Mine where "Our Wives Under the Sea" by Julia Armfield and "Swimmers" by Julie Otsuka. I loved them both and as different as they are from each other I just cant choose over the other!
I had an amazing reading year and out of 118 books I had a top 12 1.Maps of our spectacular bodies-Maddie Mortimer 2.Soldier, sailor-Claire Kilroy 3.Song of Achilles-Madeline Miller 4.Creatures of passage-Morowa Yejidie 5.Demon Copperhead-Barbara Kingsolver 6.Prophet Song-Paul Lynch 7.Ghost story- Peter Straub 8.The trees-Percival Everett 9.My year of rest and relaxation-Otessa Moshfegh 10.A brief history of seven killings-Marlon James 11.Bandit Queens-Parini Schroff 12.Glory-NoViolet Bulawayo Quite a few I read because of you, so thanx haha
My top three books of 2023 were Chlorine by Jade Song (sorry😂), Honeybees and Distant Thunder by Riku Onda and The Will of the Many by James Islington. All three will be going onto my favourites of all time list. ❤ Chrysalis, Playing Games and Prophet Song are all high on my TBR. Thank you for your recommendations, Jen!
Books that stayed with me the most were Creatures of Passage, I who have never known men, Kindred, Night Waking and Animal Farm (which was a first time read for me). I also read some memorable non fiction, Alice Millers For your own good and Susan Forwards Toxic Parents. No easy reads but very insightful.
Hi Jen, I eagerly wait for your favourites video. ❤ So many great titles here. I'm particularly intrigued by Chrysalis, The Centre, and The Hierarchies. Would certainly be picking these up. My favourite fiction in 2023 was Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro (recommended by you, of course). And my favourite non-fiction was Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed.
Only two books on your list overlap with mine All The Little Bird Hearts Prophets Song So others on my best of 2023 are The Road to Dalton by Shannon Bowing ( debut) Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur We Are Called to Rise by Laura McBride The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright The Bee Sting by Paul Murray Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton Close to Home by Michael Magee ( debut) Crow Lake by Mary Lawson Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark All That’s Left Unsaid by Tracey Chein The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue The New Life by Tom Crewe My number one book was Deluge by Stephen Markley 🍀👋☘️☕️📖📚📕🇮🇪
So interesting to hear that Claudia Pineiro’s summer release is related to All Yours! I’m even more excited that my copy of All Yours is on the way across the pond so I can be ready to read the new one this summer! My fiction top 10 for 2023: A Little Luck - Claudia Pineiro Clytemnestra - Costanza Casati Address Unknown - Kathrine Kressmann Taylor Black Butterflies - Priscilla Morris Wandering Souls - Cecile Pin The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels - Janice Hallett Trespasses - Louise Kennedy Grave Expectations - Alice Bell None of This is True - Lisa Jewell A Murder in the Family - Cara Hunter
just to let you know I find it really helpful that you list the books in the description. Also this reminded me of your review of Is Mother Dead? which made me very keen to read Vigdis Hjorth. I've only read Will and Testament so far, bought because the cover is one of my favourite paintings. I absolutely loved it and look forward to Is Mother Dead? next. I started following your channel in 2023 and have a very long and exciting reading list as a result. Thank you.
A standout for me for 2023 was The Long Form by Kate Briggs - set over a single day a young woman looks after her 6 week old baby. Exploring narrative and time and the novel form - so interesting! I read it 39wks pregnant and now as the parent of a 4wks old I'm still thinking about it.
I think some of my favourites this year were actually ones that I picked from your best books of 2022 - Elena Knows and Our Wives Under the Sea. I also loved Prophet Song, so glad it won, and All the Little Bird-Hearts was my second favourite on the long list. I'll definitely be heading to Is Mother Dead and The Employees this year, and the Danielle Pender is still sitting on my shelf unread!
Firstly, I love your channel, thank you. Secondly! I finished Prophet Song just before Christmas and it gutted me. It was so beautiful, yet so upsetting. i keep thinking about it...
Thank you for this list Jen, I´ve been following you for a while now, and I have to say, your recommendations never disappoint. I really enjoy the way you explain and review books and also your passion for literature. I think you're brilliant! A hug from Costa Rica!
I've only read two of these (the subtweet and all the little bird hearts) but I really enjoyed them both. I'm most excited to read ordinary wonder tales and playing games but you've convinced me to add loads of them to my tbr 👍
Some great recommendations. I want to read The Hierarchies and Diaries of a Void. My favourite book this year was Elena Knows which you recommended previously. Thanks for your weekly videos, I always look forward to it
You said the magic words "Muriel Spark", I'll be getting All Yours asap 😂 loved Idol, Burning. It's a world I've never known, so it was fascinating. The Last Devil to Die was my top read of the year, as very invested in the characters. Wandering Souls, Remarkably Bright Creatures, So late in the day, Birnam Wood, How high we go in the dark (joint first), Dice, Yellowface, Eileen, and Our wives under the sea.
