The Marriage Portrait was one of my favorite books of 2023! And I loved the ending! I’m so sad about Kim. Such a great lady. I want to re-read the Death of the Archbishop. I’m currently reading The Trees by Percival Everett and loving it.
Hello, Melinda! Your laugh is infectious. It's so exciting that you discovered Natalie Haynes last year. Stone Blind was among my top reads the year it came out. I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Aw thank you! You'll see this when I do my January book haul, but I may have purchased a bunch of Haynes's backlist. And she has a new book coming out this year!
Great list, Melinda. I also loved Marriage Portrait, though I loved Hamnet even more. I think I read Rules of Civility after I discovered Amor Towles through The Lincoln Highway. I’ve loved everything from him. And yes, James was one of my very top books this year as well. I think Twain’s novel got away from him. There was a huge gap in time between when he started the novel and when he returned to finish it, and I think he sort of lost control of the narrative he was trying to tell. While I do think Jim is the hero of Twain’s book, his character is not at all developed as a fully human one. Everett, as he has said himself, has written the novel that Twain never could have written in his time and place. JAMES is a brilliant novel. I hope it is taught in schools eventually, though Everett has said he fully expects it to be banned in schools, just as Huck Finn often is as well. Really great list, Melinda, and thought-provoking discussion.
Loved your top ten. My favorite books of the year--just the top two were The Door by Magda Szabo and The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch. Both were incredible reads. The Sea, the Sea is also a great audio done by Simon Vance. I used both the print and the audio to enjoy this book. Also loved The Safekeep. Currently I'm reading Say Nothing by Patrick Raddan Keefe and it is excellent non-fiction. I loved James as well but it was not in my top ten. Plan to read Everett's Trees next as I've heard that is excellent as well. Looking forward to your non-fiction list. Happy New Year.
I really liked The Marriage Portrait, too. I plan to reread Hamnet this year. I know I read and enjoyed Rules of Civility but now I don’t remember it well. It’s one of my favorite book covers. James now and forever! Huck Finn does indeed have a mushy middle. Glorious Exploits is still on my TBR. Great list!
I'm definitely going to re-read Hamnet...sometime! I think I'm going to pair it with Hamlet when we get to it. I know it isn't that closely related, but it's a good excuse!
I'm reading Table for Two right now - I'm not as experienced with short stories as you are, but I'm enjoying it so far. It's nice to dip in and out so easily.
I need to move Table for Two down to my immediate TBR! I was giving it some space after reading Rules of Civility...but space has been given and now it is time!
I really enjoy these videos every year as it always gives me several recommendations. Since you asked, here are my top 10 fiction books of the year. I also have a nonfiction list, but I'll save that for the nonfiction video. 1. I Hope This Finds You Well --Natalie Sue 2. The Frozen River --Ariel Lawhon 3. Beartown --Fredrik Backman 4. Wellness --Nathan Hill 5. The Great Divide --Cristina Henriquez 6.The Covenant of Water --Abraham Verghese 7. The Invisible Hour --Alice Hoffman 8. Hello Beautiful --Ann Napolitano 9.The Glassmaker --Tracey Chevalier 10. The Queen of Dirt Island --Donal Ryan
I'm reading (listening) James now. Can't stop. I just found you and haven't gone back to read past posts but I'd like to recommend West with Giraffes. Audio version. It's one of my all-time favorites. Thanks for the reviews.
These are my favorite videos every year. This is a fantastic list! I am putting A Thousand Ships and Red Rabbit on my TBR right now. I just finished Rules of Civility this week! "what was your top book of the year and why was it James" 😂 Too true!
Re: Steinbeck, do yourself a favor and read Cannery Row. It takes place somewhere in California's Central Coast (my favorite part of California), so just down the coast from you, and the characters are unforgettable. Man I love that book, and it is also quite short.
I will definitely read Cannery Row, hopefully this year. I've loved everything by Steinbeck that I've read and I think I have Cannery Row on my Kobo. I may save it for Shorty September.
