I usually read at least a book a month with book club (*picks) so my goal with books is always to read more than what I’m reading there. This year I also started doing more targeted walking which brought out audio books. It turns out that works better for me with nonfiction than fiction so I jammed through a few more than normal. It’s fun to read stuff that applies to my work world and might recommend to clients. And it’s inspiring me to get back out to my walking. Since the books I read are rarely current (paperbacks for the win) this is my current fave list of what was really out in 2023.

• The Final Girl Support Group* by Grady Hendrix – A fun start to 2023, a look at ‘80s horror through survivors that was a page-turner with some flaws.
• Matrix* by Lauren Groff – A weird but engaging one, I could have used a little more plot but intrigued to watch this woman throughout the life she made herself at an abbey.
• Cloud Cuckoo Land* by Anthony Doerr – A tale told from disparate stories was initially a little hard to connect with but thought it pulled it off quite well.
• The Overstory by Richard Powers – This was a solo read (others in book club had read it) and also a connection of disparate stories from multiple points of trees, I thought the writing and characters were great and again pulled it off.
• The Memory Police* by Yoko Ogawa – A lot of small quibbles but overall I was kind of caught up in this surreal look at a small village and what happens when most people lose kinds of memories and their relation to those who didn’t.
• Luster by Raven Leilani – While I enjoyed the characters and their entanglements as a single woman starts seeing a man in an open marriage I was never totally feeling it.
• Children’s Bible* by Lydia Millet – A group of families vacation together and we follow along with the children as things take an apocalyptic turn and they must find their way, surprisingly very fun and allegorical.
• Down the River Unto the Sea* by Walter Mosley – We were looking for a good mystery by a person of color after hating All Her Little Secrets last year, and read a positive review about the second in this relatively new series, while some of the elements are a little tropeish for a detective novel it was engaging and had good potential for development.
• Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo – This was a book club pick from last year that I missed, they probably liked it more than I did, a decent fun fantasy but also raised my disdain for the first in a trilogy that doesn’t feel like it wraps things up, I won’t do the next.
• Trust* by Hernan Diaz – The structure of this with different perspectives to the same people/period was really interesting but the book itself didn’t necessarily draw me in so much.
• Our Country Friends* by Gary Shteyngart – I haven’t loved Shteyngart and this was similar in that it focused on really annoying people who could at times be amusing, and I’m still not totally vibing with pandemic-setting focused books.
• The Committed* by Viet Thanh Nguyen – Book club loved The Sympathizer and thought this follow-up really worked, it’s a little dense at times but following this narrator is quite the ride.
• Sea of Tranquility* by Emily St John Madel – Big fan of Emily, really enjoyed this time travel tale and appreciated the nods to previous works without a dependency.
• The Marriage Portrait* by Maggie O’Farrell – A fictionalized take on a historical story, I appreciated it but was a little bored with this.
• Buddha in the Attic* by Julie Otsuka – A really interesting stylistic and somewhat poetic choice to tell the story of the time between US arrival and Japanese internment, intrigued but glad it was a little short.

