If you want to know why I rate books out of 30, read this post.
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I really love doing this every year. I just read through my record and find a category for every book I want to recommend to as many people as possible.
So, without further ado…
Best Novel - Annihilation, by Jeff VanderMeer
I’ve read loads of great novels this year, but I think none tops Annihilation, by Jeff VanderMeer.
It’s horrendously original, punchy and yet dream-like, and the sentences seem to come out of Jeff’s typewriter perfectly formed, like a queen bee repopulating a hive.
This is not your usual alien story. This is proper Weird fiction. And it’s beautiful.
26/30
Best Non Fiction - Stolen Focus, by Johann Hari
I started this book convinced I would get just another how-to-be-more-productive guide, but I found so much more.
This is more akin to a manifesto, the discovery of a philosophy humanity desperately need. There’s no shortcut in Johann’s tale. No promise of a magic system to get back the focus you’ve lost.
It’s wonderfully honest, and I have the chilling sensation that this is the book we’ll say everybody should have read when it’s going to be too late.
27/30
Most Heartbreaking - Are You Happy Now, by Hanna Jameson
I had to create a category specific for this one. This is not your average novel. Imagine a love story during a mysterious pandemic carrying the terrifying possibility that people are dying by choice, rather than by heart failure.
This is “Are You Happy Now.”
I’ll not lie, this book seemed written for me. If you were born between 1980 and 1995, you have to read it. This is your story too.
Hanna is an amazingly accomplished writer, and I had the honour to interview her for the Hampshire Writing Society last summer.
I can’t wait for her next novel.
25/30
Most Useful - The Art of Impossible, by Steven Kotler
This book has put into words some of the most isolating, and yet widespread feeling of my creative pursuit.
With the language of biology and neuroscience, Steven Kotler depicts a life in which we all can achieve the impossible. A life in which we aim to maximise the moments of flow.
Very practical, extremely applicable, pleasantly inspiring.
25/30
Most Disappointing - The Three Body Problem, by Liu Cixin
I think I’ve been a victim of the hype around this book, so, when I picked it up, my expectations were incredibly high.
As I said before, I don’t like to talk too much about what I disliked, but every year there’s at least one book that disappoints me, and it’s fair to share an unpopular opinion every once in a while.
Indistractable is another flop for me this year, but “The Three Body Problem” was hard to swallow.
18/30
Most Mind-Blowing - A Tidy Ending, by Joanna Cannon
For a full review of the book, please click here.
This is a page turner written like a literary masterpiece. This novel alone is better than any workshop on voice, point of view and unreliable narrators.
Do yourself a favour, put down your phone and read it.
25/30
Most Surprising - Yellowface, by R. F. Kuang
Given what R. F, Kuang has done with Babel and the Poppy War trilogy, I was kind of surprised to see how much success this book had.
So, I had to read it.
And I’m still baffled.
This is a sharp book, a sword pointed at the publishing industry, and I think it is meant for the enjoyment of people familiar with the publishing world.
It reads like a fantasy, sort of, in the sense that the author needs to go through a lot of worldbuilding to make the average reader navigate what happens between authors and publishers in the real world. Plus, the characters all have a sort of magic power with dark consequences. Or, at least, that’s how I read it!
If you have, are or want to write a book, this novel is for you.
PS, if you’re woke and this book doesn’t make you angry, you didn’t get it.
24/30
Best Easy Read - Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
For a full review of the book, please click here.
I thoroughly enjoyed Andy Weir last sci-fi novel. I read it in 2 sittings, and it’s been one of the most enjoyable reads of 2023.
Imagine “The Martian,” but much more ambitious, with aliens and spaceships and other star systems.
Worth a read.
24/30
Strangest - Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke
Susanna Clarke is a masterful writer.
The idea behind Piranesi is beautiful and strange and it will drag you deep down in the mystery of identity and how our world shapes it.
It is a strange one, though. Three quarters of the book are a total mushroom trip.
24/30
Alla Prossima