It’s winter again, time to publish my list of favorite books of 2023! The books you read change the way you think about others and even make you smarter. (Here’s a fascinating article from The Guardian about how reading can actually raise your IQ.) They can help you grow not only in knowledge but in understanding those with whom you may not agree. For those reasons, and for the simple goal to never stop learning, I make a reading list each year and try to encourage others to do the same! Let’s educate ourselves!
Note: This year, I wasn’t quite as ambitious as I am some years. A difficult pregnancy and a busy year of homeschooling have definitely impacted my reading level, and sometimes all I felt like doing was taking a nap or reading a bit of fluff I can’t even remember anymore. But I did take notes when I read a book that was worth listing on my favorite books of 2023. As always, I look forward to your recommendations–you friends recommended many of these books last year! And I hope this list is helpful as you set your own reading goals for the coming year.
In the past, I’ve given reviews of each book directly on the page (see Favorite Books of 2022!). This year, I’m simply going to display the book covers. If you click on the cover, you’ll go to a mini review of that book that I wrote earlier in the year. Enjoy my favorite books of 2023 and have a happy December!
Irena’s Children, by Tilar Mazzeo
You Are What You Love, by James Smith
Praying with Paul, by D.A. Carson
The Supper of the Lamb, by Robert F. Capon
Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, by Kenneth E. Bailey
Kiss the Wave, by Dave Furman
Modern Miss Mason, by Leah Boden
M is for Mama, by Abbie Halberstadt
Biography/Memoir Favorite Books of 2023
Everything Sad is Untrue, by Daniel Nayeri
Seven Women and the Secret of their Greatness, by Eric Metaxas
Different, by Sally and Nathan Clarkson
More Nonfiction!
Ordinary, by Michael Horton
Robert E. Lee and Me, by Ty Seidule
I wrote about my own reckoning as I read this book in this review.
I didn’t end up writing a review of one of my favorite reads of all this year: Nancy Guthrie’s Even Better than Eden: 9 Ways the Bible’s Story Changes Everything About Your Story. I’ll link to it on Amazon, though, and I highly recommend taking the time to read and meditate on each chapter. I took several months to work slowly through the book. Most of it I found greatly beneficial, although I don’t hold to the strong Covenantal view of Scripture that she does.
Overall: Even Better than Eden contains excellent reflections on Eden and the Eden to come. Guthrie’s personal stories are beautifully apt, and her hours of Bible study are evident in these pages.
Wait! Where’s the fiction in your favorite books of 2023?
I didn’t post individual reviews of my favorite fiction, but I did post about my top reads in that category. Click on the picture below to see more of my favorite books of 2023, fiction edition!
Honorable Mentions for My Favorite Books of 2023
I can hardly ever resist an honorable mention section–the books that intrigued me but that I wouldn’t list as favorites. This year, Monica Potts’ memoir, The Forgotten Girls, makes my honorable mention section. I disagree with many of her values and opinions, but I thought her research on why poor rural women in Arkansas have a rising death rate was fascinating. Here’s my mini review on the book.
An book on poverty that I found enlightening this year was Dr. Ruby Payne’s A Framework for Understanding Poverty. I was raised on very little money but with middle class values, and listening to her discuss the differences among social classes made me reexamine my own childhood.
Some key takeaways from A Framework for Understanding Poverty:
- people in poverty tend to value the ability of a person to entertain above his academic abilities.
- middle class values can make one less likely to share because the principle of saving and working hard for oneself (not necessarily others outside your immediate family) is so engrained.
- crossing social lines can be tricky in both marriages and in a teacher/student relationship.
- speech patterns are different in different social classes, and understanding those differences can aid in overcoming barriers to communication.
Additionally, I read The Art of Gathering, by Priya Parker, because a friend recommended it. I have mixed feelings about this book because the author’s religious/cultural perspective is so greatly different from my own. But I’m intrigued by her insistence on not just allowing but actively shepherding your guests to be transparent, even when conflict comes to the fore. This, she claims, is how gatherings become effective and deeply meaningful.