Our Favorite Books Read in 2023: Andrew & Jeanne's Non-Mysteries

 Andrew

 

Some of my favorite books of 2023 that I read were:

 

Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Ready Player One and Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline

Animalia written and illustrated by Graeme Base (this one is a great children's picture book I used to read when I was a kid, that I recently found and purchased. One of my favorites!)

 

Jeanne’s Non-Mystery Favorites

 

Non-fiction:

Agatha Christie:  An Elusive Woman by Lucy Worsley: While there were not a lot of surprising revelations, I did appreciate that Worsley made me look at Christy and her legacy in a different light, making me question assumptions I had made.  Christie has been seen by many as a lesser writer, but even her detractors have to admit that she has staying power

 

Fiction

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus:  Much to my surprise, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters are well developed and I genuinely liked so many of them.  Six-thirty was a special favorite.  

 

Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi:  I have seen a Godzilla movie or four but don't count myself a huge fan.  However, this pandemic era tale of an unemployed worker finding a new, secret job helping some ... unusual... animals was funny, exciting, and thoughtful.  I really want to read his next book, Starter Villain. I suspect it will be on my best of 2024 list!

 

Big Trouble on Sullivan's Island by Susan Boyer: First in a series which will feature the same characters and setting (Sullivan’s Island, of course) but each book may be a different genre.  This one is mystery, but the next may be a romance.  Entertaining, fund, and with appealing characters.

Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett: I read this one because there was an animated movie.  It may not be the best Pratchett, but any Pratchett is better than a lot of authors in my book.  This one was his usual mix of humor, social commentary, and action, but written for a younger audience.  The movie made changes, of course, but I still enjoyed it.  Hugh Laurie was the voice of Maurice.  Alas, the movie has not come out on DVD for the library to purchase, but it IS available for streaming via our new Hoopla account.  You can also listen to the audio version of the book.