Goodreads is having problems the last couple of days, but I’m here to report that I read 63 books (20K+ pages) in 2023.

My top 5 recommendations are:

Joan – by Katherine J. Chen (a novel, not a typical “story of a saint”)
Horse – by Geraldine Brooks (historical fiction, 1850’s Kentucky)
A Painted House – by John Grisham (from the perspective of a 7-yr-old farm boy in 1952 Arkansas )
The Master Butchers Singing Club – by Louise Erdrich (Louise Erdrich!)
The Winemaker’s Wife – by Kristin Harmel (WWII era historical fiction)

Other books I rated as 5-star:

A Prayer Journal – by Flannery O’Connor
The Secret Life of Bees – by Sue Monk Kidd
Mrs Van Gogh – by Caroline Cauchi
Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes – by William Bridges
Walk the Line: Rock Music and the Christian Imagination – by Christian Raab
Montaigne in Barn Boots: An Amateur Ambles Through Philosophy – by Michael Perry
The Four Winds – by Kristin Hannah
Remarkably Bright Creatures – by Shelby Van Pelt