Books of the Year 2023

Here are all the books I’ve read this year. I finally managed to join a new book club towards the end of the year, too! Those books that surpassed my expectations are marked with *, and those that really disappointed me are marked with !

Fairy Tale — Stephen King !

Once Upon a Tome — Oliver Darkshire

Uncle Paul — Celia Fremlin*

By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept — Elizabeth Smart !

The Marriage Portrait — Maggie O’Farrell

Trespasses — Louise Kennedy*

The Woman’s Voice — Patsy Rodenbergh

Freckles — Cecilia Ahern

Down Cemetery Road — Mick Herron

The Crane Wife — C J Hauser

The State of Affairs — Esther Perel

To The Lions — Holly Watt*

The Satsuma Project — Bob Mortimer !

The Man Who Died Twice — Richard Osman*

The Great Reformer — Austen Ivereigh

Wintering — Katherine May

Half of a Yellow Sun — Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie*

Full Dark House — Christopher Fowler

The Dry — Jane Harper*

Hamnet — Maggie O’Farrell

Sensemaking — Christian Madsbjerg

The Book Boy — Joanna Trollope

The Exiles — Jane Harper

Passing — Nella Larsen*

Columba — Prosper Mérimée

Vladimir — Julia May Jonas

Maybe You Might — Imogen Foxell

West — Carys Davies

Books of the Year 2022

As ever, I’ve listed below everything I’ve read this year — with the long overdue return to real life, there are fewer books here than in previous locked-down years. Those that surpassed my expectations are marked with *, and those that really disappointed me are marked with !

A Most Wanted Man, John le Carré

Current Intelligence, David Charlwood

The Mission House, Carys Davies

The Shelf, Helly Acton*

The Shack, William P Young

Four Thousand Weeks, Oliver Burkeman

Bitter Orange, Claire Fuller

Flow, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Demain, Guillaume Musso

Magpie, Elizabeth Day

The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober, Catherine Gray* (again!)

The Guest of Night, Lucy Underwood-Healy

Fatherland, Robert Harris*

The Party Crasher, Sophie Kinsella

The Instant, Amy Liptrot

Couples, John Updike

A Severed Head, Iris Murdoch

Open Water, Caleb Azumah Nelson

Exciting Times, Naoise Dolan

After I Left You, Alison Mercer

Treachery, S J Parris

The Ramage Hawk, John Pilkington

The Seven Basic Plots, Christopher Booker

Death in the Andes, Mario Vargas Llosa !

When I Hit You, Meena Kandasamy

The Sheltering Sky, Paul Bowles

The Passion, Jeanette Winterson

The Daughter of Time, Josephine Tey

Suez Crisis 1956, David Charlwood

The Woman in the Window, A J Finn

The Silver Thread, Kylie Fitzpatrick

The Yacoubian Building, Alaa Al-Aswany (in translation) !

Death on the Nile, Agatha Christie

The Couple at the Table, Sophie Hannah

Slow Horses, Mick Herron*

On Writing, Stephen King

The Liar’s Dictionary, Eley Williams

A Ruinous Wind, John Pilkington

Books of the Year 2021

As ever, I’ve listed below everything I’ve read in reverse chronological order. Those that surpassed my expectations are marked with *, and those that really disappointed me are marked with ! (though there are far fewer of them this year!)

Silence of the Lambs, Thomas Harris*
Middle England, Jonathan Coe
Capital, John Lanchester
Ordinary People, Diana Evans
The Beekeeper of Aleppo, Christy Lefteri
The List and The Drop, Mick Herron*
Begotten, Not Made, Pat Higgins*
The Blue Castle, L M Montgomery
Property, Valerie Martin
Spook Street, Mick Herron*
Luster, Raven Leilani
The Thursday Murder Club, Richard Osman
Her, Harriet Lane
I Think I Might Be Autistic, Cynthia Kim
The Woman Next Door, Cass Green
Hold Your Tongue, Deborah Masson
He Said/She Said, Erin Kelly*
Becoming Strangers, Louise Dean*
Written in Blood, Diane Fanning
It’s Not Always Depression, Hilary Jacobs Hendel
The Perfect Marriage, Jeneva Rose!
The Source, Sarah Sultoon
The Shallows, Nicholas Carr*
Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg
The Ikigai Journey, Hector Garcia
Developing Your Intuition: A Guide to Reflective Practice, Talula Cartwright
How Women Rise, Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith*
Love Your Impostor, Rita Clifton
The Sleep Revolution, Arianna Huffington
Time to Think: Listening to Ignite the Human Mind, Nancy Kline*
Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman
Christmas Days, Jeannette Winterson
Deep Work, Cal Newport*
Grit, Angela Duckworth*
Cultural Misunderstandings, Raymonde Caroll
The Islandman, Tomas O Crohan
Ordinary Men, Christopher Browning
The Lost Man, Jane Harper*

Books of the Year 2020

As usual, I’ve listed below all the books I’ve read this year.

