Reviewing everything I read in the past year

This is my third year of looking back on my reading, and it has certainly been a rather strange one! My reading has been hugely impacted by being pregnant, and then having a baby. I became pregnant in December 2022, so I have spent almost the whole year pregnant, and then had my darling little girl keeping me very busy. Despite this, I have managed to keep up more reading than I expected. There were long stretches of being pregnant when I was just too exhausted to read, falling asleep as soon as I had the chance to sit still, and the early days of having a new-born were similarly exhausting and hectic. But as we’re getting used to it, I’m finding more time to read again, and have nearly mastered the art of reading while breastfeeding. My top tip is to use a Kindle! Being able to read one- or no-handed, and not needing to faff around turning pages, makes the whole thing a lot easier!

So without further ado, here are all the books I read in 2023.

January

This was a good month reading wise, as I spent so much of it travelling. Long car, train and plane journeys gave me lots of time to read, and hence I managed to get through quite a bit!

The Maid, Nita Prose, 2022

This was a nice light read to get me started. Although it was fairly predictable, and the author uses the character’s social awkwardness to get away with a lot that would be very hard to believe otherwise. Audiences seem divided as to whether or not Molly, the protagonist, is actually written as neuro-divergent, and the author doesn’t seem to have made up her mind either. This is a handy way of writing off her otherwise inexplicably extreme naivety, and perhaps gives the author a bit too easy a go of it. The story revolves around a mysterious death in the hotel Molly works in, and her subsequent embroilment in the unravelling of said mystery. It has about the depth and complexity of a ‘Father Brown’ episode, but like that show, manages to be entertaining enough to let you switch off and just go with it. Don’t expect too much, and you’ll be in for a pleasant, quick and altogether easy read.

Pregnancy Hacks, Amanda Shapin MIchelson, 2020

If I’m brutally honest, this book and others like it feel like a good way to make a quick buck. Nothing in it was particularly interesting (or even helpful?), and the ‘hacks’ feel very obvious. I think the word ‘hack’ has become rather over-used and is frequently misapplied to things that once were just called ‘tips’. ‘Hack’ to me implies a hidden, secret, and ingenious way of dealing with a problem. Suggesting that you be careful of touching your bump too much if you’re trying to keep it secret doesn’t really cut it for me. However, at this point I knew almost nothing, and being pregnant felt quite mysterious, so it was at least reassuring to read something that made it all sound more obvious than I was expecting!

The Secret History, Donna Tart, 1992

This book had been on my mental ‘To Be Read’ pile for a long time. It has achieved something of a cult status, and more recently has been hailed as one of the ‘Dark Academia’ bibles. For me it was at times a little close to home, too reminiscent of my Oxford experience, in spite of the actually quite different setting. Accidentally continuing my apparent obsession with crime writing, I found this book dragged in places but was overall pretty gripping and interesting. The characters largely feel well-written and believable, although the women are perhaps more stereotypical than the men (perhaps surprising given the author is a woman). I can see why the book has become so popular, but for me it didn’t quite live up to its reputation. Worth reading, but probably only once.

4:50 From PAddington, Agatha Christie, 1957

I can clearly not resist going long without a Christie. I’m slowly working my way through her whole catalogue. I’ll admit that this was not a favourite for me. Although it has many of the hallmarks that make Marple books so appealing, something about the setting just felt a bit grim and depressing. A good who-dunnit, but not one which I’ll be returning to.

February

The Two Towers, J.R.R. TOlkien, 1954

I had been, as it were, nursing The Lord of the Rings as you might do a pint in the corner of a pub for a while. Or perhaps as you might slowly eat a good piece of cake would be a more fitting comparison. I love LOTR, but it had been a long time since I’d read it. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed The Two Towers. It has a maturity and insight which the other two books perhaps lack, too busy getting on with the plot. Not that The Two Towers is uneventful, but it seems to have more time to reflect. People often complain that middle portions of trilogies are the worst, but I rather think that like a sandwich, the best parts are in the middle with LOTR (can you tell I’m getting into a Hobbity mood with all these food analogies?). I had forgotten how much I love Faramir, and how insightfully written he is. He seems most reflective of Tolkien’s wartime experiences, and has a wise, mournful understanding of life which none of the other characters express. I’ll finish by sharing one of my favourite quotations from him: ‘I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend’.

