We have finally come to the last month of 2023, and oh no! You noticed that you have only a couple of weeks to reach your 2023 Reading Challenge Goal and are way behind in the books you need to read! Whether you are using Goodreads Reading Challenge, my challenge on the StoryGraph website, or a challenge you set for yourself, don’t worry, fellow bookworms! With a couple of weeks left in the year, it is still possible to achieve your mission. How, you ask? With short reads of course!
Check out these 15 books, books that came out this year, that will help win your reading challenge before the clock strikes 12 on December 31. Are you up for the challenge?
So Late in the Day: Stories of Women and Men by Claire Keegan
128 pages
Celebrated for her powerful short fiction, considered “among the form’s most masterful practitioners” (New York Times), Claire Keegan now gifts us three exquisite stories, newly revised and expanded, together forming a brilliant examination of gender dynamics and an arc from Keegan’s earliest to her most recent work.
In “So Late in the Day,” Cathal faces a long weekend as his mind agitates over a woman with whom he could have spent his life, had he behaved differently; in “The Long and Painful Death,” a writer’s arrival at the seaside home of Heinrich Böll for a residency is disrupted by an academic who imposes his presence and opinions; and in “Antarctica,” a married woman travels out of town to see what it’s like to sleep with another man and ends up in the grip of a possessive stranger.
Each story probes the dynamics that corrupt what could be between women and men: a lack of generosity, the weight of expectation, the looming threat of violence. Potent, charged, and breathtakingly insightful, these three essential tales will linger with readers long after the book is closed. (Credit: Grove Press)
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
160 pages
Twenty-five-year-old Takako has enjoyed a relatively easy existence–until the day her boyfriend Hideaki, the man she expected to wed, casually announces he’s been cheating on her and is marrying the other woman. Suddenly, Takako’s life is in freefall. She loses her job, her friends, and her acquaintances, and spirals into a deep depression. In the depths of her despair, she receives a call from her distant uncle Satoru.
An unusual man who has always pursued something of an unconventional life, especially after his wife Momoko left him out of the blue five years earlier, Satoru runs a second-hand bookshop in Jimbocho, Tokyo’s famous book district. Takako once looked down upon Satoru’s life. Now, she reluctantly accepts his offer of the tiny room above the bookshop rent-free in exchange for helping out at the store. The move is temporary, until she can get back on her feet. But in the months that follow, Takako surprises herself when she develops a passion for Japanese literature, becomes a regular at a local coffee shop where she makes new friends, and eventually meets a young editor from a nearby publishing house who’s going through his own messy breakup.
But just as she begins to find joy again, Hideaki reappears, forcing Takako to rely once again on her uncle, whose own life has begun to unravel. Together, these seeming opposites work to understand each other and themselves as they continue to share the wisdom they’ve gained in the bookshop. (Credit: Harper Perennial)
The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue
304 pages
Rachel is a student working at a bookstore when she meets James, and it’s love at first sight. Effervescent and insistently heterosexual, James soon invites Rachel to be his roommate and the two begin a friendship that changes the course of both their lives forever. Together, they run riot through the streets of Cork city, trying to maintain a bohemian existence while the threat of the financial crash looms before them.
When Rachel falls in love with her married professor, Dr. Fred Byrne, James helps her devise a reading at their local bookstore, with the goal that she might seduce him afterwards. But Fred has other desires. So begins a series of secrets and compromises that intertwine the fates of James, Rachel, Fred, and Fred’s glamorous, well-connected, bourgeois wife. (Credit: Knopf Publishing Group)
Welcome To Camp Killer by Cynthia Murphy
111 Pages
When an American-style residential camp is set up in the grounds of an English stately home, the teenage camp counsellors are looking forward to a fun summer of activities.
But right from the outset, things don’t feel quite right at Camp Miller. Rumours circulate of a tragedy that took place in the grounds and there are unexplained sightings of a ghostly presence.
Then the incidents begin – a near-drowning out on the lake, a fatal fall from a cliff-face… are these tragic accidents or is there something more sinister going on at Camp Killer? (Credit: Barrington Stoke)
Disobedient Bodies: Reclaim Your Unruly Beauty by Emma Dabiri
160 pages
For too long, beauty has been entangled in the forces of patriarchy and capitalism: objectification, shame, control, competition and consumerism. We need to find a way to do beauty differently.
