128: [STORYTIME] My Favorite Reads from 2023!

2023 has been my year to fall in love with reading again and I thought it would be fun to share some of my personal favorites! Even if you aren’t a big reader, some of these books are worth looking up anyway. I share a mix of fiction & non-fiction so there is something for everyone. 

You can find all these books linked down below in an Amazon list! 

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LINKS MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:

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Transcript

Maddy: 0:01

Hey, bestie, and welcome to the living in sunshine podcast. I'm your host, Maddy fry. And around here we are all about encouraging, inspiring, and giving you the tough love that you need to hear to get out there and live as your best self. Each and every Wednesday, you can expect to learn tangible tips to help you find your bigger purpose. be given simple action steps that you can take in order to make progress toward your biggest dreams. And hear how you can purposely pursue joy on the daily. So sit down, grab your favorite drink. And let's have a girl chat. This is the living in sunshine podcast. Good morning. Good morning, my beautiful angel happy way. I hope you're having a great day so far. Even if you're not listening to this on Wednesday. I hope you're having a great week, a great weekend a great Hawker a walk, even though hot girl walks seasons kind of over by the time this episode comes out. I hope you're having a great day so far. Thank you so much for tuning in to another episode of The Living in sunshine podcast. I know I say this every week. But I think it's worth mentioning again, that I appreciate you showing up for this podcast of mine and supporting this dream and supporting this thing that I do love to do because it's a way for me to support you in purposely pursuing joy every single day. And the thought of you listening to this show, and then going out and implementing what you learn, literally sets my soul on fire. And I am so thankful that you're here. And I hope you love the show as much as I do. Now today's episode is a little bit different than what I normally talk about on the show only because we're talking about my favorite books. My favorite reads from 2023. And 2023 has been the year that I have fallen in love with reading again. I had a Kindle Lucas Scott meet my husband Lucas in case you don't know who Lucas is, who might assume. Lucas got me a Kindle two Christmases ago. And I was really into reading then. But then I kind of put it down and I walked away from it. And I really only like reread the Harry Potter series on my Kindle, which I've already read like a million times. But this year for some reason. I picked up my Kindle again and I have not been able to put that sucker down all year long. If I am not doing anything, if I'm not watching TV I am reading if I am not working I am reading when I'm at the gym, in between sets. I am reading. I am a reading fiend. And growing up I was always a really big reader. If you are a millennial and you're like mid to late 20s, maybe low 30s You 100% Remember accelerated reader right AR testing AR books in elementary school. I was the bitch in the classroom whose AR goal was like 150 because I read all the time. And I also read really big books like the Harry Potter series, I read the art, the Eragon series, I read Hunger Games, I read all of those big books that like were worth, like 45 million points in the test. Anyway, that's a whole other thing. I was always a reader growing up. And I feel like we all go through this season where we go through school, and we go to college, and we're forced to read. And reading for enjoyment is something that we lose sight of. And I'm so glad that I feel like reading is becoming cool again. And it's becoming something that is something that people do again, you know what I mean? Like I feel like for a long time reading wasn't something people did. And if you didn't do it, you were part of like a minority, right, people reading for fun. And for the last couple of years, I've been really into reading nonfiction books, but 2023 has been the year of finding fiction again. And I'm not gonna lie finding like smutty romance fiction. A lot of the books I'm going to share with you today are like hot spicy, like three, four or five spices on the spicy meter. But anyway, I thought it would be really fun to share with you my top favorite picks for both nonfiction and fiction reads for 2023. And obviously, there's still time in the year once this episode comes out, they're still probably, you know, five or six weeks in the year. So there might be more to this list. But here is a comprehensive list of my favorite reads from 2023. I'm going to be putting together a link down in the show notes with all of these titles in one spot on Amazon in case you want to add them to your TBR anything like that. And let's go ahead and get into it. Oh, and if you are a book reader, and you have suggestions, please send them to me. I love hearing what other people fiction or