Hi Jill! Excited to try some of your Recs here. Loved Demon Copperhead as well. My prize this year goes to The Covenant of Water. And reading in companion with Oprah’s podcast with Verghese made it that much sweeter. Happy holidays!!
I just finished a book about two women who met at Yale as undergrads, both of whom who aspire to be world renowned authors....Yellowface. A great read, with a main storyline about plagiarism, and support subtexts about racism (Asians), vitriol on social media, and the publishing industry. I'm 90% sure you must have read it by now, but if not, it would be an honor to send you a copy.
And how goes Bennington? Proud of you for taking that leap.
Loved your list! Love Claire Keegan, though last night I read her short story Antarctica--she has a heart of ice, like William Trevor. I think my most memorable book this year is probably The Covenant of Water. Longer than it needed to be, but beautiful on all the levels, character, story, sentence....
hi Jill- what a treat! love to add some books to my tbr ( and get to be nostalgic about our old book club!) I'm reading writers and lovers by lily King(I think lexy recommended years ago) and I really like the way she writes. Solito by Javier zamora is next up on many recommendations.
- LOVE your costume- demon copperhead was heavy, but definitely left a major impression- as it should. I loved your comments about time with reading...a wonderful bonus I hadn't thought about before. (Have you read saving time by Jenny O'Dell?) Anyway I enjoyed short stories by Kathleen Alcott called emergency but I guess my favorite was also demon copperhead. Great holiday card!
Hi Jill - my favorite novel this year - besides Demon Copperhead - was This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel. It was required summer reading for the high schoolers in our town and our book club decided to read it. We had a great conversation afterwards! Thanks for your recommendations, Merideth
Hi Jill. Demon Copperhead was definitely at the top for me. I'd say a close second was Nightcrawling. I have a couple of your top 12 on my want to read list!
As always, I enjoyed the latest issue of Witticisms and look forward to reading some of your recommendations. As for me, my favorite read in 2023 was Somebody's Fool, by Richard Russo, one of my very favorite authors. Russo is a masterful writer, at once moving the plot along while doing a great job at character development. He's a literary writer without the pretensions of a "look at how smart I am" author.
Best wishes to you and your family for a peaceful and joyous holiday season.
Hi Jill. Thank you for this! I’ve been hoping to read Demon Copperhead and Tom Lake over the holidays. Now I’m even more motivated. My favorite book this year was Romantic comedy. I loved her comic voice and the fun, fresh topic.
Hey, Jill! Appreciate your opening remarks abt time. I'm writing an article currently on a local photographer who has described his craft as a way to "stop time," a power you ascribe to books as well. I like that. Anyway, my favorite book of 2023 has to be *Crime and Punishment*.
I also read and loved Remarkably Bright Creatures this year!! Tom Lake and The Rachel Incident are on my TBR, and taking note of your other suggestions!
I don’t count for your giveaway since I’m in Canada, but some of my favourites this year were Big Gay Wedding by Byron Lane (surprisingly moving), Go as a River by Shelley Read and (not recent, but read it this year) Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid!
I've read a number of great books this year, but the one currently in my reader is The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson. This multi-POV, multi-timeline literary novel tells some hard truth about settling the United States, from the Native American voice. It is a beautiful and tragic story that needs to be shared. Hope you find time to check it out!
Hi Jill! Excited to try some of your Recs here. Loved Demon Copperhead as well. My prize this year goes to The Covenant of Water. And reading in companion with Oprah’s podcast with Verghese made it that much sweeter. Happy holidays!!
Hey Jill,
I just finished a book about two women who met at Yale as undergrads, both of whom who aspire to be world renowned authors....Yellowface. A great read, with a main storyline about plagiarism, and support subtexts about racism (Asians), vitriol on social media, and the publishing industry. I'm 90% sure you must have read it by now, but if not, it would be an honor to send you a copy.
And how goes Bennington? Proud of you for taking that leap.
Phil
Loved your list! Love Claire Keegan, though last night I read her short story Antarctica--she has a heart of ice, like William Trevor. I think my most memorable book this year is probably The Covenant of Water. Longer than it needed to be, but beautiful on all the levels, character, story, sentence....
hi Jill- what a treat! love to add some books to my tbr ( and get to be nostalgic about our old book club!) I'm reading writers and lovers by lily King(I think lexy recommended years ago) and I really like the way she writes. Solito by Javier zamora is next up on many recommendations.
- LOVE your costume- demon copperhead was heavy, but definitely left a major impression- as it should. I loved your comments about time with reading...a wonderful bonus I hadn't thought about before. (Have you read saving time by Jenny O'Dell?) Anyway I enjoyed short stories by Kathleen Alcott called emergency but I guess my favorite was also demon copperhead. Great holiday card!
Hi Jill - my favorite novel this year - besides Demon Copperhead - was This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel. It was required summer reading for the high schoolers in our town and our book club decided to read it. We had a great conversation afterwards! Thanks for your recommendations, Merideth
Hi Jill. Demon Copperhead was definitely at the top for me. I'd say a close second was Nightcrawling. I have a couple of your top 12 on my want to read list!
I admire that you got the list down to 12! I'm getting ready to write my list and I'm struggling to narrow it down.
Hey Jill,
As always, I enjoyed the latest issue of Witticisms and look forward to reading some of your recommendations. As for me, my favorite read in 2023 was Somebody's Fool, by Richard Russo, one of my very favorite authors. Russo is a masterful writer, at once moving the plot along while doing a great job at character development. He's a literary writer without the pretensions of a "look at how smart I am" author.
Best wishes to you and your family for a peaceful and joyous holiday season.
With love,
Phil
I knew Claire Keegan had to be on your list!
Hi Jill. Thank you for this! I’ve been hoping to read Demon Copperhead and Tom Lake over the holidays. Now I’m even more motivated. My favorite book this year was Romantic comedy. I loved her comic voice and the fun, fresh topic.
Hey, Jill! Appreciate your opening remarks abt time. I'm writing an article currently on a local photographer who has described his craft as a way to "stop time," a power you ascribe to books as well. I like that. Anyway, my favorite book of 2023 has to be *Crime and Punishment*.
I also read and loved Remarkably Bright Creatures this year!! Tom Lake and The Rachel Incident are on my TBR, and taking note of your other suggestions!
I don’t count for your giveaway since I’m in Canada, but some of my favourites this year were Big Gay Wedding by Byron Lane (surprisingly moving), Go as a River by Shelley Read and (not recent, but read it this year) Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid!
I also LOVED The Prophets but can’t remember if I read that this year or last. I believe it racked up awards last year but I read early 2023.
And the winner, blindly selected using a random number generator, is Merideth! Congratulations!
Hi,
I've read a number of great books this year, but the one currently in my reader is The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson. This multi-POV, multi-timeline literary novel tells some hard truth about settling the United States, from the Native American voice. It is a beautiful and tragic story that needs to be shared. Hope you find time to check it out!