I’d owned a copy of The Safekeep since before it was published (thanks, Avid Reader Press!), but for whatever reason it just never bubbled up to the top of my TBR — until it was nominated (and then shortlisted) for the Booker Prize. And WOW, am I glad for it. I loved this one.

Louise Erdrich’s novels have an approachability that can feel elusive among novels with such a high caliber of writing. It’s just good storytelling, and the characters step off the page and into your heart. The Mighty Red was no different.

All in all, a lovely little book that will scratch the itch anytime I want to reread Braiding Sweetgrass but don’t have the time. This would make a great holiday gift for the RWK fan in your life!

Ta-Nehisi Coates is one of the greatest writers of our generation, full stop. This is not his strongest book, but it is still very good and very worth your time (it’s also short!).

This hadn’t been on my radar before the National Book Award longlist, but I’m so glad to have been introduced. It took me by surprise and became one of my favorites on the list.

My Friends had been on my TBR for months, so I was especially excited when it was nominated for both the Booker Prize and the National Book Award. I had a ton of friends who had loved it, so it was no surprise that I loved it too.

Another gorgeous, moving book that probably wouldn’t have made it to the top of my TBR without the help of the National Book Award! (Nor onto my shelves — and that would have been such a shame, because I can’t even begin to tell you how stunning the hardcover is.)

I asked the National Book Award judges to give us weird and original short stories on the longlist, and let me tell you — they really said YOU GOT IT, GIRL with this collection.

Happy fall, babes — Sally has come to crack our chests wide open once again. I could have kept reading this book forever, and it reminded me how badly I need to go back and finish Sally’s backlist.

I had a good time with Andrea Stewart’s The Drowned Empire trilogy, so I jumped at the chance to read this new one. And I had a good time with this too. Not a die-hard favorite here, but definitely something I enjoyed enough to anticipate book 2.

Elif Shafak is one of my favorite authors writing today — she combines lush, gorgeous storytelling with incredible research and a drop of the fantastic to give us a reading experience like no one else. And There Are Rivers in the Sky is no exception. In fact, it’s my favorite of her novels to date.

I read/listened to Small Rain in just a handful of sessions, engrossed as I was fully transported into the time, place, and mind of its narrator.

As the Ember in the Ashes quartet is my favorite fantasy series of all, it’s no surprise that Heir was my most anticipated new release of the year. Ember fans, rejoice — this book is so, so, so good.

The Palace of Eros was one of my most anticipated books this year. When I heard that De Robertis had written a queer, gender-fluid Eros and Psyche retelling, I was ON BOARD. And I enjoyed it very much!

The God of the Woods is the latest literary mystery from Liz Moore, and it delivers! People have been calling this the book of the summer for a reason, and I liked it a lot.

I absolutely LOVED Night Boat to Tangier, so imagine my excitement to hear that Irish powerhouse Kevin Barry had written not only an American western, but a LOVE STORY. Did it live up to the hype? You bet your bookloving butt it did.

There’s no denying that Chigozie Obioma is one of the best to ever do it. With The Road to the Country, he proves it once again — enough this time to finally win him the Booker Prize, IMO. He deserves it.

I loved Julia Phillips’ Disappearing Earth, so I was psyched to read her latest book, Bear. It’s hard to compare them, given their very different subject matter, but rest assured that Phillips’ mastery is once again on full display.

This ended up being one of my favorites from the 2023 Booker Prize longlist. I’m also glad I read this with a book club, because holy moly is there a LOT to process after that ending.

I loved this tender and propulsive look at the warfare in Palestine through the lens of relationships between Palestinians.