THe Contented PRegnancy, Gina Ford and Charlotte Chaliha, 2013

This was the main pregnancy book I read, and the most helpful. I have, predictably, forgotten almost everything it said, but during pregnancy I found this really reassuring and helpful to understand what I was going through and what I could expect. My one thought would be that it would be helpful to have an updated version – ten years is a long time in healthcare, and it did at times feel a little out of date.

March

The REturn of the King, J.R.R. Tolkien, 1955

I finally reached the conclusion of Tolkien’s epic trilogy! I still think The Two Towers is my new favourite, but there’s a lot to love about the final book. Most interestingly, there are big differences between the book and Peter Jackson’s film. There are whole, significant, plots (the Scouring of the Shire) which are missed out. I can totally see why they did this for the films, but reading them brings a more complete understanding of Tolkien’s characters, and ultimately a more satisfying conclusion. They’re both great in their own way, but the books have to top it for me!

Other People manage, Ellen Hawley, 2022

I don’t always write these summaries as I go along, and I must admit that this short book is one I had to remind myself of. However, now that I have remembered (!) I actually recall finding this book very moving. It’s not a hugely eventful book, but it’s story is compelling none the less, and it feels incredibly honest. I would warn you that it is rather sad, and the truthful realism of how she presents the relationships between her characters is at times quite raw. Nonetheless, it is a beautiful read, and one I would recommend.

A net for Small fishes, Lucy Jago, 2021

I’m far from the first person to compare this book to ‘The Favourite’, but it definitely has that vibe to it (despite being set a century or so earlier). I really enjoyed this book. It took me back to the kind of historical fiction I used to enjoy as a teenager, in all the best ways. The story is based on a real-life scandal at the Jacobean Court, and though it has soapy turns, it has a kind of down-to-earth feminism which is quite appealing. It’s a real tale of ups and downs, and if you’re into more gritty period dramas, this is a read you’re bound to enjoy.

The women of Troy, Pat Barker, 2021

Yes, I am aware that I read these in the wrong order. I had the impression they could work as stand-alones, and I think they definitely do, particularly if you know a bit about the story of Troy anyway. I really enjoyed Pat Barker’s Regeneration Trilogy (or at least the first two,, I honestly can’t remember the third!) when I read them as a teenager, so I was excited to rediscover her, still writing about war, but this time in a distant, mythical past. Her characters have a very modern, straight forward way of speaking, which I’m sure will irritate some readers, but I find the immediacy it offers refreshing. It’s an interesting take on a familiar story, and offers a more pessimistic, realistic counterpoint to Madeline Miller’s equally popular Song of Achilles.

April

Tokyo Express, Seicho Matsumoto, 1958

We know I love a detective novel, and this short story is no exception. Despite being very short, the characters are all well drawn, with very distinct but recognisable personalities, and the mystery itself is intriguing enough to keep you gripped throughout. I appreciated the logical, meticulous approach to the crime plot itself, and all in all it was a fun and satisfying read.

She who Became The Sun, Shelley Parker-Chan, 2022

This book seemed to be everywhere for a while, but it took me some time to get round to reading it. Once I did, it also took me a while to get into it. However it turned out to be a fun, historical fantasy novel. The fantasy elements are fairly low key, and at times it feels the protagonist has it too easy (although certainly not at others). But when a main theme of your novel is fate, perhaps that’s OK? I’ll be interested to follow what else Parker-Chan writes, as she has shown herself as an original and talented writer with this outing.

Stop Reading Baby Books, JJ Keith, 2014

I’ll be honest and say I hadn’t actually read that many baby books by this point (as you can see!). Beyond the helpful reminder to not be too taken in by people’s online appearances, I didn’t find this book that interesting. For a start, its message was really more ‘stop reading baby blogs/social media’ than to stop reading books. It definitely had the feel of a series of articles cobbled together into a vague theme and stretched as much as possible to make enough for a book. A fun enough read, but not one I’d recommend as essential for parents-to-be.

