January is the month of new year’s resolutions, and I have to confess that, after reading 178 books in 2022, my resolution last year was to actually read less. I think maybe I was concerned about letting my introverted tendencies “win” over other parts of me? It sounds silly now, but after having missed my goal last year (oops – I read 180), I doubled down on my resolution to read less this year, and set a goal of 100 books. This works out to 8.33 books per month, and I accidentally read 13 in January. What can I say? I’m bad at resolutions!

But I’m good at picking books! A couple of these were on critics’ 2023 Best of Lists (Michael Cunningham’s Day and Caleb Azumah Nelson’s Small Worlds), while others provide critical scholarship and insight into U.S. History (Eric Foner’s The Fiery Trial, Tony Horwitz’s Midnight Rising, and Matthew Karp’s This Vast Southern Empire). And, of course, anything by Alice Walker and Claudia Rankine are good for the January soul.

Head to your favorite indie and check these out!