Library Blog

Chelmsford Library Staff Picks: Best Books From 2023!

January 3, 2024 Book Groups, Book Reviews, Reading Room Library Staff

    2023 was a great reading year for the staff at the Chelmsford Library!  We read a huge variety of new releases in fiction and nonfiction, we checked out some back list titles, and we borrowed cookbooks, picture books, and YA novels.  Personally, the second half of the year was really strong for me, since three of my top picks for the year were released after the midway point.  If you're looking to see what we read throughout last year, check out the list below: Jianna:    The haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro (fiction)   Endangered Eating by Sarah Lohman  (nonfiction)   Mike H:    Dead Fall by Brad Thor    Vickie:    The Wager by David Grann (nonfiction)   Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (fiction)   Eileen:    Homecoming by Kate Morton   Games & Rituals - stories by Katherine Heiny   Jeff:    Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree (I think Julia really liked this too!)   Leviathan Falls by James S.A. Corey   What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher (also one of Lesley’s faves)   Julia:    White Cat, Black Dog by Kelly Link   Chain-Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah   Biography of X by Catherine Lacey   Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle   Apeirogon by Colum McCann   Lindsey:    The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins   Lesley:    This Other Eden by Paul Harding   Night Wherever We Go by Tracey Rose Peyton   Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Torzs   The History of a Difficult Child by Mihret Sibhat   Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka   The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young   Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead   The Deep Sky by Yumi Kitasei   I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home by Lorrie Moore Nonfiction:   Milk Street Noodles by Christopher Kimball   The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On by Franny Choi   Wound is the Origin of Wonder by Maya Popa Pub in 2022 but I read in 2023 and they deserve attention 🙂    Sorcerer of Pyongyang by Marcel Theroux   What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher (I think Jeff maybe submitted this already)   Checkout 19 by Claire-Louise Bennett   The Half Life of Valery K by Natasha Pulley   Andrea:    Once Upon a Chef Weeknight/Weekend by Jennifer Segal That's the top-rated bibliobites book this year!   Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid Fabulous full-cast audio.  Just thinking about it makes me want to listen to it again.  All of the voices are so perfect and really bring the characters to life.   Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice For Murderers  by Jesse Sutanto                          Just a fun romp!  Lots of Asian and ageist stereotyping, but hilarious all the same.  Written by an Asian author so I guess the stereotyping is OK.   Mistress of Bhatia House by Sujata Massey                                                         Third (fourth?) in a series that takes place in 1920s India.  The protagonist is based on India's real-life first female lawyer.  Our intrepid heroine, Perveen Mistry, is drawn into crime-solving and uses her legal training in the pursuit of justice.  Lots of evocative description creates a vivid sense of time and place.  Ongoing subplots involving the Mistry family and a love interest for Perveen.  Oops-- that's two titles in the Mystery category!  Or we could call this one historical fiction.   The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis                                                                             I think I got this title from one of your displays or lists.  (She did!  This was an unexpected delight for me in 2023! -Julie)  Though I rarely read sci-fi, one of my favorite books ever is Willis' earlier title, Passages, so I decided to try this one.  I was not disappointed!  This is a plot-heavy tale of alien abduction with a cast of your basic quirky characters, and a hero who may or may not be what he seems.  A nice subtext about not rushing to judgment when encountering someone (or something) that you've never seen before/don't understand.   Jess H:   Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes    In Defense of Witches: The Legacy of the Witch Hunts and Why Women Are Still on Trial by Mona Chollet    Jess F:   Yellowface by R. F. Kuang    The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez   Rouge by Mona Awad   I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai   All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby   Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane   Birnum Wood by Elinor Catton   The Fraud by Zadie Smith   Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff   Exiles by Jane Harper   Trupti:   The Kind Worth Saving by Peter Swanson   Nancy:   Golden Doves by Martha Hall Kelly   Spare by Prince Harry   Donna:   No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister   Heidi:    Tom Lake by Ann Pachett An Astronomer in Love by Antoine Laurain (not available in MVLC)   Wes:   System Collapse by Martha Wells   Wild Massive by Scotto Moore   Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree   Marty:    How to do nothing: resisting the attention economy by Jenny Odell   Jamie:    Tomorrow and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin   Amy:    The Wishing Season by Anica Mrose Rissi   The Peach Rebellion by Wendelin Van Draanen   Holding Her Breath by Eimear Ryan   Glynis:    A Deadly Vow by Carla Simpson Murder of the Seven Dials by Cara Devlin (not available in MVLC)   Staff Pick:    The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid   Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano   Stephanie:    Inheritance Games series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes   Cynthia:    Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese   Todd:    Doppelganger by Naomi Klein   Pirate Enlightenment by David Graeber   The Internet Con by Cory Doctorow   Julie:    The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters   North Woods by Daniel Mason   Shark Heart by Emily Habeck   A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales   The Ferryman by Justin Cronin   Jill:    A Light in the Forest by Melissa Payne   A Storm of Infinite Beauty by Julianne Maclean   Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett   Going Zero by Anthony McCarten   The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni