The First Five Books I Read in 2023

And why they were all five stars

I am a big reader. I love escaping into the fantasy world of a good book, particularly over winter break when I have nothing to do but sit inside and read. This passion paired with a Christmas COVID quarantine gave me plenty of time to read over break this year. Here are the first five books I read in 2023, mostly in January, and why they were some of my favorites.

1. Middlemarch by George Eliot

Okay, this one may be cheating because I started it in 2022, but the sheer accomplishment of reading this 900-page brick gives me the right to put it solidly in the 2023 category. Middlemarch made my heart sing. George Eliot was a genius—her characters are so perfectly flawed and I loved them all. The subtle love stories she crafts between characters are amazing, but the beauty of the prose is what makes this book a true classic. Eliot makes a powerful statement about society, best exemplified by the last line of the novel: “For the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill for you and me as they might have been is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.” Mic drop.

2. Book Lovers by Emily Henry

After the exhausting length of Middlemarch, I needed a palate cleanser in the form of a contemporary romantic comedy, and I ate Book Lovers up. Emily Henry crafts the story of two relatable characters in a quaint but flawed small-town setting. Charlie and Nora’s vulnerabilities make them some of the most likable characters I’ve ever encountered. The subplot of family bonds and sisterly love made the story even more endearing. I devoured this book in two days and felt thoroughly content with the world by the end.

3. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

This was one of those books that had me staring at the wall for a few minutes after I finished, trying to comprehend what I’d just read. Oscar Wilde delivers a profound warning about the pitfalls of vanity told via the dramatic story of Dorian Gray. Love and evil, murder and life all find themselves intertwined with Dorian, who sells his soul for eternal beauty. I will be recommending this book until the day I die. 

4. Halfway Home: Race, Punishment, and the Afterlife of Mass Incarceration by Reuben Jonathan Miller

I read this book for a class, but it was so enticing that I completed it in a few days, far before the deadline. Halfway Home is a moving work of narrative nonfiction, meaning it tells the story of real people to produce a claim about society. Halfway Home tells the stories of recently incarcerated people who are struggling to regain their footing in society and how our policies and practices make it nearly impossible to reintegrate themselves. As a legal studies major with an interest in criminal justice, I found that this book spoke volumes about how backwards and hypocritical our society’s ideas about incarceration and justice are.

5. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Salt to the Sea was one of those books I could not put down and ended up breezing through in three days. It is certainly not a light read, however; the historical significance of the story makes it an emotional rollercoaster. Salt to the Sea follows four teenagers of different nationalities fleeing war-torn Germany during the final months of World War II. The crux of the story is the largest naval tragedy of modern history: the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff in 1945. Sepetys magnificently crafts her characters and weaves their storylines together to come to a beautiful (albeit tragic) conclusion. 

2023 has been an amazing year for reading so far, and I cannot recommend these five books enough. Beautiful characters, exciting plot lines and profound statements about society make these books some of my favorites of all time. 

• books
• reading
• TBR