Tag Archives: talking at night

Lit Chat’s Best Books of 2023: Round 1

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Hi friends,

Happy New Year! Bet you thought you were done with end-of-year recaps in your inbox, huh? Lucky for you, the new year has done nothing to cure my pathological procrastination, so here we are a week later! Below is the start to my Best Books of 2023 bracket, courtesy of this graphic I found on Pinterest (thanks, @diariesofabibliophile, whoever you are!) and my very rudimentary Canva skills:

Bracket of book cover images for each calendar month of 2023.

In terms of rating criteria, we’re mostly going for vibes here: how I felt while reading, what’s stuck with me after I’ve finished, and overall impact (on me as a person, my tastes, my interests, my emotions, etc.). You may disagree—in fact, I hope you do and I hope you tell me about it! I love hearing from friends who have had different reading experiences than me.

This year was a particularly strong reading year, and some of my favorites didn’t even make this list by nature of coming in second to another rockstar book that month. I’d encourage you to check out the Lit Chat archives or poke around on my Bookshop storefront for other reading inspiration! I also love nothing more than giving a personal recommendation, so feel free to reach out if you’re in the mood for something specific but don’t know what that is yet.

Without further ado, let’s begin!

ROUND ONE:

Book cover images for The Sentence by Louise Erdrich and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

The Sentence by Louise Erdrich vs. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

I’m upset about this already because it feels unfair to drop one of these phenomenal books so early. The Sentence was the first book I read in 2023 and set the bar high for its unique characters, sense of community, and portrayal of resilience in the face of so many personal and political upheavals (I was wrong last month when I said Tom Lake was my first Covid book; it was The Sentence!). The Sentence left me energized and inspired for my reading year ahead, whereas Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow was so emotionally all-encompassing that it left me with one of the worst book hangovers I’ve had in a long time. To have that happen so early in the year was daunting, to say the least. Ultimately, this is why Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow is going to move forward this round, although it pains me to say goodbye to The Sentence so early in the game.

Book cover images for Homie by Danez Smith and Fruiting Bodies by Kathryn Harlan

Homie by Danez Smith vs. Fruiting Bodies by Kathryn Harlan

Another tough but very different match-up! Listening to Danez Smith narrate the audiobook for Homie was one of the highlights of my winter, eclipsed only by getting to see Danez perform live at the New York City Poetry Festival on Governors Island this summer. Likewise, Kathryn Harlan’s collection of eerily enchanting, female-centric short stories has also lingered with me this year, and I recently recommended it to a friend just last month. While Fruiting Bodies renewed my interest in short fiction and magical realism, there’s just something about listening to poems like my president, for Andrew, and waiting for you to die so i can be myself read aloud by the poet, feeling the raw emotion, joy, and vulnerability that exists in these exultations of friendship and community that feels timeless and transcendent. Homie wins this round!

Book cover images for The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan and Happy Place by Emily Henry

The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan vs. Happy Place by Emily Henry

This might be the silliest match-up of them all, but honestly, it’s still a real contest. The Hidden Oracle was top-notch mythological fun, and with the new Percy Jackson adaptation now streaming, I’m even more favorably inclined to move it along than I might have been a month ago. But to be fair, I forgot I even read this one, whereas I’ve had so many conversations with friends about Happy Place since reading that it’s stayed all too present in my mind. It’s one that I’ve found surprisingly controversial, and though I have plenty more thoughts, I’ll save them for the next round. Happy Place moves forward on the merit of being a thoroughly enjoyable read that is only slightly more relevant to my life as a late twenty-something than the book about fallen gods turned awkward teenagers. (Note to self: finish listening to the Trials of Apollo books in 2024.)

Book cover images for Les annees by Annie Ernaux and Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

Les Années (The Years) by Annie Ernaux vs. Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

You may remember that I didn’t actually finish a single book in July because of moving apartments and traveling, but I’m putting Annie Ernaux forward as the book I spent all of July reading when I had the time. While I spent almost a whole month trying to get through this one in the original French, I flew through Yellowface and its scandalously delightful satire of the publishing industry in a matter of days. I know Les Années is brilliant and I will return to it in English someday, but man, it made my brain so tired. Yellowface moves on to the next round!

