2022 was the first year I kept track of every book I read (that I read for the first time) and if you’re a reader, I definitely recommend the practice; it was really neat to look back on everything I’ve read and see patterns in what I do and don’t enjoy. This year I read 44 new-to-me books and am here to share my favorites if you’re looking for suggestions for your own 2023 reading list!
7) Carefree Black Girls
Zeba Blay. Nonfiction, essays. A surprise hit for me, this was a perfect balance of media criticism, race theory, sociology, and personal memoir. This book reminded me why I love creative nonfiction and cannot recommend it enough.
6) The Night Circus
Erin Morgenstern. Fiction, fantasy. I enjoyed the lyrical writing and its clever blend of fantasy and reality. I suspect I could read this book multiple times and always catch something new, it was truly an adventure start to finish.
5) Will
Mark Manson and Will Smith. Nonfiction, biography. I have to credit my friend Maria for recommending this book several times before I got around to reading it, but once I did I understood her insistence on it. Will Smith tells a unique story that almost no one else can or could ever tell, and Manson writes about it in a very compelling way.
4) The Witches Are Coming
Lindy West. Nonfiction, essays. I’m generally partial to Lindy West, even when she’s controversial, and this book of her selected essays address many of the social issues and challenges I find most interesting. From feminism to environmentalism to classism, Lindy West may be preaching to the choir, but she’s preaching with great humor and voice.
3) Henry, Himself
Stewart O'Nan. Fiction, realistic fiction. The other half of my book club, my bestie Saskia, selected this book for us to read “because it takes place in Pittsburgh and has a dog on the cover” and it turned out to be the most relaxing book I read all year. Perhaps the most Pittsburgh fiction 'I’ve ever read, it was so fun to see familiar streets and landmarks throughout a wholesome story of an elderly couple enjoying their time together. Perhaps no character is less relatable to me than an elderly man, but somehow I fit right inside Henry’s narration.
2) Laziness does Not Exist
Devon Price. Nonfiction, self-help. If there was one book I could make everyone read, it would be this one. Dr. Price breaks down the roots of our social ideas of laziness in an accessible way that challenged me to rethink my attitudes and ideas about my self-worth.
1) When Women Were Dragons: A Novel
Kelly Barnhill. Fiction, fantasy. I call this fantasy because there are dragons but it’s really a realistic fiction set in a slightly metaphorical reality. Hands down, my favorite book I read this year, I insist you read it. The writing is beautiful, the story is rich, and the experience was cathartic. The author wrote this after Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony and I felt every bit of what she wanted me to feel.