Tea or Books? #124: Our Favourite Reads of 2023

Our favourite books from 2023 – or reads, because of course we mostly read ‘backlisted’ titles. Always a fun one to record – this time with the added bonus that we were each going to choose one from the other’s

Our favourite books from 2023 – or reads, because of course we mostly read ‘backlisted’ titles. Always a fun one to record – this time with the added bonus that we were each going to choose one from the other’s list to read for the next episode.

Some of our Patreon patrons also appear in this episode. You can join them, and get early access to episodes and other perks, at our Patreon. Do feel free to get in touch at teaorbooks[at]gmail.com.

The books and authors we mention in this episode are:

Taken at the Flood by Agatha Christie

The World Between Two Covers by Ann Morgan

Ilustrado by Miguel Syjuco

A Flat Place by Noreen Masud

Noble Ambitions by Adrian Tinniswood

The Long Weekend by Adrian Tinniswood

A Bird in the House by Margaret Laurence

A Jest of God by Margaret Laurence

The Fire-Dwellers by Margaret Laurence

The Diviners by Margaret Laurence

The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson

Temples of Delight by Barbara Trapido

Brother of the More Famous Jack by Barbara Trapido

Noah’s Ark by Barbara Trapido

Barbara Comyns

Sex and Stravinsky by Barbara Trapido

The Travelling Hornplayer by Barbara Trapido

The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum by Heinrich Böll

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Billiards at Half-Past Nine by Heinrich Böll

Never Said A Word by Heinrich Böll

The Bird in the Tree by Elizabeth Goudge

Dr Serocold by Helen Ashton

Bricks and Mortar by Helen Ashton

Yeoman’s Hospital by Helen Ashton

Half-Crown House by Helen Ashton

The Self-Portrait of a Literary Biographer by Joan Givner

Katherine Anne Porter

This Little Art by Kate Briggs

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert

Day by Michael Cunningham

Edith Holler by Edward Carey

The Hours by Michael Cunningham

The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka

Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid

Road Ends by Mary Lawson

For Every Favour by Ruby Ferguson

Lady Rose and Mrs Memmary by Ruby Ferguson

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

Jill’s Gymkhana by Ruby Ferguson

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

Sheep’s Clothing by Celia Dale

Harriet Said… by Beryl Bainbridge

A Helping Hand by Celia Dale

The House By The Sea by May Sarton

Journal of a Solitude by May Sarton

The Education of Harriett Hatfield by May Sarton

Landscape in Sunlight by Elizabeth Fair

A Winter Away by Elizabeth Fair

Barbara Pym

Jane Austen

Bramton Wick by Elizabeth Fair

The Native Heath by Elizabeth Fair

No Leading Lady by R.C. Sherriff

Journey’s End by R.C. Sherriff

Old Filth by Jane Gardam

The Man in the Wooden Hat by Jane Gardam

Any Human Heart by William Boyd

Last Friends by Jane Gardam

Dorothy Whippl

Thunderclap: A Memoir of Art and Life and Sudden Death by Laura Cumming

To Serve Them All My Days by R.F. Delderfield

The Pillars of the House by Charlotte M. Yonge

The Q by Beth Brower

Magnificent Rebels by Andrea Wulf

The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald

The Perfect Golden Circle by Benjamin Myers

Possession by A.S. Byatt

The Matisse Stories by A.S. Byatt

All the Dogs of My Life by Elizabeth von Armin

Mrs. Appleyard’s Year by Louise Andrews Kent

Pleasures and Palaces by Juliet Wilbor Tompkins

Albert’s Christmas by Alison Jezard

The Stillmeadow Road by Gladys Taber

Buttered Toast by Marjorie Stewart

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth

An Unequal Music by Vikram Seth