No. 1
All My Knotted-Up Life by Beth Moore
This book was/is my all time favorite read from and in 2023.
Beautifully told. Magnificently done.
Story and depth and life and perspective. Tears and fears and amxiety. Inspiration and encouragement and laughter and wisdom, and most of all, running through it, the overflowing, never-ending, most amazing love of Jesus.
I was honored to hold this story in my heart and hands, Miss Beth. Thank you for continuing to show up for us, to show us how to share a story well, and how to lead with integrity and compassion, along with a heaping helping of humor, oh, and cornbread.
Comrade friends, I so completely and highly recommend listening to the audiobook of this one as well. It’s read by Beth herself, and it is delightful.
No. 2
The Donkey Principle by Rachel Anne Ridge
I love this little golden book jam packed from cover to cover with wisdom and inspiration and encouragement and kindness and self-compassion and life-coaching and donkey principles and soulful questions and journaling prompts all from one of the best people I know, my dear friend Rachel Anne Ridge. @rachelanneridge
This book is on my favorite books of 2023 list. I had the honor of linking arms with Rachel and @kathleencantwell
to create a Burro launch team and also a book club as this book debuted in April. Truly a highlight of 2023!
The Donkey Principle is a lovely book to gift…to your own self, to your friends, to your family.
GOLD:
Give Yourself Permission
Own Your Story
Lean In to Your Unique Strengths
Deliver Your Work
No. 3
On Getting Out of Bed by Alan Noble
I loved this little book. It’s not hard to read through but significantly impactful. The byline of the books says it succinctly and so well.
The Burden and Gift of Living
Here’s the bio of the book ~
“For the majority of people, sorrow, despair, anxiety, and mental illness are everyday experiences. While we have made tremendous advancements in therapy and psychiatry, the burden of living still comes down to mundane choices that we each must make―like the daily choice to get out of bed.
In this deeply personal essay, Alan Noble considers the unique burden of everyday life in the modern world. Sometimes, he writes, the choice to carry on amid great suffering―to simply get out of bed―is itself a powerful witness to the goodness of life, and of God.”
No. 4
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman
We read this book in our Book Club. It’s phenomenal. {In my opinion 🙂 } Fredrik Backman has a gift of writing with depth in simple sentences, creating characters who grapple with the realness of the human condition, and revealing the layers and complexity every person carries within them.
No. 5
Enchantment by Katherine May
This book was a lovely read, a restful read, an enchanted read. I so enjoyed Wintering by Katherine May and Enchantment met the expectation. She puts words to experiences and emotions I too have carried. Isn’t this the gift good writers give us?
Wonder pairs well with delight.
No. 6
Holy Unhappiness by Amanda Held Opelt
Secret: I have too many TBR books….patiently waiting…..while I, not so patiently, want to have read them all plus my to be re-read books!
This book has been in the piles and I kept eyeing it.
When I opened the cover, when I read the introduction, when I read through the first two chapters, well. I was captured. I nodded my head. I reached for my highlighter. I applauded. In so many ways.
Thank you Amanda Held Opelt for saying things I’ve thought and felt and wrestled with. Thank you for producing a book I can hand to my daughter when I’m only two chapters in and say, “You definitely want to read this.”
Audiobooks
Chief Inspector Gamache series
by Louise Penny
I’d seen these books here and there and over there for a number of years. I remember many years ago seeing Christie Purifoy and Lisa-Jo Baker share the latest Louise Penny Inspector Gamache book with great excitement and anticipation. I’d never delved into the series because I knew they involved murders and mysteries. I’d read a few murder mysteries here and there and hadn’t found them to be my genre. Thus, I assumed the Louise Penny books would be the same. Then, this year, someone told me this or I read it somewhere. I don’t remember. But I do remember the summation. Yes, they said, the books involve murder. After all, Chief Inspector Gamache is head of the homicide department. But the larger message of the books is a look at psychology and relationships and the why and what behind the actions people take. Now this fascinated me and drew me in. I decided to listen to the first one.
I was hooked. The narrator was fantastic. The writing, superb. I began to become familiar with Three Pines and Reine- Marie and the dog Henri.
Between Libby and Cloud Library, I was able to check the audiobooks out through our local library and the state library.
I loved the quotes and literature and art and ethics and morality and the human truth of life and choices Louise Penny weaves together in these novels.
by Ann Patchett and narrated by Meryl Streep
Ann Patchett is another phenomenal writer who I’ve enjoyed. Her books deal with real life. They’re gritty. They aren’t tidy and they aren’t often happily-ever-after. Yet, they draw you in with her sentences and descriptions and way of stringing words together. I’ve read some and listened to some. Either way, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed her writing.
Her newest book, Tom Lake, released this fall. I’d listened to The Dutch House by Ann Patchett and narrated by Tom Hanks a few years ago. When I saw the new one was narrated by Meryl Streep, I knew I would definitely listen on audio.
And here we are……quickly coming to the conclusion of another reading year! As Anne Bogel from The Modern Mrs. Darcy says, “It’s so good to be among people who are reading.”
Tell me ~ I’d love to hear! YOUR favorite books you kept company with in 2023?!
{Links in this post may be affiliates ~ thank-you!}
