Books Completed in 2023 (with brief notes).
January:
1. The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson. Nonfiction
2. Advent Christmas Wisdom from G.K. Chesterton Nonfiction
3. Winter in Thrush Green by Miss Read. Fiction. Kindle
4. The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray. Fiction. Kindle
5. All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Herriot. Nonfiction.
6. Pocahontas and the Strangers by Clyde Robert Bulla. Read aloud.
7. The Sanitorium by Sarah Pease. Fiction. Kindle
8. Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson. Fiction.
9. Boundless: Global Expressions of Faith by Bryan Bishop. Nonfiction
10. Miss Clare Remembers by Miss Read. Fiction. Kindle
11. Over the Gate by Miss Read. Fiction. Kindle
12. River of the Gods by Candice Millard. Nonfiction.
13. The Fairacre Festival by Miss Read. Fiction. Kindle
February:
14. Cradles of the Reich by Jennifer Coburn. Fiction.
15. In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden. Fiction. Kindle. Highly recommended. This one stayed with me. Beautifully written.
16. You Want Women to Vote, Lizzie Stanton? by Jean Fritz. Read aloud.
17. The Amplified Study Bible. (As I've mentioned in the past, I'm always reading through the Bible, in different versions, but not on a January-December schedule.)
18. Love Comes Home by Molly Clavering. Fiction. Kindle. Recommended if you like D. E. Stevenson.
19. News From Thrush Green by Miss Read. Fiction. Kindle.
20. Reflections on the Christian Life by Anthony Esolen. Nonfiction.
21. Tylers Row by Miss Read. Fiction. Kindle.
22. Farther Afield by Miss Read. Fiction. Kindle.
23. Yoked with a Lamb by Molly Clavering. Fiction. Kindle.
24. Unashamed by Lecrae. Nonfiction.
25. A Cold Touch of Ice by Michael Pearce. Fiction / series mystery.
26. The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katen Lumsden. Fiction. Kindle.
March:
27. Battles at Thrush Green by Miss Read. Fiction. Kindle.
28. False Colours by Georgette Heyer. Fiction. Kindle.
29. Third Girl by Agatha Christie. Fiction. Kindle.
30. The Cost of Control by Sharon Hodde Miller. Nonfiction. Kindle.
31. No Holly for Miss Quinn by Miss Read. Fiction. Kindle. (Would make a better December than March read, but I was reading through Miss Read books in publication order as best as I could.)
32. Village Affairs by Miss Read. Fiction. Kindle.
33. A Pink Front Door by Stella Gibbons. Fiction. Kindle.
34. Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan. Read aloud.
April:
35. Moby Dick by Herman Melville. Fiction. This took me FOREVER to read and I didn't dislike it, but I almost never reached for it unless I absolutely MADE myself pick it up.
36. Caste by Isabel Wilkerson. Nonfiction.
37. Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie. Fiction. Kindle.
38. Sprig Muslin by Georgette Heyer. Fiction. Kindle.
39. Return to Thrush Green by Miss Read. Fiction. Kindle.
40. Spring Magic by D.E. Stevenson. Fiction. Kindle.
41. Come Fly the World by Julia Cooke. Nonfiction. Kindle.
42. Under the Rainbow by Susan Scarlett. Fiction. Kindle. (Susan Scarlett was a non de plume for Noel Streatfield. She shows up several times this year.)
May:
43. She Deserves Better by Sheila Gregoire. Nonfiction. Kindle.
44. Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. Nonfiction. Kindle.
45. The Winged Watchman by Hilda van Stockum. Fiction. Read aloud.
46. Landscape in Sunlight by Elizabeth Fair. Fiction. Kindle.
47. Apricot Sky by Ruby Ferguson. Fiction. Kindle.
48. Mrs. Lorimer's Quiet Summer by Molly Clavering. Fiction. Kindle.
49. Bridgerton Collection Volume 1 by Julia Quinn. Fiction. Kindle. Don't judge. My library recommended this to me, since I love Georgette Heyer and other Regency novels. But, um, no. This is not my cuppa. (also applies to #52 below)
June:
50. Jasmine by Bharati Mukhajee. Fiction. (Given to me to read by my English major daughter so we could talk about it.)
51. Murder at the Royal Botanic Gardens by Andrea Penrose. Fiction / series mystery. Kindle.
52. Bridgerton Collection Volume 2 by Julia Quinn. Fiction. Kindle. Still not my cuppa. (Have NOT seen the shows, despite their ubiquity in the year of our Lord 2023.)
53. Aftermath: Life in the Fallout by Harld Jahner. Nonfiction. Kindle.
54. Bramton Wick by Elizabeth Fair. Fiction. Kindle.
55. *name redacted because this book was straight trash*
56. Poppies for England by Susan Scarlett. Fiction. Kindle.
July:
57. The Marble Staircase by Elizabeth Fair. Fiction. Kindle.
58. The Ark by Margot Benary-Isbert. Fiction. Read aloud / re-read. Highly recommended for books set in post-WW2 Europe.
59. Village Centenary by Miss Read. Fiction. Kindle.
60. On Getting Out of Bed by Alan Noble. Nonfiction. We got to meet Mr. Noble in 2023 and it was an honor to talk with him - even just for a short time - in my own home.
61. Who Cries for the Lost by C.S. Harris. Fiction / series mystery. Kindle.
62. The Last Remains by Elly Griffiths. Fiction / series mystery. Kindle.
63. The Mingham Air by Elizabeth Fair. Fiction. Kindle.
August:
64. The Summer Before the War by Helon Simonson. Fiction. Kindle.
65. Bequest of Wings by D. Annis Duff. Nonfiction. LOVED this so much - highly recommended, if you can find a copy. (It's out of print.)
