My reading in 2023 was influenced by finishing library school in May and the Book Cougars podcast theme of reading Books about Books. Some of the highlights include Sunwise Turn: A Human Comedy of Bookselling (1923) by Madge Jenison which I read for a research project. That book led me to read Shakespeare and Company (1959) by Sylvia Beach, which led me to reading a novel I never ever thought I’d want to read: Ulysses (1922) by James Joyce.

For the Book Cougars year of reading Books About Books, I read Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morely, The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams, Hawthorne: A Life by Brenda Wineapple, The Scarlet Letter by Hawthorne, Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese, The Red Garden and The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman, and two novels by Pip Williams, The Dictionary of Lost Words and The Bookbinder.

Over on the Book Cougars podcast, Emily and I hosted BookTuber Russell Gray for our Forth Annual Top Ten Reads of the Year episode. We each shared ten of our favorite books read in 2023 (not necessarily published in 2023). You can listen to our Top Ten Reads episode on our website or wherever you get your podcasts.

Here are my Top Ten:

The first edition, published in 2016, was recommended reading for a History of the Book course. I enjoyed the book so much that didn’t hesitate to purchase the second edition when it was published this year. That’s not exactly true. The price gave me pause. As with many reference books, it is expensive ($129) but the second edition is greatly expanded and I know this will be a book I go back to again and again for years to come. If you want to learn more about the history of the book, this is for you. If the cost is prohibitive, you might consider recommending it for purchase at your local library if they don’t yet have a copy.

Wilma Rogers by Sophia Belzer Engstrand (The Dial Press, 1941. Fiction.)

I stumbled upon this one at the Institute Library in New Haven, CT while looking for a different book. The titular character, Wilma Rogers, is a recent library school graduate who has been working at an academic library in New York when she accepts the library director position in a small rural town in Illinois. Many of the issues that Wilma deals with, such as people who do not value the library, censorship, racism, rowdy teenagers, still plague us 80+ years later. The sexism, racism, and elitism are blatant and the library faces competition from the local drug store that rents books, but Wilma’s committed to providing quality books and information to all in her community never waivers.

Sidebar: I have been unable to find a copy to purchase or even a photo of the book jacket (if it had one). There were two copies for sale online, but for one after the other I received a refund from the seller saying the book was no longer available. No luck finding it in used bookstores either. Yet.

Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want by Ruha Benjamin (Princeton University Press, 2023. Nonfiction, Social Science.)

Viral Justice won the 2023 Stowe Prize for works of social justice. Benjamin explores how the small actions we take can combine to create larger change in our communities and the country. She uses examples from her own family and events in recent news to analyze the big picture and help break it down. Benjamin narrates the audio version, which I highly recommend, although at times I wanted a paper edition to underline, tab, or make notes in the margins.

Endpapers by Jennifer Savran Kelly (Algonquin Books, 2023. Fiction, Queer, Book Arts).

I LOVE this debut novel about a Jewish genderqueer book artist and conservator who is struggling with her creativity, identity, and relationships. Dawn Levit discovers a mysterious letter tucked into the binding of a book she is assigned to repair that sets her off on a quest of discovery. At times a painful read for those who have experienced what the characters are experiencing, it is ultimately a book of hope that shows the importance of having queer elders, no matter what your age.

Listen to an interview with the author on Book Cougars Episode 178.

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese (St. Martin’s Press, 2022. Historical Fiction).

I read Hester as part of the Book Cougars’ Scarlet Summer which was part of our year of reading Books About Books. Albanese creates a believable and exciting backstory to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. It is part love story and part historical fiction. She does not romanticize Hawthorne, but includes his dark sides, such as his womanizing and approval of slavery. I appreciated how Albanese weaves in issues of racism, classism, slavery, and the plight of single women/mothers during the time period. It also has one of the most beautiful covers of the year.

Listen to interview with the author on Book Cougars Episode 189.