nonfiction. I love hearing what people are reading so if you are a reader, send me your top like three to five favorite titles and I'll add them to my TBR which is like never ending I'll never get to read everything on it but I like adding new titles to it anyway, so send it my way. Okay, so we are going to flip through the nonfiction books first. Something to keep in mind is that I only listen to nonfiction books. I'm a big audible girl. I love listening to my books. I can't listen to fiction stories mainly because the types of books that I read Eat the narrator's are always like, it just is too cheesy for me to listen to them. But I do listen to my nonfiction books. And so all of these are listened experiences and I really enjoy them. So just know that I'm not going to recommend a book to you that like if you are also an audio book reader. It's like a terrible listening experience. I'm sure reading it is just as good as listening to it. But these four books are books that I listened to on Audible, I'll link audible down below for you in case you want to check it out. So yeah, here are my top four favorite fiction nonfiction books of 2023. Okay, so the first mention is called The Life Council by Laura trumaine. I'm pretty sure that's how you say her name. This is a book all about adult friendships and the 10 different types of friends that women need to have throughout their lifetime. And they're not 10 friends that you need to have right now. And they're not, they're not the 10 types of friends that you have to have, all the time, she explicitly talks about the empty chair in your life counsel, meaning the friend that you don't have. And she also talks about how it's okay if you have a lot of empty chairs in your life counsel. But I really enjoyed this read because it's read by the author, which is always bonus points for me if the author read their own book. But the biggest reason why I liked it is because it kind of helped me to identify the friends that I have in my life, that before reading, I didn't identify as a friend. And let me explain what that means for me. Before reading this book, I viewed friends as people that you grew up with, or people that you texted all the time, or people that you saw in your life. But this book kind of gives you a fresh perspective on what counts as a friend, and who counts as a friend. And it was just really refreshing to hear her take on adult friendships and more specifically female friendships, and how we can foster them, how we can grow them where we can find them. And it was a really, really great read. If you are someone who struggles with friendship, or you are wanting to expand your friendship circle, I definitely recommend this. I feel like I've talked about it in past podcast episodes before. It's a really great read. You can listen to it in the car at the gym wherever. But the life Council by Laura Tremaine, I loved it, I would read it again. It was good. The next nonfiction book that I love this year, I actually read at the beginning of the year, I will more than likely read it again at the beginning of next year. And this book is called atomic habits. I'm sure that you've probably heard of it before if you're ever in the personal development space, but atomic habits by James clear, this is such a great beginning of the year book read in my opinion, because it's all about obviously habits, making intentional habits, growing habits and also just reframing what we think about the habits that we create and the habits that we have, in order to be more intentional for them. This book was really, really great. Again, I listened to it, I think I finished it in maybe a week or two, which is relatively quickly for my reading speed. When it comes to nonfiction, it was really, really great. And if you're someone who's wanting to learn more about habits, and setting up habits that will help you to grow and expand and be a better human atomic habits by James clear is a book to add to your shelf. Okay, book recommendation number four that falls in the non fiction category is actually one that I'm currently reading right now. And this is a book recommendation for anyone, regardless of the overarching theme and topic of the book. So the book is called The Myth of normal by gay bar Matt Tay, I think that's how you say his name. He's Canadian. He's French, I believe. But it is a science based book. So it is kind of sciency. And he is a general practitioner who looks at the health and physical implications of trauma, and how we are raised. And aid is fascinating. This book, it is something that even if you don't believe that you had any kind of childhood trauma or traumatic experience in your life, I still encourage you to read it. If you are a parent, I cannot recommend reading this book enough. He talks a lot about child development, and the things that help our child, our children to grow into humans full fully blown humans. And the science is there. Yes, but it's not super dense. It's not super lofty or hard to understand. If you've ever tried to read the book, the body keeps score. That is a book that I