Ooo so many great sounding books here, some that I hadn't heard of before. Particularly interested in How Kyoto Breaks Your Heart. I also read Watching Women and Girls and loved it, interested to see more from the author!
Yay!!! My absolute favourite video of the year!!! I find so many new favourites through your recommendations so thank you:) I am so happy to see All the Little Bird Hearts on this list. It was also a favourite of mine this year, I had a full on ugly cry at the ending. Also happy to see Prophet Song as your number 1 because I just picked it up so now I'm excited to crack into it next. I hope you had a wonderful and relaxing holiday season:)
My top 3 for 2023: Leave the world behind, Piranesi and Anima, by Wajdi Mouawad, a book I think you would like. Looking at my copy of Prophet song from my desk and now more eager to get to it. Thanks for this list, Jen, I got several titles to add to my wish list.
You inspire me to read Prophet song, Is mother dead and The center! My three favourite books of 2023 were The Neapoletan Quartet by Elena Ferrante, Titus Groan by Mervin Peake and Home by Marilynne Robinson Love your channel, I hope your pregnancy is going well and baby is behaving 😊!
The Hierarchies sounds so intriguing and terrifying. Watching Women & Girls is going straight on my tbr - obsessed with the gaze in my current PhD research. I also keep meaning to pick up a Vivek Shraya book!
I really liked children of paradise, even though I didn't expect to do so!! I've added playing games to my wishlist. My top 3 were a place for us (thanks to you and I'm sooo glad I read it!), bridge of clay by Markus Zusak and in memoriam by Alice Winn.
Oooh yes, Prophet Song gave me a tummy ache, I really tensed up! Adored Diary of a Void. The Break by Katherena Vermette and Prima Facie by Susie Miller are right up there for me.
Such a great book review of your favourites Jen. I'm not sure where you get your books from but aside from The Midwich Cuckoo's and I'm a Fan my library does not stock any of them, they are not even available in the county!
That's very weird! I don't think any of these apart from The Subtweet are hard to get hold of in the UK, so I'm sorry your library can't get hold of them. Are you able to request for them to buy them in? You can do that at my local library. x
Read the hierarchies on your recommendation and I thought it explored a lot of aspects of robotic/AI women that I hadn’t thought of in a very calm and interesting way while still keeping me gripped to know where we would go next.
This year I loved Penance by Eliza Clark and Speak of the Devil by Rose Wilding (a fabulous feminist crime novel set in Newcastle on New Year’s Eve 1999 - so good)! Very excited for the new Claudia Piñeiro, as I picked her up last year after you recommended All Yours and Elena Knows (and loved both) x
I’m like 75% of the way through chrysalis right now and it’s so weird and unsettling. I don’t know what to make of the main character but I’m enjoying it.
My FAVOURITE book of the year by far was Monstrilio ❤ Followed by: Birnam Wood The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida All The Sinners Bleed I’m Glad My Mom Died
@@jenvcampbell That's too bad. I recommended ORDNARY WONDER TALES to Amanda Leduc. I ordered WATCHING WOMEN AND GIRLS- sounds fascinating. I'm loving PET and I thought it was you who recommended it, but I was wrong. Thanks anyway.
Thanks for watching, everyone! What were your favourite books of 2023? x
Mine where "Our Wives Under the Sea" by Julia Armfield and "Swimmers" by Julie Otsuka. I loved them both and as different as they are from each other I just cant choose over the other!
Just took five million screenshots! So many books to dive into!!
Watching this made me realize how many of your recommendation I read through the year (it’s a lot). So thank you.
I had an amazing reading year and out of 118 books I had a top 12
1.Maps of our spectacular bodies-Maddie Mortimer
2.Soldier, sailor-Claire Kilroy
3.Song of Achilles-Madeline Miller
4.Creatures of passage-Morowa Yejidie
5.Demon Copperhead-Barbara Kingsolver
6.Prophet Song-Paul Lynch
7.Ghost story- Peter Straub
8.The trees-Percival Everett
9.My year of rest and relaxation-Otessa Moshfegh
10.A brief history of seven killings-Marlon James
11.Bandit Queens-Parini Schroff
12.Glory-NoViolet Bulawayo
Quite a few I read because of you, so thanx haha
That description of All the Little Bird-Hearts is perfection. My heart still hasn’t recovered since I first listened to it. 😭❤️
My top three books of 2023 were Chlorine by Jade Song (sorry😂), Honeybees and Distant Thunder by Riku Onda and The Will of the Many by James Islington. All three will be going onto my favourites of all time list. ❤ Chrysalis, Playing Games and Prophet Song are all high on my TBR. Thank you for your recommendations, Jen!
