These books weren’t all published in 2023 but they made it to the top of my list this year.

As with anything that we “take in,” be it food, smells, sounds, or words… what resonates and what nourishes has everything to do with the condition of the vessel that receives it. Another year I may not have found these touched me in quite the same way… and, others that I read may have made it to my favorites list! I’m grateful for the synchronicity that brought me these. To be clear… I didn’t “like” all of these in quite the same way but they all sparked a lot of thought and conversation and I love that!

I’m eternally grateful to my three book groups and all of my friends who love and share books for inspiring and encouraging, and, to my parents who always instilled in us an appreciation for books… even though I’m still a little bitter about not being allowed to “feed the books” i.e. bring them to the dinner table.

One more note on my book groups if you’re curious… I’ve found three different formats that all serve different needs. One group meets in person and discusses a book that we’ve all agreed to read once a month. The second meets online every couple of weeks and talks about what we’re reading, what we want to read, and about other topics related to reading, listening, and writing. The third group’s members (me and my sisters) take turns choosing a book for all to read each month, sometimes there’s a little texting discussion but mostly we’re reading on our own until a big year-end recap discussion.

Attempting to put this list together for you made me realize that I don’t actually have a system for tracking what I read. Not that I need one but I am going to try to keep a little closer track on Goodreads this year so I can share with a bit more accuracy. Find me there if you want to be friends!

Non-fiction

• The End of Alzheimer’s by Dale Bredsen
• The Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton
• The Inner Work of Age by Connie Zweig
• I am, I am, I am by Maggie O’Farrell
• The Perfect Loaf by Maurizio Leo
• Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
• Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
• Crying in the H Mart by Michelle Zauner

Fiction

• The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
• The Night Watchman by Louise Eldrich
• Trust by Herman Diaz
• Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See
• Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
• This Other Eden by Paul Harding
• People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
• Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
• The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
• A People’s History of Heaven by Mathangi Subramanian
• The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
• Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh
• The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin
• Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee

Poetry

• tender gravity by Marybeth Holleman