Nonfiction

• Promotions Made Easy by Stacy Mayer – Knowing that you want to take control over the steps toward a promotion she lays out steps to take, most of which resonated.
• Smile When They Call You Sleazy by Mary Cravets – I took a course with Mary and appreciate her approach to creating a successful business, this really felt like a collection of short lessons, very quick.
• The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women: Why Capable People Suffer from the Imposter Syndrom and How to Thrive in Spite of It by Valerie Young – I thought she was very thorough in her analysis of imposter syndrome and very relatable, some tips as well though I think I’ll need to reread this again.
• The Science of Stuck by Britt Frank – Lots of reasons why we’re stuck and some examples and exercises of how to break that pattern, probably also worth a reread.
• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patric Lencioni – A good relatively short scenario where a new CEO works through dysfunctions with the team she inherits, it was nice to see the very specific examples and applications.
• The Power of Regret by Daniel Pink – A pretty engaging look at regret with lots of science behind it and the ways that we can use it positively to understand and change moving forward.
• The Joy Diet by Marth Beck – This was a little challenging to read/listen to without kind of practicing each step and while each of the elements make sense I think it might need a little more focused attention to put into practice.
• Hyper Focus by Chris Bailey – I have enjoyed one of his other books, The Productivity Project, and this was a great insight into really how bad our multitasking and distracted attention is and some tips on both getting into the zone, as well as scatter focusing.
• Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport – A good complement to the above, I appreciated all the science and realistic look at what tools are working for us and when they aren’t how to scale back, and how to focus on conversations and doing things.
• Outer Order Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin – I follow Rubin more around her habits and things but a brief but good reminder about some tips and things to keep in mind for clearing of things.
• 168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam – I’ve followed Vanderkam for some time with her time tracking, the book talked about time tracking but also the real work about deciding what’s important to you to decide where to spend your time.
• Boundaries by Dr Henry Cloud and Dr John Townsend – I actually only started this but it was a little too over the top with Christian biblical content.
• Your Brain at Work by Dr David Rock – This was a fun scenario-based book where we go through the science of the thing and what might be a natural inclination and what is a better approach.
• Your Brain is Always Listening by Daniel G Amen, MD – This wasn’t my fave, a lot of talk about ‘dragons’ similar to gremlins and saboteurs but then felt like a more abstract concept and then dips into brain science and addiction which felt like a couple different books.
• The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo – I had never read this and always kind of meant to, you get a look more into what a character she is, and while I appreciate the gist of things sparking joy and finding a place for everything, maybe a little too particular for me.
• Set Boundaries Find Peace by Nedra Glover Tawwab – A less religious slant on boundaries, she went through various kinds of boundaries with exercises though I’m still searching for perhaps another slant or layer more applicable to professional and personal boundaries.
• Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy – This is one of the concepts that I espouse but another book I’d never actually read, the frog is actually only one of many productivity techniques, a nice collection.
• The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi – I really liked the perspective here about what is the right amount of time and energy to put into things, a little more focused on home/personal but the principles apply regardless.

Would love to hear any books you loved from the last year in the comments.

As usual, I’ll just share all the books I read last year since the list isn’t much longer than ten. And as usual, most of them are book club books*. I didn’t get a ton of outside reading in and I also somehow mostly stopped reading nonfiction which I’ll take a look at this year. And though I’m at least a year behind due to holding for paperbacks, you can check out the critic’s best of 2022 here.

• The First Bad Man by Miranda July* – My review was ‘it’s not not weird.’ Book club overall was amused and we had a great discussion, overall it wasn’t my fave.
• Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry* – Two ‘old’ dudes reminiscing as they wait for a daughter, meh, book club may have liked this more than I did.
• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid* – I missed book club for this one but thought this older starlet telling her story to a writer was fun.
• Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro* – Generally favorable discussion of a unique narrator and her intriguing perspective with limited POV.
• All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris* – This was a fun book club in that we enjoyed talking about all the things we hated about this book including the so dumb protagonist.
• All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr – A between book club book took me a bit to wrap up around reading, not for lack of interest, a compelling journey with our two main characters during the Nazi occupation of France.
• Severance by Ling Ma* – For me this was a little ‘too soon’ with the pandemic parallels but I also found the office humor more real than humorous, book club enjoyed it.
• The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers* – A somewhat interesting setup of different aliens but not enough story or character, etc. mostly I am totally over the first of a trilogy, make a book a book even if there’s more.
• The Idiot by Elif Batuman* – Some appreciated the book more than others (me less so), decent moments but could have used more editing and story, amused but no LOL for me.
• Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead* – I enjoyed this tale of a man looking at how to live an honest life in 1960s NY, or is he?
• (March by Geraldine Brooks*) – I actually read this book ages ago but honestly didn’t remember, and decided my not remembering wasn’t a sign to reread.
• Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates* – I truthfully finally finished this today, at 738 pages it’s hard for me not to suggest some culling, an interesting look but for a fictionalized version felt like more Marilyn insight was warranted.
• The Netanyahus An Account of a Minor and Ultimatelyeven Negligible Episode in the History of a Very Famous Family by Joshua Cohen* – I was sick for this book club but think the gist which I agree with was that it was a fun fictionalized look into 1950s upstate New York college though at times got a bit academic.
• Breath by James Nestor – My dentist recommended this and while interesting and jam-packed with history more intrigued by trying some of the breathing exercises in the appendix, which I didn’t really follow through with.
• Essentialism by Greg McKeown – Very readable and pretty in sync with the Less is More philosophy I work with so many of my clients on, and of course, continue to try to focus on myself.
• Negotiating with Your Kids by Alice Shikina – A fun addition to the negotiating class, a short book about negotiating with the younger set, with illustrations by her mom.

What were your faves last year?

