One of my favorite reads of the year that I've been recommending all over the place was The Inquisitor's Tale: Or Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog by Adam Gidwitz. Wonderful YA novel about faith, friendship, and how you know who to trust. If you can tolerate a few artistic liberties with the story of Joan of Arc I think you and your kids would all love this one. Other favorites included The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill (the Newbery committee got it RIGHT with this one and I think you'd love it too) No One Will Tell You This But Me by Bess Kalb (top notch audio book, read by the author) and How The Word Is Passed by Clint Smith.
The Inquisitor’s Tale has been near the top of my YA reading list for a while. Definitely going to try to actually read it this year. I read The Girl Who Drank the Moon last year and was fascinated.
I am reading Demon Copperhead right now and my short review is HOLY COW WHAT A BOOK. Brilliantly written and utterly heartbreaking. It sure deserved that Pulitzer, and it has the most distinctive narrative voice I've read since Sethe in Toni Morrison's Beloved.
I love to read best book lists too! My favourites last year were Bullies and Saints by John Dickson, Domestic Monastery by Ronald Rolheiser, Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren, Aggressively Happy by Joy Clarkson and The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard.
Does anyone else go to comment, and suddenly not remember a single thing you read last year? 😆 I had to look back through my Goodreads!
I read the last two of the Wingfeather series last year and the last book absolutely WRECKED me. Full on sobbing. Andrew Peterson is such an incredible writer.
I also loved Amanda Held Opelt's book on grief and modern Western culture's phasing out of communal grief rituals - A Hole in the World: Finding Hope in Rituals of Grief and Healing.
I've started the first Wingfeather book with my oldest but then he took off with them and read the whole series without me. I've been meaning to catch up!
I love reading "Best Of" lists too. In fact, the entire inspiration for my blog was actually your annual Reading Goals/What I Read posts on Carrots for Michaelmas. 😂 Some of my favorites from last year were Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns, A Praying Life by Paul Miller, and The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson (which I think you would really love if you ever get a chance to read them 🙂).
The Good Death of Kate Montclair was one I really loved! It's Catholic fiction very reminiscent of Brideshead Revisited in the way that the characters cannot quite escape the truth of grace and God
Ooooh will be adding so many of these to my 2024 list! Thanks for sharing. After a move from Texas to Oklahoma last year, I didn’t meet my 2023 reading goals. But I’m motivated and more settled this year! First up I started Mill on the Floss by George Eliot, and I am also planning to pick back up Sense and Sensibility from when I did not complete it during your book club reading 😅
Everything Sad is Untrue was one of mine also- a lifetime favorite now, as well as his new one- the Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams. The Covenant of Water was another favorite.
I’ve had Hamnet (and The Marriage Portrait) as well as Joan Didion on my TBR pile forever. You’ve influenced me to move them up! Among my favorites of the year have been the contemporary cozy mystery, The Maid by Nita Prose, the morally ambiguous but fun Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn, and a book about grief from the pov of a daughter, Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. I also liked, somewhat to my surprise since “book club” books aren’t always my thing: Lessons in Chemistry, Romantic Comedy, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, and Nora Goes Off Script. My only DNF was The Paper Palace. Such a disappointment.
One of my favorite reads of the year that I've been recommending all over the place was The Inquisitor's Tale: Or Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog by Adam Gidwitz. Wonderful YA novel about faith, friendship, and how you know who to trust. If you can tolerate a few artistic liberties with the story of Joan of Arc I think you and your kids would all love this one. Other favorites included The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill (the Newbery committee got it RIGHT with this one and I think you'd love it too) No One Will Tell You This But Me by Bess Kalb (top notch audio book, read by the author) and How The Word Is Passed by Clint Smith.
I've never heard of the Adam Gidwitz book! Thanks for the recommendation.
The Inquisitor’s Tale has been near the top of my YA reading list for a while. Definitely going to try to actually read it this year. I read The Girl Who Drank the Moon last year and was fascinated.
I loved Demon Copperhead, it was so full of heart, the Passenger and Stella Maris was also incredible, great year for reading
That one is on my list of books I want to read this year!
I am reading Demon Copperhead right now and my short review is HOLY COW WHAT A BOOK. Brilliantly written and utterly heartbreaking. It sure deserved that Pulitzer, and it has the most distinctive narrative voice I've read since Sethe in Toni Morrison's Beloved.
It was incredible
I love to read best book lists too! My favourites last year were Bullies and Saints by John Dickson, Domestic Monastery by Ronald Rolheiser, Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren, Aggressively Happy by Joy Clarkson and The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard.
Loved Aggressively Happy!
As far as favorites this year --
Horse by Geraldine Brooks
And oddly, rereading The Giver
The Giver is so good.
Quite a few of these are on my bedside table! Encouragement to get to them soon.
Joan Didion is so brilliant it just blows my mind. That book in particular was just filled with the most raw, honest writing.
Does anyone else go to comment, and suddenly not remember a single thing you read last year? 😆 I had to look back through my Goodreads!
I read the last two of the Wingfeather series last year and the last book absolutely WRECKED me. Full on sobbing. Andrew Peterson is such an incredible writer.
I also loved Amanda Held Opelt's book on grief and modern Western culture's phasing out of communal grief rituals - A Hole in the World: Finding Hope in Rituals of Grief and Healing.
I've started the first Wingfeather book with my oldest but then he took off with them and read the whole series without me. I've been meaning to catch up!
Just bought "Works of Mercy" to read on my Kindle thanks to your recommendation, Haley! Excited to read it. :)
Hope you enjoy it!
I love reading "Best Of" lists too. In fact, the entire inspiration for my blog was actually your annual Reading Goals/What I Read posts on Carrots for Michaelmas. 😂 Some of my favorites from last year were Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns, A Praying Life by Paul Miller, and The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson (which I think you would really love if you ever get a chance to read them 🙂).
The Good Death of Kate Montclair was one I really loved! It's Catholic fiction very reminiscent of Brideshead Revisited in the way that the characters cannot quite escape the truth of grace and God
That one looks great!
Ooooh will be adding so many of these to my 2024 list! Thanks for sharing. After a move from Texas to Oklahoma last year, I didn’t meet my 2023 reading goals. But I’m motivated and more settled this year! First up I started Mill on the Floss by George Eliot, and I am also planning to pick back up Sense and Sensibility from when I did not complete it during your book club reading 😅
I've read Middlemarch but not Mill on the Floss!
Some of my favorites were Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett, Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese and I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O'Farrell.
Everything Sad is Untrue was one of mine also- a lifetime favorite now, as well as his new one- the Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams. The Covenant of Water was another favorite.
I need to read Samir!
I’ve had Hamnet (and The Marriage Portrait) as well as Joan Didion on my TBR pile forever. You’ve influenced me to move them up! Among my favorites of the year have been the contemporary cozy mystery, The Maid by Nita Prose, the morally ambiguous but fun Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn, and a book about grief from the pov of a daughter, Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. I also liked, somewhat to my surprise since “book club” books aren’t always my thing: Lessons in Chemistry, Romantic Comedy, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, and Nora Goes Off Script. My only DNF was The Paper Palace. Such a disappointment.
I've had so many people recommend Lessons in Chemistry and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow! I should add those to my list for 2024.