2023 is on her way out.
A whole year and honestly felt like it went by in like 20 minutes tops.
Where does time go?
Best to measure your year in little moments and joys and of course, if you are a bookworm- in books.
I read a lot this year.
A decent amount.
Less than last year, but who cares?
I read 207 books in total.
200 according to my Goodreads, which also tells me I read over some 50,00 words.
I read some amazing books. Some less than stellar and some that were downright disappointing.
But overall, my books kept me company, helped me escape real life and took me places and on adventures and made me think, laugh and sigh and cry and feel the entire range of human emotions.
My books are my friends and companions and joy.
And since it's the last evening of the year, it's time to list my TOP 23 Reads of 2023.
So here we go, in no particular order 23 Books I Loved Best in 2023:
1. The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese: OK, this is easily the best book I read this year. THE BEST. I loved it so much, it's characters have made a permanent place in my heart and this family saga that kicks off in 1903 and ends in the 70s is quite easily one of the very best books I've read in the last few years. So good. If you pick one book from this list, make it this one.
5/5
2. A Quiet Girl in a Noisy World by Debbie Tang: A graphic not-exactly-novel about how an introvert feels and processes this often noisy world. This book spoke to me. It felt so familiar and comforting and soooo relatable to my introverted and anxious heart.
Loved it soooo much.
5/5
The art is a thing of joy too.
3. Are you there God, it's me Margaret? by Judy Blume: A classic for a reason. I am of course, getting to it a little late in life. But this was so wholesome and wonderful and real and even after all these decades so relatable.
Loved it and the film adaptation that came out this year.
4/5
4. Teen Couple Having Fun Outside by Aravind Jayan: This book is about a viral video (shot completely without consent) and the very real repercussions of the same. How a typical, middle class Indian family crumples and how each member of said nuclear family handles this violation of privacy. This book did a wonderful job of showing the hypocrisy of our society and it's dubious attitude towards sex and intimacy.
Well-written and so achingly rooted in reality.
4/5
5. Daughters of Madurai by Rajashree Variyar: This book is set in two time periods, present day and the 90s. We see mother and daughter grapple with secrets and also see the plight of being a girl child in our culture. I went into this book with no real expectations but came out very invested in the characters and stories. Read the detailed review here.
4/5
6. I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai: This is a lit fic look at true crime, an old case, boarding school and makes an excellent commentary on how some people (a alarming number of folks) treat true crime as some sort of entertainment and don't even see how macabre some of it is. It is also a mystery that is very nicely done.
4/5
7. True Biz by Sara Novic: This book taught me so much. About a culture and people I knew so little about. The Deaf community and how they live and function and how they navigate a hearing world and it cleared up so many misconceptions I had about cochlear implants. It was enlightening and so important and I adored this book.
4/5
8. The Blind Matriarch by Namita Gokhale: A pandemic novel about a family in Delhi, a sort of joint family unit and how they handle the lockdown and the equations of this family shift during this time. I loved this book and it's look at Indian families in all their glory.
4/5
9. A State of Freedom by Neel Mukherjee: This book was so good. It felt like interconnected tale but also felt like a novel about India today, about migration and displacement and how lives are affected by these. Well-written and brilliant, this was my second book by the author and I need to read more.
4/5
10. Nightbloom by Peace Adzo Medie: A book told from two perspectives about the same events and family. Set in Ghana for most part, this book takes us into an extended Ghanian family and these two cousin sisters who used to very close and how life and time changes their relationship. The first half is told from the perspective of one cousin and then the second 40% is told from the perspective of the other cousin. The book flips the view and we see two equally compelling sides to the same tale. I really enjoyed it and was so invested in this story.
5/5
11. All The Broken Places by John Boyne: The sequel to The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, this book just...ripped my heart out. Here we see sister's life and her journey after the events of the first book. We see how the decades since the War and the loss of her younger brother and eventually her father have impacted her. I wasn't expecting to like or feel for her but I did..so good.
5/5
12. The Greatest Indian Stories Ever Told, edited by Arunava Sinha: The best stories from India, some written in English, a vast majority translated from our many languages. A delight and a perfect reflection of India's many literary treasures.
