Best of 2023

After a bit of an extended break, I've come to decide that I miss blogging. Yes, it's time-consuming, and yes, I confess to a little self-pity wondering if anyone ever reads, or cares, about my blogs. But I love books and I love reading, and when I get right down to it, my blog is a great vehicle to combine the two. Not to mention, getting a little self-discipline for the writing life while I'm at it. So, dear reader, I'm back.

First,  let's talk about books of 2023. Here are my top picks:
Top Fiction: The Wasted Vigil, Nadeem Aslam
Top Canadian Fiction: Our Missing Hearts, Celeste Ng
Top Commonwealth Fiction: The Queen of Dirt Island, Donal Ryan
Top Short Story Collection: Animal Person, Alexander MacLeod
Top Book from an Indigenous Writer: The Circle, Katherena Vermette
Top Classic: To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
Top Canadian Non-Fiction: Wake, Linden MacIntyre
Top Non-Fiction: Wager, David Grann
Top Fictionalized book based on true events: Everything Turns Away, Michelle Berry
Top book I couldn’t forget: The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Moshin Hamid

Other Reads:
We Measure the Earth With Our Bodies, Tsering Yangzom Lama
The Sleeping Car Porter Suzette Mayr
Trust, Herman Diaz
Winning, Katherine Koller
Pathway Through Peril, Agnes Thibert
Shallow Rapids, Tyler Trafford
Mexican Gothic, Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Greenwood, Michael Christie
A Psalm for the Wild-Built, Becky Chambers
Hotline, Dimitri Nasrallah
Possessed Jawita Bydlowska
All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days, Rebecca Donner
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands, Kate Beaton
Fayne, Ann Marie-MacDonald
Women Talking, Miriam Toews
The Children of Men, P.D. James
The Lonely Hearts Hotel, Heather O'Neill
The Golden Legend, Nadeem Aslam
Born A Crime, Trevor Noah
Lark Ascending, Silas House
Birnam Wood, Eleanor Catton
The Almost Widow, Gail Anderson-Dargetz
A Grief Observed, C.S. Lewis
Wide Sargasso Seam Jean Rhys
The End of the Alphabet, C.S. Richardson
The Bear's Embrace, Patricia Van Tighem
Snow Road Station, Elizabeth Hay
Beloved, Toni Morrison
Sentimentalists, Johanna Skisbsrud
Traitor, Jim Walker
The Whispers, Ashley Audrain
Big If, Mark Costello
Earthly Possessions, Anne Tyler
The Magician's Assistant, Ann Patchett
Tom Lake, Ann Patchett
Lessons in Chemistry, Bonnie Grams
The Reading List, Sara Nisha Adams
The Adversary, Michael Crummy
Unwanted, Kristina Ohlsson
Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty, Patrick Radden Keefe
The Theory of Crows, David A. Robertson
All the Colour in the World, C.S. Richardson
The Double Life of Benson Yu, Kevin Chong
The Ash Garden, Dennis Bock
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Jonathan Safran Foer
Away from the Dead, David Bergen
Wolf Winter, Cecilia Ekback

There were some hits and misses, but mostly, there were just so many great books to be read. Interesting to me, was that when deciding on my "Top" books, the most difficult category from which to choose was Canadian Fiction. We are so lucky in this big beautiful country to have such an amazing pool of talent, young and old.

What's coming up in 2024? Stay tuned and be sure I'll be blogging about it. And on that note, if you have a chance, please let me know what you'd like to see: In-depth book reviews? Shorter reviews of say 3-6? Or just me yakking about whatever book/writing topic I feel like? Would be helpful for me to know.

Thanks so much for being a part of my writing journey. I am filled with gratitude to have this platform and devoted bookworms like you.
​Stay healthy, and in the meantime, happy reading.
Joni