December 19, 2023

Kelly Hooker - Our Favorite Books of 2023

1 hour 18 minutes

In this episode, Kelly Hooker and I discuss our favorite books of 2023.

Kelly’s Selections:

Favorite Book of the Year: Go As a River by Shelley Read

Best Book To Recommend to Anyone: The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise by Colleen Oakley

Most Unique Premise: Shark Heart by Emily Habeck

Most Likely to Feel like a Conversation with a Friend: It Was an Ugly Couch Anyway by Elizabeth Passarella

Most Tense: The Quiet Tenant by Clemence Michallon

Best Time Travel Story: The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young

Best Book Club Discussion: One Summer In Savannah by Terah Shelton Harris

The Best Love Story of the Year and My Life: The Last Love Note by Emma Grey

Most Unique Story Structure: A Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter

Most Likely to Keep You Up Past Bedtime: Drowning by T.J. Newman

Most Mysterious Storyline: Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent

Most Darkly Lyrical: On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel

Best Coming of Age Story: The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger

Most Likely to Make You Laugh: Late Bloomers by Deepa Varadarajan

Most Unforgettable Character: How to Be Remembered by Michael Thompson

Cindy’s Selections:

Most Unsettling - Better the Blood by Michael Bennett

Historical Fiction Standout - Go As a River by Shelley Read

Best Book to Get Lost In - Time’s Undoing by Cheryl A. Head

Most Likely to Make You Laugh - Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q Sutanto

Best Book Club Discussion - Hello Beautiful by Ann Naplitano

Most Likely to Re-read - The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley

Best Strong Sense of Place - Homecoming by Kate Morton

Most Likely To Recommend to a Friend - Drowning by T.J. Newman

Most Perfectly Plotted - The Bitter Past by Bruce Borgos

Best Family Saga - The Connellys of County Down by Tracey Lange

Best Glimpse into a Particular Time Period - The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger

Most Unique Format - Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter

Best Recommendation from a Friend - The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

Most Unforgettable Character - The Madstone by Elizabeth Crook

Best Based On a True Story/Best Book I Didn’t Know I Needed - The General and Julia by Jon Clinch

Want to know which new titles are publishing in January - May of 2024? Check out the new Literary Lookbook which contains a comprehensive but not exhaustive list all in one place so you can plan ahead.

Kelly and I chat regularly together for my Patreon group, and we just released an episode about more great reads of 2023 (and a few we didn't like). Join my Patreon group to support the podcast. Other ways to support the podcast can be found here.

Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Threads.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

...more

View all episodes

By Evergreen Podcasts

4.9

175175 ratings