Very interesting list! I can see how getting to Marriage Portrait late (and with lowered expectations) would be a big help. I’m hoping to read my first Amor Towles very soon. I’ve only read Cather’s My Antonia and it is so good. I can’t wait to read more by her.
My recommendation for your next Cather would probably be Death Comes for the Archbishop, only because I love it so much. I did read O Pioneers last year and I liked it, but it is definitely a distant third behind Death Comes for the Archbishop and My Antonia. I'm planning to read The Song of the Lark in April.
@@awebofstories I need to read One of Ours at some point for my Pulitzer Project, but I'm much more excited to get to Death Comes for the Archbishop and O Pioneers. I liked My Anotnia enough that I feel like I want to be something of a completist about her work.
Rules of Civility is my favorite Towles book too. I also loved Glorious Exploits and I've been surprised that it hasn't been read by more people. Agree Its well worth picking up. Warm wishes for 2025.
This is such a great list! I’ve been meaning to check out Amor Towles-glad to hear you enjoyed Rules of Civility. My top book of the year was Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin! 🌟
I think any of Towles books would be good ones to start with (except Table for Two, only because I think you need to read Rules of Civility first). He's so great!
Thanks so much for these great tips! From what your favourites are, I think you might also like "Boy's Life" by Robert McCammon. And "Ordinary Grace" by William Kent Krueger. 🙂
Ordinary Grace is one of my favorite books (I'm a WKK stan!). I've heard good things about "Boy's Life," but have yet to read, but I'll add it to the list!
@@awebofstories Perfect - so we agree about Ordinary Grace. I haven't read any other of his books, but I will! 🙂 Let me know when you've read Boy's Life and what you thought about it. Have fun!
Oof I really hated The Pearl when I read it in high school. I remember talking about it as the longest short book I'd ever read. I've also read 3 Steinbecks, all around that time. Of Mice and Men was ok, and East of Eden was brilliant. I wonder if re-reading The Pearl now would hit differently. I have Glorious Exploits and Rules of Civility on my TBR, glad you enjoyed these.
East of Eden is so wonderful! I don't know...maybe The Pearl would hit differently now? I'm not sure if I would have liked it as much if I had read it when I was a teenager.
Happy New Year !!! I have never read Huckleberry Finn, and have been torn over reading James.... you make a great argument to read James first. Oh Amor Towles, I've wanted to love him but after DNF'ing Gentleman in Moscow I've been afraid to pick up anything else. I do want to try Rule of Civility at some point. I think my # 1 read for 2024 was "The Cure For Drowning" by Canadian Author Loghan Paylor.
I always enjoy Maggie O'Farrell's novels, but I haven't read The Marriage Portrait yet. Interesting that a horror novel made your top 10 - I don't heard you talk much about horror. Must have been a great book! I love Steinbeck but haven't read The Pearl yet. And I also love Towles but haven't yet read Rules of Civility. Hey, I only recently learned that Syracuse was on Sicily, too! I grew up in western NY, so that's the Syracuse I know about! ha ha Ooh, another Brian Doyle! I'm adding both The Plover and Mink River to my TBR list :) And I don't have any on my shelves yet, but I really need to read Willa Cather! And James is, of course, on my list! You're right - I've seen so many people say it was their #1 in 2024. I'm impressed you ranked your top 10 - I had enough trouble narrowing it down to 10!
Oh, you really must read (in this order) Mink River and The Plover! I have taken Chicago off my main TBR shelf and put it on my priority TBR shelf thanks to you!
I still haven't read 'Hamnet' as I bought it just before the pandemic and then didn't want to read it! I have issues with the end of 'The Marriage Portrait' I could see the twist and didn't like that resolution. I recommend 'The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, and 'This Must be the Place' my favourite O'Farrell books. My favourite book of the year is 'Glorious Exploits' loved it! Amor Towles my favourite modern writer. 'A Thousand Ships' is brilliant.
