Woah. 2023 is finally over. How time flies! Time is such a surreal being. It flows sans any regard to anyone or anything. Regardless, let me first wish everyone a happy new year! I hope that this year will be brimming with pleasant surprises, blessings, and positive news for everyone. To those who had a challenging 2023, I hope that fortune will smile on you this year. I hope that you will experience a reversal of fortune. I hope that this year will be kind to everyone. I hope that all conflicts will be resolved. It is also my fervent wish that everyone will be happy and healthy, in body, mind, and spirit.

But before I can turn in a new set of 366 blank pages, let me first look back at how my December 2023 reading month has been. Like the first eleven months of the year, December has been a very productive reading month. This was even though the year was winding down. My focus, however, was on my ongoing reading challenges. Thankfully, with a little persistence, I was able to complete my two most important reading challenges. This allowed me to catch up on my 2023 book release backlog. Some of these backlogs are part of my 2023 Top 10 Books I Look Forward To list; unfortunately, I was not able to complete this reading list. This is not surprising considering that I have failed at it since I started doing it. Anyway, without more ado, here is a peek into how my December reading journey shaped up. Happy reading!

The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood

I commenced my December reading journey with my fifth novel by Margaret Atwood novel, The Robber Bride. With The Robber Bride, I was able to complete my 2023 Top 23 Reading List. It is also the 20th book from the 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die List I read in 2023; I was hitting two birds with one stone. The first Atwood novel I read since her Booker Prize-winning novel, The Testaments, The Robber Bride was originally published in 1993. The novel tells the story of four women. When the story opened, Tony, Charis, and Roz were holding their monthly meet-up at a fashionable restaurant in Toronto called The Toxique. They were college friends and were bound by their tumultuous relationship with Zenia. Zenia has been dead for five years, or so they thought. In walked Zenia, very much alive, crashing their luncheon. The story then provides the context by taking the readers to the past, when they first met. There was something about Zenia that riveted the three other young women. Meanwhile, Zenia gave each of the three friends different versions of her life; Atwood kept her readers guessing as to which version was the truth. Things came to a head when Zenia stole her friends’ boyfriends. The novel highlights the dynamics of male and female relationships, emphasizing the complexities of female companionship and, by extension, feminism. Margaret Atwood, as always, does not fail to deliver.

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

While I completed my 2023 Top 23 Reading List with The Robber Bride, I completed another reading challenge with my next read. Nobel Laureate in Literature Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon is the last book in my 2023 Beat the Backlist challenge. Song of Solomon is my third novel by Morrison which interestingly, was Morrison’s third novel. Initially published in 1977, Song of Solomon was cited by the Swedish Academy in awarding Morrison the 1993 Nobel Prize in literature. The novel charted the fortunes of Macon “Milkman” Dead III, an African-American man living in an unnamed Michigan town. We read about the unusual circumstances surrounding his birth until he grows up. He was the son of Ruth Foster Dead, the daughter of the first Black doctor in the unnamed town. When he was young, he lost interest in everything around him. This was despite being raised in a household that doted on him. His aunt Pilate adored him while his sisters First Corinthians and Magdalene took good care of him; the characters do have eccentric albeit interesting names. Milkman’s general disinterest made him unable to reciprocate the love he received. After all, he had a long on his shoulders, the biggest of which was the legacy of his birth. In true Morrison fashion, the impact of racism was at the forefront of the novel. Without a doubt, Song of Solomon is a triumph of literature, deserving of all the accolades it received.

Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo

From literary classics to a recent book release. Until 2023, I have not heard of Elizabeth Acevedo. While researching for book releases to look forward to in 2023, I came across her novel, Family Lore. It was a recurring presence in similar lists. My curiosity was piqued, and I included the Dominican American’s first adult novel on my 2023 Top 10 Books I Look Forward To List. Acevedo has established a reputation for being a poet, and it did translate well in Family Lore. At the heart of the novel was the Marte family, a family of Dominican immigrants. The patriarch and matriarchs have already passed away while their five children are already adults. The crux of the story was when Flor Marte, the second oldest daughter, decided to hold her own wake even though she was still alive. Flor had a supernatural ability to predict a person’s death, right up to the exact second. Her sisters also have different abilities. The story covered the three days leading to her wake and was narrated by Ona, her daughter. The wake became a catalyst that allowed the Marte women to reflect on their own lives. The six women, including Flor’s niece Yadi, confronted several questions about feminity, indiscretions, infertility, and the complicity of first- and second-generation immigrants. While its premise was compelling, Family Lore‘s structure can be alienating as the story jumps across different periods without any preamble

