It’s time to reflect on all the wonderful time spent with books throughout the year. So let’s take a look at 2023:

Favorites in Fiction: Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley, Love & Saffron by Kim Fay, Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel and Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan.

Favorites in Mystery: May God Forgive by Alan Parks, The Dead Will Tell by Linda Castillo and A Dreadful Splendor by B.R. Myers.

Favorites in Other Genres: The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin, A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers, Radium Girls by Kate Moore, Good Morning, Monster by Catherine Gildiner and Weaving Sundown in a Scarlet Light by Joy Harjo.

The Numbers: *I’m still reading two books but will finish them by Dec. 31st so they are taken into account in these numbers. 
Total books read in 2023: 60
Books by women: 47
Books by men: 9
Books by two or more authors: 4
Fiction: 27
Mystery: 16
Horror: 3
Graphic Novel: 1
Non-fiction: 5
Short story: 2
Science fiction: 2
Poetry Collections: 4
Books in translation: 6 (Japanese, Swedish, Spanish, French, and German)
Audiobooks: 16
Challenges participated in: 2 (Japanese Literature Challenge and Readers Imbibing in Peril)
Reading events participated in: 4 (Read Ireland Month, 10 Books of Summer, Women in Translation, Novellas in November).

This was a really good year and I continued to branch out into other genres. I was surprised to add some horror in my mix and got in a few nonfiction books as well.

I’m still adjusting to my new normal of a full time job and providing full time care for my mom. She’s doing well but after her fall and bout with shingles she needs help with daily living activities so I’m actually surprised I read that many books. Granted, a lot were short but I think I finally have really embraced audiobooks. I used to only listen to audiobooks on my commute but now I turn to them when I’m doing chores or even working on some craft projects.

As far as reading plans for the new year, I want to continue participating in reading events as those help to remind me to read other genres. Regarding reading challenges, I’m tempted by so many (just check this list of reading challenges!) but so far I’ve only decided to join the Japanese Literature Reading Challenge (more on that in an upcoming post).

I’m excited about what the new year will bring. What new authors I’ll discover, new bookstores to visit and of course more book conversations with you. I want to thank you for spending time with me and sharing your love of books. I hope you’ve had a wonderful holiday season and here’s to making many happy memories in 2024. Happy New Year!

Smiles,
Iliana

If you are in the mood for some wintery reads, I’ve read two books which might interest you.

“ ‘I’ve been planning a trip to Vermont in winter for years and then I spotted a picture of your inn on social media,’ a woman gushed, ‘and it looks so cozy and welcoming. The type of place you can’t help but relax.’ It’s an illusion Hattie thought.”

The Book Club Hotel
By Sarah Morgan
Source: Advance review copy
Published: September 2023
Rating: ★★★★

Hattie has been in crisis mode since her husband died in an accident a couple of years ago and left her with a small child, Chloe, and a historic inn to run. They had renovated and made the Maple Sugar Inn a dream destination for travelers but Hattie didn’t know how much longer she could suffer the willful nature of her employees. If it weren’t for her good friends and small community she wouldn’t know what to do. In the midst of more employee drama, she’s just reserved a three rooms for a group of women who are coming to stay at her inn for a week for their annual book club meeting.

Anna, Claudia and Erica have been lifelong friends and meet up annually for a week devoted to talking about books and catching up on their life. Typically they are in some bustling city so when Erica suggests the Maple Sugar Inn, Anna and Claudia feel like something is behind this decision but each one is also dealing with a turning point in their lives. Anna who’s always had the picture perfect life is at a loss realizing her children will soon be leaving home to go to college and then what becomes of her? Meanwhile, Claudia doesn’t know if she wants to be a chef any longer after losing her job and being dumped by her boyfriend of 10 years. She probably can’t afford this vacation with her friends but she needs them.

Erica has always been aloof when it comes to relationships but she’s a successful career woman but she needs to visit the inn and meet the woman who runs it to find out more about herself. This was such an enjoyable read. Yes, a bit predictable but that’s not always a bad thing. There’s a bit of romance and most of all a story about the enduring friendships. Of course the setting is charming and I especially liked the details about the town bookstore and the Maple Sugar Inn’s library. Now where can I find this delightful place to go there myself?

“One of the hallmarks of living in the desert is its silence. I can hear a raven flat its wide wings a mile high in the sky, or a coyote howl on a distant peak. Most things in the desert seem to go it alone, and at the age of fifty I have grown comfortable with my own solitude… But when I hear a couple talk about the winter, or plan a holiday, my heart cracks open like the dry, desert floor. I wonder what my life might have been like if…”

The Secret of Snow
By Viola Shipman
Source: Audiobook/Advance review copy
Published: January 2023
Rating: ★★

After an on-air outburst where Sonny Dunes drunkenly tells her viewers that she was replaced by an AI meteorologist, Sonny knows her career in Palm Springs, or anywhere for that matter, is over. So when her agent tells her she has a chance at being back on air, Sonny is excited that is until she realizes it is for a local news station in her hometown of Travers City, Michigan. She escaped that place a long time ago and besides she can’t stand the cold. How is she supposed to go back?

Sonny moves in with her mom, who is a hospice nurse, and slowly the two begin to reconnect. Sonny realizes her mom is getting older and that she’s missed the closeness they once had. What she is still struggling with is being the Chief Meteorologist at the local station. Not only is she working for a former college classmate who seems to have harbor some resentment, but she’s also over Polly Sue, who was supposed to be the Chief Meteorologist but is nothing more than a pain in her neck.

As weeks go by, Sonny has to participate in winter events which somehow end up making her look foolish and every day she finds it harder to keep at her job. Luckily she seems to have found a supporter in Mason, a local businessman. Still, she doesn’t know if she can take more humiliations and live with the memories of her sister and the fateful event that made Sonny leave Michigan and the cold weather.

While I enjoyed the descriptions of some of the winter events, like ice fishing and sledding, as those are so foreign to me living in Texas where just this Christmas I was in short-sleeves, the characters were not very likable. I got tired of reading about Sonny’s resistance to her hometown. Yes, I understand what drove her away but at 50 years old, I would think she’d have come to terms with the events. So unfortunately this was not a winner for me.