Hello Reader,

As the major bookish publications release their end-of-year best-of books lists, I always like to spend a little time thinking about what my favorite reads were over the last year. And of course, I love to share them in case you're looking for some holiday gift ideas or just stocking your TBR pile for Winter Break.

My full list of 2023 Holiday Book Recommendations is available on Bookshop.org, but here are my favorites, presented in a list of light-hearted "awards." Perhaps in the future, I should call these the Wyrdos:

Best Mash-Up of My Interests

Of course I'm going for unconventional categories, friends, what did you expect? This is the perfect mashup of highly feminist, lyrical, and...Shakespeare. Joy McCullough brings her amazing verse and her roots in theater to this retelling of several of Shakespeare's most famous heroines in this masterpiece of social commentary. I read this one in one sitting because it was so compelling. This one should be at the top of every best-of list this year. The fact that it's not makes me want to shout about it from the rooftops even more.

Best "How did he do that?" Award for Craft

If my best friend hadn't told me this was a must-read, I might have put it down when I realized there were so many different timelines and that, in typical Doerr style, they wouldn't come together until the very, very end. But I'm so glad I hung on with this one because the way he wove these stories together was ultimately so satisfying. There's really no way to say what this book is about in any sort of short form, so I'll just say this: It's a craft masterpiece and you should definitely read it if for no other reason than to try to figure out how the heck he came up with the idea to weave so many seemingly disparate ideas together into one stunning whole.

Best Retelling of an Original I Loathe

TJ Klune is fast becoming one of my favorite insta-read authors. So I picked up his latest without even paying attention to what it was. And I'm glad I did because if I'd known it was a Pinocchio retelling, I might have given it a miss given how traumatized I still am by that nightmarish fairy tale from my childhood. He brings his typical humor, heart, and M/M romance to this classic story that reimagines Pinocchio as a post-apocalyptic adventure with some very strong parallels to The Matrix in addition to fun re-imaginings of aspects of the original. As always, the voice is what drew me in from the opening chapter. I mean, Rambo, an anxiety-prone Roomba vacuum, needs to be on the list of best-ever sidekicks, in my opinion. Just one of the many delights in this book.

Best Holiday Romance

This year has been rough, folks. So rough that I started reading holiday romance in July. Which is how I not only discovered this series beginning with A Merry Little Meet Cute, but was primed for Book 2, which was truly delightful. Although many of the typical "Christmas Romance" tropes are firmly in place, there's a fun twist--the main character, who plays Santa in the Christmas Romance they're filming over the course of the book--is Jewish. And a former boy band star. And a pizza-baking entrepreneur. I loved this one with all my heart. The team-up of Julie Murphy's lovely fat positive characters with Sierra Simone's excellent spicy love scenes was a real winner for me.

Favorite Over-All

Oh look, another Shakespeare reference. Well, at least I'm on brand. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow has little to do with Shakespeare though. It's a story of gamers Sam and Sadie and their unlikely friendship that spans decades, multiple tragedies, and dare I say multiple dimensions? Another multiple-timeline, multiple POV craft masterpiece, this one breaks so many rules so well that it's another must-read for the craft wonks out there. But it will also probably make you cry. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Here are a few book lists from around the internet as well. Because let's face it, I can only read so many books! I've knocked out 68 and counting this year, but there are still so many more I'd like to read, including quite a few of these:

• ​NPR's 2023 Staff Picks (Adult fiction & nonfiction, YA)
• ​School Library Journal's Best Books of 2023 (children's literature birth - YA)
• ​Kirkus Reviews Best of 2023 (sortable by age category)
• ​Hugo Awards (best speculative, including shorter forms)
• ​Nebula Awards (best speculative, including shorter forms)

I know I've said it before, but reading is one of the best ways to learn the craft of storytelling. So I hope you have some time in the coming weeks to refill that creative cup and read, read, read.

If you have a favorite read from this year that's not on my radar, hit reply and let me know!

Warmly,

Julie

PS - Start the new year out right with January's Craft Magic Webinar - Create a Blueprint for Your Book on January 8, 2024, 4 - 5:15 PM PT. This hands on workshop covers the first step in my Six-Step Story Planning Process and will help you see how your own personal "Why" for writing is the key to knowing where your book fits on the shelf and how to get it there.