Great list! I need to get to A thousand ships. I loved the mix of things in Stone Blind. Still haven’t read James, so that’s why it’s not my favorite 😊 But I will get to it soon. And I keep hearing great things about Glorious exploits, it hasn’t intrigued me enough yet, but I’m getting increasingly curious. My top 10 is coming Sunday I think!
Im glad to hear you don't have to read huck finn to read james, ive been putting it off to read huck finn first, (not made to read it in school being in the UK but oddly enough thr GCSE texts for my year, both American classics, to kill a mocking bird and of mice and men, we dis to kill a mockingbird) Favourite fiction if the year is minor details by Adania Shibli , it is very short, very impactful and nothing has knocked it off since i read it in spring. GSCE are the qualification you do at 15/16 before leaving school/mantarory part of your education, after then it was advised but not mandatory.
The Marriage Portrait was one of my favorite books of 2023! And I loved the ending! I’m so sad about Kim. Such a great lady. I want to re-read the Death of the Archbishop. I’m currently reading The Trees by Percival Everett and loving it.
Hello, Melinda! Your laugh is infectious. It's so exciting that you discovered Natalie Haynes last year. Stone Blind was among my top reads the year it came out. I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Aw thank you! You'll see this when I do my January book haul, but I may have purchased a bunch of Haynes's backlist. And she has a new book coming out this year!
@ Oh my gosh, how have I not heard about her new book?! Thanks so much for telling me. I’m about to go look that up right now
📙👀
Great list, Melinda. I also loved Marriage Portrait, though I loved Hamnet even more. I think I read Rules of Civility after I discovered Amor Towles through The Lincoln Highway. I’ve loved everything from him. And yes, James was one of my very top books this year as well. I think Twain’s novel got away from him. There was a huge gap in time between when he started the novel and when he returned to finish it, and I think he sort of lost control of the narrative he was trying to tell. While I do think Jim is the hero of Twain’s book, his character is not at all developed as a fully human one. Everett, as he has said himself, has written the novel that Twain never could have written in his time and place. JAMES is a brilliant novel. I hope it is taught in schools eventually, though Everett has said he fully expects it to be banned in schools, just as Huck Finn often is as well. Really great list, Melinda, and thought-provoking discussion.
Glorious Exploits sounds amazing, definitely on my 2024 releases to get to, sounds quite timely as well.
I've read Huckleberry Finn multiple times and love it. Looking forward to reading James this year.
Loved your top ten. My favorite books of the year--just the top two were The Door by Magda Szabo and The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch. Both were incredible reads. The Sea, the Sea is also a great audio done by Simon Vance. I used both the print and the audio to enjoy this book. Also loved The Safekeep. Currently I'm reading Say Nothing by Patrick Raddan Keefe and it is excellent non-fiction. I loved James as well but it was not in my top ten. Plan to read Everett's Trees next as I've heard that is excellent as well. Looking forward to your non-fiction list. Happy New Year.
No mushy middle! Very true.
Great list. I can’t believe I haven’t read any Maggie O’Farrell yet. Rules of Civility is on my TBR. I’m waiting for paperback of your number 1. 😊💙
I really liked The Marriage Portrait, too. I plan to reread Hamnet this year. I know I read and enjoyed Rules of Civility but now I don’t remember it well. It’s one of my favorite book covers. James now and forever! Huck Finn does indeed have a mushy middle. Glorious Exploits is still on my TBR. Great list!
I'm definitely going to re-read Hamnet...sometime! I think I'm going to pair it with Hamlet when we get to it. I know it isn't that closely related, but it's a good excuse!
I'm reading Table for Two right now - I'm not as experienced with short stories as you are, but I'm enjoying it so far. It's nice to dip in and out so easily.
I need to move Table for Two down to my immediate TBR! I was giving it some space after reading Rules of Civility...but space has been given and now it is time!
I reread Death Comes for the Archbishop last year and it’s so beautiful. Cather is a favorite.
I really enjoy these videos every year as it always gives me several recommendations. Since you asked, here are my top 10 fiction books of the year. I also have a nonfiction list, but I'll save that for the nonfiction video.
