Best books I read in 2023

[@mia.jade.]

Very much enjoyed this round-up. The 600 pages reveal on the TS Eliot book cracked me up. I loved Mrs S (and have noticed that even in novels that aren't my favourite, I will relish that slightly detached, fluid style) so may well check out Cursed Bread this year. Wishing you all good things for the year ahead!

[@Ihearbooks]

yes, books I've not heard of before. thanks for a great list of books. Cursed Bread and Wasteland both sound intriguing.

[@martasoltys9091]

LIE WITH ME by Philippe Besson sounds great. Thanks for recommending.

[@ariannefowler455]

I picked up Joan after seeing your review. I absolutely loved and and agree spot on with your thoughts about it. Wandering Souls was a favorite of mine too.

[@Kimromero1219]

I loved Joan. It reminded me of Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell. Also loved Cured Bread. Enjoy your channel!

[@thelefthandedreader6632]

I’m SO glad to know about The Biography of A Wasteland , Jen! Thanks for raising it up. Falling Animals sounds so intriguing.

[@rafd3593]

My favourite book of 2023 was In Memoriam by Alice Winn - so moving

[@marcellaandherbooks8733]

I love the categories! Lesbian marmite alonge is enought to make me want to pick up Mrs S. And Falling animals sounds exactly like my kinda book, so that goes on my tbr aswell

[@JentheLibrarianreads]

You should definitely read them both, but Falling Animals is brilliant, definitely pick up that one ☺️

[@jillybeanh67]

Love the categories used! Made me remember i have some of these waoting and ahould try and get to them soon (joan and wandering souls)

[@hasteyebooks]

haha I like your categories! haha your description of A Biography of a Poem did convinced me to add it to my tbr! Book that was robbed 100%, it also made my list! Falling animals sounds fascinating! I actually enjoyed the writing of Cursed Bread although didn't love the actual book itself, but it surprised me!

[@onetrickpony381]

Mrs S! great list

[@theuntrainedlibrarian8825]

I can’t believe I haven’t read ANY. Definitely adding Joan to my list (among others). 😊

[@ameliabarlowbooks]

half the reason I did my degree was so I could understand The Wasteland a bit better and I didn’t quite get value for money there, so super happy to see the biography on here! Cursed Bread was insanely good, I was expecting Mrs S to have a similar vibe but it fell short for me unfortunately, I wasn’t keen on the writing style. lovely list of titles! ♥️

[@Rainierbooks]

"Wandering Souls" is nothing but a masterpiece of a debut, one of my favorite books last year, too. I am looking forward to see Cecile Pin later this year in a talk at Stockholms Kulturhus. "Falling Animals" sounds interesting! My favorite read 2023: "The Shards" by Bret Easton Ellis. Violent and sexual, but an immersive portrait of rich teenagers in Sherman Oaks in Los Angeles and a captivating soundtrack of 1980s music.

[@josie8997]

I can relate so much to that feeling of not wanting to read at all, trying, nothing working out, thinking it'll never come back. It's horrid. I'm glad you pulled out of it and are doing better 🙌. My reading last year was so sporadic, and my memory of what i read is a bit spotty, so I'm not sure what my best book was, honestly. Alma Rose by Edith Forbes was one of my last reads of the year and really resonated with me, so maybe that. The reminder of Besson is a real blow to my book-buying-ban motivation, Lie with Me was so good! I had no idea there's a movie out, I'll have to look into that

[@eyesonindie]

I love your categories! Nothing is more compelling to me than a comment like "no one is going to read this," so I might just have to check out The Waste Land!

[@MarilynMayaMendoza]

Hi Jen. Cursed bread sounds like a story I heard about the Salem witch trials. I’m interested. Last year was not a good year for me either. Wishing the coming year brings nothing but happiness and peace to all. Aloha

[@JentheLibrarianreads]

Wishing you all the best for a better 2024 as well.

[@Dottiemi]

Funnily enough I’ve had Cursed Bread sat on the shelf for a while but have been totally uninspired by the cover! I’ll definitely get to it soon.

[@JentheLibrarianreads]

The cover is so awful, I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks that.

[@bouquinsbooks]

😂 I love your categories!

[@CharlieBrookReads]

I always love your crazy categories, they are brilliant!! Mrs S nearly made my favourites list too. I did love it so much!! I need to read Joan as it sounds like such a me book. Thank you for sharing these with us Jen😊❤

[@mradcaqbdb]

Just ordered Joan. I’ve looked at it for a long time, but your review pushed me to buy it! I have to dig out my copy of Lie With Me translated by Molly and finally read it!! Wandering Souls is my number 5 book of 2023, just behind Black Butterflies from the same Women’s Prize list. I thought they were both brilliant.

[@JentheLibrarianreads]

I couldn’t get on with Black Butterflies, but I think it was that I was reading it at a bad time, rather than the book. It’s definitely the kind of thing I would normally love so maybe I should try it again in future.☺️

[@mradcaqbdb]

@@JentheLibrarianreads I just finished Lie With Me like 15 minutes ago. I absolutely adored it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I think Black Butterflies is definitely worth another try at what is hopefully a better time.

[@JentheLibrarianreads]

@mradcaqbdb yes! I’m so glad you loved Lie With Me 🥰🥰

[@christinacampbellbooks]

I absolutely loved Cursed Bread. One of my favourite books of 2023 too. And I definitely want to read Wandering Souls. You've completely sold me on Falling Animals and Joan. They sound wonderful. I haven't heard anyone else talking about them so thank you for that. Added them to my list of books to read ☺

[@bookinwithdebra]

I love the creative categories you have attributed to your books 😃 I listened to Wandering Souls. Falling Animals came to my attention when it was discussed on Between the Covers. It's on my list to read.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I absolutely love the catgory for lesbian marmite books. Wandering Souls really is so good. I should try to get to Joan in 2024.

