Top Ten Reads of 2023 (and How I Fell Back in Love with Reading)

Something happened at the end of 2022. A shift. A change. (How's that for a dramatic opening?)

Over the past three years, my reading had plummeted. I blamed various things, but at the heart of it, I seemed to have lost the attention span needed to both start and finish a book. 

Luckily, I had my book club, which forced me to sometimes buckle down and read, and also my kids, for the occasional readaloud. But I could probably count on one hand the books I was actually choosing to read on my own with no ulterior motivation. 

At the end of 2022, I took a good, hard look at my reading and analyzed what was holding me back. I realized I needed a little push to settle into a book and then a continued push to keep the motivation going. 

So I set a very simple rule for myself: I would listen to 30 minutes of my current book before listening to or watching anything else. My biggest distraction culprits were Marco Polos, knitting YouTube channels, or Instagram stories. These things took less brain power for me to pick up and start, and so I'd fallen into the habit of reaching for them before a book. 

But 30 minutes felt doable. And because I generally listen at double speed, that meant that 30 minutes of listening actually got me through an hour of my book. And suddenly, with just that little bit of listening, I was flying through books (maybe not rocket speed, but still a good pace). (The book I have to thank for being my first trial run back into the world of reading for fun was Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, and for that, it will always hold a special place in my heart.)

The thing I quickly found was that the benefit of daily reading was that I no longer had to try to bring myself up to speed each time I picked up my book. Without days going by in between, I could remember exactly where I was and could pick up right where I left off. Reading no longer felt like an ordeal. It felt like the thing I used to love. 

The other thing that happened, and some of you probably already predicted this, was that once I was into a book, I was actually looking for reasons to continue reading it. I didn't have to "make" myself read it. Rather, I was having to force myself to stop in order to be a responsible adult. Getting pulled in by a book was something I had largely missed over the past three years, and when I felt it again for the first time, it was thrilling. 

All of this leads me to proudly report that I read or listened to 75 books in 2023. I have many friends who are really big readers, and this number will seem small compared to their 150 or 200 books. But I only read 28 books in 2022, and since I started keeping track of my reading in 2012, 75 books in one year is actually the most I've ever read, so it feels like a pretty big deal.

And the amazing thing is, it didn't even feel like I was trying. It just happened because reading had once more become a beloved habit. 

Because I actually read a decent amount this year, a top ten is in order. These are the books I 1) can't stop talking about, 2) can't stop thinking about, 3) impressed me or 4) give me a happy feeling when I remember them. I didn't include any rereads on this list, although some of those would definitely make it on my top ten since I loved them enough to read them again. 

Without further ado, and in no particular order:

1. Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center. My first Katherine Center book and still my favorite. She became a comfort author for me this year, and I turned to her anytime I needed something light and fun with still a little bit of substance. This one, about a female firefighter on probation who makes amends with her mom while falling in love with a coworker, was a true delight. 

2. Life in Five Senses by Gretchen Rubin. I will always be a Gretchen Rubin fan. Something about the way she looks at the world just clicks for me. Her newest book was a winner. For several weeks after finishing this book, I wrote down daily observations of things I saw, heard, smelled, tasted, and touched, and I loved having this heightened awareness. I'll be adding this one to my personal library.

3. A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner. I debated including this one on the list because it's not a perfect novel and there were things about one of the main characters that annoyed me. However, I read it back in June, and still, every time I think about it, I remember how much I loved being in the middle of it. This was a dual story from 1911 and 2011, linked in time by a treasured scarf.

4. No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister. I love creative books, and this one pulled me in with its unusual format: nine stories all connected by a certain novel. The author didn't go over the top with the connections. Some were subtle or underwhelming, while others were significant. I can see myself rereading this one in the future. 

5. Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson. My kids would never forgive me if I didn't include this one in my top ten. I am not a big fantasy reader (in fact, I think this is the only book that could be classified as fantasy that I read all year), but it made it to the top ten honestly. The fantastical world of Tress was so vivid--I felt like I was riding on the seas of spores right along with her, and she was an inspiring heroine I completely loved.

6. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 4 by Beth Brower. This was definitely my favorite book in the series so far, and I had to include it because out of all the books I read this year, this one had my favorite final line. The unlikely friendships in this series is what makes me continue to come back for more. 

7. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. When I think back to listening to this book, I smile. Told from the perspective of three characters (an older woman, a floundering young adult, and an observant octopus), I loved every moment of it. I started this book only because everyone else was reading it, but I became deeply invested in it quite quickly, and it has continued to stand out in my mind as one of my favorite stories of the year. 

8. Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister. This story opens with a woman waiting for her young adult son to get home. It is almost midnight. She spots him at the end of the street walking toward their house. Suddenly, a man emerges from the bushes, and her son stabs him. She is still reeling from the shock of it when she wakes up the next morning and actually finds it to be the day before. From that point on, the story unfolds backwards and the pieces gradually click into place to reveal why her son could be capable of murder and maybe a way for her to stop it. Completely riveting. 

9. Starfish by Lisa Fipps. I always love a novel written in verse, but this was the first time I actually listened to one. I loved it. It was so beautiful and moving. It is about a girl who faces many obstacles and prejudices because of her weight. Although fictional, it was sadly inspired by experiences from the author's own life. It reshaped my thinking.

10. A Lady's Guide to Fortune Hunting by Sophie Irwin. This is the book I've recommended the most this year and which I gave at both of the book exchanges I went to this month. It is witty, clever, and charming. I love the writing. I love the story. It's a book I'll return to when I want to immerse myself in a joyful romp. 

Even now, I feel pained at some of the books I had to leave off of this list. It's been such a good year of reading and rekindling this love is one of the highlights of 2023 for me. 

Have you read any of these books? What were your favorite reads from 2023?

A Little of This and That in November

November was abundant--in beautiful weather, family time, and gratitude. Our time was spent with . . .

Driving . . . for the first time. I thought Aaron would want his learner's permit immediately when he turned fifteen. But I didn't realize how much he would not want to read the driver's manual, which I said he had to do before he could take the test. But he finally finished slogging his way through it and easily passed. Mike has gone driving with him a few times since then (mostly in the dark because it gets dark so early now). I have yet to get in the car with Aaron, and it might still be awhile before I'm brave enough. 

Finishing . . . the backyard project! (At least, finished for this season.) The landscapers finished up their work at the beginning of the month, and then Mike put up a shed and built two sides of the fence. There will be more to do in the spring, but it felt so good to get this part of it checked off in 2023. We didn't get to enjoy it at all before the weather turned cold (and I'm holding off buying any furniture for it until we're through the winter season), so it's going to feel like Christmas when we finally get to use it next year. Here are a few befores and afters to help fully appreciate its transformation. 

Completing . . . one of my 2023 goals, which was to knit something out of leftover yarn. I ended up making a sweater. I never counted, but I used probably 20-30 colors. Each row of the sweater was made up of two different colors, and I changed these out every single row. The only color that repeated with some regularity was the dark teal I used on the collar and cuffs. Although the sweater itself is beautiful and I love wearing it, it was a real beast to knit. I had to weave in the yarn ends for every row, and this resulted in at least 1000 ends to weave in. It was not a relaxing knit since I was managing so much yarn and changing colors so frequently. I was so glad when it was finally finished (but man, it felt good to knit the whole thing without buying any yarn!). 

Installing . . . a TV in our bedroom. I didn't think I would ever want a TV in my bedroom, but Mike and I often watch a show at night before bed, and we were getting tired of watching on my laptop when we actually have the perfect wall for a TV. We were discussing how nice it would be to have a TV in our room and the next thing I knew (literally like an hour later), there was a TV on our porch. Without me knowing, Mike had decided to order one and have it delivered. I'm slightly embarrassed to admit how much I have liked it. 