1. I Hope This Finds You Well --Natalie Sue
2. The Frozen River --Ariel Lawhon
3. Beartown --Fredrik Backman
4. Wellness --Nathan Hill
5. The Great Divide --Cristina Henriquez
6.The Covenant of Water --Abraham Verghese
7. The Invisible Hour --Alice Hoffman
8. Hello Beautiful --Ann Napolitano
9.The Glassmaker --Tracey Chevalier
10. The Queen of Dirt Island --Donal Ryan
Oooh, great list! I am determined to finally get to Beartown this year!
I'm reading (listening) James now. Can't stop. I just found you and haven't gone back to read past posts but I'd like to recommend West with Giraffes. Audio version. It's one of my all-time favorites. Thanks for the reviews.
I think you are the second person to recommend West with Giraffes. I'm going to add it to my TBR now!
Great wrap up! Thanks for sharing!
These are my favorite videos every year. This is a fantastic list! I am putting A Thousand Ships and Red Rabbit on my TBR right now. I just finished Rules of Civility this week! "what was your top book of the year and why was it James" 😂 Too true!
I've heard that A Thousand Ships is great on audio--I read it, but based on the audio of Stone Blind, I may go back and do an audio re-read!
Re: Steinbeck, do yourself a favor and read Cannery Row. It takes place somewhere in California's Central Coast (my favorite part of California), so just down the coast from you, and the characters are unforgettable. Man I love that book, and it is also quite short.
I will definitely read Cannery Row, hopefully this year. I've loved everything by Steinbeck that I've read and I think I have Cannery Row on my Kobo. I may save it for Shorty September.
Very interesting list! I can see how getting to Marriage Portrait late (and with lowered expectations) would be a big help. I’m hoping to read my first Amor Towles very soon. I’ve only read Cather’s My Antonia and it is so good. I can’t wait to read more by her.
My recommendation for your next Cather would probably be Death Comes for the Archbishop, only because I love it so much. I did read O Pioneers last year and I liked it, but it is definitely a distant third behind Death Comes for the Archbishop and My Antonia. I'm planning to read The Song of the Lark in April.
@@awebofstories I need to read One of Ours at some point for my Pulitzer Project, but I'm much more excited to get to Death Comes for the Archbishop and O Pioneers. I liked My Anotnia enough that I feel like I want to be something of a completist about her work.
Red Rabbit is on kindle unlimited! I'm downloading!
Thanks for the reviews!
Rules of Civility is my favorite Towles book too. I also loved Glorious Exploits and I've been surprised that it hasn't been read by more people. Agree Its well worth picking up. Warm wishes for 2025.
Happy New Year, Sarah!
This is such a great list! I’ve been meaning to check out Amor Towles-glad to hear you enjoyed Rules of Civility. My top book of the year was Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin! 🌟
towles is one of my favorite authors. if you like him read paul auster too.
@ ooo good to know 👀✍️ adding him to my list, thank you!
I think any of Towles books would be good ones to start with (except Table for Two, only because I think you need to read Rules of Civility first). He's so great!
Thanks so much for these great tips! From what your favourites are, I think you might also like "Boy's Life" by Robert McCammon. And "Ordinary Grace" by William Kent Krueger. 🙂
Ordinary Grace is one of my favorite books (I'm a WKK stan!). I've heard good things about "Boy's Life," but have yet to read, but I'll add it to the list!
@@awebofstories Perfect - so we agree about Ordinary Grace. I haven't read any other of his books, but I will! 🙂 Let me know when you've read Boy's Life and what you thought about it. Have fun!
Oof I really hated The Pearl when I read it in high school. I remember talking about it as the longest short book I'd ever read. I've also read 3 Steinbecks, all around that time. Of Mice and Men was ok, and East of Eden was brilliant. I wonder if re-reading The Pearl now would hit differently. I have Glorious Exploits and Rules of Civility on my TBR, glad you enjoyed these.
