My Ten Favorite New Reads:
1. Code Name Edelweiss (PG-16) by Stephanie Landsem, 2023 -- Christian historical fiction spy story set in Hollywood during the build-up to WWII
2. A Deed of Dreadful Note (PG) by Patricia Meredith, 2023 -- Christian historical fiction murder mystery based on the life of mystery novelist Anna Katherine Green
3. High Lonesome (PG-16) by Louis L'Amour, 1962 -- western adventure about strangers banding together against terrible foes
4. Murder on Black Swan Lane (PG-13) by Andrea Penrose, 2017 -- historical fiction murder mystery set in Regency England
5. A Right to Die (PG-13) by Rex Stout, 1964 -- a Nero Wolfe murder mystery involving the Civil Rights Movement
6. Beauty (G) by Robin McKinley, 1978 -- gentle and wholesome fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast
7. The Lilies of the Field (G) by William E. Barrett, 1962 -- sweet story of finding common ground despite outward differences
8. And Then There Were None (PG-16) by Agatha Christie, 1939 -- classic murder mystery about people trapped on an island
9. In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson (PG) by Bette Bao Lord, 1984 -- middle grade book about a Chinese immigrant family in the 1950s
10. The Vanderbeekers on the Road (G) by Karina Yan Glaser, 2022 -- middle grade book about a family road trip
My Ten Favorite Re-reads:
1. The Hound of the Baskervilles (PG) by A. Conan Doyle, 1902 -- classic Sherlock Holmes mystery
2. The Blue Castle (PG) by L. M. Montgomery, 1926 -- classic about a woman stepping out into life from the shadows
3. Shane (PG) by Jack Schaefer, 1949 -- western about a loner who adopts a family
4. The Black Stallion (PG) by Walter Farley, 1941 -- middle grade classic about a boy and wild horse who rescue each other
5. Playback (R) by Raymond Chandler, 1958 -- hardboiled detective mystery starring Philip Marlowe
6. The Enchanted April (G) by Elizabeth von Arnim, 1922 -- classic about four women who discover their true selves in Italy
7. Borden Chantry (PG) by Louis L'Amour, 1977 -- western murder mystery
8. Jane of Austin (PG-13) by Hillary Manton Lodge, 2017 -- Christian fiction retelling of Sense and Sensibility set in modern-day Texas
9. By the Great Horn Spoon! (PG) by Sid Fleischman, 1963 -- middle grade classic tall tale about the Gold Rush
10. Big Red (PG-10) by Jim Kjelgaard, 1945 -- middle grade classic about a boy and the dog he loves
You can see all my lists of favorite reads since 2014 on this page.
Check back later this week for a more fulsome look at my 2023 reading, including how I did with various challenges and so on!
Gosh, I've not even heard of some of these. I feel like I live under a rock. Anyway, that first one, Code Name Edelweiss, made me think of one I read similar, it could be, to it called Code Name Verity. Have you read that? It is set in WWII. I didn't see it on your fiction review list.
ReplyDeleteRuth, well, I was going through a lot of Top Ten Tuesday posts today, and about 90% of the lists didn't have a single book on them that I'd read, and about 75% didn't have a single book on them I'd even heard of! So you are not alone under that rock.
DeleteI have not read Code Name Verity. I tried it once and didn't get into it, so took it back to the library. I may try it again one of these days.
LOL!
DeleteCNV was given to me as a gift and I thought the concept was clever, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped.
I am so happy you loved The Lilies of the Field! It's a wonderful book <3
ReplyDeleteKatie, it really is! I was afraid it could not compare to the Sidney Poitier movie, but it was excellent too.
DeleteI adored The Blue Castle!
ReplyDeleteHere is my Top Ten Tuesday post.
Lydia
Lydia, The Blue Castle is one of my top favorite books. High five!
DeleteGreat list of books, sounds like a great reading year!! I'll be reading Shane this year for my book club and I'm really looking forward to it! Do you know if the movie with Alan Ladd is based on this book?
ReplyDeleteGrace, the Alan Ladd movie Shane IS an adaptation of the Jack Schaefer novel, and both are brilliant.
DeleteOh wonderful! Now I have to decide if I'm going to be a rebel and watch the movie first ;)
DeleteGrace, you will not ruin the book if you watch the movie first. You will also not ruin the movie if you read the book first. They are equally wonderful, but in slightly different ways.