[@scallydandlingaboutthebook2711]

I really love your wild selection of categories. I have rereading The Wasteland as a future plan so the Hollis could be the perfect pairing, but oh dear the length is off-putting. Wandering Souls did deserve more love. I am still thinking about Cursed Bread. I think you and I are virtually the only people who found it amazing though. Reading so much Forster gave a unique twist to my reading in 2023 which was all your fault. I have Joan and must get to it.

[@JentheLibrarianreads]

I hope you like Joan when you get around to it. I don’t know if I love it so much just because of the very specific time period I read it in and how much it was exactly what I needed at that time, but people keep telling me they loved it too so it’s not just me ☺️ Have you read any other Sophie Mackintosh? I’m wondering if Cursed Bread was a one off or if I’ll enjoy more from her.

[@scallydandlingaboutthebook2711]

@@JentheLibrarianreads not read her other two novels. I have The Water Cure so should get to it at some point.

[@ReadheadReads]

I’m listening to Joan at the moment and absolutely LOVING it Jen! I hope you had a happy holiday period, thanks for a great year of content in 2023💜

[@JentheLibrarianreads]

So glad that you’re enjoying it. Hope the start of the year is going well for you too.

[@jacquelinemcmenamin8204]

Today is Nollaig Na Bhan. Womens Christmas. Feast of the Epiphany. Today Is supposed to be a day off for women in Ireland. We only get one, but it’s only symbolic. T.S.Eliot died on 4th of January 1965. I know this as I studied the Wasteland for A level English literature in 1982 & it came up on Instagram notifications. Lesbian Marmite would be a great title for a book or a band. I’ve made a list of 24 books I want to get to in 2024. Wandering Souls, Falling Animals, Mrs S, ..are on that list. Joan is a book Illbhave to look into. The Irish form of Joan is Siobhan. My best book of 2023 Deluge by Stephen Markley 🍀👋☘️🇮🇪📚☕️📕📖🤗💐

[@Dottiemi]

I like the idea of 24 in 2024

[@zoexu2964]

The waste land sounds super interesting! I'm gonna try out the audiobook too. Thanks for the recs!

[@JentheLibrarianreads]

Hope you like it!

[@obtorgecirb2100]

Jen did you ever have a library with a Joan? I have found a book with a wonderful sticker in the front cover. Three little owls perched on the "L" Hope all is well!

[@BookishTexan]

Wandering Souls was already on my list of books to get to, but now I’ve added Falling Animals and probably Joan. Mrs S. was pretty brilliant in the way it captured the intensity of a relationship and how consuming it can be. I never feel like I can find the right words to describe it.

[@JentheLibrarianreads]

If you liked the sense of intensity in Mrs S, I think Joan might work for you. It’s not an intense relationship but I think it explores that intensity of emotion that goes with obsession, but obsession with a cause rather than a person, if that makes sense

[@marjoriedybec3450]

My best book of 2023 was "Will in the World" (NF) by Stephen Greenblatt. Its about how Shakespeare became Shakespeare. I read it because late in 2022 I read Hamnet. So early in 2023, I picked up Will. The two are superb companions.

[@JentheLibrarianreads]

I’ve not heard of this book, it sounds great though!

[@marjoriedybec3450]

It is...even for folks like me who have only a basic understanding of the plays and sonnets.@@JentheLibrarianreads

[@Bessie-On-Wheels]

My favourite book was Cirius Blooms at Night Written by Shani Mootoo

[@Lokster71]

I have put The Wasteland biography on my TBR. I really didn't like Cursed Bread, but not everyone can like the same things. He says with tedious obviousness.

[@JentheLibrarianreads]

I can definitely see why so many people disliked Cursed Bread, definitely not a style suited to everyone. Hope you to read and enjoy the waste land biography, it’s well worth the time reading.

[@jazz_head]

"Mrs. S"--really loved this book, particularly for the writing style! As a matter of fact I'm looking for other books in the same style and that's not an easy task. Any recommendations, if any, would be highly appreciated! "Ponyboy" by Eliot Duncan is a book I also loved. Anyone who enjoyed "Mrs S", I believe will possibly enjoy "Ponyboy" as well.

[@JentheLibrarianreads]

Have you read Our Wives Under the Sea? Or Paradise Rot? I think those have some similarities with Mrs S, just in the writing style and mysteriousness of the setting and what’s happening, though they’re both a lot weirder than Mrs S 😂

[@jazz_head]

@@JentheLibrarianreads Personally, I love dark/atmospheric books and even weird ones, so that could even work as a plus 😄 I enjoyed “Paradise Rot” a lot, especially for the atmosphere. I’ve considered starting “Our Wives Under the Sea” in the past, so I guess that’s a sign that I should indeed give it a go 😄 Thanks!

[@thoroughlyenjoyedbooks8565]

Wandering Souls was ROBBED. Probably the best book I read last year. The only one of the Women's Prize last year I actually enjoyed.

[@JentheLibrarianreads]

Absolutely robbed! I’m still so baffled it didn’t get more nominations and awards. No accounting for judges taste.

[@jenniferlovesbooks]

I'm doing my books of the year by category but my categories are really dull compared to yours! Mrs S gets a mention but sadly the category was not 'best lesbian marmite' but it totally should have been 😂 Falling Animals is on my tbr but it's now getting bumped up the list. So interesting to hear the comparison to Mrs S and Cursed Bread - hopefully that bodes well for me. We cross over in two of our faves of the year 😊

[@JentheLibrarianreads]

I only started doing these ridiculous categories because I found it so hard to compare completely different books with each other, they’re all great for different reasons, I could never rank them 😂 Really interested to know what you think of Falling Animals if you do get around to reading it.