As a child, I was never without a book in my hands. My mom would buy boxes of books from yard sales. My favorite part of 5th grade was visiting the town library (Cragin Memorial in Colchester) to select books.

Once my children were born, reading time became non-existent, and I missed the time spent lost in a good book or learning something new. As the offspring got older, I did have more time but didn’t jump in the way I once did. That all changed when the job I started in 2016 came with a two hour daily commute. Audiobooks became my friend. And in 2019, I joined a book club. I’m now reading much more than ever before! My reading goal for 2022 was 35 books; by early summer, I knew I’d surpass that, and I finished the year with 53 books. I’m usually reading at least two a time. One goal this year is to finish some partially read books, and to work on my pile of purchased but unread books. The Japanese concept of Tsundoku really hits home.

Below are the books I read this year, sorted by genre and date finished. Most were good, some were great, and a few were totally forgettable. Those I’d especially recommend are noted with “*”; skip those with an “x”.

Genre tally:

• Fiction: 16
• Nonfiction: 8
• Fantasy: 2
• Mystery: 18
• Biography/Memoir: 7
• Essays: 2

Other comments:

• Favorite(s): “Midnight Library” by Matt Haig, “The Vanishing Half” by Brit Bennett, “Transcendent Kingdom” by Yaa Gyasi, and “The Sentence” by Louise Erdrich
• Popular book that I didn’t love: “The Maid” by Nita Prose
• New series: Louise Penny, Armand Gamache mysteries
• Book I thought I’d like but didn’t age well: “I feel bad about my neck” by Nora Ephron
• Book I learned the most from: “Secret History of Home Economics” by Danielle Dreilinger

I’m on GoodReads if you want to follow my 2023 reading journey!