Favorite Books Archives - Novel Visits

BEST BOOKS of 2023

Susie — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 11:00:12 +0000

2023 has been a busy year! I think I tried to get in a lot of the traveling I missed over the last couple of years. I traveled to Greece and Turkey in the spring, then France and England in June. Both trips were wonderful and we had absolutely perfect weather, mid 70’s the whole time. Back in the U.S. there was a weeklong family reunion in Lake Tahoe and a trip to Washington D.C. this fall. Lots of other smaller trips, and of course I spent several weeks in beautiful Sunriver, Oregon. Phew! In 2024, I hope to get more traveling done, but maybe not quite as much. I was also lucky enough to spend a lot of time with my 5 grandkids who are growing up too fast!

As for books, I’ve heard people complain that this wasn’t a great year for books, but I disagree. I read so many books I loved, and some I didn’t, but truly appreciated what the authors were trying to achieve. I also read some clunkers and had a few I couldn’t finish. Right now I’m at 153 books and will likely get in a couple more before the 31st rolls around. Still, I’m confident no other books will be squeezing in on this list. I shared My Favorite Debuts of 2023 on Tuesday and if you want to see my Underrated Gems or Hyped Books, you can find those on Instagram. (Where you can follow me to get ALL my reviews.)

For my Best Books of 2023, I’m only including fiction for two reasons. First, I just don’t read that much nonfiction and what I do read is usually on audio. I’ll be covering my nonfiction audio favorites on a post next week on Instagram. (I’ll also cover my favorite fiction audiobooks.) Second, choosing the best was plenty hard without throwing nonfiction in there, too! Now on with 2023 books….

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Debuts ~ My Favorites of 2023

Susie — Tue, 19 Dec 2023 11:00:45 +0000

I’ve always been a huge fan of debuts and this year is no exception. Even though I read a couple more books this year than last, fewer of them were debuts, but there were still plenty. In fact, there were so many good ones that narrowing this list down to my top ten was no easy task, but it’s done. These ten debuts will give you love, war, history, family, surprises and much more. I can honestly say that I highly recommend each of these books AND that you’ll be seeing quite a few move on to my Best Books of 2023 which I’m sharing on Thursday! That’s also where you’ll find out which of these was my #1 debut of the year. And now, in order of publication only:…

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Favorite Books of September 2023

Susie — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 10:00:37 +0000

When I was teaching, September was my most dreaded month of the year, but now? I LOVE September. The weather is great, nothing is crowded. It’s amazing. I just returned from spending two weeks in Sunriver, Oregon (one of my very favorite places), and it was bliss. Sunny days with long walks and/or long bike rides, plus plenty of reading time. I hope the start of fall has been as nice for you as it has for me, and the three books I’m sharing today might make it even better.

This month’s favorites are all from authors I’ve read and loved in the past and their latest releases set their bars even higher! As always, you can follow me on Instagram @novelvisits, where I most often share books near their release date. (It may be the only place to see my reviews come 2024.)…

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Favorite Books of Summer 2023

Susie — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 10:00:23 +0000

It’s been a minute! Last time I posted was the end of June when I shared that month’s favorites. I fully intended to do the same with my July favorites, but things just got away from me. To be fair, I was in Tahoe at a long overdue family reunion from July 25th – 31st. I never even thought about it until four or five days into August. Oh well! It was a wonderful time. My family has been doing this Tahoe reunion every three years since my kids were little, but with COVID and all, it just hadn’t happened for too long. The wait was worth it!

Just because I wasn’t thinking about sharing great books, does not mean I wasn’t reading great books. It was so hard narrowing down my list that I just decided to include all the books I loved. (One of these I initially rated lower, but it’s stayed with me so much that I’m including it.) And, huge surprise, I have two nonfiction books in this list!

These books are shown in the order I read them. Most were published in July and August, but a few were earlier. They made for some wonderful summer reading and I’m sure you’ll see more than one on my Best Books of 2023. As always, you can follow me on Instagram @novelvisits, where I most often share books near their release date. (It may be the only place to see my reviews come 2024.)…

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Favorite Books of December 2022

Susie — Tue, 27 Dec 2022 11:00:38 +0000

December tends to be a slower publishing month, so I was a bit worried I’d not have three favorites to share this month. Thanks to a couple books I missed earlier this year, plus an absolutely sensational December book, I’ve got three great book recommendations. In case you missed it, I posted both my Best Books of 2022 and My Favorite Debuts of 2022 last week. They’re both fun lists, but I may be biased.