Thank you for talking about Ms. Ice Sandwich. Loved Convenience Store Woman so looking forward to reading this.
I hope you enjoy it x
My favourite books of 2023 were Owlish and also Please Do Not Touch This Exhibit
❤
Books that stayed with me the most were Creatures of Passage, I who have never known men, Kindred, Night Waking and Animal Farm (which was a first time read for me). I also read some memorable non fiction, Alice Millers For your own good and Susan Forwards Toxic Parents. No easy reads but very insightful.
My favourite video of the year ❤
Hi Jen, I eagerly wait for your favourites video. ❤ So many great titles here. I'm particularly intrigued by Chrysalis, The Centre, and The Hierarchies. Would certainly be picking these up.
My favourite fiction in 2023 was Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro (recommended by you, of course). And my favourite non-fiction was Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed.
Only two books on your list overlap with mine
All The Little Bird Hearts
Prophets Song
So others on my best of 2023 are
The Road to Dalton by Shannon Bowing ( debut)
Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur
We Are Called to Rise by Laura McBride
The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
Close to Home by Michael Magee ( debut)
Crow Lake by Mary Lawson
Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark
All That’s Left Unsaid by Tracey Chein
The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue
The New Life by Tom Crewe
My number one book was
Deluge by Stephen Markley
🍀👋☘️☕️📖📚📕🇮🇪
So interesting to hear that Claudia Pineiro’s summer release is related to All Yours! I’m even more excited that my copy of All Yours is on the way across the pond so I can be ready to read the new one this summer!
My fiction top 10 for 2023:
A Little Luck - Claudia Pineiro
Clytemnestra - Costanza Casati
Address Unknown - Kathrine Kressmann Taylor
Black Butterflies - Priscilla Morris
Wandering Souls - Cecile Pin
The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels - Janice Hallett
Trespasses - Louise Kennedy
Grave Expectations - Alice Bell
None of This is True - Lisa Jewell
A Murder in the Family - Cara Hunter
I loved Chrysalis! Thank you so much for the recommendation ❤
just to let you know I find it really helpful that you list the books in the description. Also this reminded me of your review of Is Mother Dead? which made me very keen to read Vigdis Hjorth. I've only read Will and Testament so far, bought because the cover is one of my favourite paintings. I absolutely loved it and look forward to Is Mother Dead? next. I started following your channel in 2023 and have a very long and exciting reading list as a result. Thank you.
I read Ms Ice Sandwich after you recommended in your gift guide video comments and I really loved it! Thank you Jen.
Hurray! x
A standout for me for 2023 was The Long Form by Kate Briggs - set over a single day a young woman looks after her 6 week old baby. Exploring narrative and time and the novel form - so interesting! I read it 39wks pregnant and now as the parent of a 4wks old I'm still thinking about it.
Great list. I love hearing you talk about books.
My favs of the year were probably Diary of a Void or Book of Goose or Is Mother Dead.
I think some of my favourites this year were actually ones that I picked from your best books of 2022 - Elena Knows and Our Wives Under the Sea. I also loved Prophet Song, so glad it won, and All the Little Bird-Hearts was my second favourite on the long list.
I'll definitely be heading to Is Mother Dead and The Employees this year, and the Danielle Pender is still sitting on my shelf unread!
Firstly, I love your channel, thank you. Secondly! I finished Prophet Song just before Christmas and it gutted me. It was so beautiful, yet so upsetting. i keep thinking about it...
Thank you for this list Jen, I´ve been following you for a while now, and I have to say, your recommendations never disappoint. I really enjoy the way you explain and review books and also your passion for literature. I think you're brilliant! A hug from Costa Rica!
I've only read two of these (the subtweet and all the little bird hearts) but I really enjoyed them both. I'm most excited to read ordinary wonder tales and playing games but you've convinced me to add loads of them to my tbr 👍
Some great recommendations. I want to read The Hierarchies and Diaries of a Void. My favourite book this year was Elena Knows which you recommended previously. Thanks for your weekly videos, I always look forward to it
Thanks for sharing Jen - love the mix and happy to see I’m A Fan make the cut! 🎉
You said the magic words "Muriel Spark", I'll be getting All Yours asap 😂 loved Idol, Burning. It's a world I've never known, so it was fascinating. The Last Devil to Die was my top read of the year, as very invested in the characters. Wandering Souls, Remarkably Bright Creatures, So late in the day, Birnam Wood, How high we go in the dark (joint first), Dice, Yellowface, Eileen, and Our wives under the sea.
I loved Prophet Song. I’m a fan and Diary of a void are on my tbr.
Ooo so many great sounding books here, some that I hadn't heard of before. Particularly interested in How Kyoto Breaks Your Heart. I also read Watching Women and Girls and loved it, interested to see more from the author!
