For the first time since I’ve downloaded Goodreads, I’ve actually finished my reading goal without just cheating and lowering it in October when I realize I’m not going to make it! I grew up as one of those kids who would read a book a day, so I’m extremely happy to see how much I’ve been able to read in 2023, especially with all the change that’s happened this year. I’m on book 57 of my original 50-book goal, so I’ve definitely been around the block with books this year. In this list, I mainly focused on books that were released within the last year or two just to show you what gems the modern book industry is putting out. Let’s get reading!
- The Second ending by Michelle Hoffman
-
Released only halfway through this year on May 30, I originally saw The Second Ending on a Barnes and Noble display table but wasn’t able to buy it immediately. I checked my local library every week for 3 (!) months until it finally became available, and it was so worth it! The story follows Prudence Childs, a child piano prodigy turned commercial jingle writer, and Alexei Petrov, piano’s newest Internet sensation, as they practice to face off against each other in a game show piano competition. This book had the unique ability to make me interested in classical piano music, which is something I never expected to enjoy. While Hoffman obviously focuses the most attention on the two main characters, other characters get their own chapters which weave seamlessly into the main story, creating an entertaining web of antics and relationships. All the characters felt deeply human (they were all just slightly insane) which made the story really accessible to a wide audience. I would definitely read this book again and I can’t believe this was Hoffman’s debut novel!
- Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
-
This is one of two books my friend gifted to me for my birthday this year. Also released in May of this year, Yellowface acts as both a piece of fiction and a highly real critique of the diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation found in publishing and general media industries. Juniper Hayward is an unsuccessful author who unfortunately witnesses the death of her publishing frenemy, Chinese-American Athena Liu. Juniper uses this opportunity to secretly acquire an unpublished manuscript of Athena’s that focuses on Chinese laborers in WWI, and publishes it as her own. It becomes an instant success, but then controversies around plagiarism, cultural appropriation, and Asian-fishing begin to arise. R.F. Kuang, most notably the author of The Poppy War, is able to seamlessly weave in satirized comments about the book industry while also allowing the reader to form their own interpretations on the topics she presents. I never knew where this story was going to turn, and I loved the use of social media posts in the writing. Everyone needs to read this book!
- Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
-
My friend was on an absolute roll with these book recommendations because his second gift also made it on this list! Inspired by the similarly named David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, Demon Copperhead follows a boy throughout his whole life growing up in a poverty-stricken community in the Appalachian mountains. A bildungsroman to almost the fullest extent, we see Demon experience family loss, foster care, child labor, high school athletic stardom, addiction, love, and so much more. This book definitely took the longest to read out of any book this year (over 500 pages and thematically very dense), but I felt really accomplished when I did finish it. You go on such a journey with all the characters and I found myself relating to them well even though I haven’t gone through anything remotely similar to what they experience. It also highlights a super interesting part of American culture that I think often gets overlooked because of different stereotypes, so I truly learned a lot while reading it as well. Oh, and it won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, so you know it’s good!
- the Measure by Nikki Erlick
-
The Measure is another debut novel, this time released in June 2022 by Nikki Erlick. I randomly found this at Caliban Book Shop, a used bookstore about a block away from campus, and it surprisingly became one of my favorite books I’ve read in a really long time. Like it-almost-made-me-cry level good. One ordinary day, every single person on Earth receives a small box with a string inside that measures the exact length of your life. We follow a large cast of characters as they learn to navigate a world of turmoil, confusing post-string politics, and relationships turned upside down. For some reason I am obsessed with high-concept speculative books surrounding death, so delving into the ramifications of knowing exactly what age you will die was extremely thought-provoking for me. Like The Second Ending, chapters focus on different lives and characters, yet they all uniquely weave together to create a beautiful mess of relationships. All of the situations the characters found themselves in felt deeply grounded in reality; I could see every scenario acutely play out in our world at this current moment. If you like any type of concept books like this, I would highly recommend The Measure.
- Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
-
This is probably the most “BookTok popular” book on this list, but I just had to include it because it was such a good read! Set in the 1950s, this book follows Elizabeth Zott who, after being fired from her lab position as a chemist, begins to host a feminist cooking show empowering other women to learn science and take control of their housewife narrative. I greatly admired Elizabeth’s blunt yet forceful nature, and I really enjoyed how the uniqueness of her character adds a new perspective to the common feminist themes of that time. I can’t be remiss without mentioning that one of my favorite characters was actually her dog, Six-Thirty, who gives quite a bit of narration through his thoughts. This story was also recently adapted into a miniseries on Apple TV+ starring Brie Larson, but I haven’t watched it yet (Apple TV+ is like the only streaming service I don’t have), so I don’t know if it is a good adaptation or not. Nevertheless, I highly recommend checking out the book and watching the show to get more of this great story!
2023 was a great reading year for me, and I hope this helped you get some inspiration to continue your own reading journey. I can’t wait to see what new releases pop up in the coming year!