One of my favorite things this time of year is all the lists of best and favorite books. I love to see what people are reading and loving so that I can add more titles to my to-be-read list too. The books that make official “Best of 2023” lists can’t possibly contain all of the actual best or worthwhile reads, so I’m especially interested in what ordinary people are reading and why they loved it. So, here’s a list of the books that stuck with me this year—books I read, but weren’t necessarily published in 2023. These are books I keep thinking about, that won’t let me go, even months after finishing them.
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow (2020)
I picked this up off a shelf near the library checkout because it had January in the title and it was the month of January. I figured, why not? I am SO glad I did. This novel was absolutely enchanting. Gorgeous writing, well-developed characters, and a multi-layered story about love, family, and the power of words to transport us from one world to the next. The main character—a girl named January—discovers a door that leads to a strange world. And then another and another. Meanwhile, a group of people is trying to destroy these doors and close these worlds off forever. What does this have to do with January? And with her parents whom she has been separated from, perhaps forever? If you love magical realism, historical fiction, adventure, and epic family stories, you will love getting lost in this book too.
The Book of Nature by Barbara Mahany (2023)
I read this book slowly over the summer, mainly while on vacation at our cabin on a lake in northern Wisconsin or while camping, and a little bit in my backyard. The writing voice is meditative, lyrical, and reverent. The author invites us to pay attention to the beauty, wonder, and science of the natural world, weaving in quotes, information, and references to great thinkers, facts, poetry, and religious texts. Ultimately, this is a book about how nature points us to the Divine and always has, even before any other holy book was written. I loved how this book made me feel. I loved reading it near water and under the trees. It made me feel closer to God, closer to the Earth, closer to humanity and all creatures. The Book of Nature is a book worth savoring.
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (2022)
I bought this book because so many people recommended it. With a title like this, I thought maybe it was about the future or time travel or something. I was wrong. It was not at all what I was expecting. This is a story about two friends who meet as children in a hospital playing video games, then reconnect as adults designing video games together. It’s about long-term friendship. Love. And video games as a mode for storytelling and connection. I confess I’ve dismissed video games as a mainly frivolous or juvenile time waster at best, and at worst a training ground for all our worst impulses. But this book made me rethink this. I have a newfound appreciation and curiosity for the world of video games as an interactive storytelling medium. Meanwhile, I’ve been playing a lot more Mario Kart with my kids and realizing that having fun with video games is just as worthwhile as anything more serious or profound. This book is brilliant and engrossing.
Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist by Judith Heumann, with Kristen Joiner (2021)
Judith Heumann, the author of this book, died in March of 2023. I was not familiar with her. But then I saw so many people posting about how significant she was and how much she did for disability rights and public accommodations that I take for granted as a normal, expected part of American society. So I read this book to learn more about her and her work. Turns out, disability rights laws are not only fairly new they are also at risk of being chipped away if people don’t continue to fight for them. This book is a fascinating story of one particular woman’s life, but also of the incredible effort it took to get the Americans with Disabilities Act signed into law, finally in 1990. I am in awe of the determination, tenacity, patience, and organization it took to make this happen. I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time.
Lullaby for the King by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by Michelle Carlos (2023)
This one is more personal. I work as a children’s book editor and this is one of the books I acquired, edited, and art directed that published this year. I am biased, but why wouldn’t I be? One of the joys of my job is getting to choose what I work on. The submissions that stick with me are what I end up bringing forward to acquisitions. And if things work out, what I get to work on for a couple of years with the author and illustrator. The poetry of this picture book is exquisite. The watercolor illustrations are entrancing. In Lullaby for the King, animals from across the ancient Israeli-Palestinian landscape bring gifts steeped in sacred significance to present to the newborn King. This is a sophisticated picture book that both children and adults will love. I think you will too.
What books stuck with you this year? I’d love to hear about them so I can add them to my list to read in 2024!
Happy reading,
—NK
Thank you for the beautiful description of these books and how you cherished them. Because of your post, I’m sending The Book of Nature to a friend for Christmas.
The only book I’ve read outside my writers group this year is The Child Between Us by Alison Ragsdale. Alison kept me turning the pages with vivid imagery and wrenching emotion. She showed how much strength and courage a person can have when faced with the unthinkable. This story clung to my heart long after the last page was turned.