Going . . . to a Jazz game. Ian is playing basketball this winter. Because of that, he got vouchers to a Jazz game. Mike added on a couple more tickets so Clark and Aaron could go, too. As it turned out, Ian loved the popcorn but not really the game itself. Mike finally got tired of Ian bouncing around and took him home, but Aaron and Clark stayed with some neighbors who were also at the game so they could see more of it. 

Reaching . . . out and making new friends. I did a brave thing. For the past several months, I have been watching YouTube videos from a knitter who lives here in Salt Lake. Several times in passing, she mentioned her knitting group, which sounded like such a nice group of women. She also mentioned books that she was reading, and I just really felt like we could maybe be friends in real life. So I sent her an awkward email introducing myself and asking if her knitting group was ever open to accepting new members. She sent back the nicest email, and, long story short, she invited me over to knit and meet a couple of her friends, and this resulted in a formal invitation to join their knitting group! It was somewhat intimidating for me to put myself out there and face possible rejection, but it was worth it because it's been so fun to be immediately welcomed into a group of women who love knitting as much as I do. 

Remembering . . . my ancestors with a Day of the Dead celebration. My parents hosted, and all of my siblings and their families were there. We ate yummy tacos, shared stories and memories, and decorated sugar skull cookies. My mom had placed photos and memorabilia in the music room, and it felt quite special to sit in the stillness and think about grandparents and great-grandparents. It was especially poignant this year since my Gramazetta passed away just a few months ago in the spring. 

Feeling . . . the sweet spirit that was in abundance at our primary program. You never know what you're going to get when you put 45 kids up in front of a congregation and expect them to sing songs and say short parts. But they were so good, and I was so proud of each of them. Music is an easy way to reach my heart, and when I heard the oldest class sing the solo part of Come, Follow Me while the rest of the primary sang the hymn, I was so touched. It was truly a beautiful day.

Visiting . . . Mike at work. Silas and I will occasionally eat lunch with Mike, and Silas is now convinced that Mike goes to work just to eat french fries. Not a bad gig if that was true.

Preparing . . . students for my annual piano recital. Aaron started teaching piano lessons last year, and his four students also participated in the recital. I currently have eleven students plus four of my own kids. Even with a small studio, the preparation is a challenge. Some students have their pieces learned and memorized months in advance, and we have to just keep them maintained until the actual event. Other students are literally still working on things the week before the recital, which is stressful for them and for me. During the actual performance, some students play better than they ever have while others play worse than they ever have. It's a little unfair. I usually perform a piece as well. This year, I had Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C-Sharp Minor ready to go, but as I put together the program, I realized it was going to be over an hour. So I cut myself for sake of time. It was a nice morning of music. It always feels like quite the relief to have it over.

Spending . . . happy mornings with my parents. Silas has come to expect weekly visits to my parents' house. He loves to do the same things each time: feed a carrot to the guinea pig, go on a bike ride, play at a park, eat macaroni made by my sister, have my mom read to him, etc. It's so cute.

Knitting . . . like a crazy person. A couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, I wondered if I could maybe finish the sweater I was making and wear it to Thanksgiving dinner. It was a stretch because I had just started it, but I decided to try. Knitting such an absurd amount meant that I had to push a lot of things off to later. I used every spare minute I had. I took my project everywhere, and I even got up around 5:00am the week of Thanksgiving just so I could get in an hour of knitting before the kids needed me. I wove in the last end at 11:55pm the night before Thanksgiving, and I wore it the next day! Was it worth it? I mean, it was actually super fun, but I felt a little guilty about shirking my other responsibilities. 

Hiking . . . on Thanksgiving morning. This was one of my favorite things from the holiday weekend. I hiked Desolation Trail with my sister-in-law, Sonja. We went early to beat the crowds and be home in time to prep for Thanksgiving. Everything was so still and peaceful, and we only passed a few people on our way. It was cold, but as soon as we began hiking, we warmed up quickly. We hiked high enough to reach some snow, which was so pretty. We talked the whole way, and I came home feeling so refreshed and energized. (And it felt so good to hit almost 12,000 steps before 9:00am!)