The September House by Carissa Orlando (Berkley Books, 2023. Horror).

Margaret and her husband purchase the Victorian house of their dreams and the place turns out to be haunted. And not by Casper, but by ghosts that can touch the living (and serve them tea). Blood runs down the walls and the ghosts get progressively more aggressive at certain times of the year, but Margaret is not giving up her home. Eventually her daughter, whom she’s put off, arrives and things come to a head as they do in horror stories. Read my longer review here.

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (Penguin Books, 2008. Fiction/Historical Fiction).

I am very late to the party with this one! It was first published to wide acclaim in 2008. I was aware of the book and had thoughts of reading it, but it took me 16 years to get to it. Hannah Heath is an Australian book conservator who is on assignment to work on the Sarajevo Haggadah, a priceless book created in 15th century Spain. The evidence of use that Hannah finds as she assesses the book leads to backstories that show major events in the book’s life over the centuries. There is international intrigue, book arts, passion, betrayal — this is one of those books that has it all. I wanted to re-read it as soon as I read the last page.

How Can I Help You by Laura Sims (Putnam, 2023. Psychological thriller).

This book! I would have purchased it for the cover alone. It is short but packs a big punch. I usually avoid novels about serial killers, but one involving two librarians who become obsessed with one another? I had to check it out. It was such a joy to read. Dark, yes, but also humorous at times.

The two librarians are interesting characters and I found myself rooting for both of them at different times. Read my longer review here.

The Peabody Sisters: Three Women Who Ignited American Romanticism by Megan Marshall (Mariner Books, 2006. Collective Biography).

Another book that had been on my TBR list since it first came out. I have had a first edition hard copy on my shelf since it was published in 2006. I read a few paragraphs and pages over the years, but never got around to reading it straight through. Knowing I was a fan of Marshall’s work (her bio on Margaret Fuller won the Pulitzer), my book buddy Emily got me a signed copy of the paperback when she moderated an event with Marshall at the Newburyport Literary Festival last spring.

This joint biography of three sisters who developed ideas that nurtured and impacted the thinking of now famous men (who get the credit for such ideas) is also an intense window into the world of 19th century Boston and the forces that shaped post-revolutionary lives. It is not a quick read, but well-worth the effort. One of the best biographies I’ve read.

Emily Dickinson Face to Face by Martha Dickinson Bianchi (McNally Editions, 2023. Memoir).

This short memoir is a must-read for all Dickinson fans and those remotely interested in her life. Martha Dickinson Bianchi (1866-1943) was Dickinson’s niece, the daughter of her brother Austin and her beloved Sue. Dickinson babysat the kids while the rest of the family went to church. Shenanigans ensued. Martha’s family lived right next door to Dickinson, and she was close with her aunt beyond Sunday church hours.

Martha’s memories of her aunt reveal that Dickinson was anything but a fragile, timid, or lonely old spinster. Madrid’s foreward is informative, humorous, and heartfelt. Why this book didn’t make a bigger splash is a mystery to me.

This McNally Edition is a shorter version of the 1932 book published by The Riverside Press which was over 300 pages long. View it on the Internet Archive.

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As we mention on the podcast episode, the books on our lists were our Top Ten at that day and time. You know how it goes, books grow or shrink in your imagination over time. I think these ten will remain solid “best of” books for years to come.

Here are a few more honorable mentions:

• The Divine Comedy by Dante (particularly “The Purgatorio”)
• Chase of the Wild Goose: The Story of Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Sarah Ponsonby, Known as the Ladies of Llangollen by Mary Louisa Gordon
• Deer Season by Erin Flanagan
• Out of Character by Jenna Miller
• Speak for the Dead by Amy Tector
• The Wehr Wolf by Alma Katsu
• Freegift by James R. Benn

Overall it was an excellent reading year. What were some of your top reads last year? Feel free to leave your list or link.

*Some links are Book Cougars affiliate links to Bookshop.org or Libro.fm.