Best Reading 2023

The battle to continue reading in a world which says it is redundant endures. 2023 saw me complete 47 titles – 32 non fiction and 15 fiction. This year, the trend towards non fiction was evident once more, with two thirds of the total read even though I tried to keep an eye on good fiction just to keep my hand in the game.

The imbalance also reflects the fact I listen to audiobooks in addition to reading with my eyes. 2023 saw me finally cave in and and buy an e-reader, mainly to cut down on all the books I heft around and maybe reduce the unread books pile (the anti-library if you will) from a Manhattan skyline to some kind of low rise, medium density stack. I still buy too many books.

To that end, I realised some time ago that non fiction works better in audiobooks because there is a much lower price for distraction there rather than following a narrative. I also prefer my fiction in hard copy, maybe reclined, offscreen on evenings, weekends and holidays.

The debate about whether listening is the same is reading doesn’t really interest me – however you get the reading done is your business. Often I will buy a hard copy of something I have loved also, just to mark it up and dig a bit deeper.

Due to my work teaching English, I read a bit of YA fiction this year in search of teachable titles, which I have not done in such numbers for a while. In order to choose books, I let my interest and curiosity drive a lot of the NF.

I keep my ears and eyes open for what other people recommend on podcasts, in email newsletters and books, but also follow my own interests, generally around history, biography, personal development and education. I also add titles to an online TO READ list, or put them on a wishlist if I want to work on self control.

The hunger to read more is always there, but I am trying to read longer form, denser books than just get the stats up. I don’t abandon many books, maybe because of FOMO or the optimistic hope that a gem emerges. Sometimes I found myself getting too interested in the numbers rather than the titles – it is a good reminder that quality and not quantity is the goal here.

Hopefully you can find something you might add to your pile?

FICTION

1. Lessons by Ian McEwan: He has an amazing ability to poke a finger into the obscure, ticklish and squirmy parts of the human condition. I find his books compellingly cringey, in a good way. His characters are always brilliantly flawed and fascinatingly real. Lessons tells the story of Roland Baines, born in the baby boom after WW2 into a Britain recovering and re-emerging. It is the uncomfortable exploration of the largely unremarkable life, save for the shadows of what happened during his private piano lessons with Miss Cornell when at boarding school. History of the latter half of the twentieth century comes to vivid life, while the scene involving a riverside dispute over a cremation urn was the best thing I read all year. Brilliant.
2. Post Captain by Patrick O’Brian: Having set sail with Aubrey and Maturin last year, it was logical to continue the journey. Set in the Napoleonic era, this finds the two friends largely ashore during a time of peace, negotiating the fickleness of love and fate as they make their way without war to guide them, particularly Aubrey. The level of naval details is always intimidating yet, not a barrier to enjoying this buddy romp involving two great characters and their friendship, while the action keeps the pages turning.
3. What We All Saw by Mike Lucas: This YA title was recommended and did not disappoint. A complex and sometimes scary story, it is set in and idyllic England of 1976 and borrows something of the dynamic, ensemble vibe of ‘Stand by Me’. A group of friends, at the cusp of high school, learn about the disturbing history of Hag’s Drop, a local isolated quarry with a spooky past. Fate thrusts them into a world of mystery and secrets which weigh heavy as they play themselves out. The tension builds well and this was a really entertaining read with solid characters and a great ending, making it perfect for a rainy day.
4. There There by Tommy Orange: This is a pulsating novel, written from multiple narrative viewpoints as they drift towards a shocking climax at the Big Oakland Powwow. Each perspective is unique, giving us a diverse and realistic view into the lives and struggles of modern First Nations people in the USA. The writing is engaging and confronting as it explores the tragedy and trauma inherent in the experiences of this community, which is soberingly sad. Parts of it are confronting and brutal, yet genuine and beautiful.
5. Ain’t Burned All The Bright by Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin: This is another YA title, this time a graphic novel or picture book. Narrated by an African American youth, it shows the urban experience of people during the early months of the pandemic and what happens to the impoverished minorities as it spreads to impact the lives of many. The collaboration between write and illustrator was also undertaken during this time, which for me made it additionally interesting as a product of the very time it explores. It was a powerful read and something a bit new and different to dive into.