I choose books mainly based on recommendations from friends, followed by recommendations from reviews in the papers and on the radio, and then from suggestions on my Kindle and on sites like GoodReads.

Here’s the list in (reverse) chronological order. I’ve marked the ones that surpassed my expectations with *, and any that I thought were overrated with !

  • The Secret Within, AnneMarie Postma
  • The One, John Marrs
  • Love Your Life, Sophie Kinsella
  • House of Correction, Nicci French
  • The Easy Way for Women to Lose Weight, Allen Carr
  • The Casual Vacancy, J K Rowling
  • Fracture, Andrés Neumann
  • The Silent Patient, Alex Michaelides
  • My Dark Vanessa, Kate Elizabeth Russell
  • The 5 Love Languages: Singles Edition, Gary Chapman
  • The Slap, Christos Tsiolkas
  • The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron*
  • The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney, Okechukwu Nzeiu
  • Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert
  • Burnt Shadows, Kamila Shamsie
  • The Midnight Library, Matt Haig
  • The Guest List, Lucy Foley
  • The Hunting Party, Lucy Foley
  • The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver
  • The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary, Catherine Gray
  • Sofia Khan is Not Obliged, Ayesha Malik*
  • The Unexpected Joy of being Sober, Catherine Gray*
  • The Starless Sea, Erin Morgenstern !
  • Boundaries, Henry Cloud and John Townsend
  • The Panopticon, Jenni Flagan
  • I Choose Elena, Lucia Osborne-Crawley
  • Sharp Objects, Gillian Flynn
  • Forbidden, Tabitha Suzuma
  • Plague, Jean Ure
  • Strange Weather in Tokyo, Hirami Kawakami
  • Girl, Woman, Other, Bernardine Evaristo
  • Haven’t They Grown? Sophie Hannah
  • Unsheltered, Barbara Kingsolver
  • Ask Again Yes, Mary Beth Keane
  • Non-bullshit Innovation, David Rowan

Books of the Year 2019

woman and books

As before (will this become a tradition?), I’ve listed below all the books I’ve read this year.

I choose books mainly based on recommendations from friends, followed by recommendations from reviews in the papers and on the radio, and then from suggestions on my Kindle and on sites like GoodReads.  This year, too, I’ve joined a book club, which has prompted a few of these titles. In the same way as last year, I also wanted to include some classics that I had never looked at properly before.

Here’s the list, this time in chronological order. I’ve marked the ones that surpassed my expectations with *, and any that I thought were overrated with !

  • Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury
  • The Lost Dog – Michelle de Kretser
  • The Rooster Bar – John Grisham !
  • The Beauty Myth – Naomi Wolf
  • India: Another Way of Seeing – various authors
  • The British in India – David Gilmour
  • City of Djinns – William Dalrymple
  • Blokes, Beers, and Burritos – Jo Blakeley
  • I am, I am, I am – Maggie O’Farrell *
  • Devil’s Peak – Deon Meyer [in translation]
  • Homegoing – Yaa Gyasi
  • Love Factually – Laura Mucha
  • The Unexpected Joy of Being Single – Catherine Gray
  • The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks
  • Slade House – David Mitchell !
  • I know why the caged bird sings – Maya Angelou
  • The Second Plane – Martin Amis
  • Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray
  • Problems – Jade Sharma
  • By Jeeves – P G Wodehouse *
  • The Bloody Chamber – Angela Carter
  • The Big Sleep – Raymond Chandler
  • Selected Tales – Edgar Allan Poe
  • The Age of Innocence – Edith Wharton *
  • The Brothers Karamazov – Fyodor Dostoevsky ! [in translation]
  • Picnic at Hanging Rock – Joan Lindsay
  • Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race – Reni Eddo-Lodge
  • The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
  • Normal People – Sally Rooney
  • The Wizard of Earthsea – Ursula Le Guin
  • The Color Purple – Alice Walker
  • Charlotte’s Web – E.B. White *
  • Convenience Store Woman – Sayaka Murata [in translation]
  • The Other Boleyn Girl – Philippa Gregory
  • My Sister the Serial Killer – Oyinkan Braithwaite *
  • Moby Dick – Herman Melville !
  • The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie – Muriel Spark
  • Goddesses in Everywoman – Jean Shinoda
  • Collected Ghost Stories – M R James
  • The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins
  • The Antidote – Oliver Burkeman
  • Antisocial Media – Siva Vaidhyanathan
  • Tough Tough Toys for Tough Tough Boys – Will Self
  • Fox 8 – George Saunders
  • Dead Famous – Ben Elton
  • I Owe You One – Sophie Kinsella
  • The Mother-in-Law – Sally Hepworth
  • What Red Was – Rosie Price
  • The Potter’s Field – Andrea Camilleri [in translation]
  • The Longest Way Home – Andrew McCarthy
  • Attached – Amir Levine, Rachel Heller
  • Nine Perfect Strangers – Liane Moriarty !
  • Flight Behaviour – Barbara Kingsolver *
  • Doughnut Economics – Kate Raworth
  • How to be a Kosovan Bride – Naomi Hamill
  • Watching You – Lisa Jewell
  • The Better Sister – Alafair Burke
  • Hunger – Amélie Nothomb [in translation]
  • The Testaments – Margaret Atwood
  • The Prenup – Lauren Layne
  • The Holiday – T M Logan !
  • Christmas Shopaholic – Sophie Kinsella *
  • The Understudy – Sophie Hannah, Clare Mackintosh, B A Paris, Holly Brown !

