There are lean years, mean years and years where you read a ton. Quote by no one— just run of the mill, Mimi non-sense.

My 2023 was none of the above. I crossed the Pond 4x, wore countless bikinis, maxed out on the Summer Friday Dinner and had more great kisses than I can count.

So, who has time for a pile of books with a year like that?

In between all the swimming, plane rides, endless pasta and kissing, I did manage to read a handful of great books– some more great than others, but nonetheless they were read!

My 2023 lit hits:

• Lessons in Civility by Amor Towles– I devoured this book on the return flight from EDI at the top of the year. It is a lush sweep of emotions between friends, lovers and the in-betweens. I love that it is rife with hyper-NYC moments (obvi), a bit of glamour, but most compelling how it contends with the tenuous nature of a person’s deep wantings.   
• Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid– I am an unabashed TJR fan! As I often say, sometimes popular shit is really popular for a reason. I put off reading Daisy for years, mainly because I have been engrossed in TJR’s other novels for the better part of the past decade. (Evelyn! Carrie Soto!) The mini-series compelled me to go on and crack open the book and thank heavens I did, because the one-two punch of the story on page and screen was almost too much to handle. It is a stunning tale of family, fame, soul recognition and really great music. My childhood was set to Fleetwood, Billy Idol, Jimi and Heart, so TJR’s command of the fine details of 60’s/70’s rock n’roll propelled me back to school drop-off, blasting classic rock in my Dad’s green Volvo.
• The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell– Unlike TJR, Lisa Jewell is a bit less consistent. But when sis hits, she hits! The Family Remains is the sequel to The Family Upstairs, but is easily a stand-alone read. Upstairs was one of my favorite reads of 2021, although it unsettled me to my core. Trust me, you will need to brace yourself for the plot twists. Remains is a slightly more enjoyable read than its predecessor as it is still twisty and dark, but with a hint of fun, British humor. The character development delivers with a plot that will keep you locked in.
• The Guest by Emma Cline– Speaking of unsettling, The Guest was a most talked-about and polarizing book of the summer. There are shades of Raven Leilani’s phenomenal Luster, but the white girl version. Set out east in the complicated and monied Hamptons, the story explores themes of imbalanced gender dynamics, white privilege, and straight-up classism. Cline takes the unstable, female protagonist, and to quote our Hamptons Queen, Ina Garten– “turns up the volume!” Our main character attempts to manipulate her way into a stable life through a haze of drugs, sex and fucked-up decision-making. Epic review, I know. Just trust me and read it!
• Yellowface by R.F. Kuang– In honor of the unreliable narrator, Yellowface is a whipsmart snap of a book that covers a lot of ground in short order. It has elements of satire, racism, the downfalls of fame and all but skewers the modern fiction industry. Kuang’s novel is not perfect, but the pacing and character development is pitch-perfect.
• Charleston by Margaret Bradham Thornton– This read is the “least” of my list, but was a perfect early summer read as I reintroduced little moments of sweetness and romance. The story grapples with themes so familiar to me of the comforts/claustrophobia of hometown juxtaposed against the vastness/anonymity of the major city. Thornton describes the central romantic relationship with such visceral emotion that just writing about it brings tears to my eyes now. A favorite exchange– “So, how are you?” “Okay.” “Let’s improve that, then.”

Ok, so I was far more literate than I initially thought! What was on y’all’s list? Xx

**the title is in homage to my sweet, almost decade-old bookclub, The Memphis Bookies. these 11 women have given me some of my greatest moments of literary + drunken/chaotic joy! Memphis Bookies Forever