I can’t help calling this best books even though in fact I just list all the books I read last year. I guess that makes them the best. My reading seems to have dwindled a bit though I have been reading more nonfiction which I’ve included as well. Those marked with * are book club reads. I also put off doing this list because honestly I can’t remember what I thought about a couple of them. I had intended to update this list with each book I read so it would be fresh but well, the best laid plans. Maybe for 2022.

• The Good Lord Bird by James McBride* – We might have read this because everyone wanted to read Deacon King Kong which was only in Hardback, I now own it in paperback but haven’t gotten to it (we make exceptions but for the most part do paperbacks), I also don’t get Showtime but heard that at least Ethan Hawke was good in the series (I honestly can’t recall overall reviews) ok so this book as I recall had a good voice and journey of the characters and battle against slavery.
• Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett* – Book club overall was not a fan of this one though I thought it definitely had some fun elements and humor in the world of a not so typical family that owns a taxidermy shop.
• Modern Lovers by Emma Straub – A fun little romp looking at former bandmates living in Brooklyn as they try to move forward and look back.
• The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones* – I think book club liked this a bit more than I did, I was a little hung up on some of the logistics of the horror tale but appreciated the writing, characters, and American Indian culture.
• Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu* – Overall a real crown pleaser, the format of this book was really so much of the story (for good and for bad) but enjoyed the light and heavy take on pop culture and Asian American experience.
• Chances Are… by Richard Russo – I’m generally a big Russo fan, Empire Falls one of my all-time faves, and this visit with three old friends reuniting and stirring up the past with a little mystery was an enjoyable one.
• The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel* – Book club and I loved Station Eleven, so happy to revisit Mandel, though this didn’t garner quite the same raves lots to enjoy, and my limited cable also kept the well reviewed Station 11 series off my radar.
• If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha* – Really interesting perspective from various South Korean women on the pursuits of beauty and life.
• Fool by Christopher Moore – We had picked this for book club at one point and dismissed for some reason, but I had bought it and hadn’t read any others from Moore, and while this retelling of Lear going for funny wasn’t my fave, I’m curious to dabble in his other sort of genre approaches.
• The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich* – I’ve read and appreciated much of Erdrich’s earlier works and while this also strong Native American experience with rich characters was much more expansive in scope which it benefitted and suffered from.
• The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune* – I thought this slightly YA feeling story of a man observing a school for the ‘gifted’ was a heartwarming delight.
• On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong* – Better in some parts than others but this less direct narrative style brought some powerful moments and kept me engaged.
• Ways to Disappear by Idra Novey – Can’t recall who loaned/gave this to me (let me know if you want it back) but thought this translator going to Brazil to find her missing author was a fun endeavor.
• When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole* – Gentrification just got a little more serious, had a few quibbles but overall loved following these two protagonists on their unreal journey trying to keep a neighborhood together.
• Writers & Lovers by Lily King* – I don’t normally love when writers write about writers but totally enjoyed this look at a woman trying to get her life and her writing career together, also a fan of author’s Euphoria.
• White Tears by Hari Kunzru – This book was weird though compelling as we start with two friends and their passion for music and head into a surreal psychological look at race, music, class, history and maybe a ghost story of sorts.
• The Dutch House by Ann Patchett* – Big fans of Ann Patchett and this didn’t disappoint, a few quibbles on plot but rich characters and a great place created for these siblings and their relationship to this home.

And for nonfiction:

• So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo – One of my various attempts to focus on topics like race and raise my knowledge and vocabulary, appreciated her approach and personal perspective.
• The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier – I heard MBS speak and really liked his approach, this book was a helpful list of seven questions that mainly managers could use to coach their employees to greater success, very in sync with the coaching I do and great to see those skills being embraced.
• Atomic Habits by James Clear – I’m a huge habit fan and had been following Clear for a while, finally going through his deeper look which was much appreciated, lots to revisit here as I work on my own habits and with my clients.
• High Performance Habits by Brendon Burchard – A different take on habits, in this he breaks down the six habits that make people a success, lots of info here to revisit.
• The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks – This had been recco’d by a few and while not all of this resonated with me I appreciated the approach to upper limit problems and getting in your zone of genius, not just excellence.
• Decoding Greatness by Ron Friedman – Another person I follow and appreciate, this book ends up being a good take on how not to reinvent the wheel and tips and info on what to do instead.

For critics faves of actual 2021 check here. What were your faves last year?