the best books I read this year

because judging is important

I love a best books of the year list. I love seeing what people enjoyed or thought was great. And trying to take an entire year of reading and parse it into what was best is a challenge if you read a lot. I am absolutely rubbish at introspectively looking back on my year and determining what was good, what did I discover, what should I continue, but I love looking back and seeing what I read.

I think this year not a single book I thought was one of the best was published in 2023. To be honest, I think this year in publishing was fairly lacklustre and I think it was so lacklustre that some of the highly touted “best books of the year” are actually not good at all if read apart from trying to figure out what was the best from 2023. That being said there are several titles that were published this year that I just recently heard about from other best of lists, so I’ll try to get to them in the new year and I’ll get back to you!

These books are in no particular order, my only standard of criticism is that I thought that the book was better than just good, and that it left a lasting impression. It doesn’t mean that I loved every aspect of the book or agreed with everything, it means I remember it and that I can recall the reading experience. My memory requires impactful story or characters to really have a book sink in.

The Space/Ransom Trilogy by C.S. Lewis

This was a re-read for me but it has been a long while, and let’s be honest, I did not understand much the first time I read these books! I still don’t understand that much, but I do feel like I made leaps and bounds progress! There is simply so much imagination, theology, political/social commentary, and wisdom about what it means to be human and how to relate to God packed into these wildly weird stories that they really should be required reading for every human. Especially living through 2020 and our post-2020 world that has dramatically changed so much, reading That Hideous Strength should leave you gobsmacked at Lewis’ prophetical power. I found my thinking, prayer, and understanding of the world changed by reading these again.

The Dry Wood by Caryll Houselander

The only novel Houselander wrote, it appears to be a simple story of a poor London parish trying to come to grips as to whether or not they have a saint within their midst as they witness a small disabled boy die. But Houselander has so many layers of complexity created within the characters that this novel stays with you. The themes of community, faith, suffering, and how they relate to each other are so uniquely developed that I can’t think of another book that comes close to treating the subject matter with such respect, but also with a pervading sense of mystery and reverence. That makes it sound as if the reading experience was dry, but I found Houselander’s prose to have passages of staggering beauty. I wish this novel was given more of a chance for editing and development, but I think everything Houselander wrote a treasure.

The Optimist’s Daughter by Eudora Welty

A short novel about a woman coming to grips with the death of her father in her southern small town, but with cutting and gripping insight into the human person. I loved Welty’s humour, southern sensibility, and the way she reveals the truth of the hearts of her characters. I have to read more Welty.

Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri

A completely charming and unique middle grade novel that combines the beauty of fairy tales with the universal experience of growing up, with a dose of the Iranian immigrant experience. The way Nayeri brings Persian storytelling and tales together with the fictionalized tale of his growing up in Oklahoma is magical. It is such a hard book for me to describe but I just loved reading it, and I loved giving it to my kids to read.

Here’s last year’s best books of the year!

What Happened to Sophie Wilder by Christopher Beha

This book about a man coming back into contact with his friend from college, Sophie Wilder, and then learning about what has happened to her in the years in between is just excellent. I actually want to read it again right now as I describe it to you because it’s so well crafted that now that I know what happens I want to go back to see if I can see how it was done. The book explores friendship, the nature of faith, and what happens when faith is challenged in such an interesting way. But it will devastate you.

The Great Passion by James Runcie

This is a quiet, yet riveting story of a young boy apprenticing under Johann Sebastian Bach. It marvellously weaves together the power of music, art, and faith but in a way that doesn’t make you feel as if you’re getting beaten over the head with ART. I love that it tells of the genius and grief of Bach within the context of his family and those closest to him. (I then tried to read the Granchester novels by Runcie and promptly HATED them, does that help the honesty of this review?)

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller

No one is more surprised than I am that this made my best reads of the year list, but I just have to be honest and put it on the list! I thought this book was so well done—and I am not a science fiction person! The ideas of preserving knowledge, peace, war, and faith are so uniquely told in a story that really knocks you over in a good way. It has an interesting structure, great writing, and memorable characters that I still think about. I guess everyone who told me it was a good book for the past twenty years were right.

The Diary of a Country Priest by Georges Bernanos

This book is a classic for a reason, but when you hear about it simply being a diary of a French priest you just never want to start reading it. But I found once I picked it up to be completely absorbed and really took a gut punch as Bernanos does a masterful job depicting the spiritual life. Well worth getting over the idea of being bored!

The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka

This book is odd; it’s got a quirky structure, a disorienting take on a crack in a swimming pool, but is a marvellously done tale about life, family, and dementia. I love when a quirky book works because it so often does not. I also loved how real and touching the mother/daughter relationship was depicted.

And to make this list an even 10 titles I give you the last couple books I’ve read this year that left me staggered or that I’m still reading: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Symposium by Muriel Spark, and The Sword in the Stone by T.H. White. I can’t make things a simple list, can I? Now that I’ve distracted myself with thinking and writing about books though, does this mean I now need to start thinking about the key, pivotal moments of the past year and the myriad goals I need to set for myself for the coming year? Don’t worry, I still have loads of Christmas puzzles to distract me from such deep thoughts.

Happy Christmas, and the best year ahead, friends!