This radical, deeply personal and empowering essay points to ways we can all embrace our unruly beauty and enjoy our magnificent, disobedient bodies.(Credit: Profile Books)
The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett
208 pages
The Christmas season has arrived in Lower Lockwood, and the Fairway Players are busy rehearsing their festive holiday production of Jack and the Beanstalk to raise money for a new church roof. But despite the season, goodwill is distinctly lacking among the amateur theater enthusiasts with petty rivalries, a possibly asbestos-filled beanstalk, and some perennially absent players behind the scenes.
Of course, there’s also the matter of the dead body onstage. Who could possibly have had the victim on their naughty list? Join lawyers Femi and Charlotte as they investigate Christmas letters, examine emails, and pore over police transcripts to identify both the victim and killer before the curtain closes on their holiday production–for good. (Credit: Atria Books)
Wearing My Mother’s Heart by Sophia Thakur
112 pages
In her heartfelt second poetry collection, Sophia Thakur takes us on an emotionally charged journey through the lives of women in the past and considers what it means to be a woman today. Exploring topics such as identity, race, politics, mental health, and self-love, she weaves together the voices of a grandmother, mother, and daughter and examines how previous generations have given us the freedom to speak out. Encompassing love from first crush to breakup, as well as the history that comes before us and the brave moments that make us, this collection will resonate with all young women as they approach the joys and pain of adulthood. (Credit: Candlewick Press)
Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson
272 pages
One of the most acclaimed and internationally bestselling “unforgettable” (New York Times) debuts of the 2021, Caleb Azumah Nelson’s London-set love story Open Water took the US by storm and introduced the world to a salient and insightful new voice in fiction. Now, with his second novel Small Worlds, the prodigious Azumah Nelson brings another set of enduring characters to brilliant life in his signature rhythmic, melodic prose.
Set over the course of three summers, Small Worlds follows Stephen, a first-generation Londoner born to Ghanian immigrant parents, brother to Ray, and best friend to Adeline. On the cusp of big life changes, Stephen feels pressured to follow a certain path–a university degree, a move out of home–but when he decides instead to follow his first love, music, his world and family fractures in ways he didn’t foresee. Now Stephen must find a path and peace for himself: a space he can feel beautiful, a space he can feel free.
Moving from London, England to Accra, Ghana and back again, Small Worlds is an exquisite and intimate new novel about the people and places we hold close, from one of the most “elegant, poetic” (CNN) and important voices of a generation. (Credit: Grove Press)
This Winter by Alice Oseman
128 pages
A very special Heartstopper story set over a challenging holiday season…
Reuniting Tori Spring, her little brother Charlie, and Charlie’s boyfriend Nick, this novella sees the Spring siblings brave a particularly difficult festive season. (Credit: Scholastic)
These Are The Words: Fearless Verse To Find Your Voice by Nikita Gill
192 pages
Reclaim your agency. Discover your power. Find the words.
Taking you on a journey through the seasons of the soul, in this collection Nikita gives you the words to help heal from your first breakup, to celebrate finding your family, to understand first love, to express your anger and your joy, to fight for what you believe in and to help you break some rules to be your truest self.
Gorgeously illustrated throughout by Nikita herself and featuring seasonal astrological poetry, this collection is an achingly beautiful, stunningly warm and fearless expression of truth from one of the most influential and well-known voices in modern poetry. (Credit: MacMillan Children’s Books)
Frontera by Julio Anta and Jacoby Salcedo
240 pages
As long as he remembers to stay smart and keep his eyes open, Mateo knows that he can survive the trek across the Sonoran Desert that will take him from Mexico to the United States. That is until he’s caught by the Border Patrol only moments after sneaking across the fence in the dead of night.
Escaping their clutches comes at a price and, lost in the desert without a guide or water, Mateo is ill-prepared for the unforgiving heat that is sure to arrive come sunrise. With the odds stacked against him, his one chance at survival may be putting his trust in something, or rather someone, that he isn’t even sure exists.