DeleteLovely lists! (And your reading journal spread is satisfying.) Can't wait for the more in-depth recap post. :D
ReplyDeleteThanks, Olivia! Working on taking and trimming up photos of my book pages for that other post, compiling stats, etc, and should be done... Thursday-ish? Maybe even tomorrow :-)
DeleteI NEED to re-read Jane of Austin. Read that one several years ago, and don't remember all the details, expect that it was a good read at the time. Haven't read this one by Stephanie, but I did read another one by her that I thought was good. :) Hope you have a great 2024 and thanks for visiting my website today, too!
ReplyDeleteRissi, I also didn't recall tons of Jane of Austin, except that I really liked it. I liked it even better the second time through :-)
DeleteI want to read more by Stephanie Landsem now!
I loved the Black Stallion series when I was a tweenager!
ReplyDeleteDebra, I read a lot of the other Black Stallion books too, in my tweens, but have always loved the first one best.
DeleteI love Beauty! I think that was one of the first Beauty & the Beast retellings I ever read, and so it still has a soft spot in my heart. :)
ReplyDeleteThe Blue Castle is also SO amazing, and I think I read it for the first time at your recommendation, so thank you for that! (I now want to read it again, lol...time to place a hold on it at the library.)
I was just thinking about The Black Stallion the other day! I'm pretty sure I read my copy until it entirely wore out.
And Jane of Austin was one of my favorite contemporary reads this year--so thank you for that recommendation, too! :)
Samantha, there's a reason that Beauty is one of the best-loved BATB retellings. It's wonderful.
DeleteSo glad you love The Blue Castle too! It's very rereadable.
The cover of my copy of The Black Stallion falls off. It is well-loved.
Glad you dug Jane of Austin! :-D
This is a nice mix of books and favorites. Happy 2024!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Deanna! Same to you :-)
DeleteI hope to read The Blue Castle this year! It is sitting on my physical book cart, about 2 feet away from where I am currently sitting, LOL. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteCindy, well, you are in for a real treat! Mmmmmm, The Blue Castle is so satisfying.
DeleteCODE NAME EDELWEISS is on my TBR. I'm glad you loved it so much! Happy 2024!
ReplyDeletehttps://jennielyse.com/top-ten-tuesday-43/
Jenni, it's a wonderful book! Taut, but relatable. Happy New Year!
DeleteI love your lists. I especially love that you added a re-read list, too. That is really cool you were able to enjoy books you've previously read again this year. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nicole! My reading seems to be about 1/4 rereading most years, and if I just went with what books I loved the most for this end-of-year list, it would probably be mostly rereads because if I love a book, I reread it! So I do two lists :-)
DeleteHappy new year!
Rachel, I see that we both like books by Rex Stout. I don't find many readers that have read any of the Nero Wolfe series. I have read all of Rex Stout's mysteries (more than once). And of course we both have a Vanderbeekers book on the list, but you are way ahead of me.
ReplyDeleteTracy, I LOVE the Nero Wolfe books by Rex Stout! They are my comfort reads. I have read about 2/3 of them, and the rest are waiting patiently on my shelf for whenever I need a pick-me-up. Have you seen the A&E series from the early 2000s that starred Maury Chaykin and Timothy Hutton? That's what got me into the books in the first place.
DeleteI'm planning to read the final Vanderbeekers book this winter. The whole series has been such a joy!
AND THEN THERE WERE NONE will always be my favorite Christie novel. It's just so classic!
ReplyDeleteHappy TTT!
Susan, I can see how And Then There Were None could be a favorite! It's really well done.
DeleteAnd Then There Were None is such a good read, so twisty!
ReplyDeleteMT Wilson, no kidding! It's such a wild ride.
DeleteI have heard many good things about The Enchanted April! Great post!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Hannah! The Enchanted April is such an uplifting and encouraging book. And so funny!
DeleteThe Hound of the Baskervilles is my favorite Holmes story. Happy 2024!
ReplyDeleteAJ, it's my favorite Holmes adventure too :-) Happy New Year to you and yours!
DeleteI have Code Name Edelweiss on my TBR list. So glad to hear it made your top books of the year. It makes me want to read it even more! Happy New Year! :)
ReplyDeleteAshley, Code Name Edelweiss is excellent. Enjoy!
Delete