At the start of the year, thanks to GoodReads’ Reading Challenge a fresh reading goal is always set. Last year I did ’22 for 2022′ and managed to complete it by the skin of my teeth (yes I finished reading my final novel on 3 January 2023, but I started it in 2022 and that’s what counts, right?…). So this year I’ve decided to go for a doable 20 books. I average these days at at 2 books per month so I should easily hit it, but as reading is something fun to do, I’d rather not make it into a chore and instead celebrate at the end of the year when I have read more than I aimed to.
So, as I set my goal I thought about which books I would like to see included in that 20 this year. Here’s a few at the top of my list to be read.
Lessons In Chemistry – Bonnie Garmus
Meet the unconventional, uncompromising Elizabeth Zott, the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Her unusual approach to cooking proves revolutionary but as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.
I have seen so much hype for Lessons In Chemistry on Instagram so I can’t wait to give it a read! The book is Bonnie Garmus’ debut novel at 66 years old so I can’t begin to imagine how much life experience will have informed the story.
The Man Who Died Twice & The Bullet That Missed – Richard Osman
The follow up to Richard Osman’s bestselling phenomenon The Thursday Murder Club finds our ageing heroes enmeshed in an underworld escapade involving stolen diamonds and vicious gangsters. In the third installment, a local news legend is on the hunt for a sensational headline, and soon the gang are hot on the trail of two murders, ten years apart.
I loved Richard Osman’s first novel, The Thursday Murder Club, so have since acquired the second and third novels in the series, but am still yet to read them! I am determined this year to read the entire series this year as I have no doubt that they will be full of the same wit that made the initial novel such a hit.
Beyond The Wand – Tom Felton
From Borrower to wizard, Tom Felton’s adolescence was anything but ordinary. His early rise to fame saw him catapulted into the limelight aged just twelve when he landed the iconic role of Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films. Speaking with candour and his own trademark humour, Tom shares his experience of growing up on screen and as part of the wizarding world for the very first time.
I’m really not a big fan of the Harry Potter series, so there does beg the question of why I would go for a memoir of one of the franchise’s major breakout stars. But memoirs of actors, musicians or comedians are potentially my favourite genre of book to read, even if I’m not the most familiar with their work – their lives are just so interesting to read about and having heard great things about it from my best friend, I expect Tom Felton’s to be too.
Advice From Strangers – Rachel Parris
Popular comedian Rachel Parris asked for advice from members of her live audience over the course of a year. In this book, each chapter is entitled with one of these pieces of advice, which she explores in ways that are funny or serious, hilarious or heart-breaking. She reflects on what she’s learnt in her own life, and looks at the advice we get and the advice we give. What helps us, as humans? What do we say, to help each other? Is it actually ever useful?
This book is part advice, part comedy memoir by Rachel Parris, known for her role on Late Night Mash and has also been a Would I Lie To You and Mock The Week panellist. It sounds like a really uplifting and heart-warming concept for a book, the perfect one to pick up after a long day.
Carrie Soto – Taylor Jenkins Reid
Carrie Soto is fierce, and her determination to win at any cost has not made her popular. By the time Carrie retires from tennis, she is the best player the world has ever seen. She has shattered every record and claimed twenty Slam titles. But when her record is taken from her, she comes out of retirement to claim it back. In this riveting and unforgettable novel, Taylor Jenkins Reid tells a story about the cost of greatness and a legendary athlete attempting a comeback.
I liked but didn’t love Taylor Jenkins Reid’s most popular novels, Daisy Jones & The Six and The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo, but I gave her work one last go with Malibu Rising and it completely won me over. Jenkins Reid often hides easter eggs for previous or future novels in her books and one of the characters briefly mentioned in Malibu Rising was Carrie Soto, a world-famous tennis player that she has now dedicated a whole eponymous novel to. It’s such a unique career to focus a novel on, so I’ve definitely been persuaded to keep reading her books and I’m hoping this is another one that I don’t just like but love!
The Best Things – Mel Giedroyc
Sally Parker is struggling to find the hero inside herself. All she wants to do is lie down. Her husband Frank has lost his business, their home and their savings, in one fell swoop. Their bank cards are being declined. The children have gone feral. And now the bailiffs are at the door. Sally Parker is about to surprise everybody. Most of all herself.
It is no secret that I absolutely adore Mel Giedroyc, who is as lovely off-camera as she is on, so I bought her debut novel The Best Things when it was published in 2021 and have done the classic thing of being so worried that I won’t enjoy it as much as I hope to that I simply don’t read it. But this year I am determined to find out if it lives up to my expectations – that is, that it’s as warm-hearted as Mel herself is. Its premise reminds me of the series Schitt’s Creek, but more focused on a central female matriarch, which should make a brilliant novel.
Sheltering Rain – Jojo Moyes
When twenty-one year old Joy meets handsome naval officer Edward at an ex-pat party in 1950s Hong Kong, the last thing she expects is to fall in love. In 1980, Joy’s young daughter Kate mysteriously flees the family home. Fifteen years later, Kate’s own daughter Sabine leaves London in search of grandparents she has never known. When the family is finally reunited, hidden tensions come to the surface, uncovering a dark secret which has been deeply buried for years…
Jojo Moyes is one of my favourite authors and I’ve read several of her novels to date, so when I spotted her debut novel Sheltering Rain in The Works I had to pick it up. By exploring different places and eras throughout the novel, it sounds like it is going to offer a variety of perspectives which is always interesting – both how the author tackles this, and how lively it makes the story. As I write this blog post, Jojo Moyes has just published her long awaited new novel, Someone Else’s Shoes, so you best bet I will also be picking that up immediately, giving me another one to add to my list!
That’s eight already sorted, this year’s reading challenge should be a doddle! Until I realise I actually have no time to actually read them all… I’ll report back here if I manage them all – how does same place, same time at the end of the year sound?
What books are you planning to read in 2023?
