Books in 2023

I'm a little behind with this post....  These are the books I read in 2023, along with some I didn't finish, and a few quotes that I appreciated.  I listed my favorite books of the year at the end of this post.

| Indicates a children's book.  x indicates an unfinished book

January

• The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie.  Rachel Linden  
  "When we make a choice, we necessarily limit all the other choices.  Every path narrows our options, every decision closes many other doors.  Yet we make a choice hoping we’re trading all the other options for the one that will be the best.”    p. 81-82
• x The Old Place.  Bobby Finger
• x The Measure.  Nikki Erlick 
• x The Book of Longings.  Sue Monk Kidd
• The Ascension of Larks.  Rachel Linden 
• The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle.  Jennifer Ryan 
• The Sisters of Sea View.  Julie Klassen  

February

• The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett.  Annie Lyons
• Whose Waves These Are.  Amanda Dykes 
• The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip.  Sara Brunsvold  

March

• |The First Notes.  The Story of Do, Re, Mi.  Julie Andrews & Emma Walton Hamilton.  Illustrated by Chiara Fedel
• |Special Deliveries.  Alexandra Day & Cooper Edens.  Illustrated by Alexandra Day  
• All the Lost Places.  Amanda Dykes 
• Feed Sacks.  The Colorful History of Frugal Fabric.  Linzee Kull McCray
• The Hideaway.  Lauren K. Denton  

April

• The Great Passion.  James Runcie  
  Nagel, the teacher: “When I was your age, my father taught me how important it was to find something to celebrate each day.  It didn’t matter how small it was, or how long it lasted, but each simple pleasure needs to be marked.   It can be something as honest and straightforward as the sight of the first hawthorn blossom or the light on the path ahead through summer trees....   It can be the smile of a friend who is pleased to see you or the silence at the end of a piece of music; as long as it is something precious and private to store up and treasure by nightfall.  They are moments of grace.  My father called them ‘amulets of time.’” p. 133 ¶4
• These Tangled Vines.  Julianne Maclean  
  

May

• A Cup of Silver Linings.  Karen Hawkins 
• xAtlas of the Heart.  Brené Brown
• The White Lady.  Jacqueline Winspear 
• Beneficence.  Meredith Hall  
  

June

• Yours Is the Night.  Amanda Dykes 
• Beyond That, the Sea.  Laura Spence-Ash
• Well-Read Women:  Portraits of Fiction’s Most Beloved Heroines.  Samantha Hahn
• xThe Wishing Game.  Meg Shaffer  
• The Museum of Ordinary People.  Mike Gayle 
  “All I’d been hoping to do was draw a line under my grief, to shake the feeling of exhaustion that had been with me all year.   Because that’s the thing about grief no one ever tells you:   it’s greedy....   It eats up every last scrap of energy you have, leaving you spent and empty.” p. 12 ¶7

July

• All the Days of Summer.  Nancy Thayer 
•  Foster.  Claire Keegan  
  The wife suggests the man take a lantern for a night walk.   He doesn’t find it necessary but takes it anyway, and needs it.
  “‘Ah, the women are nearly always right, all the same,’ he says. ‘Do you know what the women have a gift for?’
  “‘What?’
  “‘Eventualities. A good woman can look far down the line and smell what’s coming before a man even gets a sniff of it.’” p. 66 ¶2-4
• Love Has No Age Limit:  Welcoming an Adopted Dog into Your Home.  Patricia B. McConnell, Karen B. London 
• xCassandra in Reverse.  Holly Smale 
• xWeyward.  Emilia Hart 
• |I Like Airedale Terriers.  Linda Bozzo 
• Dreams of Falling.  Karen White  
  

August

• The Secret Book of Flora Lea.  Patti Callahan Henry
• Esme Cahill Fails Spectacularly.  Marie Bostwick  
  “... Over the years I had learned that the best way to tackle any problem is to ignore personalities, check your emotions at the door, and focus on facts.”    p, 65 ¶4
• Rules for a Knight:  The Last Letter of Sir Thomas Lemuel Hawke.  Ethan Hawke 
• At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities.  Heather Webber
• The Bookbinder.  Pip Williams  

September

• The Door-to-Door Bookstore.  Carsten Hen   
  “Some families show their love with food—an extra thick layer of butter on your bread, or a second slice of wurst on top.  Others hold each other close and often, sharing warmth to keep the cold of the outside world at bay.  For generations, my family have shown their love through books.”    p. 68 ¶2
• The Sound of Glass.  Karen White 
• xThe Echo of Old Books.  Barbara Davis 
• The House on Tradd Street.  Karen White     (Tradd Street #1)  
  

October

• The Girl on Legare Street.  Karen White   (Tradd Street #2)
• |We Are Starlings:  Inside the Mesmerizing Magic of a Murmuration.  Robert Furrow, Donna Jo Napoli.  Illustrated by Marc Martin

November

• The Strangers on Montague Street.  Karen White   (Tradd Street #3) 
• Chance Encounters.  Temporary Street Art by David Zinn.  David Zinn
• xTom Lake.  Ann Patchett
• Return to Tradd Street.  Karen White   (Tradd Street #4)  
  

December

• The Guests on South Battery.  Karen White   (Tradd Street #5) 
• |In the Dark.  Kate Hoefler.  Illustrated by Corinna Luyken
• |The Book of Mistakes.  Corinna Luyken 
• The Christmas Spirits on Tradd Street.  Karen White   (Tradd Street #6) 
• |The Baby Tree.  Sophie Blackall  
• The Attic on Queen Street.  Karen White   (Tradd Street #7)  
  

Books I loved and recommend

• The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie, Rachel Linden
• The Ascension of Larks, Rachel Linden
• The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle, Jennifer Ryan
• The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett, Annie Lyons
• Whose Waves These Are, Amanda Dykes
• The Great Passion, James Runcie
• The Museum of Ordinary People, Mike Gayle
• Esme Cahill Fails Spectacularly, Marie Bostwic
• Rules for a Knight:  The Last Letter of Sir Thomas Lemuel Hawke,  Ethan Hawke
• The Door-to-Door Bookstore,  Carsten Hen
• The Sound of Glass,  Karen White
• The Tradd Street series by Karen White

Have you read any of these and, if so, what did you think?

--Nancy.