have had opened in my audible library for like over a year because it's very science heavy and very dense in the science and the research. This book is like half of that, in my opinion. I'm about a third of the way through it is so my literally it's so good. I bought the physical copy. And like I said at the beginning of this episode, I don't buy personal development books. I just don't because I don't read them. But there are so many things in this book that I want to highlight and underline both for myself but also to use to support others. people. And so if you are someone who is wanting to learn more about the implications of societal standards, and gender and race in financial insecurities, or trauma or family dynamics or how you were raised, this is a book that you need to add to your audible library or to your TBR list, whatever. Again, the myth of normal by Gable or Matt Tay so good. I'm not even done with it. And it's 100% going to be one of my top reads of 2023. Okay, and the final book in my non fiction category is just kind of like a fuzzy book. I listened to it and this is 100% a book I would listen to over physically read it. I actually don't know if it is a written book. I think it might just be an audiobook. But anyway, it is called so many Steve's and it is a Steve Martin memoir by Steve Martin and Adam Gopnik. And it's so good. For context, Steve Martin is one of my hands down favorite actors and comedians and artists of all time. He is just the quintessential cue old man, I just want to like sit down and have coffee with him. I would literally crapped my pants if I got the chance to do that. But this story kind of goes over his whole life from how he got started as a comedian, and how he got into music because if you didn't know, Steve Martin plays the banjo, which is so freakin cool, in my opinion. And then it talks about how he got into acting and his career as an actor. And so it's just a mix of written and interviews with Steve and he is in the book, he and the co author Adam Gopnik kind of wrote this book together. And it's a combination of interviews with Steve and so he's, he's in the book, you hear His voice, and it's just so cool. I think I finished this book in like, a week or even a couple of days, just because it was really funny. Steve was really a smart dude. He's really into art. And I don't know, I just I love Steve Martin. And I had to include this one because this book really just deepened my love for Steve Martin. And made me want to like go see him live or like try to buy him a coffee one day. I don't know if you like Steve Martin. I wanted to throw this book in there. I know. It's kind of random. It's kind of just like a fun nonfiction book. still considered nonfiction. I still recommend you read it, even if you're not a big Steve Martin fan, because it's funny. And you never know sometimes reading memoirs are really fun. And this was a really fun memoir to read. Okay, now time for our fiction reads my top favorite fiction reads for 2023 Okay, we are going to whip right through these because I don't want this episode to be like 45 minutes long, but it could be at the very top of the list. My favorite hands down favorite fiction book of the year. I'm calling it now is red, white and royal blue by Cassie. McQuillan. Yes, I did read the book because it was going to be made into a movie, I'm going to be a big fat, you know, grumpy about it. The movie was not very good. The book is way better, as it always is. But the movie was not, in my opinion, a good rendition of the book. Sometimes there are books that get turned into movies, and the movies are kind of just as good. That's not the case with this movie. I'm sorry. If you loved it, I'm glad you loved it. I'm glad that you had a great time watching it. I personally did not. But that's neither here nor there. This is the first Cassie McQueen book that I have read. It is a queer love story in case you've never heard anything about this book or the movie. It is a male male love story. And I just loved it for the banter and the characters and the storyline. It is about the son of the First Lady, right first lady, let's just underline that to the son of the First Lady and the Prince of England falling in love. Which only whatever happened in a freakin romance novel, if you know, you know, there are just some things that happen in somebody's books that could only ever happen in this money book. And we're all just like, oh, yeah, that's totally normal that like, totally makes sense. That's not completely out of left field at all. This is one of those examples, but I just love this book, there was character growth, and there's good banter. And it's funny, and the side characters are great. It's like 450 pages printed. It's also on Kindle Unlimited. All of these books are on Kindle Unlimited, because I only ever read books off of Kindle Unlimited. And it was really great if it's not already on your TBR I really recommend it. Five out of five stars. I would read it again. It's so good. And yeah, it's a great book. So my next book is actually from probably my