The Day of the Triffids, JOhn Wyndham, 1951

I do love a bit of retro sci-fi, and this was no exception. It took me a little while to figure out when it was set – I was picturing more a kind of H.G. Wells era. It definitely has the tone of something written in the Fifties (not necessarily a bad thing) and I was surprised by how well the premise of killer plants works. I haven’t seen ‘The Little Shop of Horrors’ which is based on it, but I think I’m still safe to suggest that they are rather different! Think more the movie of ‘Children of Men’ (see later in the list) and ‘The Walking Dead’, crossed with newsroom period drama ‘The Hour’. All in all, a solid and enjoyable read!

May

The Silence of the Girls, Pat Barker, 2018

I finally got round to reading the first one! Strangely enough, I think I preferred the second. But this was still a fascinating and compelling read. Retellings of stories from Ancient Greece were clearly having a bit of a moment, with Madeline Miller’s Circe (of which I am a big fan) published in the same year. It’d be easy to view them unfavourably as part of a fad, but I found both Barker and Miller to have original voices which make both their works worth a read.

You’ll Be A Wonderful Parent, Jasper Peach, 2023

This parenting book is aimed at rainbow families, but I would honestly recommend it to anyone. It’s a really lovely, kind and gentle book which I found reassuring and encouraging at a time when things were feeling pretty daunting. Regardless of your family own set-up, it’s important to learn about all the many types of family out there, and how to support and be there for them. This is a great place to start.

BAbel: or the necessity of violence, R.F. Kuang, 2022

I had seen this recommended by so many people, and had a bit of a wait to pick it up on my library app as it was so popular. It’s set in Oxford, and indeed at the university, so it was familiar territory in that respect. When I finally started reading it, I did find it a little bit of a drag to get into. I just found the pacing a little halting and stilted. However, if you persevere, it does pick up, and becomes rather a compelling read. It’s a great reflection on the evils of Empire, and how these feed into the mindset of both oppressor and oppressed. It’s a fantasy novel, but the magic system is so original and seamlessly integrated that it’s easy to forget this. It’s a bit of a tome, but one worth reading. I’ll look forward to trying Kuang’s other works.

June

BEcause I don’t Know What You Mean and What You Don’t, Josie Long, 2023

Having enjoyed Josie Long’s comedy for a while, and admired her organisation Arts Emergency, I was keen to try this new work by her. It’s a collection of short stories, which vary a bit in genre and setting. Some of them are quite clearly autobiographical, and will be familiar to those who’ve attended one of her stand-up sets. Overall I found them intriguing, although as I often feel with short stories, I wished some of them were a bit more developed, and lasted longer. I’m not quite sure whether that’s a compliment or not: take from it what you will. I’ll definitely be reading anything else she publishes though, and am crossing my fingers for a full novel.

South and West: From A Notebook, Joan Didion, 2017

This very short collection of essays had been on my library app reading list for a while, mostly out of a sense of obligation! I hadn’t read any Joan Didion, despite her being such an important cultural figure, so I thought it was time I give her a go. I can’t say these essays were the most impressive ones I’ve ever read – they read almost as a sort of languid diary of her travels around the US. However they were evocative and engaging. Mostly they’ve left me wanting more – and looking forward to reading her more developed works.

The Bookbinder of Jericho, Pip Williams, 2023

I’m not quite sure what prompted me to pick this book up; it was probably the reference to Jericho, a neighbourhood in Oxford that I used to live in. I only later realised it was a companion piece to The Dictionary of Lost Words, which I had actually chosen not to read because the title was so twee. Set largely during the First World War, this book tells the story of one of the bookbinders working in the famous Oxford University Press, and her aspirations to study at the university. A sort of gently feminist book, which doesn’t push too many boundaries but has a solid plot and likeable characters, it was a pleasant read which kept my interest enough that I will likely give the first book a try.

