Books

Each year I see people posting their list of books that they read for the year, and so at the start of last year, I added a 2023 tag to each of the books that I read through the app.  

Most of these were audiobooks that I can enjoy while folding clothes or making dinner, but a few of them I could only borrow as a digital book, so I did read words on a 'page' for a bit of the year.  And every now and again I had to check out the digital book, so that I could find a spelling of a name, in order to research it (mostly in the Mary Russel books.)

I listen to the books on 1.25x speed which works well on almost all of them.  However, on some of them that are read by the author, they will get excited about part of their story, and I'll have to slow it down because it sounds funny. = )  Some of my favorite non-fiction books were the ones read by the author.

Fiction

1. The Rebel Beneath the Stairs* (#2) EE Holmes

    Currently #4 in line for the final book, but can't wait for the conclusion!  I liked this one better than the first installment.

2. David Copperfield Charles Dickens

    I loved this book.  I don't know if I've just read too many mysteries, because the ending was clear to me in the beginning, he gave so many clues, or if it's just part of reading these books as an adult.  Either way, I can't wait to watch a theatrical adaptation!

3. What the Ladies Maid Knew (#1) EE Holmes

    I will forever think of the Lego Advent calendar when thinking about this book, since that was my project at the time.

4. Iron Flame (#2) Rebecca Yarros

    No better than the first, I'm so invested, it's so good, and I'm still embarrassed.  When does #3 come out?

5. Little Lord Fauntleroy Frances Hodgson Burnett

    One of the homeschool books we never read, but such a sweet story!  I thought of my Grandmother the whole way through, she would have loved this book (but she may have read it, I don't know!!)

6. Fourth Wing (#1) Rebecca Yarros

    Hooked. So embarrassed.

7. The Ink Black Heart (#6) Robert Galbraith

    reread.

8. Troubled Blood (#5) Robert Galbraith

    reread.

9. Lethal White (#4) Robert Galbraith

    reread.

10. The Running Grave (#7)  Robert Galbraith  

    So, this one just released, and I absolutely could not help myself and read this in the middle of my re-read because I have no self-control when it comes to the Strike series.

11. Career of Evil (#3) Robert Galbraith

    reread.

12. The Silkworm (#2) Robert Galbraith

    reread.

13. The Cuckoo's Calling (#1) Robert Galbraith

    reread. Strike's London is one of my favorite places to be, so I reread all the existing novels once every year or so, and any time that a new book comes out, or a new episode is released. = )

14. Beekeeping for Beginners (#10.5) Laurie R. King

    I felt like this one was a great read, and love her internal portrayal of Sherlock Holmes! 

15. Castle Shade (#17) Laurie R. King

    An awesome installment of the Mary Russel series. It's about vampires.

16. Back to the Garden Laurie R. King

   Not a part of the Mary Russel Series, but a solid stand-alone read.  Would recommend!

17. Please Report Your Bug Here Josh Riedel

    This one had an unsatisfactory ending, so I still feel like it's been left unfinished.  Despite being a fictional story, I learned the 'magic' of how touch screens actually work!

18. Mary Russell's War (#0.5) Laurie R. King

    I love all the Mary Russel stories, and just found out that I can expect a new installment 13 February 2024.  All the Laurie R. King books below were so enjoyable.  It's no wonder that I finished so many books this year.

19. Riviera Gold (#16) Laurie R. King

    A super enjoyable continuation of Mrs. Hudson's backstory.

20. Island of the Mad (#15) Laurie R. King

21. The Murder of Mary Russell (#14) Laurie R. King

    This one was a super enjoyable detour into Mrs. Hudson's backstory and such a great story!

22. A Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens  

    Was my Dickens reading a direct result of my non-fiction selection? probably.  But I really enjoyed it, particularly in light of the upcoming Napoleon movie.

23. Secret Adversary Agatha Christie

    reread.

24. Partners in Crime Agatha Christie

    reread.

