Top picks

Minerva’s Top Picks for 2023

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In 2023, members started spreading their wings in big ways, that is, there was a BIG return to overseas travel resulting in some small meetings. However, we always managed a quorum of five or six members so the good discussions continued …

Our top picks

Now, for the real business of this post … our Top Picks of the year. As before, each member was asked to nominate her three top picks from the books we scheduled this year (links are to our posts):

Wonderfully, all of our twelve active members voted, meaning the maximum a book could get was 12 votes, and that there were 36 votes all up. To reiterate the process: this is not a “proper” survey. Votes are all given equal weight, as was advised in the email request. Also, not everyone read every book, meaning different people voted from different “pools”. So, the results are indicative rather than authoritative, but they do convey some sense of what we all liked.

This year, like two of the last three years, we had a runaway winner, meaning there was not a tie at the top and it was clearly ahead of the pack. The top three places were:

  1. The marriage portrait by Maggie O’Farrell (8 votes)
  2. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr and Limberlost by Robbie Arnott (5 votes each)
  3. Lessons in chemistry by Bonnie Garmus and We come with this place by Debra Dank (4 votes each)

Two books were hot on the tail of these, achieving three votes each, so they deserve a “highly commended” mention: Bad art mother by Edwina Preston and Cold enough for snow by Jessica Au.

Two of our eleven books received no votes. It was great to see that books read earlier in the year – despite our increasingly senior brains – seemed not to be disadvantaged. Indeed four of the top five were read in the first half of the year. We clearly know what we like.

This year’s TWIN award for choosing the same books as each other goes to Kate and Anne. The TRIFECTA award for choosing three of the five top picks goes to Paula, Gerda and Judith

Some comments on our top picks

Not everyone commented on their choices … but here are those who did …

THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT:

  • “lush, descriptive, evocative writing. Great sense of place and period – and what an interesting period”. (Sue B)
  • “a fabulous intimate portrait of a vulnerable young woman in a fascinating time.” (Kate)
  • “keep thinking about this one … so many issues raised which are still around today.” (Sylvia)
  • “transported me to a different life, in another country and another time … the writing was so tight and convincing that I was physically tense from the suspense that O ‘Farrell created and completely immersed in the book … large in its scope, addressing a number of timeless themes in a very readable story”. (Paula)

CLOUD CUCKOO LAND:

  • “the standout for me. So intelligent, immersive, uplifting and huge in scope. Loved the literary and other references and the importance of books.” (Sue B)
  • “fabulous for its sweep of history, the suspense it maintains and the sheer imagination.” (Kate)
  • “engrossing from the first sentence. The journey that Doerr took us on, through different times and places, with a cast of extremely well-drawn characters was delightful, thought-provoking and disturbing. A complex book that had me thinking and trying to understand the connections the whole time. It tackled many themes without losing the reader (this one, at least)”. (Paula)
  • “liked the way the stories were connected and came together over the ages.” (Gerda)

LIMBERLOST:

  • “love Arnott’s ability to convey so much life and feeling in so few words … breathtaking.” (Sue T)
  • “very good writing and evocative … think I have done with reading books about the landscapes and isolation of Tasmania so found it hard to really get into heads of characters.” (Helen)
  • “great descriptions of the Tasmanian landscape … really enjoyed the characterisation of the protagonist.” (Gerda)

LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY:

  • “may be flawed, but the humour and the inclusion of the perspective of the dog, Six Thirty, makes it a winner for me.” (Paula)

WE COME WITH THIS PLACE:

  • “it is truth-telling at its generous best, and shows how story and place go together to create an ongoing and sustaining connection to country” (Sue T)
  • “deeply moving” (Sylvia)

Other books were also commented on:

  • Cold enough for snow: “so simple, so beautiful and so full of all the inexpressible tensions and love in mother – daughter relationships.” (Helen)
  • The women of Troy: “I bet this only gets the one vote! For a lover of Ancient Greek history and mythology, this earthy, well told take on the Trojan War from the point of view of one of the women is irresistible”. (Sue B) (She was wrong – it got two votes.)
  • Sundays in August: “gripping and atmospheric writing” (Sylvia); “mesmerising, tricky, noir-ish exploration of life’s shadows and uncertainties.” (Sue T)
  • Bad art mother: “such an evocative look at motherhood, and the art scene in Melbourne in the 40’s 50’s”. (Kate)

Outliers

As last year, just one of our outlying members – past members who have moved to other climes – shared picks from their reading. Thanks again, Marie!

She included two picks from our list and one from her own reading

  • Cloud Cuckoo Land: absolutely loved … the old Italian sisters were a hoot. 
  • Lessons in chemistry: how far have we wimmin come! 
  • This is happiness (by Niall Williams):  the electricity is coming to an isolated Irish village … feels like 1930…actually 1970ish!! Such great writing. Loved his History of the rain also. 

Finally…

And so we come to the end of another excellent reading year … one in which there were the universally loved books and others less so. One book in fact was described by one of us as the “most forgettable book of the year” but was chosen as a top pick by another. Each to her own, we say.

Thanks everyone for continuing to contribute to our reads and discussions with such engagement and enthusiasm. And an extra special thanks to Sylvia and Sue B for sharing the blog-writing role.

Any comments?