If you’d asked him if ghosts were real before he found himself face-to-face with one, Mateo wouldn’t have even considered it. But now, confronted with the nearly undeniable presence of Guillermo, he’s having second thoughts. Having spent his afterlife guiding migrants to safety, Guillermo knows things about the Sonoran Desert far beyond what could be explained by a mere hallucination. But even as Mateo forms an uneasy partnership with Guillermo, survival is still uncertain.
The Sonoran Desert, with its hostile temperatures and inhabitants, is teeming with danger as the Border Patrol and rogue militias prowl its deadly terrain. As his journey stretches on, Mateo will have to decide exactly what and who he’s willing to sacrifice to find home. (Credit: HarperAlley)
The Queen of Dirt Island by Donal Ryan
256 pages
The Aylward women are mad about each other, but you wouldn’t always think it. You’d have to know them to know – in spite of what the neighbours might say about raised voices and dramatic scenes – that their house is a place of peace, filled with love, a refuge from the sadness and cruelty of the world.
Their story begins at an end and ends at a beginning. It’s a story of terrible betrayals and fierce loyalties, of isolation and togetherness, of transgression, forgiveness, desire, and love. About all the things family can be and all the things it sometimes isn’t. More than anything, it is an uplifting celebration of fierce, loyal love and the powerful stories that last generations. (Credit: Transworld Publishers Ltd)
Black & Irish: Legends, Trailblazers & Everyday Heroes by Leon Diop and Briana Fitzsimons and illustrated by Jessica Louis
280 pages
A landmark publication in Irish history; this is a celebration of Black Irish identity. Published in collaboration with the organisation of the same name, Black & Irish, who were founded in June 2020 coinciding with the Black Lives Matter movement. Actors. Athletes. Activists. Style icons. Scientists. Influencers. Entrepreneurs. Black Irish people are blazing trails in every sphere of modern life. In the first ever book about Black Irish people, we take a look at the inspirational careers, dreams and achievements of legends, trailblazers and everyday heroes, including actor Ruth Negga, soccer player Gavin Bazunu, reality tv star Dami Hope, author Emma Dabiri, record-breaking sprinter Rhasidat Adeleke and musician Phil Lynott. Within these pages, you will find both famous and unsung Black Irish people. Black and Mixed-Race people have lived in Ireland for hundreds of years, but even now the concept of being Black and Irish is still being discovered and discussed. We hope the stories of the legends, trailblazers and everyday heroes in this book will inspire young Black Irish people, and provide insight into the Black Irish experience to people from all walks of life. With stunning colour illustrations by Jessica Louis. (Credit: Little Island Books)
Finding Folkshore by Rachel Faturoti
304 pages
16-year-old Fola Oduwole is scared. She’s scared of disappointing her parents, she’s scared of not being able to follow her dreams, but most of all she’s scared for her brother. He has cancer and his surgery’s coming up soon, it could leave him paralysed, or worse. Fola deserves a break, and she gets her wish when she takes the Victoria line one stop too far and is transported to Folkshore, a magical, hidden part of London.
Now she’s scared of the talking animals, the mythical Shriekers and not being there when her brother wakes up. Fola wants to go back, but a thunderstorm destroys Folkshore station. As she looks for another way out, Fola stumbles on the local Assembly’s nefarious plans. She realises that the only way back to her brother is to help her new friends as they resist the pugnacious police pigs and the authoritarian assembly.
If she fails, the community she’s come to love could be destroyed forever and she may never find her way home. (Credit: Jacaranda Books Art Music Ltd)
The Long Shadow by Celia Fremlin
256 pages
Jolted from sleep by the ringing of the telephone, Imogen stumbles through the dark, empty house to answer it. At first, she can’t quite understand the man on the other end of the line. Surely he can’t honestly be accusing her of killing her husband, Ivor, who died in a car crash barely two months ago.
As the nights draw in, Imogen finds her home filling up with unexpected guests, who may be looking for more than simple festive cheer. Has someone been rifling through Ivor’s papers? Who left the half-drunk whiskey bottle beside his favourite chair? And why won’t that man stop phoning, insisting he can prove Imogen’s guilt ..? (Credit: Faber & Faber)
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