Books of the Year 2018

woman and books

In a departure from the usual, I thought I would list all the books I’ve read this year. I choose books mainly based on recommendations from friends, followed by recommendations from reviews in the papers and on the radio, and then from suggestions on my Kindle. This year, however, I wanted to include in my reading some classics that I had never looked at properly before. Here’s the list, in reverse order. I’ve marked the ones that surpassed my expectations with *, and any that I thought were overrated with !

  • White Oleander – Janet Fitch
  • Cry, the Beloved Country – Alan Paton
  • Vox – Christina Dalcher
  • Less – Andrew Sean Greer *
  • Help me! – Marianne Power *
  • Release – Patrick Ness
  • The Spare Room – Helen Garner
  • Conversations with Friends – Sally Rooney
  • The Power of Acceptance – Annemarie Postma
  • The Happiest Kids in the World: Bringing Up Children the Dutch Way – Rina Mae Acosta and Michele Hutchison
  • Letting Go – David R Hawkins
  • C’est La Vie – Fabrice Midal (in translation)
  • Journey by Moonlight – Antal Szerb (in translation)
  • Four Seasons in Rome – Anthony Doerr
  • The Forgetting Time – Sharon Guskin
  • The Grass is Singing – Doris Lessing
  • The Jane Austen Book Club – Karen Joy Fowler
  • Portnoy’s Complaint – Philip Roth
  • Say My Name – Allegra Huston
  • The Wife Between Us – Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
  • Notes on a Nervous Planet – Matt Haig
  • The Year of Living Danishly – Helen Russell
  • There are No Grown-ups – Pamela Druckerman
  • David Copperfield – Charles Dickens
  • Things Fall Apart – Chinua Achebe *
  • Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert (in translation)
  • Three Men in a Boat – Jerome K Jerome
  • Frankenstein – Mary Shelley
  • On the Road – Jack Kerouac !
  • Men Explain Things to Me – Rebecca Solnit
  • Hunger – Roxane Gay
  • Like Water for Chocolate – Laura Esquivel (in translation) !
  • Robinson Crusoe – Daniel Defoe
  • Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy
  • Under the Volcano – Malcolm Lowry
  • The Moonstone – Wilkie Collins
  • The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*** – Sarah Knight
  • Lucky Jim – Kingsley Amis
  • Everything I Never Told You – Celeste Ng
  • Lolita – Vladimir Nabukov
  • Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy (in translation) *
  • Wuthering Heights – Emily Brontë !
  • The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath
  • The Murder of Roger Ackroyd – Agatha Christie
  • Middlemarch – George Eliot *
  • Beloved – Toni Morrison
  • The Photographer’s Wife – Suzanne Joinson
  • The Gustav Sonata – Rose Tremain
  • A Dark-Adapted Eye – Barbara Vine
  • Where Have All the Boys Gone? – Jenny Colgan
  • We Should All Be Feminists – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
  • The Doll’s House – Tania Carver
  • All the Single Ladies – Rebecca Traister
  • Lullaby – Leila Slimani (in translation)
  • The Paris Wife – Paula McLain
  • The Return – Victoria Hislop !
  • Home Fire – Kamila Shamsie
  • The Sun also Rises – Ernest Hemingway
  • The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafron (in translation) !
  • The Hours – Michael Cunningham
  • Mrs Dalloway – Virginia Woolf
  • The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde
  • Memory Wall – Anthony Doerr
  • Kitchen – Banana Yoshimoto (in translation)
  • My Education – Susan Choi
  • Station Eleven – Emily St John Mandel
  • The Power – Naomi Alderman
  • Force of Nature – Jane Harper
  • Then She Was Gone – Lisa Jewell
  • How to Break Up with your Phone – Catherine Price *
  • I See You – Clare Mackintosh
  • The Anchoress – Robyn Cadwallader
  • Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine – Gail Honeyman
  • The Haunting of Hill House – Shirley Jackson
  • Friend Request – Laura Marshall
  • Anatomy of a Scandal – Sarah Vaughan

Thanks for tweeting about this, Allegra Huston!