A few of my favourite things (I)

It’s list time. This isn’t my “best books of 2023” because I don’t even know what a “best” book is. Rather these are the books that stayed with me over the course of the year, the ten that came to mind without having to go back through these posts and see what I’d read (I did that too, but afterwards). Not all of which were actually released this year; one of them came out this year, most came out in the past. I also enjoyed a few books that will come out in the future but I’ll save talking about those until the appropriate time.

So, in no particular order, some great books:

Nothing Left to Fear from Hell by Alan Warner & Columba’s Bones by David Greig. Two of Birlinn’s Darktales series in which Scottish novelists reimagine moments in Scottish history. Both these books are simply stunning, the idea behind the series is genius and I am desperately jealous. Novellas of this type are so far up my street I might as well live there, and I already know exactly what I’d write were I, you know, ever in the same league as the writers that get to contribute to this series. Keep em coming.

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki. A recommendation by bookshop staff in Hawaii that more than lived up to their hype. Trans characters, aliens running a donut shop, a contract with the devil and magical violins… what more could a reader ask for?

Hell Sans by Ever Dundas. Should have won the Saltire. Ever is not just a phenomenal writer with an imagination I can’t even begin to comprehend but she’s also a marrow-deep Pearl Jam fan and there are few things I respect more.

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel. More people have told me to read Emily St. John Mandel than probably any other writer and I have no excuse for why it’s taken me so long to get round to it. They were all right, of course they were. The prose is exquisite, the ideas astounding, the mastery of form infuriating. I’ll be asking Santa for the rest of her books.

Thirsty Animals by Rachelle Atalla. I think I preferred her debut The Pharmacist but I think that’s because this was much more viscerally depressing. Atalla does dystopia far too well for this to be mere escapism. The Phramacist was far enough removed from today to be just fiction. Thirsty Animals was all too real and believable. Stayed with me all year in a good way but also in an unsettling way.

A Death in the Family by Karl Ove Knausgaard. I’m generally allergic to hype so despite loving the idea of the ultimate in autofiction, I never actually got round to this until now. Spoiler: awesome. Next year I’m going to see if The Wire is actually any good.

Mister Timeless Blythe by Alan Spence. Biased on this one given my relationship to the author and the subject but damn I loved this.

Apalachian Elegy: Poetry and Place by bell hooks. Another recommendation from the bookstore in Hawaii and another writer I really should have read earlier.

Pins by Natalie Morrison. This time a recommendation from the shop staff in the gift shop at the Auckland Art Gallery. If you’re not asking shop staff to recommend books then how are you even choosing books these days?

I read other great books too. Flick back through the monthly posts here to see. My tbr shelf is literally full at the moment so except much more of this in the new year.