Here are my 23 Must Reads for 2023, let's see if I can get to all of them in the next 360ish days!
In addition to my Must Reads, I am hoping to check off as many of these FOLD challenge books before the end of the year.
Must Read 1: Odder
Completed: January 29
Must Read 2: I'm Glad My Mom Died
Completed: March 26
Yikes three months in and I've only finished one of the books on this list... I might need to get on this a bit more lol!
Here is my review post:
September 27, 2023
The Reason You Walk
In the heat of the current Manitoba Provincial Election campaign, I decided now was a good time to read the writing of someone who may become our next Premier. However the election turns out, Wab Kinew has done a lot for my province in his role of Leader of the Opposition, and is someone I've always wanted to know more about.
I really enjoyed this memoir, I think it was super well written and there was a really good amount of detail. My husband asked me a few things as I was reading - of course Wab Kinew has been a daily topic in our house this past month, especially every time we see or hear one of the annoying PC smear campaigns on TV, bus benches or even in our mailboxes, "the Wab way? The Wrong way" is by far the most cringeworthy one - he mainly wanted to know what I thought or learned while reading. I shared that I didn't know what a long line of leaders (chiefs, professors) and highly knowledgeable (both in terms of culture and academia) people were in the Kinew family, or the fact that Wab took on a leadership role within the sundance ceremonies prior to taking on a role in politics. I also shared about his connection to the Kenora area (a place that is special to me as well), about the role his Anishinaabe culture played throughout his life and how he raised his sons, and his early relationship with his wife Lisa. I told him that I didn't know Wab was only 10 years older than us, he travelled as a rapper, he was a CBC journalist (I may have just forgotten that fact), and specifically that he was the main advocate for CBC to use the term "survivor" rather than "former student" during the initial discussion surrounding the apology.
But what I didn't share was what I really took away from this book. Wab weaves the story of his father's life in a narrative that helps show both his culture and the great amount of loss he experienced as a direct and indirect result of the Residential School genocide. The intergenerational trauma is so clearly laid out through the examples Wab shared about his community and family, and even for himself, despite the fact that he commonly used the excuse that he had a good life growing up. When parents are dealing with first-hand and intergenerational trauma, no matter how hard they try and how well they do, there will always be an impact on their children. I know David's and my own trauma* will impact our children, no matter how well we shield them from it and work through our trauma, it is part of who we are, and it is part of every single Indigenous person in Canada, whether or not they attended a residential school. The relationship Wab has with his father grows and changes over the course of the book, as he grapples with the inevitable aging and eventual loss of his first and life-long role model. Readers also see Wab grow and change over the course of the story, and I admire the way he handles the more sensitive parts of his life, such as his challenges with relationships, addictions and other choices, as well as his healing journey.
I would definitely recommend this book and am glad I added it to my 23 in 2023 list and finally got around to reading it!
See my posts about
Crying in H Mart & The Break & The Winners here: https://teachreadinspire.wixsite.com/website/post/santa-s-coming-i-know-him-reading-through-december-2023
December 23, 2023
Today's #boldbookclub #adventchallenge is your 2024 TBR stack, so I thought this was the perfect time to look at how I did with my 2023 TBR (spoiler alert - I did terrible) and see what I need to carry over to 2024 (a lot) and what I can realistically try to add to my TBR for next year.
My current total from 2023 is 102 books, I am hoping to finish off at least a few more before midnight on the 31st, but only 5 of those 102 were on my designated TBR list... With all of the reading challenges I do, and the number of books I read for book tours and @netgalley I definitely don't do a great job at tackling my TBR. So this year I am going to take it seriously and try to get as many of these checked off my list as possible!
Carried over from last year's TBR:
The Lies that Bind - Emily Giffin
Fight Night - Miriam Toews
Out of My Heart - @SharonmDraper
The Lindbergh Nanny - Mariah Fredericks
Our Missing Hearts - Celeste Ng
We have Always Been Here - Samra Babib
Mad Honey - Jodi Picoult & Jennifer Finney Boylan
The School for Good Mothers - Jessamine Chan
From the Ashes - Jesse Thistle
The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre - Natasha Lester
The Book of Two Ways - Jodi Picoult
The Hypnotist's Love Story - Liane Moriarty
Imposter Bride - Nancy Richler
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid
I own almost all of these so there is literally no reason I can't read them in the next 375 ish days so I'm gonna do it this time!
New additions that are REALISTIC. These are books I know I have been approved for on Netgalley, have in my school library or already own
We Rip the World Apart - @CharleneCarrauthor - so excited!!!
Pageboy - Elliot Page
The Red String Theory - Lauren Kung Jessen (I requested it with @readforeverpub and so 🤞🤞🤞)
Finally Seen - @KellyYanghk
Pineapple Street - Jenny Jackson
How to Prounounce Knife - @souvankhamthammavongsa
Sunshine Nails - Mai Nguyen
Truly Madly Guilty - Liane Moriarty
And a few "we'll see" books including two carried over from this year:
The Picture Bride and Untamed + Spare, Dial A for Aunties & Hijab Butch Blues
What do you think of my list? Can't wait to see your #TBR2024!
* David is Metis and his trauma could be related to the intergenerational trauma experienced by Metis people in Canada. My trauma is not related in this way, and I don't want to lead anyone to believe I have suffered trauma related to the injustices of colonialism, but trauma is trauma and in my opinion is not worth worrying about who had it worse or why, rather it is a common thread most humans share and thus can empathize with others.