Reading Log: 2023’s first 20 reads

Hi friendly readers.

A lot of my content so far has been environmental articles, which stems from the fact that I have them all written up over the years they’ve been published. However, now I’m at a stage where my backlog of articles has been uploaded (YAY, about time, I know!) I can talk about what I’m doing here and now. Seeing as I’ve done a lot on the environmental side of things, I figure it’s time I give a little attention to my other side: BOOKS!

So first, here is a list of the first 20 books I got through this year:

1. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
2. The Reading List by Sarah Nisha Adams
3. A Murder of Crows by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett
4. The Bookstore Sisters by Alice Hoffman
5. Everything my Mother Taught Me by Alice Hoffman
6. All Her Little Lies by Becca Day
7. Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
8. Can You Feel This by Julie Orringer
9. The Girl Behind the Gate by Becca Day
10. Let’s Not Be Friends by Pheobe Macloed
11. A Wedding Thing by Shea Serrano
12. You Can’t Hurry Love by Portia Macintosh
13. The Guest List by Lucy Foley
14. Zenith Man by Jennifer Haigh
15. Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth
16. Strictly Business by Carrie Elks
17. Before Her by Jacqueline Woodson
18. The Perfect Match by Dandy Smith
19. The Woman in the Strongbox by Maureen O’Hagan
20. Stuck with Him by Danielle Owen-Jones.

and now, for some highlights!

I did experiment with diving into some random new styles of writing that I haven’t explored much before, and a lot of that came from seeing a book available to borrow and just picking it up to see what happens. Therefore, the above list comprises a lot of varied genres from crime and thriller to romance and then historical fiction (which crops up again in the next 20 books, which yes, I have already read). There were a few that I read to pass the time or as filler books between bigger more in depth books (does anyone else do that?), and then there were a few that I took a chance on and randomly picked up that I absolutely devoured. A few to pick are:

Reads listed by Neil Gaiman:This was a Christmas present I saved to be the first read of 2023, and my first Neil Gaiman read, I then moved onto Good Omens, and I have American Gods on my shelf to tackle soon. I’d been a huge Terry Pratchett fan for years, and I can see how the two authors’ styles clicked so well to produce Good Omens.  

The Reading List by Sarah Nisha Adams: Yes, YES, YES!!! This book is now one of a handfull of books, tv, film that have brought me near tears. It was poignant, beautiful and poetic. 5 easy stars. This was one that I’d never heard of by someone I didn’t know of, and I just had a go on it and was ADDICTED. Definitely recommend.

Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth This was a book that I’d been searching for in bookshops for many months. I finally found it for I think £2.50 in a bookshop and was so happy to have finally found it, I was approached by another shopper who told me they were happy for me because I looked so clearly over the moon. It was worth the search.

Lucy Foley. The Guest List was the first Lucy Foley work I read, and now I’m mid way through my fourth or fifth. Like a modern Agatha Christie, Foley weaves the character’s individual stories like they’re sentient puzzle pieces and ends with a satisfying click regardless of if you managed to predict the ending.