My 4 favorite 2023 books 📚 (Porch #122 & The December Bookbag)
yes, these would be excellent last minute Christmas gifts ... for you or someone you love
Hey all my bookloving friends ~
I knew when I finished each of these four classics back in the spring that they’d end up on this end-of-the-year post. One memoir and three historical novels from authors I highly respect, these are definitely must adds to your personal Dear Santa wish list, 2024 TBR pile, book club agenda, or a perfect last minute gift for a special someone who loves a good read.
Seeing that it’s right before Christmas, I absolutely understand that you probably don’t have a whole lot of time/energy/interest in curling up with this bulky edition of the BOOKBAG right now. So bookmark me and please return when you have time to savor these links, videos, and reviews. I look forward to chatting with you.
But if you’re running on empty and crave a break from the ridiculously delicious whirlwind of shopping and wrapping and decorating, baking and writing cards and all the things, settle in with a cup of coffee, a fuzzy throw, and explore these literary gems.
Because if mama ain’t happy, nobody’s happy.
All My Knotted-Up Life: A Memoir
Beth Moore
'From where I sit, where I stand, where I walk, where I run, where I rest, where I pray, play, and weep, my story looks like a shirt too long left in the bottom of a clothes hamper. Where I to bleach and launder it, starch and iron it to stand up properly, crisp and straight, it would look a whole lot better, but I am certain of this - it would no longer fit.'
(page 118)
In this New York Times Bestseller, ministry leader, teacher, and author Beth Moore peels back the layers of her life and exposes them to the light ... the healing kind that comes when vulnerable secrets are revealed in ways that are needful and appropriate.
This is a no-holds barred memoir told with 'surprising candor' that will draw you right into her traumatic childhood, the immense challenges of marriage, and wrenching decisions in recent years that have won her both heartfelt admiration ... and incredible distain.
Beth's story will impact you. Raw and tender, tragic, humorous, and redemptive in its telling.
The Secret Book of Flora Lea: A Novel
Patti Callahan Henry
'In The Secret Book of Flora Lea, I wanted to tell a tale in a mystical landscape that echoed with the enchantment of storytelling, a story of sisterly bonds, and first naive love, of innocence lost and maintaining hope against all odds. I wanted the girls to live in a magical land of both their imagination and of nature ... But most of all I desired to tell a tale that might ring with these words by Mary Oliver: 'Said the river: imagine everything you can imagine, then keep on going.'
With love and imagination,
Patti Callahan Henry (p 349)
Homecoming: A Novel
Kate Morton
'An epic story that spans continents and generations, Homecoming asks what we would do for those we love, how we protect the lies we tell, and what it means to come home. Above all, it is an intricate and spellbinding novel from one of the finest writers working today.'
Read chapter one of Kate Morton's latest here.
A great big doorstop of a book, lose yourself in this perfect summer multi-generational read packed with mystery, mother-daughter dilemmas, hauntingly beautiful landscapes, and surprise twists and turns.
Kate Morton chats with Patti Callahan
Only the Beautiful: A Novel
Susan Meissner
'California, 1938—Seventeen-year-old Rosanne swore to her dying mother she’d reveal to no one that she sees unexplainable flashes of color when she hears sounds. When she not only breaks that vow but in a moment of abandon ends up pregnant, she is sent to a place where so-called inherited “flaws” are not tolerated.
Vienna, 1947—Helen, who spent the war years as a nanny witnessing the same kind of thinking at its absolute worst, returns home to California and learns what really happened to the girl she long ago befriended at the family vineyard, soon discovering that while the war had been won in Europe, there are still hard battles to be fought at home.'
Not your typical storyline, the uniquely captivating Only the Beautiful is a riveting and compassionate work set in a disturbing time frame, penned by one of my favorite historical fiction authors.
Let’s talk about your favorite reads in ‘23. If you write online, be sure to leave a link to your reviews. I can’t wait to hear your observations.
Linda
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I also loved Beth Moore's book. Here is a link to my review: https://cindysbookcorner.blogspot.com/2023/05/all-my-knotted-up-life.html
I literally just clicked over to read this after reading another blogger's top 3 books of the year and she too listed Only the Beautiful. I'm definitely going to have to check that one out!