What our books reveal about us
Are we what we read? I hope not. A look back at 2023
Before we begin…
It’s that time again. Think about the books you’ve read in 2023. Imagine them all around you, covers closed, titles on top. What do they tell you about the year you’ve just lived? What do they say about your state of mind, stage of life, your desires? If it’s easier, imagine a friend coming upon you, surrounded by these books, looking at each one and then at you. What would they say the books reflected about you? Would they be surprised?
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Looking Back At What We Read
It’s time for our annual look back at the books we’ve read and what they say, if anything, about us. Last year, I realized that most of the books I’ve read since I started keeping lists in 2017, have been driven by the need to escape from the world or the desire to learn how to live in it. Last January, I made a big deal about creating a TBR list for the year that was intentional, that would take me out of my comfort zones or expose me to new writers and countries. As I glance over the list of 54 books I read this year, I am struck by how far I departed from those intentions, and how quickly. Only nine of the books I read in 2023 were on that ambitious list I made for myself back in January.
Here is a link to the list of books I actually read: Betsy’s Reads 2023
If my reading choices were tea leaves or evidence of my state of mind, then here are a few things they might say about me.
I don’t know myself as well as I thought I did. Last year I announced that I would start the year with Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass, Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead, and Ed Yong’s An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the World Around Us. Of these, I only read Braiding Sweetgrass even though I received beautiful hardcover copies of all three for Christmas last year. Each time I reached for Demon Copperhead I felt a very strong resistance that I can’t chalk up to anything specific. As for Ed Yong’s beautiful book, I read the first chapter but realized it is too thoughtful and too deep to read at the end of a long day which is when I ended up doing too much of my reading this year. Bottom line: this wasn’t the year for these books. They remain by my bedside. We will see what this year brings.
I can be a little obsessive. I went into 2023 having read three of Kate Atkinson’s novels but none of her Jackson Brodie books. I fell into them this year in a big way and then wound up reading her first two books and Shrines of Gaiety. I am now a Kate Atkinson completist. It isn’t the accomplishment I was looking for this year, but I’ll take it.
I can also be the opposite of obsessive. If I included all the books I started this year but dropped after a chapter or two, this list would be significantly longer. This is unusual for me. I don’t know what it means.
Once is not enough. Eight of the books I read this year were re-reads of authors I look to for guidance as a writer or just want to spend time with again: Anne Tyler (Clock Dance, Ladder of Years), Lucretia Grindle (The Villa Triste, The Lost Daughter), Nick Hornby (How to Be Good), Rabhi Alameddine (An Unnecessary Woman), Jim Mastro (A Year at the Bottom of the World).
I want to go to Italy. I did follow my plan to read at least two books in Italian, a process that is slow, thoughtful, sometimes frustrating, and deeply rewarding. Others are set in Italy and/or are translations. Of these, four were historical fiction (both Lucretia Grindle books, Renata Viganò’s Partisan Wedding, Leonardo Sciascia’s Sicilian Uncles) and two were contemporary (Racconti Romani by Jhumpa Lahiri and La Sindrome Boodman by Alessandro Baricco.)
I am connected here with writers I really enjoy reading. Eleven of the books I read this year were by authors who live and work here in San Diego and/or those on our Spark Author’s Page. These include
(Make it Stop), Jim Mastro (A Year at the Bottom of the World, Journeys With Emperors), Huda Al-Marashi (Grounded, First Comes Marriage), Judy Reeves (When The Heart Says Go), Marilyn Johnson (Lives in Ruins), (Fair Game), Andrew Merton (Killer Poems), Marivi Soliven (Mango Bride), Cynthia Newberry Martin (The Art of her Life), and Julia Carol Folsom’s Nice Girl. I expect to finish Jennifer Silva Redmond’s memoir, Honeymoon at Sea and Andria Williams’ The Waiting World in the first quarter of 2024.I do better when I follow my instincts instead of my intentions. I am not sorry about a single book I read this year, only that I didn’t get to more of the ones that called my name. Three books that materialized at exactly the right time were books that I had no intention of reading at all, or at least not any time soon. These were Emma Straub’s This Time Tomorrow, Moshin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist, and Jess Pan’s I’m Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come.
Spark Reads 2023: The Books That Will Stay With Us
Thanks to all who shared their top 3-5 (or sometimes more) books from 2023. Once again, this list reflects depth, variety, and a passion for reading. They can all be found in our list Spark Reads 2023 on Bookshop.org or by clicking on the photo below.
I added mine to yours. They are listed below, some with links to the Spark issues they inspired where you’ll quickly understand why they made it to the top of my list for 2023.
A Tale for The For A Time Being by Ruth Ozeki - a surprise and a wonder that left me guessing in a way that I loved.
Make It Stop by
- a compact mix of heart, action, speculative fiction and fun that left me wanting more.
The Jackson Brodie Series by Kate Atkinson - probably the series that sent me off track the most this year, so seductive were the stories, the writing and lessons Atkinson gives in pacing, voice, and structure.
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Happy holidays and see you next year
I end the year here happily depleted. I will be using the weeks between now and the new year to recharge. I’m looking forward to seeing where things go next year. Spark will return to your inbox on January 13, 2024.
Until then,be well. Please let me know how you are and what you’re reading. If there’s an idea, book, or question you’d like to see in a future issue of Spark, let us know! Use the comment button below or just hit reply to this email and send your message directly.
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Ciao for now!
Gratefully yours,
Betsy
P.S. And now, your moment of Zen…Sunset, moonset - endings and beginnings
Calling for Your Contribution to “Moment of Zen”:
What is YOUR moment of Zen? Send me your photos, a video, a drawing, a song, a poem, or anything with a visual that moved you, thrilled you, calmed you. Or just cracked you up. This feature is wide open for your own personal interpretation.
Come on, go through your photos, your memories or just keep your eyes and ears to the ground and then share. Send your photos/links, etc. to me by replying to this email or simply by sending to: elizabethmarro@substack.com. The main guidelines are probably already obvious: don’t hurt anyone -- don’t send anything that violates the privacy of someone you love or even someone you hate, don’t send anything divisive, or aimed at disparaging others. Our Zen moments are to help us connect, to bond, to learn, to wonder, to share -- to escape the world for a little bit and return refreshed.
I can’t wait to see what you send!
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I’ve never been one to record every single book I read, even though I would live to review such a list at the end of the year. I started one in January for this reason and forgot about it by March, so all I have to go on is my memory, which is famously unreliable.
That said, if I close my eyes and spread out all the titles I can remember, I see a lot of literary fiction about families, a brief flirtation with the romance genre that ended badly, and some truly spectacular memoir/narrative nonfiction on a wide array of subjects.
I guess what it says is that I’m someone who knows what she likes, in terms of both style and theme, but is always deeply curious and open to new things.
It's good to stop reading books that just aren't doing it for you - move on, no regrets!