The Children of Men, P.D. James, 1992

Having been a fan of the film, I had wanted to read this novel for a long time. Unable to find it on my library app, I bit the bullet and bought it on Kindle. I had also intended to have something very different to the run of Oxford-based books I seemed to be on with Babel and The Bookbinder… How wrong I was! To my surprise, the protagonist Theo is an Oxford academic, and much of his narrative revolves around Oxford and its surrounds. Despite this familiarity, James creates a deeply unfamiliar world. The dystopian elements are thrilling and chilling, and the plot has a great sense of momentum. It is totally different to the film, almost completely. But it is a brilliant read which I rushed through as quickly as I could.

The Women in Black (Ladies in Black), Madeleine St John, 1993

Time for something genuinely different! This is the story of a girl who goes to work in a famous Sydney department store, and falls in love – with a dress! Something about this story really touched me – it wonderfully captured what it feels like to be a young woman on the verge of being a ‘proper’ adult. It I’d sweet without being saccharine, and reserves some acid whilst still being humane. An easy and fun but not flippant read, and one I greatly enjoyed.

September

You’ll have noticed rather a gap in my reading! This was partly because I was ploughing through Anna Karenina (see later in the list) and partly because I was hitting the peak of my pregnancy tiredness.

At Bertram’s Hotel, Agatha Christie, 1965

I was enjoying Anna but finding it a little heavy for my mood, so wanted something fun and lightweight. This is definitely not my favourite Marple – it feels a bit contrived – but it did the trick of giving me a quick pick-me-up read.

October

Home Stretch, Graham Norton, 2020

Another book I read mainly to give me an easier break from Anna Karenina, I ended up enjoying this novel which tells the story of a boy/man caught up in tragedy and coming to terms with his sexuality in rural Ireland. It perhaps sounds more harrowing than it is – beyond the initial event (which is the inciting incident of the whole novel), it is actually a fairly gentle novel. The characters are rounded, and there are many well-observed moments and settings which give the book a sense of realism. Despite loving Graham Norton as a personality, I didn’t have particularly high-hopes for the novel, as TV presenter doesn’t naturally translate to novelist, but I was pleasantly surprised, and will be seeking out his other works.

The Vampyre, a TAle, John Polidori, 1819

This is essentially the vampire story: the work that started the trend. It’s very short, and a little bit odd, as one would expect of something written at this time. It’s not exactly the most naturalistic novella. Polidori was physician and friend to Byron, and this story was in fact inspired by the same night and event as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. As vampire stories go, I prefer Dracula (see my 2022 reading summary), but this establishes many of the tropes that are still familiar today: handsome but cold vampires who lust after pretty young women, and the naive young person who has to plunge hidden depths to overcome them. If you’re into this type of fiction, it’s worth a read, just to see how it all began.

Anna KArenina, Leo Tolstoy, 1878

The one that had taken me so very long to finish! I’m not sure if this was actually the longest book I read this year, but it felt like it! I realise this sounds quite critical, but I did actually really enjoy it. I hadn’t read any Tolstoy before, so it was good to finally add some of this Russian great to my repertoire. My first observation would be that the eponymous character actually features surprisingly little in her own book. Hers is just one of the stories that carries throughout the book, which recounts the lives of a clutch of related characters. I’m making this seem a bit naff and 2010s, but please know it’s a lot better than it sounds! It is a beautifully written book, and although there are some rather long passages on philosophy, the state of Russia at the time, etc, it is still very approachable and humane. Reading it when I did, I was particularly touched by Tolstoy’s observations on babies, motherhood, and even breastfeeding! I really didn’t expect a novel written by a man in the 1870s to provide the most moving and accurate description of what it feels like to have a young baby, but it was really quite wonderful. It took me a long time to read, but every page was worth it, and I can completely see why this has been hailed as such a masterpiece. It’s slower, wider, and less melodramatic than one might assume, but all the better for it.

November

The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K Le Guin, 1969

I was a big fan of Le Guin’s Earthsea Trilogy, but I had never tried any of her sci-fi books. I think it was my sister who most recently recommended this book to me, which prompted my to finally give it a go having been meaning to read it for years. I’m really glad I got round to it, as it was great. I can’t quite put my finger on what I liked about it. It’s quite a quiet book – nothing especially sensational happens, but it’s got a deep kind of humanity to it. It has become famous for its reflections on gender, as it is set on a planet where people’s gender changes based on where they are in their reproductive cycle (to put it simply), and they largely live as non-binary. As one would expect, the terminology doesn’t match what we’d use now (I think the use of ‘bisexual’ might particularly confuse), but her reflections on how experience is determined by gender are really quite ahead of their time. It takes a while to get going, but it’s worth it, and I’ll definitely be seeking out more of Le Guin’s sci-fi from now on.

