This year has been the year for less scrolling and more reading! (Although based on my screen time reports, 2024 needs to become the year of even less scrolling and even more reading books…). At the time of writing this, I am finishing up books 36 (Assassin’s Blade, by Sarah J Maas) and 37 (the Bible) of 2023! 

For a list of all of my 2023 reads and their ratings, connect with me on Goodreads! I love seeing what friends are reading and recommending!

One note, these reviews are intentionally left pretty vague without much detail of each book’s story and instead, I focus on broader reasons why I liked the book. If you’re up for more discussion, join my book club email list!

The Silent Patient

I would call this a psychological thriller that won’t keep you up at night. Interesting, perplexing, and intriguing are all words I would use to describe this one, yet I never once felt like I couldn’t read this book in the dark (a key factor for me when choosing thrillers.) I absolutely did NOT see the ending of this one coming and kind of feel like I should re-read it and search for some clues along the way.

Mad Honey

This one was so widely recommended that I didn’t even read the back cover description before I read it. I don’t know what I was expecting, but this wasn’t it! I absolutely could not put this book down. What a page-turner with a surprising twist that led to some really compelling and thought-provoking discussion. I’m going to leave this review a bit vague because it would be way too easy to accidentally slip in a spoiler, but if you get the chance to read it, PLEASE DO. I haven’t heard one person say they didn’t enjoy it.

Daisy Jones and the Six

Technically this one was a re-read, but it’s still one of my all-time favorite books. I love the character development and how the interviewer can so perfectly capture the story of the band and the interconnected relationships within it. Taylor Jenkins Reid always comes up with compelling story lines, and I love how she ties fictional characters from her other books into each other!

I was hesitant to watch the series on Amazon Prime because, gosh, don’t you just hate when a movie or show ruins your mental image of a character?! But five episodes in, I knew they nailed it. Bonus, the music from the book is available on Spotify and has become some of my favorite tracks of 2023!

The Growing Season

I had the opportunity to lead the Nebraska Women in Ag Book Club discussion over The Growing Season by Sarah Frey. I love a good memoir, and this one did not disappoint. Topics discussed include her early life on the farm, entrepreneurship, motherhood, rural living, big ideas in a small town, and so much more. You can access a list of discussion questions I put together on the Nebraska Women In Ag site!

The Many Lives of Mama Love

I was gifted a few months of Book of the Month Club (which was an incredible gift, by the way!!) and this was one of my picks. This is an incredible memoir about a suburban housewife doing her best to keep up with the Joneses only to end up addicted to opioids, getting arrested, and doing time. She tells her story from beginning to end, and many parts of it had my jaw on the floor! I especially found interesting the part of her story when she was entering back into society after serving jail time and the challenges she faced there. Definitely a unique one, but a crazy interesting story!

A Man Called Ove

Truthfully, this one sat on my shelf for quite a while before I finally decided to jump in. Only then did I decide to read it after my husband watched the movie on an airplane and told me it had him choked up! 

Again, talk about character development and the importance of a community and support system. Just like with Daisy Jones, I was hesitant to watch the movie, but again, the creators nailed it! I’m not afraid to admit my eyes were definitely not dry at the end of both the book and the movie.

I love talking through books and having an opportunity to discuss more in-depth on actual events and themes of books. I’ve been toying with the idea of launching a quarterly book club in 2024! Nothing too formal, totally free, maybe read just one book quarterly and meet over Zoom to discuss? What do you think? If you’re interested, sign up for book club emails here!

Have you read any of these books? What are your thoughts and ratings? Leave a comment and let me know!