by Gregory Boyle was a nonfiction I also loved.
I’m working through the Inspector Gamache series by Louse Penny and it is also rich and layered with meaning as well as a fun mystery
I love to lurk on comment sections like these and get some good recommendations. Thankful for all the people who have more time to read, because the collaborative nature of these lists help me start with a better chance at a quality book. ❤️
I read My Name is Asher Lev for the first time this year and I loved it so much. It’s definitely in my top 3 books of the year! Here’s a few of my other favourites:
So love a book list!! Thanks. Agree about Demon Copperhead. I closed
Out 2022 with that gem and haven’t stopped talking about it since. Changed my thinking and understanding which is what great writing and storytelling does!
Thanks for sharing! Always love hearing top reads. I read "Once There Were Wolves" at your recommendation earlier this year. I've read just over 150 books this year and my top reads so far are (in the order I read them):
- Entangled Life: How Fungi Make our Worlds, Change our Minds and Shape our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake (yes his real name; the illustrated version is on my Christmas list)
- On Our Best Behaviour: The Price Women Pay to Be Good by Elise Loehnen
- Uncultured: A Memoir by Danielle Mestyanek Young
- My Body Is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church by Amy Kenny
- My Body and Other Crumbling Empires by Lyndsey Medford
- Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado-Perez (just finished this one and I basically tell everyone I meet about it, beware spam callers)
So apparently no fiction has made my top reads list this year so far. But if I had to choose 2, it would be probably by Horse by Geraldine Brooks or Daughters of the Deer by Danielle Daniel.
It's actually hard for me to only share those as I have another 10+ I rated 5 stars but I won't overload you! Do you track your reads on Goodreads?
Thanks for the recommendations! On the topic of outdoor adventure: Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why; Grandma Gatewood’s Walk; Wild (of course); When You Find My Body; The Last Climb of Kate Matrisova.
I definitely was amazed how well Demon Copperhead was having never read Kingsolver. It brought me into a world I never knew much about and made me care so deeply.
Also, I loved Maggie's memoir. It was honest and I love the intentionality in writing it! Definitely have to check out more of these books.
Cloud Cuckoo Land is an incredible journey worth taking, not without its quirks. Anthony Doerr has to be one of my favorite for his interesting characters (especially children!) and his big heart for good in the world. I think you would appreciate it, Lore!
Just finished Breaking Through: My Life in Science by Katalin Karikó (she won the Nobel Prize in Medicine this year for her foundational work on mRNA vaccines including the COVID vaccine). A very inspirational story of perseverance. She was a voice in the wilderness for mRNA even back in the 80s. Nobody listened to her. She was ignored, didn't get grants or funding, couldn't get her papers published. Finally was kicked out of her very small lab space. Threatened with deportation at one point.
My 2023 Best Books List
Ah, Lore! I love a reading list! Thanks for these suggestions. I’m so sad we didn’t discuss Asher Lev in person! People assume my youngest is named Asher bc of my name...but now you know the real reason ;)
Oh wow, thanks for his exciting list!
It's also massive for me that you read this much this year alone. I'd love to read this much too or atleast 50.
How do I even start?
I just finished Haven by Emma Donoghue and it was brilliant. I read it on recommendation so when I picked it up I thought monks! What have I gotten myself into!
But it was perfect to come into it with no prior knowledge so I was free to be carried on the story. So so many layers to it
Tattoos on the Heart by Gregory Boyle was a nonfiction I also loved.
I’m working through the Inspector Gamache series by Louse Penny and it is also rich and layered with meaning as well as a fun mystery
I love to lurk on comment sections like these and get some good recommendations. Thankful for all the people who have more time to read, because the collaborative nature of these lists help me start with a better chance at a quality book. ❤️
Since you liked Asher Lev (one of my favorites), I recommend The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen. For me it was a mash-up of two great authors: Chaim Potok and Gary Schmidt. One of my very favorite reads from last year. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-life-and-crimes-of-hoodie-rosen-isaac-blum/1140781630
I read My Name is Asher Lev for the first time this year and I loved it so much. It’s definitely in my top 3 books of the year! Here’s a few of my other favourites:
All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
Lila by Marilynne Robinson
Summer by Edith Wharton
Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri
My Father’s House by Joseph O’Connor
All My Knotted up Life by Beth Moore
Asher Lev! And the silence. BK! Demon Copperhead awaits--but not for much longer. LOVE BK. Thank you for your wonderful list!
Put a whole bunch of these on hold at the library so thank you!
So love a book list!! Thanks. Agree about Demon Copperhead. I closed
Out 2022 with that gem and haven’t stopped talking about it since. Changed my thinking and understanding which is what great writing and storytelling does!
Thanks for sharing! Always love hearing top reads. I read "Once There Were Wolves" at your recommendation earlier this year. I've read just over 150 books this year and my top reads so far are (in the order I read them):
- Entangled Life: How Fungi Make our Worlds, Change our Minds and Shape our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake (yes his real name; the illustrated version is on my Christmas list)
- On Our Best Behaviour: The Price Women Pay to Be Good by Elise Loehnen
- Uncultured: A Memoir by Danielle Mestyanek Young
- My Body Is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church by Amy Kenny
- My Body and Other Crumbling Empires by Lyndsey Medford
- Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado-Perez (just finished this one and I basically tell everyone I meet about it, beware spam callers)
So apparently no fiction has made my top reads list this year so far. But if I had to choose 2, it would be probably by Horse by Geraldine Brooks or Daughters of the Deer by Danielle Daniel.
It's actually hard for me to only share those as I have another 10+ I rated 5 stars but I won't overload you! Do you track your reads on Goodreads?
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow was absolutely stunning! One of my favorites as well
Thanks for the recommendations! On the topic of outdoor adventure: Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why; Grandma Gatewood’s Walk; Wild (of course); When You Find My Body; The Last Climb of Kate Matrisova.
I definitely was amazed how well Demon Copperhead was having never read Kingsolver. It brought me into a world I never knew much about and made me care so deeply.
Also, I loved Maggie's memoir. It was honest and I love the intentionality in writing it! Definitely have to check out more of these books.
Cloud Cuckoo Land is an incredible journey worth taking, not without its quirks. Anthony Doerr has to be one of my favorite for his interesting characters (especially children!) and his big heart for good in the world. I think you would appreciate it, Lore!
Just finished Breaking Through: My Life in Science by Katalin Karikó (she won the Nobel Prize in Medicine this year for her foundational work on mRNA vaccines including the COVID vaccine). A very inspirational story of perseverance. She was a voice in the wilderness for mRNA even back in the 80s. Nobody listened to her. She was ignored, didn't get grants or funding, couldn't get her papers published. Finally was kicked out of her very small lab space. Threatened with deportation at one point.
There aren’t enough people talking about Charlotte McConaghy!!