favorite author of 2023. This is a standout author of 2023 I have now read all of her books, and the author's name is Barbara Davis. These books in my opinion are not any romance Smarty category which honestly the rest of these books are so if you don't like somebody books, you're not going to like the rest of my recommendations. Sorry. But Barbara Davis writes these stories that are so emotionally good, they just suck you in like emotionally up I'm invested in the characters and the storyline and in the outcome of the story, she does emotional writing. So well, there were so many of her books that I genuinely started crying, reading because they're so good and I just enjoyed them so much but my favorite one of hers I think my favorite one of hers of all the books that I read, I think she's like four or five books is the keeper of happy endings. It is such a beautiful love story. And the characters in it are so good and you know, one of her books and how you think they're gonna end but they all end up so heartwarmingly amazing that I just like thinking about that makes me like I'm smiling talking about her books because they're so good, and they're so heartwarming. Another one of her books that I really, really enjoyed was the last of the moon girls. Oh, so good. Probably number two after the keeper of happy endings, but like I said, she has four or five books that are all on Kindle Unlimited. I really enjoy them. She's probably my favorite author of 2023 If she has more books coming out, I will read them hands down without a question. Because they are just that good. Okay, so now we're gonna get into this muddy books and if you're not sure what's muddy books are smart eBooks are essentially one step above a romance novel and like two steps below erotica, so I watched a real one time it was really good. It was like romance stories and rom coms. The main focus of the book is the storyline. And then erotica novels, the main focus is like the sex of the book, right? But Smite is like right in the middle. Okay, so like the story line is important, but like so is the sexy spicy bits of the book too. So if you're into sexy, spicy books, these books are going to be in your wheelhouse, and I think you're really gonna like them. So the first is actually a series, and it is the arrow wood brothers series by Korean Michaels. I've read so many of Korean Michaels books this year, they're so easy to read. I usually read them in like one or two days, it doesn't take me very long to get through them. My favorite one from that series is called the one for me. I'm pretty sure it's either book two or book three in the series. You don't have to read them in order and they're all interconnected standalones meaning you could read one book and then never read the others and it would be fine. But the era would Brothers is a series that I love. That's by Corinne Michaels. The next series that I would recommend that you read if you enjoyed the Arrowood Brothers is also by Corinne Michaels and it's also kind of interconnected with this series is called the Willow Creek Valley series. Again, it's another four books written by Corinne Michaels. My favorite two from that one are could have been us it's the first book in the series and then returned to us or I might have said that backwards Regardless my two favorite titles from the Willow Creek Valley series if you're only going to pick a couple to read, I would definitely read could have been us and then also returned to us. So good. There are small town romances, single dad tropes, Second Chance romances, secret pregnancies, all of the things that are so good, this vise is amazing. It makes you want to be like go to your partner and be like take all your clothes off. We're doing this right now. It's amazing and I love them. Corinne Michaels is a great money author, if you enjoy money books, she's like a New York Times bestselling author does all the things all the accolades is amazing. Like I said, I've read most of her books and I really enjoyed these two series, specifically another author who gets a nod right after Corinne Michaels. I can't talk about Corinne Michaels and then not talk about Melanie Harlow. I have read probably 10 or 12 of her books. None of them really specifically stood out as like, absolutely need to read this specific book from her. But I have read so many of her books and they're all fantastic. She actually has another book coming out in the month of November, she might already have a new book out. That is the next in a series for her. But she's another study romance novel novelist who does interconnected standalone stories. A lot of her books are on Kindle Unlimited. I've read a ton of her books, I love them so much. So if you're looking for a new author to add to your list, Melanie Harlow is a good person to follow. Okay, so I have two more stories that I want to share with you and then we're going to wrap this up. But My next suggestion my next recommendation is my top favorite fiction book of the Read is actually called the Wildflower do wet books. Okay, so the titles are the confidence of