Here’s to another year of reading, friends! I always appreciate taking time to reflect on the books I read in a year, the places they took me, and the connections they fostered. It’s so satisfying and happy to be able to look back on a year of many great books, and 2023 was certainly that! I hope you enjoy my favorites and full list from the year and are perhaps inspired to try something new from it. Here are the favorites, re-reads, and the random stats that I and maybe three other people find fun :) 

Total Books Read (that were new to me): 42

Books Re-read: 10

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery

Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery

Anne’s House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery

Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson

Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

Format Stats (for the 42 books new to me)

Read the physical book: 26/42 – 62% 

Listened to the audiobook: 10/42 – 24%

Read the book on Kindle: 6/42 – 14%

I think I have both my 2023 travels and the discovery of two excellent series on Kindle to thank for the increased reading on my Kindle this year.

Other Fun Stats (also for the 42 books new to me)

Books by male authors: 18

Books by female authors: 22

I didn’t include in this breakdown two books that are both compilations of a sort. One is a collection of essays by many smart men and women (Why We Create), and one is a collection of testimonials originally written by men, but edited and compiled by a woman (Wonders of Grace).

Most-read author: A three-way tie between James Herriot, L.M. Montgomery, and A.J. Pearce at three books from each! That would be a fun dinner.

Shortest book: Someone I Know is Grieving by Edward T. Welch, 80 pages

Longest book: A Winter by the Sea by Julie Klassen, 448 pages

Favorite Books of 2023 (of those that were new to me, and listed in no particular order)

A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus: I may have found a new “automatic buy” author in Kate Albus. She writes books focused on children with authenticity and emotional awareness, and her weaving of historical events around children balances knowledge with joy. This one focuses on three young siblings evacuated to the English countryside during WWII. In search of a home and family, they find refuge in their new village’s local library. Heartwarming, comforting, and hopeful.

All Creatures Great and Small series by James Herriot: Again, I couldn’t possibly choose one favorite from Herriot’s memoirs, so I’m including all of those I read this year in this item – All Things Wise and Wonderful, The Lord God Made Them All, and Every Living Thing. I loved each of these and felt genuine sadness when I finished. I don’t think I’ve ever read a series more purely delightful or more suited to relaxing bedtime reading. I already miss it!

Right Ho, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse: What can I say about Wodehouse that hasn’t already been said somewhere? He’s the gold standard of British comedy for good reason. That bicycle sequence at the end of this one put me in stitches.

The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse: I personally couldn’t pick a favorite between Right Ho and Code, though many consider Code Wodehouse’s absolute best. This one somehow manages to weave suspense with all the absurd humor, which delighted and impressed me.

When the Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer: This is the first book in one of my new favorite historical fiction series by a contemporary author. Easy reading, but I found the premise so clever and loved the historical detail. The main character, Libby, has two parallel lives – one in 1774 Williamsburg and one in 1914 New York and England. On her 21st birthday, she must choose which life to live out for the rest of her years. Suspenseful and fascinating.

The Awakening of Miss Prim by Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera: Gentle, insightful, and as I’ve already detailed, the most charming book I read in 2023. I think about this one regularly and expect I will for a long time to come.

Dear Mrs. Bird by A.J. Pearce: The first of my other new favorite historical fiction series by a modern writer! This one focuses on women of the home front in London during WWII, particularly on one Emmaline Lake, a feisty and funny girl who dreams of becoming a war correspondent, but finds herself working for a failing women’s magazine instead. Fun historical premise and uproariously funny. 

Prisoners of the Castle by Ben Macintyre: Ever heard of Colditz, the Nazis’ “fortress prison”? I hadn’t until I read this book. Reserved for the most escape-prone, anti-German, and politically valuable prisoners of WWII, Colditz was known for its management as a “gentlemen’s prison” and for a built-in culture of escape attempts. Reads like a compelling spy novel.

The Arrow & the Crown by Emma C. Fox: I was fortunate enough to meet Emma Fox and do some work with her newest book this year (also amazing!), so I picked up this, her first book, to get acclimated. It’s a gorgeous, spellbinding Beauty & the Beast retelling that draws from old fairytales and C.S. Lewis.

Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery: I’ve long been abashed that I, perhaps the greatest advocate of the Anne of Green Gables series, had not actually read the whole series. I’m so glad that finally changed in 2023! This final volume about Anne’s youngest daughter, who passes years of her youth during the First World War, is truly a shining jewel of the series. 

Poems by C.S. Lewis: Many of Lewis’s poems are heady, but plenty also echo the accessible theology of his essays and the wonder-filled tone of his fiction. I’ve thought about his poem “On Being Human” at least once a week since I read it. 

This Day: Collected and New Sabbath Poems by Wendell Berry: Berry’s favorite subjects – land, community, earth, faith, love, and so on – are as present in this collection as in any of his other work. But he still finds new ways to turn them, like diamonds in hand, to catch new rays of light that make me stop, marvel, and consider them yet again. I loved reading this collection over several months, morning by morning.

Honorable Mentions

A Shadow in Moscow by Katherine Reay

Jane of Lantern Hill by L.M. Montgomery

The Path to Being a Pastor by Bobby Jamieson

The Carver & the Queen by Emma C. Fox

My full 2023 book list (new-to-me books, listed in the order completed):

Rejoice and Tremble by Michael Reeves

Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton

The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie

A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus

Right Ho, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Herriot

Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw

The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse

Code Name Edelweiss by Stephanie Landsem

The Queen of Ebenezer by K.B. Hoyle

When the Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer 

The Optimist’s Daughter by Eudora Welty

Coronation Year by Jennifer Robson

The Awakening of Miss Prim by Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera

In This Moment by Gabrielle Meyer

Dear Mrs. Bird by A.J. Pearce

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris by Paul Gallico

Yours Cheerfully by A.J. Pearce

Summerhaven by Tiffany Odekirk

The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie

This Day: Collected and New Sabbath Poems by Wendell Berry

Prisoners of the Castle by Ben Macintyre

The Arrow & the Crown by Emma C. Fox

The Carver & the Queen by Emma C. Fox

Wonders of Grace, compiled by Hannah Wyncoll

Mrs. Porter Calling by A.J. Pearce

A Shadow in Moscow by Katherine Reay

Why We Create, edited by Jane Clark Scharl and Brian Brown

The Lord God Made Them All by James Herriot

Jane of Lantern Hill by L.M. Montgomery

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Poems by C.S. Lewis

Rainbow Valley by L.M. Montgomery

Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery

The Moving Toyshop by Edmund Crispin

Someone I Know is Grieving by Edward T. Welch

The Path to Being a Pastor by Bobby Jamieson

Nothing Else But Miracles by Kate Albus

A Winter by the Sea by Julie Klassen

North! Or Be Eaten by Andrew Peterson

Every Living Thing by James Herriot

Herbert: Poems (selected poems of George Herbert)