East of Eden is so wonderful! I don't know...maybe The Pearl would hit differently now? I'm not sure if I would have liked it as much if I had read it when I was a teenager.
@awebofstories I've put travels woth Charley on my list per your previous recommendation. Assuming that goes well, will give The Pearl another try!
Happy New Year !!! I have never read Huckleberry Finn, and have been torn over reading James.... you make a great argument to read James first. Oh Amor Towles, I've wanted to love him but after DNF'ing Gentleman in Moscow I've been afraid to pick up anything else. I do want to try Rule of Civility at some point. I think my # 1 read for 2024 was "The Cure For Drowning" by Canadian Author Loghan Paylor.
I always enjoy Maggie O'Farrell's novels, but I haven't read The Marriage Portrait yet. Interesting that a horror novel made your top 10 - I don't heard you talk much about horror. Must have been a great book! I love Steinbeck but haven't read The Pearl yet. And I also love Towles but haven't yet read Rules of Civility. Hey, I only recently learned that Syracuse was on Sicily, too! I grew up in western NY, so that's the Syracuse I know about! ha ha Ooh, another Brian Doyle! I'm adding both The Plover and Mink River to my TBR list :) And I don't have any on my shelves yet, but I really need to read Willa Cather! And James is, of course, on my list! You're right - I've seen so many people say it was their #1 in 2024. I'm impressed you ranked your top 10 - I had enough trouble narrowing it down to 10!
Oh, you really must read (in this order) Mink River and The Plover! I have taken Chicago off my main TBR shelf and put it on my priority TBR shelf thanks to you!
I've put Red Rabbit on my TBR. Yay for Rules of Civility, which is my favorite Towles (although I haven't read the new story collection).
I need to get to Table for Two. The TIME HAS COME!
I still haven't read 'Hamnet' as I bought it just before the pandemic and then didn't want to read it! I have issues with the end of 'The Marriage Portrait' I could see the twist and didn't like that resolution. I recommend 'The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, and 'This Must be the Place' my favourite O'Farrell books. My favourite book of the year is 'Glorious Exploits' loved it! Amor Towles my favourite modern writer. 'A Thousand Ships' is brilliant.
Rules of Civility is my favorite of Towles's novels. Actually, it's favorite of mine in general.
Great top 10 - The Plover is on my TBR. I read both The Marriage Portrait and James but Tom Lake has just stuck with me as my top pick of the year.
If I had done this in 2023 (I think?) Tom Lake would definitely have been on my list. Great book!
Great list! I need to get to A thousand ships. I loved the mix of things in Stone Blind. Still haven’t read James, so that’s why it’s not my favorite 😊 But I will get to it soon. And I keep hearing great things about Glorious exploits, it hasn’t intrigued me enough yet, but I’m getting increasingly curious. My top 10 is coming Sunday I think!
Ooh, can't wait to see what your top 10 is!
Glorious exploits!!!❤
I’ve never read Steinbeck, or even heard of _The Pearl_ before. East of Eden will likely be my first, if I get there. I’m very open to _James_ now.
East of Eden is absolutely WONDERFUL! I loved it. If you are interested in The Grapes of Wrath, I'm doing it for my Classics Catch Up this summer!
Im glad to hear you don't have to read huck finn to read james, ive been putting it off to read huck finn first, (not made to read it in school being in the UK but oddly enough thr GCSE texts for my year, both American classics, to kill a mocking bird and of mice and men, we dis to kill a mockingbird)
Favourite fiction if the year is minor details by Adania Shibli , it is very short, very impactful and nothing has knocked it off since i read it in spring.
GSCE are the qualification you do at 15/16 before leaving school/mantarory part of your education, after then it was advised but not mandatory.
I’ve been putting off James because I’ve not read Huck Finn and I’ve felt like I should read it first, but you might be turning me around on that 😂
I never read Huck Finn and James was one of my favorite books of the year. Forget about Huck and read James - so good!
Read The Marriage Portrait gave it 4 stars.