wildflowers, and resurrection of wildflowers by Makayla Smeltzer. And she has a third novella and a novella is like right around 30,000 words so it's like half a book that is coming out actually in October so it should be out by the time this podcast episode comes out. And these books wrecked me. Literally I cry. In both of them, they're so good. A slight trigger warning. There is a child loss law Have a child in the first book. That is a I'm sorry, that's a kind of a big spoiler, but I feel like it's a really important content warning to keep in mind. But it's so good. It is neighbor and two neighbors falling in love. He's like in his 30s. And she's like 18. So there's an age gap trope in there, there is a force proximity situation and there are so many good things. It is so fantastic. As a child of a traumatic background, it resonated a lot with me some of the things that the main female character went through. And it was just a beautifully written story. I really recommend it. I recommend it to a lot of people, which is why I'm talking about it here. So the confidence of wildflowers and the resurrection of wildflowers are two books that are fantastic. I can't speak to the the novella yet because the novella I have not yet read. But 10 out of 10. I loved it, it's so good, so beautifully written, would read them again. And the final book in my favorite reads of 2023 is a single book from a series. The author is Morgan Elizabeth. She is a new author to me. But I have read all three of her books within this series. But one book that stood out in this series, I don't know what the name of this series is, or I will tell you, it's called Cruel Summer. And like I said, it is part of a series but the reason that this book stands out in my brain as one of my favorite books of the series, but also just of the year is because the main female character in this book is life. Cami is the main character and Cruel Summer and she is just all about herself. She loves herself for exactly as she is she's not super thin, which you see a lot in romance stories, the girl is usually this like super toned, super fit kind of girl. And she's not and she loves herself she you know, the author does a really great job of portraying someone with curves. Confidently, who is self assured, who is not afraid to show off her body and who was not afraid to rock what she has. And as a woman who has struggled with her body image for the Forever and always right, I resonated so much with Cami. And Cami, a fake fictional woman in a fake book has given me so much real life confidence that I didn't know I needed. And so often and if you're in the book community, you'll understand what I'm about to say. And if not, it might not make a bunch of sense. So often we talk about the men in the books that we read that we love, because and why we love them, right? They're sexy, they're caring, they do whatever we ask the bla bla bla, right. But we don't talk enough about the female characters that we fall in love with because they give us confidence or hope or resilience or strength. Cami was that character for me, kami has given me confidence and self assurance and a knowing that I am hot as heck. And I don't want to own that energy. And I'm allowed to be that kind of way. Even if other people in my life don't agree or don't believe that kami has given me that kind of confidence that I did not have before reading her story. And that is why Cruel Summer is on this list. Because kami is such a standout character. I want her to be my friend in real life. I wish she was a real life human. And so if you want that kind of energy, you need to read Cruel Summer by Morgan Elizabeth. And that is my roundup of my favorite top reads of 2023 I'm pretty sure my total books read up into the point of that I am recording this episode. It's like 41 books. I have read so many books this year. I'm trying to get to 50 books by the end of the year. I don't think that that's going to be an issue. But these are some of my favorites. So if you want to check out these titles, like I said, I'm going to put together an Amazon list for you to go and check them out down in the show notes. And if you want to share any of your favorite books with me, feel free to reach out over on Instagram. You can find me over there it is at living the letter N sunshine. And let's talk books. I love talking about books. I love talking about stories, all the things. Let me know your favorite reads of 2023 and until next time, my friend, I am sending you all the sunshine, good vibes. And I hope you make it a great day girlfriend. Thank you so much for listening to today's new episode. If you loved it, please send it to a friend share it on Instagram and tag me so I can see and consider leaving the show a rating or a review. Ratings and reviews are kind of like sharing or liking a post on Instagram and they really help the show grow and reach new women just like you. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss a new episode. And until next week, I am sending you all the sunshine, good vibes and I hope you make it a great day.