Yes, me too, excited to see what she does next. x
Thank you for this review. Very helpful
Yay!!! My absolute favourite video of the year!!! I find so many new favourites through your recommendations so thank you:) I am so happy to see All the Little Bird Hearts on this list. It was also a favourite of mine this year, I had a full on ugly cry at the ending. Also happy to see Prophet Song as your number 1 because I just picked it up so now I'm excited to crack into it next.
I hope you had a wonderful and relaxing holiday season:)
My top 3 for 2023: Leave the world behind, Piranesi and Anima, by Wajdi Mouawad, a book I think you would like. Looking at my copy of Prophet song from my desk and now more eager to get to it. Thanks for this list, Jen, I got several titles to add to my wish list.
the way after hearing “if you want your heart to be smashed into tiny pieces” the book immediately landed on my tbr… 😂🙈
You inspire me to read Prophet song, Is mother dead and The center!
My three favourite books of 2023 were
The Neapoletan Quartet by Elena Ferrante,
Titus Groan by Mervin Peake and Home by Marilynne Robinson
Love your channel, I hope your pregnancy is going well and baby is behaving 😊!
The Ear Canal by Simone Verity was the best book this year. It has a bizarre shell structure where metaphor goes inside into itself.
The coils are sick.
The Hierarchies sounds so intriguing and terrifying. Watching Women & Girls is going straight on my tbr - obsessed with the gaze in my current PhD research. I also keep meaning to pick up a Vivek Shraya book!
❤️☺️
I really liked children of paradise, even though I didn't expect to do so!! I've added playing games to my wishlist.
My top 3 were a place for us (thanks to you and I'm sooo glad I read it!), bridge of clay by Markus Zusak and in memoriam by Alice Winn.
Oooh yes, Prophet Song gave me a tummy ache, I really tensed up! Adored Diary of a Void. The Break by Katherena Vermette and Prima Facie by Susie Miller are right up there for me.
Such a great book review of your favourites Jen. I'm not sure where you get your books from but aside from The Midwich Cuckoo's and I'm a Fan my library does not stock any of them, they are not even available in the county!
That's very weird! I don't think any of these apart from The Subtweet are hard to get hold of in the UK, so I'm sorry your library can't get hold of them. Are you able to request for them to buy them in? You can do that at my local library. x
Read the hierarchies on your recommendation and I thought it explored a lot of aspects of robotic/AI women that I hadn’t thought of in a very calm and interesting way while still keeping me gripped to know where we would go next.
Hi Jan such a good list. Just finished NFrench's The Favour. Good.
My top reads for 2023 were…
Parable of the Sower
These Precious Days
The Broken Earth Trilogy 🙏
Eileen
!!!
This year I loved Penance by Eliza Clark and Speak of the Devil by Rose Wilding (a fabulous feminist crime novel set in Newcastle on New Year’s Eve 1999 - so good)! Very excited for the new Claudia Piñeiro, as I picked her up last year after you recommended All Yours and Elena Knows (and loved both) x
I’m like 75% of the way through chrysalis right now and it’s so weird and unsettling. I don’t know what to make of the main character but I’m enjoying it.
it doesn't really let you find your footing, does it? In a good way! x
my top favourites were the Neapolitan quartet, The List by Yomi Adegoke, and The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
amazing! definitely going to check out some of the titles. one of my favourite books of the year was Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez
Thanks for sharing ☺️
Idol burning sounds so interesting!
Let me know if you enjoy it if you decide to pick it up x
My FAVOURITE book of the year by far was Monstrilio ❤
Followed by:
Birnam Wood
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida
All The Sinners Bleed
I’m Glad My Mom Died
The Centre was my #1 of 2023 🎉
Excellent book! x
My favourite audiobook that I listened to in 2023 was The Wonder by Emma Donoghue
I discovered Mieko Kawakami's books at the very end of 2023, and I'm so excited to read her entire backlist!
It's actually the only one of hers that I've enjoyed; I hope you have a better success rate! x
Have you read Chouette? I feel like you would love this one
I have and I didn’t, sadly. m.th-cam.com/video/KyvtM2wZilY/w-d-xo.html
❤📚📚❤️
YAAAAY (12 seconds in) 🤣
have cookies and coffee with you every sunday
🙂 x
Can you please review SOLARIS by Stanisław Lem, if you've never done it? Thank you.
I haven’t read it, and it’s not on my TBR x
@@jenvcampbell That's too bad. I recommended ORDNARY WONDER TALES to Amanda Leduc. I ordered WATCHING WOMEN AND GIRLS- sounds fascinating. I'm loving PET and I thought it was you who recommended it, but I was wrong. Thanks anyway.
🖤💚
❤️
300 books!!! I read 24 hahaha
Always worth remembering that books are my job. x