Book cover images for Talking at Night by Claire Daverley and Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

Talking at Night by Claire Daverley vs. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

This one is so hard!!! I love love loved Talking at Night, which had me smiling and crying and yearning my little heart out during my last international flight of the year. On the other hand, I read almost all of Sea of Tranquility in one sitting on my couch and thought about it for weeks after. Hell, I’m still thinking about it. Sea of Tranquility has buried itself in my brain in a way that was completely unexpected, and which has piqued my curiosity in terms of exploring other kinds of soft sci-fi. For this reason, I think it does ultimately beat out Talking at Night, but I will keep recommending that one to all my Sally Rooney girlies who love a slow-burn, long-game relationship story.

Book cover images for Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro vs. An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon

Finally, an easy one! There’s no contest here. I love the Outlander books, and diving into this one was a thoroughly enjoyable way to spend my December, but in terms of literary prowess and lasting impact, I have a feeling Never Let Me Go is going to go a long way in this bracket. While I will say this was one of the least stressful and most satisfying Outlander books in terms of character reunions, new relationships, and surprisingly positive outcomes to ill-fated mishaps, there is still simply no reason for these books to be as long as they are. I’ll keep reading them (and watching the show now that I’m caught up), but HOW does this woman get away with cranking out doorstopper after doorstopper!? That’s beside the point. Never Let Me Go wins, obviously.

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And that’s a wrap on Round One! Come back tomorrow for Round Two as we narrow it down from the six semifinalists to the top three!

See you there,
❤ Catherine

Happy Birthday to LC!

September in Review — Lit Chat, Vol. 12

Pyramid of book covers with Talking at Night by Claire Daverley on top, Homecoming by Kate Morton and Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller in the second row, and The Night and Its Moon by Piper CJ, The Lesser Bohemians by Eimear McBride, and The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories by Jamil Jan Kochai on the bottom row.

Housekeeping note: all links go to my Bookshop storefront, where each purchase supports independent bookstores (and this newsletter, because I get a small percentage of each sale).

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Hi friends,

A year ago today, I sent out my very first insanely huge pyramid for the 10(!) books I finished in September 2022. Since then, 60 more books have graced these silly newsletters, for a grand total of 70 books in a year, which is more or less my average Goodreads goal.

These newsletters have become a reading diary of sorts. In looking back at each pyramid, the context of my life at the time of each book comes back vividly: I remember which ones I read on planes and trains, listened to on walks around the neighborhood, or devoured luxuriously on Sunday mornings in bed.

Books have been my faithful companions in a year of uncertainty and upheaval, full of changes and moves, travels and new starts. It’s been a joy and a privilege to intentionally make space for reading in this way, to commit each book further to memory by recording my thoughts for you to read here. Thank you so much for letting me share this journey with you.

Two wooden vertical bookshelves filled with books against a stone wall, with more books on lower horizontal shelves to the left and in crates on the floor to the right. A sign that says "LIVRES" is attached to the side of one of the vertical bookshelves.
I would give you all a livre from this little French library if I could!

I only finished 4 instead of 10 books in September this year, but one of those books was almost 600 pages, and I also spent a third of the month in a foreign country, so girl math says I probably read closer to 7 books. I also DNF’d (Did Not Finish) two books this month (rare for me!), which those of you on Instagram said you wanted to hear about, so I’ll be including a bit about those as well.

Shall we get started?

THE FOUNDATION:

Book cover images for The Night and Its Moon by Piper CJ, The Lesser Bohemians by Eimear McBride, and The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories by Jamil Jan Kochai.

DNF: The Night and Its Moon — Piper CJ

This was a BookTok hype trap that I fell for because I was really craving some escapism, and the prospect of getting lost in a queer fantasy series sounded perfect. Sadly, it wasn’t what I was hoping for. The two main characters from the first 100 pages—orphans Nox and Amaris—had no real goals except “be together,” and even when they were inevitably separated, I still had no idea where the book was going or what the supposedly extensive fantasy world was like apart from some obvious parallels to The Witcher. I wanted to be immersed, but the overly flowery writing style ended up just putting me to sleep on the plane to Portugal. Would love to know if anyone’s read this and thinks it’s worth picking back up!

DNF: The Lesser Bohemians — Eimear McBride

To be fair, I think the narration of this audiobook is absolutely gorgeous, read by the author whose Irish lilt is naturally hypnotic. Unfortunately, that was exactly the problem; its rhythmic lyricism kept putting me to sleep, despite the fact that its plot revolves almost entirely around the sexual awakening of a young Irish drama student in London who meets a much older semi-famous actor. I suspect this would actually be quite a fast read if I had a physical copy, but it took me four months to get through four audiobook hours (out of eleven), and I got tired of trying to remember what was happening in the plot outside of the bedroom every time I nodded off mid-sex scene. I’d consider coming back to this in print, but I’m not in any particular hurry to do so.

