Matt's Books and Music

So far these posts on my 2024 Bookish Hall of Fame have focused on what’s happened to books that were in the original list: which ones dropped out to make room for new titles, and which ones saw the biggest drops or bumps compared to last year. But the whole reason for the reassessment is that, of course, some books I read in 2023 are now in my top 100. In fact, a whopping 28 2023 reads made the 2024 list, with one additional read from previous years that wiggled its way in as well.

As you’ll see, a lot of these came in very high, so we’ll have to see how well they hold up next year!

New Titles in Level 1 (73-100)

(100) Happiness Falls, by Angie Kim (2023)

This is an amazing book that just didn’t quite make the cut for my ‘best of’ lists for 2023, so I’m happy to see it get this spot. This is such a unique reading experience, offering insightful reflections on linguistics and the sociology of language, and lots of information about the thought lives of individuals labeled ‘non-verbal’, all wrapped up in what is still a compelling domestic thriller package.

(99) The Sweet Taste of Muscadines, by Pamela Terry (2021)

This book falling here in the list is a great example of the difference between my ‘top books’ of a given year and my ‘best books’ of all time. This was such a gorgeous and fun reading experience that had me hooked from the first paragraph. But, I don’t think it stacks up super well against the best of the best. Even within 2023, when I read it I fully expected it to be in my top 10 of the year, but it barely held on to the top 25.

(97) The King of Infinite Space, by Lyndsay Faye (2021)

This was the only new title to make the list that wasn’t a 2023 read but got in because it has risen in my esteem since I did the original list. What’s stayed with me were the clever ways it modernized the Hamlet story and the beautiful writing, particularly in some of the literary details that many writers wouldn’t take time to think twice about. (There’s a reflection on the concept of zero that I still think about!)

(92) High Fidelity, by Nick Hornby (1995)

This is a great foil to The Sweet Taste of Muscadines, since this a book that fares better against ‘the best of the best’ than it did against its fellow 2023 reads. It’s a book that has stood the test of time and I’m so glad it made the list.

(90) Rachel’s Holiday, by Marian Keyes (1998)

Another title that didn’t make my top 25 but is higher than a book that did, this book made the list based on just how clever it is. I don’t normally enjoy unreliable narrators, but this is such an effective use of the device, putting us in the mind of an addict in denial. It’s laugh-out-loud funny, moving, and has an important message within the fun.

(79) Dinosaurs, by Lydia Millet (2022)

This is simply literary fiction at its best.

(78) Now Is Not the Time to Panic, by Kevin Wilson (2022)

Wilson has carved himself a great little literary niche with his short, quirky, but punch-packing novels. This is a great satire that will no doubt hit close to home for anyone who remembers the ‘Satanic Panic’ of ‘80s and ‘90s suburbia.

(77) The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, by Shannon Chakraborty (2023)

Such a fun start to a new fantasy series by one of the best in the business.

(74) The Wars, by Timothy Findley (1977 🇨🇦)

The first of two new Findley entries this year, I wasn’t entirely sure where it was going to fall. It’s such a tragic and thought-provoking story, but trips itself up with some unnecessary unconventional storytelling choices in places. All told, I’m pleased with where it ended up.

Level 2 (49-72)

(70) How the Light Gets In, by Louise Penny

This is the ninth book of Penny’s marvelous Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series and provides a heart-pounding ending to the overarching plot of the first nine books. What’s most impressive is how well Penny’s style adjusted from the slower, character-driven police procedurals of most of the series to full-scale, battle-against-the-clock, thriller mode here. Just a fantastic book.

(66) September, by Rosamunde Pilcher (1990)

I don’t have much to say about this one; it’s just a beautiful, expansive novel, with full, memorable characters.

(65) Talking at Night, by Claire Daverley (2023)

A beautiful story about the long shadow of loss and the connections we make when we’re young.

(53) Death in Venice, by Thomas Mann (1912)

This is a book where the atmosphere, both in setting and mood, carries the plot to a beautiful, if chilling and utterly disturbing, effect. A masterpiece.

(52) Starter Villain, by John Scalzi (2023)

Without a doubt, my most fun read of 2023, and I stand by it being this high in this year’s list. We’ll see how it fares next year!

Level 3 (29-48)

(46) Leaven of Malice, by Robertson Davies (1954 🇨🇦)

This is a brilliant small-town satire and a deserved Canadian classic.

(45) The Gospel according to Lazarus (aka The Lost Gospel of Lazarus), by Richard Zimler (2019, 2023)

Whether you find it under its original British title or the new one for its belated North American release, this retelling of the last days of Jesus’ life told through the lens of Jewish magic and mystery is a spectacular read.

(42) The Last of the Crazy People, by Timothy Findley (1967 🇨🇦)

Just a great piece of Southern (Ontario) Gothic literature.

(33) Beartown, by Fredrik Backman (2016)

This wonderful novel manages to capture both the beauty and the horror of small towns where youth sports matter too much.

(32) The Berry Pickers, by Amanda Peters (2023 🇨🇦)

A chilling story of one woman’s desperate act and the lasting consequences it has on two families, one White and one Indigenous.

(30) In Memoriam, by Alice Winn (2023)

A rich, impactful novel of lost youth and, love, and war, that tore my heart to pieces many times over.

Level 4 (13-28)

(28) Day, by Michael Cunningham (2023)

A thoughtful and impeccably-written novel looking in on a single day in the life of one family in each of the three years surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

(26) Hotline, by Dimitri Nasrallah (2022 🇨🇦)

A Lebanese woman fleeing the Civil War in the 1980s works hard to settle into life in Montreal and raise her son, while still haunted by the life she left behind.

(25) Wellness, by Nathan Hill (2023)

This is the kind of satire that takes modern urban life and twists it five degrees towards the absurd, with great, often discomforting, effect.

(21) Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett (2023)

A woman regales her grown daughters with the story of a fateful Summer when she had a brush with fame.

(20) Only This Beautiful Moment, by Abdi Nazemian (2023)

A YA novel that not only allows, but celebrates, the fact that life is complex and multi-coloured; unabashedly gay, unabashedly Persian, and even when it’s hard, it is a celebration of love, joy, and the power of family.

(18) Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin (2022)

A story about three decades in a difficult friendship between two difficult people.

New Entries into My Bookish Olympus

(11) The New Life, by Tom Crewe (2023)

While this is a story about the beginnings of an objective, scientific study of human sexuality, and the tensions that exist in any change movement between revolutionaries and reformers, what stands out is the wonderful empathy it has for all of its characters.

(6) Fifth Business, by Robertson Davies (1970 🇨🇦)

This Canadian classic explores the life-altering impacts of seemingly insignificant events, and people.

(5) A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara (2015)

A tragic masterpiece more than worthy of all the critical praise it has received. Somehow, despite all the real pain and suffering on these pages, Yanagihara made this beautiful.