Our Favorite Books Read in 2023: Kristin

Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley - a moving story about a man and his dog Lily who has a mysterious octopus attached to her head.

 

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus - when a 1960s woman scientist is rejected by her male peers, she ends up on a television cooking show using her chemistry education.

 

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt - a lovely story about family, human and octopus alike.

 

Patricia Wants to Cuddle by Samantha Allen - a laugh out loud island-based reality show, complete with a gorilla/bigfoot/creature.

 

With My Little Eye by Joshilyn Jackson - my favorite author with a main character fiercely protecting her family from a stalker.

 

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin - a story of childhood best friends and the changes life throws their way.

 

Pageboy by Elliot Page - a memoir from a young actor and LGBTQ+ activist.

 

High School by Sara Quin and Tegan Quin - the early story of Tegan and Sara, Canadian twins and singer-songwriters, with an accompanying television production available on Freevee.

 

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan - a story of mothers and their teenagers, love, loss, and finding the strength to continue.

 

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki - violins, donuts, spaceships, and a deal with a devil, these things make up what is probably my favorite book this year.

 

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone - this tale of time agents who plot their moves for centuries flows beautifully as Red and Blue become more than adversaries.

 

The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis - another laugh out loud tale, this one featuring a bridesmaid who simply wants to save her best friend from herself, but ends up being abducted by a very needy alien.

 

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver - 2023 Pulitzer Prize winner, set in Southwest Virginia, Demon is a young boy who experiences more than his share of losses.

 

Starter Villain by John Scalzi - one day Charlie has less than $100 to his name, the next he is heir to his long lost villain uncle's billions; fortunately he has his own brains and talking cats to help him navigate his new life.

Of Butlers, Bulldogs and Bird Stumps

To Say Nothing of the Dog or, How We Found the Bishop’s Bird Stump At Last by Connie Willis (F WIL Main)
Reviewed by Jeanne

When Lady Schrapnell agrees to endow the time travel project, it seems like a dream come true for the researchers at Oxford University. They didn’t count on their benefactor deciding to use the project to re-create Coventry Cathedral, sending travelers back to umpteen different time periods to locate objects. Time lagged and exhausted, Ned Henry is sent back to Victorian England to recuperate away from the demanding patron. Unfortunately, he’s sent so hastily that he arrives unprepared to fit into an era of séances, village fetes, and penwipes. He lands at a railway station in 1888 where he meets a dreamy college student who spouts poetry and tends to fall in love suddenly, an eccentric Oxford professor, a bulldog named Cyril and a whole host of characters who could have walked out of a P.G. Wodehouse novel. Ned is infatuated with Verity, a fellow time traveler, but he isn’t sure if it’s true love or time-lag. Whatever, they need to resolve a little problem caused by Verity’s accidental removal of an item that needs to be returned to its rightful place or else. . . well, they’re not quite certain what may happen but that might mean the downfall of civilization. At the very least they might be stuck in the past.

As you may have gathered, this is a difficult book to explain properly. I can tell you that it’s an entertaining adventure with science fiction, a bit of romance, some farce and a comedy of manners. I think it’s a delightful tale that should appear to a wide variety of readers, including those who don’t usually like science fiction or fantasy. One of my favorite scenes has a weary 1940 time traveler telling a colleague that a native asked about the Queen. “I told him she was wearing a hat. She did, didn’t she? I can never remember which one wore the hats.” They all did, is the response, except for Victoria. And Camilla. (It’s worth noting that this book was written in 1997.)

By the way, the title comes from Jerome K. Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat, but you don’t need to have read that to enjoy some of the in-jokes and brushes with history.

Connie Willis is a multiple award-winning author who lives in Colorado with her family. She takes her time between books, so fans certainly don’t expect a book a year. However, she’ll have two books out in 2010 because the book she was working on became so long it was decided to publish it in two parts. Once again, Willis sends researchers from the future back to WWII England at a critical moment in history in Blackout and the following book, All Clear.

I read this book for the first time recently because it was highly praised by members of the mystery list Dorothy-L. I echo their praise and highly recommend To Say Nothing of the Dog for your reading pleasure. It’s a book I intend to read again and again.