The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories — Jamil Jan Kochai

Every once in a while, there’s a book that reminds me just how small my worldview is by taking me to a place/culture/time in history that I realize I know very little about. I’ve read countless books about New York City or the English countryside, but I’m embarrassed to admit that The Kite Runner is probably the only other book I’ve ever read about Afghanistan until now. Many of the stories in this prize-winning collection follow members of the same extended family, moving between the Afghanistan of memory and family lore to that of the war-torn present day, and overseas to the Afghan diaspora in the United States. Some stories feel folkloric and timeless, while others tend towards a violent kind of magical realism to explore the contemporary consequences of war and conflict. There are moments of humor and levity combined with moments of profound grief and loss, weaving together a portrait of a rich culture and history so often obscured by stereotypes and prejudice in our news at home.

SOLID SUPPORTS:

Book cover images for Homecoming by Kate Morton and The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.

Homecoming — Kate Morton

I’ve loved Kate Morton’s books since high school because they tend to tick all of my readerly boxes: they all feature stately manor homes (characters in their own right) in small countryside towns that serve as a backdrop against secrets, family dramas, and historical intrigue. Homecoming follows Jess, an ex-pat journalist living in London who returns to Australia when the grandmother who raised her becomes hospitalized. While home, she begins to piece together long-buried family secrets about the mysterious deaths of her grandmother’s sister-in-law and her children, and the story alternates between Jess’s investigation and the text of a contemporary true-crime novel written about the deaths. I read this 550+ pager on the couch during a rainy week stuck inside with a cold, which couldn’t have been a more perfect reading environment. It sags a little in the middle, but if you think you’ve got it figured out, you’re wrong—the series of twists in the last 100 pages more than makes up for the time it takes to get there.

The Song of Achilles — Madeline Miller

I was craving the fantastical and landed on the mythological, which turned out to be exactly what I needed. Narrated by Patroclus, Achilles’ closest companion and lover, The Song of Achilles brings the epic tale of Achilles’ life and role in the Trojan War back down to Earth with the kind of tenderness and intimacy that only a mortal in love could achieve. Miller’s writing is so conservatively evocative—no superfluous words are needed to bring this familiar story to life with vivid precision, clarity, and heart-wrenching vulnerability. I think I ultimately prefer Circe just because of the immanent sadness of this story, but both are must-reads for anyone remotely interested in Greek mythology (grown-up Percy Jackson fans, I’m talking to you!). There’s a reason these stories and characters have persisted as long as they have and are still being told: they’re compelling, tragic, inspiring, and at the end of the day, divinely human.

THE TIPPY TOP:

Book cover image for Talking at Night by Claire Daverley.

Talking at Night — Claire Daverley

This book might be benefitting from the romanticization of having been started on a Portuguese beach and then finished in one sitting on my flight back home, but it’s also the closest I’ve found to a Sally Rooney-level of yearning in a long time, and you guys know how much I love to yearn!!

Rosie and Will meet as teenagers and are complete opposites: Rosie is a gifted musician with a regimented, no-nonsense plan for her future success. Will has a dark past of secret shames and addictions, and his only future plans are to travel the world. They’re drawn to each other until a shocking death in Rosie’s family shatters their lives irrevocably, and yet even through years of separation, denial, and other more-or-less fulfilling relationships, they can’t quite let each other go. What stayed with me most about this book was how genuinely it portrayed the way relationships can unexpectedly evolve, and how the smallest decisions and briefest conversations can somehow accumulate to create an entirely different life for yourself than the one you imagined when you were a teenager, never realizing in the moment that that’s what happening.

Talking at Night is a love story at its core, but it also tackles grief, mental health, addiction, and illness with frankness and compassion, and made me absolutely lose it on the plane (although I admit to always crying easier on planes). If you’re a hopeless water sign who loves to yearn, you will love this. If Normal People made you want to bash your head into the wall (but in a good way), then go ahead and let Claire Daverley break your heart and put it back together again, as a little treat.

Thanks for reading with me for a whole year!! I’m off to have a celebratory mini cupcake, but if you’d like to chat some more or want to give me a spooky rec for October, you know where to find me (comments/emails/DMs/call me/beep me/etc).

Until next time, happy reading!
❤ Catherine

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