66. Young Mrs. Savage by D.E. Stevenson. Fiction. Kindle.
67. The Native Heath by Elizabeth Fair. Fiction. Kindle.
68. In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson. Nonfiction. Kindle. 2nd Larson for the year, apparently.
69. Wine of Honour by Barbara Beauchamp. Fiction. Kindle.
70. Owls in the Family by Farley Mowat. Fiction. Read aloud. Made us LOL for real.
September:
71. Dandelion Cottage by Carroll Watson Rankin. Fiction. Kindle. I read this one because I was in a slump and I've had it on my Kindle Fire for a long, long time. It's a children's book and it's as if an L.M. Montgomery short story grew into a full length novel: thin on plot, but charming.
72. A View of the Harbour by Elizabeth Taylor. Fiction. Kindle. No, not THAT Elizabeth Taylor. I finished a lot of "between the wars and post WW2" stories in 2023 and this was probably the worst of the lot.
73. Prince of Pleasure by Saul David. Nonfiction. Not a great title, but this is a biography of the Prince of Wales who became Prince Regent and then George IV.
74. Ten Way Street by Susan Scarlett. Fiction. Kindle.
75. Homecoming by Kate Morton. Fiction. Kindle.
76. The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell. Fiction.
October:
This is the point in the year where I took stock, realized I was a reading slump (or had read a lot of OK but not great fiction), and needed to get down to, you know, READING and really THINKING again. Schole, if you will. So I ordered a bunch of stuff from the library (including digital copies of things) and got after it. And the last quarter of the year reflects that, I think. I am, hopefully, carrying that energy into 2024!
77. Nothing to Report by Carola Oman. Fiction. Kindle.
78. The Evangelical Imagination by Karen Swallow Prior. Nonfiction. Kindle.
79. Somewhere in England by Carola Oman. Fiction. Kindle.
80. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel. Fiction. Not a homerun, but intriguing.
81. Disobedient Women by Sarah Stankorb. Nonfiction. Kindle.
82. Non-Toxic Masculinity by Zachary Wagner. Nonfiction. Kindle.
83. Murder of a Lady by Anthony Wynne. Fiction. Kindle.
84. American Idolatry by Andrew Whitehead. Nonfiction.
85. Tales of Ancient Egypt by Roger Lancelyn Green. Re-read / read aloud. (Quote from my 8 year old son: "This is some nonsense!")
86. Monk's Hood by Ellis Peters. Fiction. Re-read.
87. Enchantment: Awakening Wonder by Katherine May. Nonfiction.
November:
88. The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism by Daniel Hummel. Nonfiction. Eye-opening, to say the least. What are my current thoughts on eschatology? If you shook me like a magic 8 ball the die would say "ask again later."
89. Stand Firm: Apologetics and the Brilliance of the Gospel by Paul Gould, Travis Dickinson, and Keith Loftin. Nonfiction.
90. The Dead Shall Be Raised / Murder of a Quack by George Bellairs. Fiction. Kindle.
91. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Fiction. Re-read. Audio book.
92. The Incredible Crime by Lois Austen-Leigh. Fiction. Kindle. A mystery by a relative of Jane Austen's. Lots of info about fox hunting contained within.
93. What if Jesus Was Serious? by Skye Jethani. Nonfiction.
94. Rembrandt is in the Wind by Russ Ramsey. Nonfiction.
95. Somebody at the Door by Raymond Postgate. Fiction. Kindle.
96. Losing our Religion by Russell Moore. Nonfiction. Kindle.
97. Happily Ever After: Celebrating Pride and Prejudice by Susannah Fullerton. Nonfiction. Kindle.
98. Emma by Jane Austen. Fiction. Re-read. Audio book.
99. Seaview House by Elizabeth Fair. Fiction. Kindle.
100. Death of a Busybody by George Bellairs. Fiction. Kindle.
December:
101. The Magnificient Story: Uncovering a Gospel of Beauty, Goodness, and Truth by James Bryan Smith. Nonfiction.
102. The Very Good Gospel by Lisa Sharon Harper. Nonfiction.
103. Leisure the Basis of Culture by Josef Pieper. Nonfiction.
104. The Late Mrs. Willougby by Claudia Gray. Fiction / series mystery. Kindle.
105. Beauty Will Save the World by Brian Zahnd. Nonfiction. My absolutely favorite read of 2023. Highly recommend!
106. Dolls of Our Lives by Mary Mahoney and Allison Horrocks. Nonfiction.
107. The Aesop for Children illustrated by Milo Winter. Re-read. Read aloud. (My 8 year old's version of the moral from The Tortoise and the Hare: "Never take a nap during a race.")
108. The White Priory Murders by Carter Dickson. Fiction. Kindle.
109. Literarily by Kristie Anyabwile. Nonfiction.
110. A Generous Orthodoxy by Brian McLaren. Nonfiction.
111. This Way to Christmas by Ruth Sawyer. Fiction. Read aloud.
112. Mystery in White by J. Farjeon. Fiction. Kindle.
113. Persuasion by Jane Austen. Fiction. Re-read. Audio book.
114. The Four Loves by C. S. Lewis. Nonfiction. Kindle. Couldn't let the year slip away without some C. S. Lewis!
115. Jesus Unbound by Keith Giles. Nonfiction.
116. The Santa Klaus Muders by Mavis Donel Hay. Fiction. Kindle.
What I noticed while compiling this list: my Kindle Fire got a workout this year! I'm not sure I've ever read as many digital versions of books as I did this year. Praise the Lord for a wonderful library system with lots of Libby and Hoopla options because my budget would never stretch to buying all of these.