I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai

From one new-to-me writer to another one. However, unlike Acevedo, I have encountered Rebecca Makkai before. I even planned on reading her novel The Great Believers. However, it was her latest novel, I Have Some Questions For You, that gave me my first venture into her oeuvre. Like Family Lore, I Have Some Questions For You is part of my 2023 Top 10 Books I Look Forward To List. The story was narrated by Bodie Kane, a film professor and podcaster, whom we first met when she was on her way to Granby, New Hampshire. She was to teach a two-week course on podcasting at her alma mater. The story took an unusual turn when a true crime was suggested by one of her students for a podcast. The case was close to Bodie’s heart because it involved, Thalia Keith, her roommate. Thalia was a popular beauty but was found lifeless in the school swimming pool. The school’s Black athletic trainer, Omar Evans, was convicted of the crime. He confessed but later recanted but still, he was convicted because all pieces of evidence pointed to him. However, Bodie was unconvinced, prompting them to revisit the case and search for the truth. It was a compelling read brimming with unlikeable characters. The book also reminded me how podcasts and social media in general have started playing a critical role in the pursuit of justice for cold cases and wrongful convictions. The book, however, dragged.

What You Are Looking For is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama

December was meant to be dedicated to works of North American literature. I decided to deviate from this because of my recent trip to Japan; I inserted some recently translated works of Japanese literature. Among them was Michiko Aoyama’s What You Are Looking For Is in the Library which has been making the rounds lately, prompting me to add it to my own reading list. It is about books and it has a cat on the book cover, reminding me of Sôsuke Natsukawa’s The Cat Who Saved Books, a book I read during my first trip to Japan. Set in the fictional ward of Hatori in Tokyo, the novel introduces five major characters: Tomoka, a 21-year-old womenswear sales assistant; Ryo, a thirty-five-year-old accountant working in the accounts department of a furniture manufacturer; Natsumi, a forty-year-old former magazine editor; Hiroya, a thirty-year-old NEET (not in employment, education or training); and sixty-five-year old Masao, a retiree. Each character found themselves at a major intersection in their lives. They were yearning for something new or better yet they couldn’t find the heart to pursue it. At this juncture in their lives, they met Sayuri Komachi, their community library’s enigmatic librarian. She recommended them books they didn’t know they needed; she had a knack for knowing what kind of book one needed. Each story was suffused with tenderness which made readers gravitate toward these characters.

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

My unplanned trip across Japanese literature continued with Satoshi Yagisawa’s Days at the Morisaki Bookshop. I keep encountering the book making me a little apprehensive about reading the book. I eventually relented because my curiosity got the better of me. I am glad I did. Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, originally published in Japanese in 2009, opened with a heartbreak, a literal heartbreak. Twenty-five-year-old Takako’s boyfriend broke up with her after announcing his marriage to their co-worker. It was a shock to the system because her boyfriend and co-worker had been dating longer than she and her ex-boyfriend had. Feeling betrayed, Takako quit her job and had no other prospects. Her uncle Satoru whom she hadn’t talked to for years offered her to live rent-free in a tiny room above his bookshop, the titular Morisaki Bookshop, located in Tokyo’s Jimbocho district. With very little prospect, she accepted the offer in exchange for opening his bookshop. What ensued was a heartwarming story about families and new beginnings. It also underscored the simple pleasures derived from all bookshops and between the pages of any book. It is another masterful slice-of-life story from a gifted Japanese writer. I learned this is the first book in what seems to be a series; the story did leave me wanting more. I hope I get to read the rest of the series.

