Books I’ve read (or listened to) in 2023

Following on from my previous end of year reading/listening summaries, I have to start this one the same way I started last year’s: I have, again, clearly failed to read/listen to as much as I’d like. Between work and “life”, carving out time to read for pleasure continues to be a losing battle against the lure of doom-scrolling at the end of the day. Perhaps more so with my exciting new job!

As you’ll see from the list below, 2023 was another year dominated by audiobooks (whilst running or cycling) over physical books, and by sticking with series and authors I already know well rather than starting anything new and unfamiliar — when time is scarce, it’s much easier to pick up the next instalment of something you’re already invested in than to take a punt on something new. That said, there’s still a reasonable spread across history, science, sci-fi and sport, even if the overall numbers are down again on previous years.

So, in reading/listening order for 2023:

• Warriors of the Storm (2015) by Bernard Cornwell (The Last Kingdom series Book 9)
• The Flame Bearer (2016) by Bernard Cornwell (The Last Kingdom series Book 10)
• War of the Wolf (2018) by Bernard Cornwell (The Last Kingdom series Book 11)
• Are Trams Socialist? Why Britain Has No Transport Policy (2016) by Christian Wolmar
• Sword of Kings (2019) by Bernard Cornwell (The Last Kingdom series Book 12)
• War Lord (2020) by Bernard Cornwell (The Last Kingdom series Book 13)
• A History of Britain: Volume 1 (2012) by Simon Schama
• A History of Britain: Volume 2 (2012) by Simon Schama
• A History of Britain: Volume 3 (2012) by Simon Schama
• A Psalm for the Wild-Built (2021) by Becky Chambers (Monk & Robot#1)
• The Man from the Future: The Visionary Life of John von Neumann (2021) by Ananyo Bhattacharya
• American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer (2023) by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin
• My Name’5 Doddie: The Autobiography (2020) by Doddie Weir and Stewart Weir

My favourites of 2023 were as follows:

• Finishing The Last Kingdom series with War Lord (2020) by Bernard Cornwell — thirteen books following Uhtred of Bebbanburg from boyhood to old age, across the unification of England. A genuinely satisfying way to close out a series I’ve been dipping in and out of (mostly via audiobook and the TV series) for years.
• American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer (2023) by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin — a dense, meticulously researched Pulitzer Prize-winning biography (and the basis for Christopher Nolan’s film), and a sobering reminder of the moral weight that comes with scientific and technological power; still depressingly relevant.
• My Name’5 Doddie: The Autobiography (2020) by Doddie Weir and Stewart Weir — Doddie has been a favourite of mine since the 1997 Lions tour, and I listened to this not long after his passing in November 2022; funny, warm and characteristically Doddie throughout, even as it doesn’t shy away from the brutal realities of living (and dying) with MND

My consumption is still worryingly disconnected from the number of books I keep buying, adding further to the stack of books to read collecting over recent years; plan for next year, as ever: must do better. Enjoy!