NON FICTION

1. The Idea of Australia: A Search For The Heart Of The Nation by Juliette Schultz: There is always a lot of great analysis of the bigger fish in the world like the USA, but seemingly little devoted to the exploration of our country. Well, that is my view – but I am trying to live a little more where I am. If nothing else, this gives a great context to this concept of Australia during the pandemic, the years leading into that time and back even further to frame an understanding of where we are and where we might be going. It is searching analysis of the concepts and realities of this thing we call ‘Australia’ and unashamedly left leaning, but with a rigour and observational approach that only long serving journos and academics can pull off. There is both clear eyed analysis and academic heft and the writing is of a quality you would expect from a longtime editor of the Griffith Review. This is worth digesting over time, as the overview and scale of brain food for building mental models is worth savouring.
2. A Night To Remember by Walter Lord: This is an old book, written in 1955, but shot back into relevance this year with the scarily comparable events to the Titan implosion in June 2023. It tells the story, in real time, of the hours leading up to and including the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. It is filled with eyewitness accounts, many from survivors still living when written, but also from official cables and deep research. Using this to maximum effect, Lord creates a tense and compelling timeline of how this most famous event unfolded on board across the relatively few hours, including a myriad of voices and perspectives that converge on this history.
3. Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing: If you ever doubt the human capacity to ensure and persist in the face of adversity and challenge, reading this is a cure. It is a name I long associated with Antarctic exploration but must confess ignorance to the remarkable truth of this voyage. Reconstructed from the diaries and letters of survivors, as well as their own accounts at interview, we get an insight into one of the worst outdoor camping experiences in history. Replete with almost insurmountable hardship, bad luck and challenge, there is also a clear determination and spirit to survive and persist. It is hard to imagine a bad day that would compare to anything these explorers, sailors and scientists endured, which is an epic testament to ingenuity, leadership and collaboration employed as they struggle to survive. I can’t recommend this story enough.
4. Leadership: In Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin: It is such an interesting thing to do – look at four US presidents at various points in their lives an careers to track their leadership styles and development at various points in their careers. Loosely, this relates to their youth, rise to power, occupation of high office and final years or legacy as they permitted. Featuring Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson, it dissects and records how they developed and grew through leadership in all the good and bad ways this could be employed. Kearns Goodwin worked for Johnson and became his biographer, which brings additional insight and gravitas to the table, while also bringing each president to life in an entertaining way. This is brilliant.
5. Chasing The Scream by Johann Hari: After enjoying last year’s ‘Stolen Focus’, which really resonated, I decided to take on one of his earlier books. This explores the history of the ‘war on drugs’ or criminalisation of it and also addiction more broadly. Hari’s method is to read a lot and get around talking to a lot of people, and while I know he has been criticised in the past, there is no doubt his work has depth and is always engaging as he brings a human element to a complex topic. At least, it was a lot more complex than I ever imagined. Good non fiction always challenges your thinking and this is no exception. Highly recommend.

Books for Educators

1. Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning by Brown, Roediger and McDaniel: This accessibly tied together a good deal of the research and theory I have been exploring in recent years and has no doubt informed many classroom practitioners. It not only sets out the information in clear language, but most importantly talks about how to action the information in a real world setting. I think the value of this could extend to students themselves and parents too, as they do a great job of taking a heady mix of neuroscience, cognitive science and psychology and making it accessible for busy people, or those new to it, so we can make better sense of the learning process and how to optimise it.
2. The Writing Revolution by Hochman and Wexler: Not a new title at all, but new for me. As an English teacher, it is sometimes hard to verbalise or explain how to teach students to write well or indeed, make writing accessible for students. This method, suitable for a range of year levels, ability levels and curriculum areas contains so much good stuff that there will definitely be something to use. What I like most is it is tested widely in classrooms and makes a lot of simple sense. If you are looking for evidence based writing materials, this is a great place to start.
3. Motivated Teaching by Peps Mccrea: Aside from having a very cool name, Peps is a person out there doing the really great work of taking all the best bits of research and other interesting evidence based practice and packaging it up for busy and overburdened teachers. This one looks at the science of motivation and his style – clear, actionable and digestable in short time is most useful. Not only does he help us understand it, but mobilise this in our practice and classes. Readable in a few hours and short bursts, with easy dosages for action, they are the right amount of impact for effort, and great for improving our mental models and toolkits.
4. Lean Lesson Planning by Peps Mccrea: Everything I said about the previous title applies here, but for those teachers who know the frustrations of being time poor or finding oneself endlessly planning rather than teaching, this is a great one. Supported by strong research but also highly practical and actionable, Mccrea explores the limits of planning as we know too well – time, cognitive load and double handling are all dealt with and he offers a different way of thinking about what we do and how we approach planning to perhaps win back some of that teaching time. For those who like this format, Peps also has a great weekly newsletter called Evidence Snacks which you can subscribe to if you fancy.

Well, that was the best of 2023 reading for me. I hope you found something intriguing or useful to add to your list.

As ever, if you have anything to recommend, please do via the comments and share the wealth. Happy reading in 2024!