Favorite Books So Far | Mid-2023

Good morning, friends! I hope you managed to snag a little rest over the weekend. Yesterday was a wonderfully rainy day and I’ve woken up to yet another rain shower. I wasn’t able to squeeze in much reading over the last few days but I kept my knitting and some handsewing close by and that made a nice change of pace for me. And now it’s Monday again! Matthew is on vacation this week and Blackberry Bluff School (our homeschool) is off this week and next – so I’m looking forward to quite a bit of school planning, plenty of afternoon teatimes, and a more relaxed daily pace.

We’ll gloss over the fact that we’ve passed the halfway point of 2023 (time flies!) and get right to today’s topic: my top 10 books of the year so far. For today’s post, I’ve pulled together short descriptions of my favorite reading experiences in 2023. I can’t wait to hear if any of these made your own lists or if any are on your TBR!

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I hate to be cliché, but it was really hard to decide which books would make the cut. I’m in the middle of an incredible reading year and choosing a top ten just felt silly. You can check out my 2023 Goodreads shelf if you’re interested in everything I’ve read so far this year and you’ll see how difficult this decision was!

Quick note: I decided not to include anything I read in June. I find that I love almost everything as soon as I finish it, but that feeling fades as time goes on. I wouldn’t want to inflate an affinity for a book that won’t stand the test of time.

On to the list!

Chouette by Claire Oshetsky
I loved the portrait Oshetsky painted of mothering a child with misunderstood challenges. So many of Tiny’s experiences felt similar to my own as a special needs mom and I was riveted by this little owl baby named Chouette. This book is pretty strange given that the main character takes an owl lover and then gives birth to an owl baby, but somehow it works. The loneliness and isolation that comes from feeling like no one understands your challenges is so real and Oshetsky knocked this one out of the park.

“I’m trying to say she’s already perfect. She’s a small perfect thing in this world. She doesn’t need to change for you to love her.”

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The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
I picked up this book on a weekend when we were all sick and it was perfect timing. The Marriage Portrait is gorgeous, with luscious descriptions and details. I was totally captivated by Lucrezia de’ Medici’s 16th century life and her troubled marriage with a power-hungry duke. I was rooting for Lucrezia and was anxious to find out what was going to happen to her.

This was a Blackwell’s order for me, which is why I was so lucky with this gorgeous cover!

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Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro
I love Dani Shapiro’s nonfiction and was pleasantly surprised by her first fiction novel in over a decade. This was a thought-provoking tale about family secrets and what happens when we hold them too tightly in shame. The prose is perfect and beautifully written and these characters stuck with me for quite a while.

“Maybe all of them are simply a chorus of souls, light touching light.”

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Foster by Claire Keegan
What a wonderful novella! I listened to this whole story while making a batch of sourdough biscuits and it was the perfect activity for it. This book left me thinking about my own mothering habits and how I treat my children when I’m rushing from moment to moment. There’s so much to take in here and I plan to revisit it next year.

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The Book of Goose by Yiyun Li
I listened to this on audio and wasn’t able to write down as many quotations as I’d hoped, but I managed a few. I loved this story about Agnés, a woman who grew up in the French countryside and became a famous writer as a child. It was full of little nuggets of truth that left me reeling. The Book of Goose won this year’s Tournament of Books and I was thrilled!

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Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
I’ve spent this year reading through Morrison’s novels and this one might be my favorite so far. The imagery and characters in this novel are unforgettable. Morrison’s writing is sharp and strong in Song of Solomon; at times this felt like watching a Quentin Tarantino movie. I loved the world she created and I wanted to stay in it long after the closing pages.

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Women Talking by Miriam Toews
What a fantastic novel! It’s about a group of Mennonite women who discover that they’re being drugged and assaulted by the men and boys in their community. Now they have to decide how to respond. Their conversations explore so many of the challenges that women experience in abusive relationships. Toews’ writing is witty, thoughtful, and so smart. I can’t wait to explore more of her fiction.

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Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin
This was on this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist and it might have been my pick for the winner. I was immersed in the life of these three siblings from Vietnam in the late 70s. I learned so much about the Vietnamese Boat People through this book and understood more about life as a refugee. I was rooting for Anh and her brothers and felt satisfied and happy when I closed the book. I hope lots of people read it!

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Homecoming by Kate Morton
I gush about Kate Morton constantly here at The Cozy Burrow so I’m sure this is no surprise. This is set in balmy Australia and is a complex and thrilling mystery. Kate Morton and I could be friends because it seems like we both get excited about the same cozy details and there are always tidbits that set my heart a-flutter!

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Yellowface by RF Kuang
This is a slim contemporary novel but Kuang managed to pack so much into its pages. She explores race, identity, cancel culture, the effects of social media, who is allowed to tell which stories, the publishing industry, and so much more. There are so many bookish details that Readers (with a capital “R”) will pick up on and love. And did I mention it’s kind of a thriller? There is so much here to unpack!! I wish I would have read this with a multi-pack of highlighters to separate the themes and ideas that bubbled to the surface.

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Okay, what did I miss? What have been your favorite books so far this year? Tell me all about them in the comments!