My 2023 Reading

 Those in bold are this year's top ten: 

January

1. Jocelyn Brooke, The Orchid Trilogy
2. Ocean Yuong, On Earth We're Briefly Beautiful
3. Katherine May, The Electricity of Every Living Thing
4. Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera, The Awakening of Miss Prim 
5. Natalia Ginzburg, Happiness, as Such 
6. Valentine Low, Courtiers: The hidden power behind the crown 
7. Mary Renault, The Last of the Wine 
8. Tom Crewe, The New Life 

February

1. Sean Hewitt, All Down Darkness Wide
2. Tim Chester, Truth We Can Touch: How Baptism and Communion Shape Our Lives 
3. John Moore, The Water Under the Earth
4. James Salter, Last Night: Stories
5. DA Carson (Ed.), Worship by the Book

March 

1. Wendell Berry, How It Went: Thirteen more stories of the Port William Membership 
2. Christine Barnabas, Consecrated Celibacy: A Fresh Look at an Ancient Calling 
3. Mary Renault, The King Must Die 
4. Patrick Ness, Different for Boys 
5. Frederick Buechner, Speak What We Feel (Not What We Ought to Say): Four Who Wrote in Blood
6. Mary Renault, The Bull from the Sea
7. Gregg A Ten Elshof, I Told Me So: self-deception and the Christian life

April 

1. John Mark Comer, Live No Lies: Recognize and Resist the Three Enemies That Sabotage Your Peace 
2. Barbara Pym, The Sweet Dove Died 

May 

1. Jon Meacham, Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power
2. Arnold Bennett, Clayhanger 
3. John Carey, A Little History of Poetry 
4. Collin Hansen, Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation 
5. Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn 
6. Zena Hitz, Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life
7. Iain Pears, An Instance of the Fingerpost 
8. David Gibson, Radically Whole: Gospel healing for the divided heart 
9. Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow 
10. Sean O'Nan, Ocean State 
11. Philippe Besson, In the Absence of Men
12. Mary Renault, The Praise Singer

June

1. Matthew P W Roberts, Pride: Identity and the worship of self 
2. Jonathan Rauch, Denial: My 25 years without a soul 
3. David McCullough, 1776: America and Britain at War 
4. Douglas Stuart, Young Mungo 
5. David Haynes, Right By My Side 
6. Ronald Blythe, Next to Nature: A Lifetime in the English Countryside 

July

1. Claire Keegan, Foster
2. Eve Tushnet, Tenderness: A Gay Christian's Guide to Unlearning Rejection and Experiencing God's Extravagant Love 
3. Ted Sorensen, Counselor: A life at the edge of history
4. Niamh Campbell, We Were Young
5. Elizabeth Strout, Lucy by the Sea

August 

1. Tony Horsfall, Spiritual Growth in a Time of Change: Following God in midlife
2. Christopher Landau, Loving Disagreement: The problem is the solution  
3. Roger Preece, Understanding and Using Power: Leadership without Corrupting Your Soul 
4. Adrian Bell, The Cherry Tree
5. Peter F Drucker, Managing Oneself 
6. Maggie O'Farrell, I am, I am, I am
7. Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles
8. Rachel Cusk, Outline

September

1. CS Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
2. CS Lewis, Prince Caspian 
3. CS Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
4. CS Lewis, The Horse and His Boy
5. CS Lewis, The Silver Chair
6. CS Lewis, The Magician's Nephew
7. CS Lewis, Mere Christianity 
8. CS Lewis, The Last Battle 
9. Hua Hsu, Stay True: A Memoir
10. Annie Dillard, The Writing Life 
11. Margaret Laurence, A Jest of God
12. Tim Chester, Enjoying God: Experience the power and love of God in everyday life
13. Dominic Sandbrook, Who Dares Wins: Britain, 1979-1982
14. Alistair Gordon, Why Art Matters
15. Penelope Fitzgerald, The Beginning of Spring

October 

1. Gregory E Ganssle, Our Deepest Desires: How the Christian Story Fulfills Human Aspirations
2. Malcolm Guite, Lifting the Veil: Imagination and the Kingdom of God  
3. Brandon Taylor, The Late Americans [Audiobook]
4. Annie Dillard, The Living: A Novel 
5. Karen Swallow Prior, The Evangelical Imagination: How Stories, Images & Metaphors Created a Culture in Crisis 

November 

1. Michael Green, Baptism: Its purpose, practice and power 
2. Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God
3. Winifred Peck, House-Bound
4. Tom Wright, The Meal Jesus Gave Us: Understanding Holy Communion  
5. John Mark Comer, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to stay emotionally healthy and spiritually alive in the chaos of the modern world 
6. Rory Stewart, Politics On the Edge [Audiobook] 

December

1. Mary Renault, The Mask of Apollo
2. Victor Heringer, The Love of Singular Men
3. Julia Strachey, Cheerful Weather for the Wedding
4. Zachary Wagner, Non-Toxic Masculinity: Recovering healthy male sexuality 
5. Tim Chester, Fixated: Advent meditations from the book of Hebrews 
6. David Brooks, How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen
7. JRR Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring [Audiobook] 
8. Arnold Bennett, Anna of the Five Towns