This is belated, but inspired by other peoples end of the year lists, I thought it would be fun to share my own, even if only for myself (I’ll be surprised if anyone reads this, but I enjoyed collecting these and compiling my thoughts). Some of these reads go back to early 2023, and it was refreshing to look back and remember them. I’ve noticed I enjoy reading in themes, within 2023 having gone through periods where I just read graphic novels, to memoirs, to old YA favourites, to si-fi.
My hot & dreamy si-fi/solarpunk summer
I wrote this heading in my draft intending to replace it, but it’s too accurate. This was a summer of reading about alternative societies and communities, in space and on worlds other than our own. 2023 was another year of watching our societal structures continue to fail at supporting our local and international communities (tearing down homeless camps in below freezing temperatures, failing to implement even one of the recommendations from TRC Commission’s Call to Actions this year, western governments complacency in the on-going Gaza genocide, etc etc). Reading these books by Ursula K. Le Guin and Becky Chambers and thinking about them since has been a balm. At a time when our collective imagination feels tethered, these books help free it.
Record of a Spaceborn Few (Becky Chambers) gave a wonderful, character driven look at living in community when all we have is one another – especially when our home planet is far, far away and uninhabitable. This became my favourite of the Wayfarer series.
Monk and Robot books (A Psalm for the Wild-built, A Prayer for the Crown-shy) (Becky Chambers) was this first time I read something that felt it belonged in the solarpunk genre. These books are soothing, showing a world with balance between nature and human society. As an young millennial, the character’s struggles felt very relatable: Am I doing enough? What is my purpose? And how to separate our work identity from ourselves?
To Be Taught, if Fortunate (Becky Chambers) is a short novella about a crew of humans who left Earth to explore three planets and the life on them. To explain it without spoilers, the worlds they explored were compelling, and the human voyagers emotional journeys moving.
Left Hand of Darkness (Ursula K. Le Guin) is excellent. To oversimplify the premise: if the human race didn’t have multiple genders, how would the structure of of our society be different? How would it be the same? Genly was also an entertaining narrator, with some strong biases.
The Dispossessed (Ursula K. Le Guin) was my favourite of the bunch (and Record of a Spaceborn Few a close second). I found Shevek to be such a compelling character, and the structure of alternating chapters between his past on the anarchist moon and his present on the capitalist planet a revealing structure that kept me eager to see how it would tie together. “Stop egoizing” became a common phrase after reading it, and when we make eye contact with our dog my partner and I often quote how we are looking at one another “across the gulf of being”.
Other Fiction
The Overstory (Richard Powers) a long novel with layers than reminded me of Cloud Atlas, but about trees. Peoples relationships to trees. Trees as characters within the book. Trees and forests and people and sharing land and a home. With beautiful prose!
2023 Short Story Advent Calendar. I’ll admit I still have a few stories to read from this, but I really enjoyed the collection (and well designed, which makes it extra satisfying). My favourite was Cosmic Cul-de-sac by Jade Song, the moment the suburban house wife became a lawn mower vigilante-assassin by night, I was delighted. As someone with some very lawn-obsessed neighbours, her desires for quiet were relatable. And the magical realism that followed was refreshing.
Graphic Novels
Forever, Always (Jordi Lafebre) a charming love story, told from the present to the past, with the characters aging backwards. The art was what really won me over, Lafebre’s ways of posing and drawing characters is remarkably expressive, so much so that after returning the library’s copy, I purchased my own to have available to flip through.
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands (Kate Beaton) a moving read, heavy at times due to discussion of sexual harassment in the workplace and sexual assault. An excellent graphic memoir of Kate Beaton’s time working at the Alberta oil sands in efforts to pay off her student loans.
Non-fiction/memoir
Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life (Alice Wong). If you don’t already know her, Alice Wong is brilliant. I first heard her in a podcast episode (I think Radiolab) and have followed her writing and interviews since. This book is not a typical memoir, instead it is a collage, featuring essays, interview transcripts, commissioned artwork, family photos, even recipes. Through all these pieces you gain a sliver of a look into Alice Wong’s life, her activism, and living with disability.
What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma (Stephanie Foo) [audiobook] As a Snap Judgement and This American Life listener for most of the last decade, Stephanie Foo was a familiar name to me. This moving memoir dives into her complex-PTSD diagnosis from severe childhood trauma. An especially interesting part of the audiobook are the real recordings from some of her therapy sessions, recorded at the time as an agreement between herself and the therapist, unbeknownst to either that she would eventually write a memoir and share snippets of them.
