Happy 2024! Have a listen to my top 10 reads of 2023, and a few short thoughts on them. It's safe to say that all of these books need to be on your TBR, so happy reading!

Fiction:

The Drowning Woman by Robyn Harding

The Light of Eternal Spring by Angel Di Zhang

We Meant Well by Erum Shazia Hasan

River Mumma by Zalika Reid-Benta

Three Holidays and a Wedding by Uzma Jalaluddin & Marissa Stapley

A History of Burning by Janika Oza

Nonfiction

Superfan by Jen Sookfong Lee

These Days Are Numbered by Rebecca Rosenblum

Alone by Paul Tom

Poetry

The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur

The last episode of 2023 is here, and I'm looking ahead to some early 2024 releases to kickstart my year with (as they slowly come out). Have a listen on what's on my pre-order shelf now!

Pre-Ordered Books Mentioned

Midnight by Amy Mcculloch (Jan 2)

Twenty Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate (Jan 23)

Broughtupsy by Christina Cooke (Jan 23)

We Rip the World Apart by Charlene Carr (Jan 30)

The Inheritance by Joanna Goodman (Mar 12)

A Great Country by Shilpi Somaya Gowda (Mar 26)

Check out the CanLit holiday romances that made my nice (and naughty) list!

Books mentioned:

It Happened One Christmas by Chantel Guertin

The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox

All I Want for Christmas by Maggie Knox

Three Holidays and a Wedding by Uzma Jalaludin & Marissa Stapley

The Christmas Wager by Holly Cassidy

A Holly Jolly Diwali by Sonya Lalli

Follow the podcast on Instagram now @getcanlitpodcast!

Discounts:

If you love hardcover books as much as I do, then you have to subscribe to Book Of the Month, which is now available in Canada & the U.S.! To learn more and sign up, you can use my referral code now: ⁠https://www.mybotm.com/pbhpuisxszh?show_box=true⁠

*I get a free book when you use my code! 

Looking for a unique book box experience? Once Upon a Book Club is for you! Their special editions are always top notch. Learn more about them now, and use my code READINGMARIA10 to save $5 off your order, shipping almost everywhere in the world: ⁠https://www.onceuponabookclub.com/en-ca⁠

*I receive a $5 commission I can use in their store!

I work at Dundurn Press! You can save 20% off literally everything (print &ebook) when you use code READINGMARIA20: ⁠https://www.dundurn.com/⁠

*I get the satisfaction knowing that someone will enjoy a book I have worked on!

Still keeping the spooky season reading vibes going? Here are two spoilery chats about my latest reads, plus a deep dive into my unread NetGalley CanLit shelf of shame.

Books talked about:

Everyone Here Is Lying by Shari Lapena

Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong

Follow the podcast on Instagram now @getcanlitpodcast!

Discounts:

If you love hardcover books as much as I do, then you have to subscribe to Book Of the Month, which is now available in Canada! To learn more and sign up, you can use my referral code now: https://www.mybotm.com/pbhpuisxszh?show_box=true

*I get a free book when you use my code! 

Looking for a unique book box experience? Once Upon a Book Club is for you! Their special editions are always top notch. Learn more about them now, and use my code READINGMARIA10 to save $5 off your order, shipping almost everywhere in the world: https://www.onceuponabookclub.com/en-ca

*I receive a $5 commission I can use in their store!

I work at Dundurn Press! You can save 20% off literally everything (print &ebook) when you use code READINGMARIA20: https://www.dundurn.com/

*I get the satisfaction knowing that someone will enjoy a book I have worked on!

Today’s episode is all about two amazing books - River Mumma by Zalika Reid-Benta and Jawbone by Meghan Greeley - as well as my thoughts on the disappointment that is the 2023 Scotiabank Giller Prize Shortlist. Enjoy!

Follow me @readingmaria and @getcanlitpodcast on Instagram!

If you're looking to add more mystery, thriller, horror, and dystopian Canadian authors to your spooky season reading plans, you've come to the right place!

Book Recs:

Things We Do In the Dark by Jennifer Hillier

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Blood Atonement by S.M. Freedman (use code READINGMARIA20 at dundurn.com)

Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice

Gutter Child by Jael Richardson

Bad Cree by Jessica Johns

On My TBR:

Everyone Here Is Lying by Shari Lapena

Queer Little Nightmares edited by David Ly & Daniel Zomparelli

Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth

Red X David Demchuk

And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott

Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury

With so much to talk about, besides book mail, I figure now would be a great time to bring up the entire 2023 Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist! Learn more about the books on their website now.

Books mentioned:

Bookmail: River Mumma by Zalika Reid-Benta; And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott

New releases: Rouge by Mona Awad; Daughter by Claudia Dey; Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong; Her Body Among Animals by Paola Ferrante

There is ONE book you absolutely have to read this year, and that's Janika Oza's debut A History of Burning. Whether you like historical fiction or not, let me convince you to pick it up ASAP!

Find the podcast on Instagram at getcanlitpodcast!

Did you go shopping at your local bookstore for #CIBD2023? Listen along for my book haul!