For ALL my reviews delivered close to publication, you can follow me on Instagram.……

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Best Books of 2022

Susie — Wed, 21 Dec 2022 11:00:09 +0000

Finally! Not a completely normal year, but getting closer. 2022 was my first full year of retirement and I have to say, it feels good! I absolutely love the joy and freedom it brings. I got to travel quite a bit which felt wonderful (And, I only came home with COVID one of those times!) The elections were…the elections, but the world doesn’t feel quite so upside-down right now.

On the book side of things, 2022 was a very good year. I read the most books I ever have with 148 finished as I write this, and I’m confident I can make it to 150 before the end of the year. Even better is the fact that this was such a GREAT year for high quality writing, book after book. I never really slumped. Last week , I shared My Favorite Debuts of 2022 and getting that list down to 10 was no easy task! For my Best Books of 2022, I couldn’t do it! I was swimming in wonderful stories. In the end, I had to go with 12 books. I included no nonfiction because I really didn’t read much this year and the only one that might have had a chance, I’ll be sharing here next week. These 12 books are the ones that spoke to me loudest, that stayed with me longest, that I want to press in everyone’s hands, my Best Books of 2022!…

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DEBUTS ~ My Favorites of 2022

Susie — Thu, 15 Dec 2022 11:00:29 +0000

You all know I love reading debuts and in 2022 I’ve read more than ever. The year has been my biggest reading year ever, with 147 books finished as I write this. (Thank you retirement!) Of those, 59 have been debuts; that’s 40% of my reading. That percentage is up a little from last couple years and it’s no big surprise because it’s been a year of many fabulous debuts. Paring down 59 books to only 10 was no easy task. I could easily have included many more books here, but had to cut it off somewhere, so these are my ten favorite debuts from 2022. You can be sure several will make my Best Books of 2022 next week. That’s also where you’ll find out which of these was my #1 debut of the year. And now, in order of publication only:…

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2022 Underrated Gems

Susie — Thu, 08 Dec 2022 11:00:12 +0000

Now that December is here, you’re going to be seeing end-of-year lists all over the place. I’m kicking mine off with one of my very favorites, Underrated Gems. These are the books that just didn’t seem to get the attention that I think they deserved. Obviously, each of the books here I enjoyed immensely and I think others will, too. So, if you’re looking for something a little different or want a book that everyone else hasn’t read, please consider one of these.

A really bizarre thing about my underrated gems this year…they are ALL debuts. You may be seeing one or two later this month when I do my Best Debuts of 2022….

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Favorite Books of July 2022

Susie — Mon, 25 Jul 2022 10:00:49 +0000

How’s your summer going? Mine has been a little strange, but things are settling down. I’m lucky to be spending time in beautiful Sunriver, Oregon relaxing, playing, and going on adventures with family. It’s a gorgeous area and being here always revives me. Before I headed out, I did a lot of July reading and it was a bit of a roller coaster, but the highs were HIGH. This month’s favorites, which includes a 6/28 release, brought four (FOUR!) books that will at least be in the running for my Best Books of 2022. One might even be THE Best book.

So, to be clear, I HIGHLY recommend all of these books. You can’t go wrong with any of them!…

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Favorite Books of April 2022 | Reviews

Susie — Mon, 25 Apr 2022 10:00:44 +0000

April has been a month of SO MANY great books. I could have easily shared 10 April releases in this post, but decided to keep it to my three favorite books. They are all ones that will be in the running for my Best Books of 2022 and the books I’d most like to press in everyone’s hands right now! If you’re interested in the rest of the April books I loved, you can follow me on Instagram at NovelVisits. You’ll also get my reviews in a much more timely manner there.

I hope this spring has been good to you and your family and that you have much to look forward to this summer. I’ll be sharing Beach Bag Books 2022 in the middle of next month and my Summer Preview 2022 at the end of May. In the meantime, April books have got you covered!

In order of publication and nothing more because these are ALL books I loved!…

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