favorites

While I read a LOT of books, and post about those I enjoyed or are featuring, I always have some that stand out as favorites.

Here, in no particular order, are my Top Ten favorites from 2023:

Daughters of Nantucket by Julie Gerstenblatt (HF)

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (audiobook)

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese (HF)

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell (audiobook)

The Spectacular by Fiona Davis

Unsettled by Patricia Reis

Veil of Doubt by Sharon Virts (HF/mystery)

The Lioness by Chris Bohjalian

Only the Beautiful by Susan Meissner

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett (audiobook)

But wait! There’s more! I was thinking that I can’t do my favorites reads without mentioning one other audiobook that I LOVED: The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post by Allison Pataki.

It’s that time of year! Everywhere you look, “best of” lists are coming out. Best Books, Best Movies, Best Songs, Best Moments in Sports, etc. etc. Personally, I won’t assume that I have the power to individually say what’s best (plus I’m a big believer of “to each his own”). Instead, I would like to share what my personal favorite reads were this year. There were lots of books that I read and enjoyed this year, but these books stayed with me either because I loved the characters, or I couldn’t put the book down, or I thought it was incredibly well-written, or a combination of these things.

So here I give you – my favorite reading experiences for 2013 (reviews of all can be found on this blog):

Cozies:

The Maggie Hope series by Susan Elia MacNeal

The Royal Spyness series by Rhys Bowen

The Flavia de Luce series by Alan Bradley

YA:

Twerp by Mark Goldblatt

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer by Katie Alender

Historical Fiction:

The Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian

The Aviator’s Wife by Melanie Benjamin