My Favourite Books of 2023

In case you’re looking for a New Year’s read for 2024…

There’s a cliché that as soon as you ask a Big Reader what their favourite books are, or what they’ve enjoyed lately, their mind goes blank and it’s as if they’ve never read a book.

I don’t know why I put that in the third person. I’m the Big Reader. 

Anyway, as is tradition on the bookish part of the internet, I wanted to share with you the list of 10 books I’ve enjoyed most this year, plus a couple of honourable mentions. Some of these are books I’ve been recommending to everyone since I read them; others are books that I’ve enjoyed and held very softly and close to my heart, and one or two are things that have just snuck in in the last few weeks, which is exactly why I’ve left writing this until today, the 30th of December (I’ll go back to Sunday newsletters next week when the calendar has more meaning again). 

And if you’re not so into the books (no offence taken, don’t worry), check out my newsletter from earlier this month, where I went through my non-book favourite things. 

Image from JSTOR

My favourite book of the year: When The Dust Settles, by Lucy Easthope. (Amazon | Bookshop.org - ad, affiliate links)

All the others will be in alphabetical order, because I couldn’t put them in an order if you forced me, but this is, hands down, my favourite book of the year. The wonderful Rev. Richard Coles called this “a marvellous book” too. The publisher describes it like this:

Lucy is a world-leading authority on recovering from disaster. She holds governments to account, supports survivors and helps communities to rebuild. She has been at the centre of the most seismic events of the last few decades, advising on everything from the 2004 tsunami and the 7/7 bombings to the Grenfell fire and the war in Ukraine. Lucy's job is to pick up the pieces and get us ready for what comes next.

Lucy takes us behind the police tape to scenes of chaos, and into government briefing rooms where confusion can reign. She also looks back at the many losses and loves of her life and career, and tells us how we can all build back after disaster.

When the Dust Settles lifts us up, showing that humanity, hope and humour can - and must - be found on the darkest days.

What I loved most about this book was how human Lucy Easthope is - she comes across as open and honest, someone always doing her best, with integrity. I can’t recommend this enough. 

This Is Not A Book About Benedict Cumberbatch - Tabitha Carvan (Amazon - ad, affiliate link)

The subtitle of this book is: The Joy of Loving Something - Anything - Like Your Life Depends On It and that says it all. It’s about the joy of fandom; it’s about why things women and girls love get disregarded; and above all it’s about community. Delightful. 

Learned By Heart - Emma Donoghue (Amazon | Bookshop.org - ad, affiliate links)

Donoghue’s 2010 bestseller Room was an international smash hit, but so many people haven’t read her historical fiction. Go and read it all. The Sealed Letter (2008) is about one of the first very big divorce cases in Victorian London, while The Pull of the Stars (2020) is about the 1918 flu pandemic, told through 24 hours in one maternity ward in one Dublin hospital. I will pre-order every one of Donoghue’s books. 

The Electricity of Every Living Thing - Katherine May (Amazon | Bookshop.org - ad, affiliate links)

This is one of the many books on my shelf that have to do with the peculiar experience of being a neurodivergent woman; part of me thinks that if so many of us are finding that the world as it works doesn’t work for us… maybe we’re not the problem? But more on that later. This is wonderful. Find more of Katherine May’s writing on her Substack, The Clearing.

Joyrider - Angela Scanlon (Amazon | Bookshop.org - ad, affiliate links)

Angela Scanlon is an Irish TV presenter and broadcaster, and was part of the Strictly Come Dancing (UK Dancing With The Stars) line-up in 2023. But her book isn’t about any of that - not really, anyway. It’s about being brave, and focussing on love and gratitude and the positives in life. And so much more. I made so many highlights in my copy of this book. 

We Could Be So Good - Cat Sebastian (Amazon | Bookshop.org - ad, affiliate links)

The heir to a newspaper owner falls in love with a cub reporter. The difficulty: this is 1950s New York, and they’re both men. Cat Sebastian writes some of the best historical romance with all the ‘hurt/comfort’ you could ever need. Nick and Andy come from different classes, very different families, and completely different parts of New York City. This book is a joy.  

The Cartographers - Peng Shepherd (Amazon | Bookshop.org - ad, affiliate links)

And now for something completely different: this is sort-of-magical-realism, sort-of-sci-fi, but 100% grounded in a recognisably modern New York. You might know about ‘paper towns’ or copyright traps on maps. In this book, they exist, but only if you’re looking at the map they appear on. Absolutely thrilling; I was immersed in this book in a way I very rarely am these days. I felt like I was 12 again.  

Astonish Me - Maggie Shipstead (Amazon - ad, affiliate link)

It’s a ballet book. Of course there was going to be one. But it’s also a Cold War book and a book about family secrets and so much more. (Honourable mention here to Tom Lake by Ann Patchett, a stagey book about a family’s history, which I loved too). 

Romantic Comedy - Curtis Sittenfeld (Amazon | Bookshop.org - ad, affiliate links)

Like Emma Donoghue, Curtis Sittenfeld is one of my instant pre-order authors. I loved this insight behind the scenes of how a late night comedy show like Saturday Night Live - but that definitely isn’t SNL! - works, which made all the stagecraft cogs in my head turn (see the above recommendation). Plus, we get an epistolary love story, and some big thoughts about the way the world works, and reaching out for what’s important. So good. 

In Memoriam - Alice Winn (Amazon | Bookshop.org - ad, affiliate links)

I think by this point in the year, everyone is either sick of hearing about In Memoriam (in which case, just go and read it already!), or hasn’t spent a lot of time in bookshops in the last six months. It is everywhere on my feed. It’s about love, and friendship, and war, and trust, and class, and history, and, and, and… just marvellous. Just like Learned By Heart above, one thing that struck me was how much the characters took for granted that they lived in ‘modernity’, and, in this case, how recognisable their world was in some ways. As a side note - I could read an essay about the different cover designs in the UK and the US (where the hardback and the paperback are completely different!), shown below in that order. 

And an honourable mention of a re-read: I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith, read for audio by Jenny Agutter (exclusive to Audible - ad, affiliate link). Just a perfect book/narrator assignment. Wonderfully cosy and funny. 

Another favourite thing of mine in 2023 has been writing this Substack newsletter. While I love getting new free subscribers, I do also have a paid tier, which I use to share more personal writing, monthly round-ups of enjoyable things to read and listen to, and extra bonus content (I’ve got some great plans for 2024 😉 😜). Every time a few pounds come in, it feels like you’re all supporting my goal of making writing a real part of how I support myself, and it helps buy me the time to pursue my creative projects. To mark the turning of the calendar, I’m having a half-price January sale!   

Speak soon,

Lily

PS: The Amazon affiliate links above only work to give me commission if you click through from the Substack app or website, rather than directly from your email program. Other ways to support this newsletter include liking, commenting, and sharing it with a friend who you think might like it. Thanks in advance!