Rebecca, DAphne Du Maurier, 1939

A brilliant book, which I can’t believe it took me so long to get round to reading! Don’t let all the film adaptations put you off, or colour your expectations. The best thing about it is the narrator and how she is written, which doesn’t come across easily on film. You can read my full review here, or click the link below.

The Reading List: Rebecca, Daphne Du Maurier, 1939

Lady Susan and the Watsons, JAne Austen, 1871

These two shorter Austen works are often parcelled together, and I read them in the (free) Amazon Classics Edition. I was actually inspired by having watched ‘Love and Friendship’, the 2016 film adaptation of Lady Susan – one of my recent BritBox discoveries. If, like me, you appreciate Austen for her wit and often cutting observation of the society she lived in, Lady Susan is the perfect read. I found it very funny, and although brief, it contains perfect little portraits of its characters, who all feel individual and realistic. It’s fantastic to read Austen truly embracing an anti-hero too: her eponymous protagonist is a consummate flirt and schemer. Supposedly Austen wanted to create a character no one would like in Emma, but she succeeds far better in Lady Susan. This is a complete work, whereas The Watsons is an unfinished fragment. This makes for a slightly frustrating read, but I can perhaps also see why she chose not to pursue it. It has many of the hallmarks of her stories – women of large and slightly middle class families trying to arrange their romantic lives – but the characters are perhaps a little too similar to those in her other, better works. However, the completionist (perhaps ironically?) in me was pleased to have added another Austen to my list. I think the only thing I have left now is Sanditon!

The Bullet That Missed, Richard OSman, 2022

Another solid piece from the literary juggernaut that Richard Osman has become. I wouldn’t say this was my favourite of the Thursday Murder Club books – the plot was just a little convoluted and unbelievable. However, the way that peril is always presented and then harmlessly resolved in Osman’s books is pleasantly reassuring, and makes for a good holiday read. I, like millions of others, will doubtless be back for more!

The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux, 1909

My final complete read of the year, and one that wasn’t quite what I was expecting. I haven’t seen the Andrew Lloyd-Webber musical (the closest I’ve come is watching Lindsay Ellis’s video essay on it, and I’d watch anything she made so that’s not revelatory of any particular interest). A gothic mystery from a period I like the novels of, this piece turned out to be far more sensationalist than I thought it might. It definitely has the gothic interest in the dramatic and unbelievable. It’s laid out as Leroux examining police files and piecing the story together as a kind of amateur detective. It’s fun, but don’t expect a great literary masterpiece.

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Conclusion

So there you have it, everything I read in 2023! Unfortunately I haven’t had time for the deep analysis I had last year, but here are some bullet-point reflections:

• I read fewer books than last year, but not as few as I expected! I totalled 31, down from 53 last year. Not bad, all things considered!
• Women dominated my reading this year, with 21 books by women, 9 by men, and 1 by a non-binary person. This is a bit more apparent than last year, when it was pretty much a 50/50 split between men and women, with once again I think just one non-binary author.
• Unlike last year, I read a lot more books that I owned this year. Using my Kindle whilst breastfeeding/soothing to sleep in the dark was great, and with lots of kind relatives giving me Amazon vouchers for Kindle, I had a lot to choose from. I still love my library app though, and have got a lot of use out of it, with some of my favourite books being on there.
• Perhaps because I wasn’t using the library app quite so much, I didn’t read as much new fiction this year. I was pleased to be able to get round to some classics like The Secret History and Anna Karenina, but I’ll also be aiming to read more contemporary fiction again next year.

Despite what a strange year it was in general, I’d say it was still a good reading year, with lots of books I enjoyed and would recommend. I’m looking forward to getting fully back on the horse next year, and hopefully discovering some new favourites!

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What were your favourite books this year? Are there any that surprised you, in good or bad ways? What do you think I should read next?