4/5
13. Rooh by Manval Kaul: My first Manav Kaul, will most certainly not be the last. So soulful and comforting and heartbreaking and beautiful. I loved it. About home and away and homesickness and displacement. A thing of joy.
4/5
14. Under the Tamarind Tree by Nigar Alam: A Pakistani novel, split between present day and 1960. A story of four friends and one night that changes everything. A moving tale about shifting equations and how even the closest friendships sometimes fall apart and love changes and evolves over the years. This was wonderful and moving and something I enjoyed it immensely.
4/5
15. My Years with Apu by Satyajit Ray: An incredible behind the scenes journey of how this amazing classic film was made and the kind of grit and determination and jugged it took. Amazing.
4/5
16. The Golden Years by Ruskin Bond: Little vignettes into a good life and the Golden Years told in Bond's inimitable style. A perfect book for the older folks in your life and something even not-so-old me enjoyed very much.
4/5
17. The Dream Builders by Oindrila Mukherjee: A set of interconnected stories set in a version of Gurgaon and split quite evenly between people from the upper strata of society and those that work for them or on the periphery of their lives. Compelling and astute and so perfectly set in today's ever changing India. This book was quite brilliant.
4/5
18. The Christmas Guest by Peter Swanson: A mystery novella which I read in one sitting and just couldn't put down. It's so good, you have to pick it up. I won't say much else, I do have a review you can find here.
4.5/5
19. Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa: A cozy, warm, sometimes sad but hugely comforting read about heartbreak, eccentric family members and an old bookshop. Felt like a hug and a warm cup of tea.
4/5
20. Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter: A mystery told via a true crime documentary. Unputdownable and fun and such a ride. Review is up here.
4/5
21. Common Yet Uncommon by Sudha Murty: A set of interconnected stories set in the same village. So you meet the same group of people and get to know them. This was simple and sweet and full of such characters. Some good, some slightly grey but all so incredibly human. I really felt like I was walking around this village and getting to know these sweet people.
4/5
22. Sakina's Kiss by Vivek Shanbag: A tale of a family told over a few days, of nuclear families and changing social mores and attitudes. This book and this story and this family will feel so known and familiar. I felt like I knew them..flawed, agitated and old secrets kept hidden..the ingredients of a typical Indian family.
So good.
4/5
23. Now You See Us by Balli Kaur Jaswal: Read this earlier in the year and absolutely loved it. It's a moving tale about the reality of the countless women in service. Set in Singapore, this was about three Filipina maids working in all kinds of homes of the elite. Sweet, sad and brilliantly observed, this book was so so so good.
4/5
📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚
There we have it.
23 Books I loved Best.
Now on to Life.
Well.
Life, as always was bit of mixed bag.
There was joys and worries and happiness and stress.
My Maa fell ill and hasn't been the same most of this year. I constantly worry about my parents and their well-being. But I guess that's just an inevitable part of growing-up.
I didn't write much at all.
Started two books and didn't finish them but I feel really about the story and where my plot is heading and I am really excited to work on these ideas in the New Year.
I didn't travel AT ALL this year..but it's OK...
I started a YouTube channel and that is something I want to work on in 2024.
I kinda slipped on Blogging too, which makes me sad and this is 100% something I want to fix in 2024.
I went to different bookshops and bought books IRL.
I bought some cute AF things.
Journaled.
Romanticised my life.
Drank good coffee.
Tried so many new recipes.
Chilled.
Watched over 300 films and TV shows.
Listened to music.
Read on my Kindle and iPad.
Annotated a bit.
Went a little tote mad.
Made my home cozy.
Went a little mad/sad when construction work started in my building.
Cried. Sobbed. Laughed. Smiled.
Lived.
2023 was a mixed bag.
An overall OK year that was lovely in parts and stressful in others.
I am grateful for all the good things and also grateful for the lessons learnt from the not-so-good-things.
💖
I lived and learnt and hopefully grew as a human being.
And at the end of the day, and in this case the year, that is all I can ask from a year and from life.
Thanks for hanging out with me.
And I'll see you guys next year!
I hope you are having a lovely NYE and a veryyyyy Happy New Year to You and Yours!
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