Eating . . . food in a steady stream. We hosted Thanksgiving this year, and we loved it so much. Our guests included Mike's parents, the Gardners, and Kathy's parents. Kathy and James are our foodie friends, so we knew this was going to be a Thanksgiving to remember. The spreadsheet was set up early for methodical planning. We planned to split up the day into four courses: appetizers, fruits/vegetables, main, and pies. We've done it this way before, and it is so nice because it helps us pace ourselves through all the food, and we end up getting to try more things. All of the kids from both of our families got involved in the prep and each made their own dish. We started eating around noon and didn't wrap things up until after 5:00. In between the eating, we played games, chatted, cleaned up, prepped for the next course, and went on a walk. The standouts of the day were Mary Kate's charcuterie board, James' stacked scalloped squash, James' General Tso cauliflower, Paul's stuffing, and Jill's cherry pie. The only real disappointment was Mike's beet pie, which tasted a little too much like . . . beets. We ended the day sitting around reliving the day--a sure sign that it was a good one. 

Reading . . . some delightful and engaging books:

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell (liked this one quite a bit more than I thought I would)

Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl (this was a very fun reread)

Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moyes (gave Jojo Moyes another chance and was quite entertained)

The Promise of Discipleship by Neal A. Maxwell (read and discussed this with some other women in my neighborhood)

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 4 by Beth Brower (definitely my favorite of the series so far)

Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor (a sweet epistolary novel set during WWI)

Laughing . . . our heads off at the Ryan Hamilton show. I got tickets to this show for Mike's birthday way back in April. It was crazy to finally have the night arrive. We got tickets with my brother and his wife and then found out that two of Mike's sisters and their husbands were also going. So we ended up carpooling with Sonja and Rob, going to dinner with Anne/Nate and Sonja/Rob, watching the show with Gordy and Brooke, and then eating dessert with Sonja and Rob. The show itself was so entertaining. It felt like we'd been through quite the workout at the end of it from laughing so hard. Such a funny guy. 

Spending . . . a lot of time in his "wood shop" (i.e., the garage). After Mike brought back all of my grandpa's tools (see last month), he cleaned out the garage and has been busily using them ever since. He is in heaven. He wants to be in the garage all the time. One of his first projects was making some frames for my friend who is an oil painter. She had an art show and needed six small frames for some art pieces. He used wood from my grandpa and made some inlaid frames that contrasted light and dark wood. I thought they were so pretty. He loses all track of time when he is working. It makes my heart happy to see him using my grandpa's tools with G. Jones written on them in my grandpa's handwriting. 

Singing . . . our hearts out at a concert of Handel's Messiah. We went to Abravanel Hall with Mike's family for this annual performance. It is one of our favorite Christmas traditions, and Max and Aaron have also fallen in love with it. This year, the soloists were quite exceptional. We were on the third row, which is where we used to always sit but hadn't for some time. I was feeling a little rusty and then realized that I hadn't actually participated in this singalong since 2018! Between Aaron's illness, a pandemic, and having a baby, I had missed a lot of opportunities. It was a joy to finally return to this beloved music. 

Wearing . . . my Christmas sweater. Wow, this update has a lot of knitting in it. Sorry about that. I knitted this sweater way back in the spring in anticipation of this winter. As soon as Thanksgiving was over, I busted it out. Lucky for me, it snowed that weekend and made the perfect backdrop for my first time wearing it.

Building . . . the first snowman of the year. Clark and Ian took advantage of the snowfall. Even though it didn't amount to much, they scraped together what they could to make a pretty decent snowman. 

Prepping . . . for December. I enlisted Aaron, Max, and Bradley to help me wrap all the Christmas books for our book advent. There have been years when I've wrapped them all by myself, so I couldn't believe how fast we did it with so many extra hands. 

I think I hit all of the important things (and some not-so-important things, too), so that should do it for another month.