My Halfway Top 12 Reads from 2023
It’s officially (a little more than) halfway through 2023 and I’ve rounded up my 12 favorite reads of the year so far! I have read 86 books total in the first half of this year and 25 of them were five star favorites (ps— these all live on Instagram under #radfivestarfaves) and these 12 are my favorites of those!
Here are my halfway top 12 reads from 2023 so far:
These are listed in the order I read them in! ps— all links are amazon affiliate links, so any purchases made once clicked will put a few pennies in my pocket. thanks in advance for your support!
My reviews:
this here flesh: spirituality, liberation and the stories that make us • cole arthur riley // a stunner. a masterpiece. a total gem, a work of art, a beaut, a blessing, an instant all-time favorite. wow. i’ve read @colearthurriley’s words on @blackliturgies and i’ve heard her speak at @evolvfaith but even that didn’t prepare me for how blown away i would be by the sheer power and force and weight and wonder if her words here. none of my words will come close to doing this one justice — it’s magnificent and a must read. A MUST.
touch the earth: poems on the way • drew jackson // here to once again rave about the genius that is @d.jacksonpoetics. 🙌🏼 this new collection of poetry continues in putting words to the Gospels in a way unlike any i’ve ever heard or read — the back flap described it as protest poetry meets Bible commentary. i’d just add that it’s also masterful and lyrical and blazingly sharp, surprising me so many times. reading these poems alongside the passages of like they drew from was such a rich experience, and brought so much out of the text for me.
sinner • sierra simone // this series (of which this book is #2) is what made me FALL IN LOVE with steamier, sexier romances. simone delves into themes around sex and religion with such… grace? honesty? realness? that i just RESONATED and found so much freedom and expansiveness and intrigue and pure enjoyment while reading these. truly cannot say enough good things about them and how liberating they were for me to read, and how healing they were for me, and how… fun. because HOLY MOLY STEAMY SEXY SMUTTY WOW WOW WOW yes plz
when everything’s on fire: faith forged from the ashes • brian zahnd //essential reading for faith deconstruction journeys. 🔥 this one met me right when i needed it, when everything truly felt on fire, and i was clinging to the ashes of what felt scorched around me, and i was trying to breathe life into the embers of what i knew to be true. i so appreciate the reframing this book offered me, and the fresh ways of seeing my faith and Jesus even after/in hurts and failings from the church at large.
one night on the island • josie silver // started this on audio when i was in need of a book before a nail appointment (lol hi i have anxiety and don’t want to talk to humans) and was so glad i had the physical book on my shelf at home (thanks, @randomhouse!) because i loved this one SO MUCH. it’s truly so charming and made me want to move to an isolated island in the UK and be friends with all these amazing humans!!! what a great cast of characters (the best found family 🥹) and tender love story (with complexities, for sure, but so real!). truly a treasure of a book and one that made feel all the feels in the best way.
maame • jessica george //
adelaide • genevieve wheeler // this book just busted my heart OPEN and i am now in a million pieces. wow wow wow. first of all— adelaide has been my #1 future baby girl name since i was a kid, so i instantly loved this one purely for the title. secondly— i have never— NEVER— seen so much of myself in a character. so many scenes from this book could have been straight from my own life. and i say that with heaviness, because they are the things of pain and abuse, deep depression and grief, mental illness, wrestling with shame and just wanting to be done with it all. half of my tabs as i read flagged things that broke my heart, made me cry, made me remember, brought back the anger and grief and remnants of my own abuse. and half were things that gave me hope, felt like love, were glimmers of goodness and joy and light and beauty. this book felt like such a twist of both. i don’t know if i can find adequate words for what this book meant to me. for how beautifully adelaide’s story unfolded, even alongside (and because of, and in response to) the total bullshit thrown at her from other people who claimed to but didn’t love her. for how it feels to find a character so like yourself, and to see her not only survive, but heal, and come to find love for herself. for how it feels to be reminded that the same can be true for you, too. what a gift. what a story. what a character.
happy place • emily henry //loved it. all of it. i wanted to speed up the (incredible julia whelan’s) audio just to get more of it into my bloodstream faster, but also wanted to savor every bit of it. (thanks @librofm for the ALC! #partner). emily henry spins gold with her words, in the way she crafts places and spaces so magical and tangible you feel a part of them just by listening (aka reading). her characters are warm and real and tangled up in each other in all the best ways, and i will ship them all so hard forever and ever. this one had me feeling on the edge of frustration (gloriously so!) by how the story unraveled and the details were revealed, which i truly loved. i honestly didn’t know if a HEA was coming or not, and the ending was just: 😥🥹😭 i related SO MUCH to harriet and felt all the more connected to this book because of it, and i can’t wait to instantly reread it and highlight the HECK out of it when i get my physical copy. the trio of friends at the heart of this book made my heart so happy, even when they ebbed and flowed— looooove seeing female friendships depicted with realness like this. gah, i could go on and on about my love for this gem.what a DELIGHT. emily henry, your books are my happy place!!!
iona iverson’s rules for commuting • clare pooley // CUTE and quirky and delightful and heartwarming and just such a joy to read!!! i love books like this! give them ALL to me. eleanor oliphant, harold fry, the reading list… i just adore spunky old people and found families and whimsical adventures of self-discovery! GAH 🥹
fourth wing • rebecca yarros //the hype is real. 🐉⚔️🖤 holy moly, i loved this book!!! it unlocked my 13-year-old self who loved the dragonriders of pern and eragon books, who was fascinated by worlds in fantasy books and admired badass female heroines who had a rebellious streak. it swept me up instantly and took me on such a brilliant journey, while giving so many nods to stories, characters, tropes, and other things i looooove.
i’m glad my mom died • jennette mccurdy // finally got around to reading this one and… wow. it’s not a fun read but it feels like an important one, vulnerable and honest and frankly pretty uncomfortable to experience. proud of her for sharing her story and speaking of her family the way she did, shedding light on her reality and the trauma she endured. it reminded me of educated, or the sound of gravel. searing and strong and a story worth reading.
shoutin’ in the fire: an america epistle • danté stewart // a perfect juneteenth read. 🔥 @stewartdantec wrote a powerful, important, heartbreakingly honest, unflinching, stunning work of art with this one, and it grieved me (i still have tears in my eyes from how deeply it impacted me), gave me hope, made me rage, and made me reflect. an absolute must-read, and danté is a must-follow, too. what a gift his words are. masterful.
