BBB top fives for 2023

A lot of crime and a lot of angry women dominated reading (and possibly life) in 2023. Perhaps a better balance can be found in 2024. It was a big year for hoovering up books by Ben Aaaronovitch and Mick Herron and with their major series caught up, it will be interesting to see if their back catalogues hold up as new work is eagerly awaited. Of the 58 read, here are the most enjoyed, in no particular order. Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder, by Kerryn Mayne I have some questions for you, by Rebecca Makkai Romantic Comedy, by Curtis Sittenfield The Queen’s Price, by Anne Bishop The Secret Hours, by Mick Herron It’s been more of TV year than a film year in 2023 for BBB, both in quantity and quality. More effort will be made to get to the cinema in 2024, although 3-hour plus films will remain verboten, which is why Oppenheimer is a significant omission. Here are those most enjoyed, in no particular order: Films Living (2023), directed by Oliver Hermanus My Year of Dicks (2022), directed by Sara Gunnarsdottir Matilda the Musical (2022), directed by Matthew Warchus Barbie (2023), directed by Greta Gerwig The Marvels (2023), directed by Nia Da Costa Television The Diplomat (Netflix) Silo, Apple TV+ Ted Lasso season 3 (AppleTv+) Lessons in Chemistry (Apple TV+) Vigil (ITV) Season 1