25. A Wrinkle In Time Madeleine L'Engle

    Reread, but it had been so long I didn't remember any of it.  I read it along with Emily, so we were able to discuss it as we read. = )

26. Dreaming Spies (#13) Laurie R. King

    I think I read this on the heels of Ikigai which made it all the more enjoyable!!

27. The Enchantress (#6) Michael Scott

    I liked this series.  It was kind of predictable, but a solid story!

28. Garment of Shadows (#12) Laurie R. King

29. White Sand Blues Vicki Delany

    I barely remember this one, it was a very short book, but I remember the murderer being so obvious that I got it wrong!!!

30. The Warlock (#5) Michael Scott

31. Pirate King (#11) Laurie R. King

32. The God of the Hive (#10) Laurie R. King

33. The Language of Bees (#9) Laurie R. King

34. Nothing More to Tell Karen M. McManus 

    I really enjoyed this one, I loved the other books that she's written, despite the fact I am far from her target (teenager) audience!

35. The Necromancer (#4) Michael Scott

36. Locked Rooms (#8) Laurie R. King

    My favorite (or very close second**) of the Mary Russel series.  

37. The Sorceress (#3) Michael Scott2

38. The Game (#7) Laurie R. King

Non-Fiction - My 2023 New Year's Resolution was to read one non-fiction book a month!  Sometimes I read more than one, if they were short or particularly well written. In the case of Aletha Gibson (Serving Herself,) it took me months (and a trip to Germany) to finish, but I met my quota!!!

The way I picked each non-fiction was to select "audio books" > "available now" > "non-fiction" and to choose the top pick that I hadn't yet read.  It made for quite a variety, and a really enjoyable year of reading.

39. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry  Neil deGrasse Tyson

    I snuck this one in at the very end (just finished it today!)  It was over my head at times, but mostly he made the contents really relatable and interesting.  The bit about the composition and naming of the periodic table elements was my favorite.

40. Dare to Lead Brené Brown

    I felt so inspired after reading this one! I even found a few nuggets that could be used in my daily life.

41. In Light-Years There's No Hurry Marjolijn van Heemstra

    This one felt very much like poetry or prose, not my favorite.

42. Heirloom Rooms Erin Napier

    A very sweet room by room of life stories!

43. Spare Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex

    Very good, I finished it quickly!

44. Serving Herself Ashley Brown

    This one was written by an academic, and took me months to finish! So hard to read, though I'm glad I did finish it and still learned something.

45. The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning Margareta Magnusson

    A lovely, quick read.

46. Braiding Sweetgrass Robin Wall Kimmerer

    I learned so much about native culture from this, and it was an enjoyable read.

47. Ikigai Hector Garcia, Francesc Miralles

    I don't remember too much of this one, but I liked the perspective and all the tidbits that have stuck with me about aging gracefully.

48. Educated Tara Westover

    This was such a good read.  Would recommend.  I am hoping that she'll write a follow up in a few years.

49. Dickens and Prince Nick Hornby

    I would not read this again, but it apparently influenced my life to a point I read two previously unread Dickens novels this year, and possibly listened to a few extra prince songs, so definitely a book that influenced me!

50. Finding Chika Mitch Albom

    I cried, but it was good.

51. The Total Money Makeover Dave Ramsey

    Motivating and affirmative!!!

52. Soundings Doreen Cunningham

    This one I refer to as the 'bad decisions' book.  I enjoyed it, and learned something, but as a mother I hope my children make better decisions.

53. The Unspeakable Mind Shaili Jain, M.D.

    This one is not for children, but was unexpectedly good! I found it very interesting the whole way through.

54. Becoming Michelle Obama

    An excellent read to start my non-fiction journey!!!

I think I will continue to read non-fiction along with my beloved fiction, I am definitely a fan!

later days

*and (probably) ::spoilers:: Eli is so obliviously Jessiman's brother, or at least that's what the clues have pointed to. I mean Eli could definitely be short for his name William Elias Hollowell, and Jessiman finds him very familiar looking, and it was clearly Eliza's mom that brought him to Sully.  

**I didn't read it this year, but I think my absolute favorite Mary Russel book is O Jerusalem.