The Goodbye Cat by Hiro Arikawa

My brief foray into Japanese literature concluded with Hiro Arikawa’s The Goodbye Cat. Arikawa first gained my interest in 2019 when I read her novel, The Travelling Cat Chronicles. The book broke my heart, literally. I loved it, making me look forward to Arikawa’s other books. I wasn’t aware that she was releasing a new work this year until I encountered the book on one of my trips to the bookstore. Without ado, I bought the book, not realizing that it was a collection of short stories. Nevertheless, I was willing to read the book, making it the second short story collection I read this year. As can be expected, all seven short stories comprising the book featured cats who were catalysts in the lives of the families they became a part of. For instance, it was a cat that showed the warmer side of an indifferent and domineering father. Interestingly, fathers were prominently featured in the stories. As expected, the stories, albeit cliche, are heartwarming. The last two stories featured familiar characters. The sixth story introduced a younger Satoru – he was the main character in The Travelling Chronicles – and detailed how he became a cat lover. The last story, meanwhile, elucidated on one of the major scenes in Arikawa’s novel, particularly the scene between Satoru and his professor. The last stories left me teary-eyed because I knew how Satoru and Nana’s story ended. To think I was on a plane! Overall, The Goodbye Cat is a commendable follow-up to The Travelling Cat Chronicles.

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

After my quick Japanese getaway, I resumed my journey across books released during the year. One of these books is Ann Napolitano’s Hello Beautiful. It was while researching for books to include in my 2023 TOP 10 Books I Look Forward To list that I first encountered Napolitano and her latest novel, Hello Beautiful. With my curiosity piqued, I added the book to my own list of 2023 most anticipated releases. Hello Beautiful is inspired by Louisa Mae Alcott’s timeless and beloved classic, Little Women. The book was directly referenced in the story and even the four sisters at the heart of the novel take inspiration from the March sisters. Julia is the oldest of four Padavano sisters; they were born to a middle-class family in the latter decades of the 20th century in Chicago. Julia was feisty, ambitious, and a go-getter, characteristics she got from their mother. Sylvie, on the other hand, loved books and was dreamy; Sylvie was palpably Jo March. Twins Cecelia and Emeline were like two peas in a pod. The sisters got along well despite the stark dichotomies in their personalities. The entry of William into their lives started to change this dynamic. A series of unfortunate events ensued, testing the bond of the sisters. There are a lot of dimensions to the story that I appreciated, sisterly love being one of them. While some characters can be frustrating, I did end up liking the Padavano sisters. Hello Beautiful is a heartwarming but also achingly heart-wrenching family story.

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

Ann Patchett first caught my attention with her fourth novel, Bel Canto which was a familiar presence in must-read lists. I was not totally impressed by the book but this did not stop me from exploring her oeuvre. When I learned about her latest release, I wasn’t initially interested but I eventually gave in. I kept encountering positive reviews of Tom Lake, with some literary pundits even citing it as one of the best books of the year. Tom Lake joins a growing list of pandemic novels. The novel is set in 2020 in an orchard in northern Michigan run by Lara Nelson and her husband Joe. The lockdowns limited the movements of the populace, thus, the Nelsons cannot hire pickers for the cherry season. This prompted them to rely on themselves and their three daughters – Emily, Maisie, and Nell. With time slowing down, Lara told her daughters stories of her youth, in particular, the time she was part of a summer theater troupe based in the town of Tom Lake in the 1980s. Lara was hired to play Emily in the play Our Town by Thornton Wilder. In Tom Lake, her attention was immediately captured by Peter Duke who played Emily’s father. A whirlwind summer romance ensued; it was prematurely ended by unforeseen circumstances. Every bit of a pandemic novel, Tom Lake was idyllic and heartwarming. It was about youthful love, fame, and passion, as much as it was about finding connections. Patchett again proved her mastery of capturing the dynamics of closed groups.

Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead

Another 2023 release I was looking forward to was two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Colson Whitehead’s latest novel, Crook Manifesto. I first encountered Whitehead back in 2017 when his novel, The Underground Railroad was filling up bookstores; it won Whitehead his first Pulitzer Prize. After reading the novel, I looked forward to reading more of his works, with Crook Manifesto already my fourth by the American writer. It is the sequel to his 2021 novel, Harlem Shuffle. Whitehead again transports his readers to 1970s Harlem. Like Harlem Shuffle, Crook Manifesto covered three seminal years: 1971,1973 and 1976. Familiar characters from the first book again played key roles in the sequel. Foremost among them was Ray Carney, a businessman who wanted to establish himself as an upstanding and respectable citizen. You see, he was born to a family with a shady history; his father was a thief. However, try as he might, trouble kept following him. Exacerbating this was the spate of criminality that had been plaguing the Big Apple in the 1970s; this is also a continuation of the tempo established by the first novel which painted 1960s New York. Change and conflict were again prominently featured in the story and taking a cue from these two books, these subjects will again take the highlight in the last book of the planned trilogy. Crook Manifesto is a riveting following up to Harlem Shuffle.

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

I concluded my 2023 reading journey with my 130th book, making it my most prolific reading year. Capping this journey is a book I was looking forward to. It was midway through the year when I first encountered Paul Murray. I kept reading positive reviews of his latest novel, The Bee Sting. It even earned the Irish writer a couple of awards. My interest in the book was further piqued when it was longlisted, and eventually shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Murray’s fourth novel, The Bee Sting charted the fortune of the Barnes family, a well-to-do Irish family living in the countryside. Everything was going well with the car dealership being managed by Dickie, the patriarch. Due to economic downturns impacting the motoring sector, or so it seemed, the business started to decline. In the face of adversity, Dickie instead retreated into the forest and poured his energy into other projects. Imelda, his wife, fearing living in abject poverty again, started selling their furniture to keep the family afloat. Their children, Cassie and PJ, had their own concerns. Cassie was about to enter university and wanted to run away from the town. PJ, on the other hand, was forgotten by everyone. What compelled readers to keep moving forward in this thick book were the secrets the members of the family kept from each other. Murray also has a knack for making readers inhabit his characters, each individually riveting. It was the right decision to conclude my 2023 with The Bee Sting, easily one of my best reads during the year.

Reading Challenge Recaps
  1. My 2023 Top 23 Reading List: 23/23
  2. 2023 Beat The Backlist: 20/20; 118/60
  3. 2023 Books I Look Forward To List: 6/10
  4. Goodreads 2023 Reading Challenge: 130/100*
  5. 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die: 21/20
  6. New Books Challenge: 12/15
  7. Translated Literature: 68/40

*I updated my Goodreads target from 70 to 90 as I am quite ahead of my original target.

Book Reviews Published in December
  1. Book Review # 474: The Last Chairlift
  2. Book Review # 475: 2666
  3. Book Review # 476: The Goodbye Cat
  4. Book Review # 477: Tom Lake

As a new year unfolds, I have been busy at the office. I guess this comes with the territory. But I am also busy crafting my reading goals for the year. I have a lot of 2023 wrap-ups to complete as well. These will keep my hands tied in the coming weeks. Nevertheless, I am hoping to complete as many book reviews as I can. My goal is to complete my reviews from books I read in January, not 2024 but 2023. I have quite a backlog honestly. The mantra is to take it one step at a time. I know I will eventually be able to finish all my pending 2023 book reviews; I have a whopping 90 reviews pending from the previous year. I sure hope that I will be able to find the motivation to write as many as I can although the general attitude would still be taking it one step at a time.

For January, my goal is to catch up on 2023 books I was not able to read during the year. I have already completed three, including Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai’s Dust Child, a book I have been looking forward to ever since I learned about it. The book is good but I find The Mountains Sing more intense and compelling. I have also read Chetna Maroo’s Western Lane – January is shaping up to be a mini-Asian literature month – the second book from the 2023 Booker Prize shortlist I read. I am currently reading my second novel by Malaysian writer Tan Twan Eng. The House of Doors was also longlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize; this makes it the fourth book from the longlist that I read. Speaking of the Booker Prize, I am lining up Paul Lynch’s Prophet Song, the winner, for this month.

How about you fellow reader? How is your own reading journey going? I hope you enjoyed the books you have read. For now, have a great day. As always, do keep safe, and happy reading everyone!