Looking back on my Year in Reading, I consider 2023 a pretty satisfying year. Though half the books I read were pretty underwhelming, it feels like I read enough good books to be able to declare it another successful year for book consumption. I count twenty-four books read, down four from last year. I say 24 but an interesting part of this book reading year was the books I read only part of. For the past several years, I have been working my way through a collection of Tennessee Williams short stories. I am not enjoying these tales like I thought I would and that surprises me. Why I continue with this book I do not know. I finished a book I began last year, Down the Fairway, a golf book co-written by the legendary Bobby Jones. Pretty dry but a rare book to own. I couldn’t help but get started on a book I took a flyer on at a garage sale in the summer. Who Spoke Up? is a book about the anti-war movement of the 1960s. Fascinating stuff; I hope to take it up and finish it in 2024. Another “partial” book I read I will talk about later.

Like every year, 2023 started with a book on Presley for Elvis Week. This Elvis book was absolutely stunning and one of the most compelling books I have ever read. Baby, Let’s Play House is another winner from Alanna Nash. This one delves deep into Presley’s relationships with women but it is so much more than a sensational tell-all. It is a penetrating psychological study of the King’s life through the prism of his inability to fully commune with anyone after the death of his mother. This sucker took me about five weeks to get through. Heavy. It made for a challenging review but I managed it. Other educational highlights include the first non-fiction work from Quentin Tarantino, Cinema Speculation and memoirs from Burt Reynolds, Tommy James, Cousin Brucie and Bruce Springsteen.

My Yet to Be Read shelves are “groaning with their load” but I have very few fiction books waiting to be discovered. However, I have more recently purchased some novels, some by Carl Hiaasen and Elmore Leonard and a few obscure ones I took chances on at garage sales and thrift stores. This year I revisited Valley of the Dolls, Where the Boys Are, Perry Mason, Louis L’Amour and A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr. This last I read in high school and had always wanted to return to it. The nugget at the heart of this post-apocalyptic tale is still fascinating to me but the bulk of the book…it’s a wonder I ever made it through it back in the day (assuming I finished it back when it was on the curriculum. Doubt it). The highlight among this year’s novels was surely Eddie Muller’s The Distance.

What made this year in books unique was the influence of a close friend at work. Normally, no one cares much what book I’m reading at any given time but this friend took an interest. And she loaned me a book, something that never has worked out very well for me. See, I almost always know what book I will read next and what the book after that will be. So, when I’m loaned a book, I don’t know when or if I can fit it into my “reading schedule”. But I made time to read this one, Alice Cooper’s autobiography, which is a combination of the tale of his career and his obsession with golf. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it significantly elevated Cooper in my estimation.

The second way this friend impacted my reading decisions this year was the encouragement to take a break. Through the summer, I decided to tackle the immense Frank: The Voice, the 700-page first volume of James Kaplan’s sprawling story of the life of Frank Sinatra. While I was enjoying it, I often felt overwhelmed by its minute detail and its thorough dissection. When my friend suggested I set the book aside for a time, I scoffed. I had never done that before and considered it to be breaking one of my book reading “rules”; finish the book you started then move on to the next. I did take a break for August’s Elvis Week and read a short book on King’s gospel music and went back to Frank refreshed. The Voice joins Gary Giddins’ Bing book Swinging on a Star as the two most exhaustive and nearly-overwhelming star bios I have tackled. Come to think of it, there was actually a third effect this friend had on my reading year; talking to her about reading often took the place of actually reading but I’m totally OK with that.

Speaking of bios, looks like I read 8 of them this year. Included among them was a cheap-o devoted to Julio Iglesias. I saw it at a garage sale in the summer. Also there was a shoe box of antique post cards that had me fascinated. The old gal had $10 on them. I asked if she would take five and she said “oh, no, I couldn’t take five for that”. I said I would give her ten if she threw in the silly little Julio book. Done deal. The slim volume was a good purchase; I love Julio but maybe not enough to read an extensive book on him.

I won’t speak too much about the disappointments this year but what I will remind my readers of is the fact that I talk about these books and others on the Cocktail Nation radio show podcast. You can check out Words With Wellsy monthly wherever you get your pods. So, book lovers, tune in next year for more discussions of books with vintage connections and hit “Follow” on my home page here at Vintage Leisure to never miss a post.

“This is Gary Wells from SoulRideblog.com and I’m encouraging you…to pick up a book”

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My rating out of 5 represents my overall experience with the book

Baby, Let’s Play House: Elvis Presley and the Women Who Loved Him — Alanna Nash 📚📚📚📚📚

Valley of the Dolls — Jacqueline Susann 📚📚📚

Cinema Speculation — Quentin Tarantino 📚📚📚📚

Where the Boys Are — Glendon Swarthout 📚📚

A Land Remembered — Patrick D. Smith 📚📚

The Case of the Haunted Husband — Erle Stanley Gardner 📚📚📚📚

But Enough About Me: A Memoir — Burt Reynolds and Jon Winokur 📚📚📚📚

Gene Tierney and the Invisible Wedding Gift — Kathryn Heisenfelt 📚

Me, the Mob, and the Music: One Helluva Ride with Tommy James and the Shondells — Tommy James with Martin Fitzgerald 📚📚📚📚

Why Me? The Sammy Davis, Jr. Story — Sammy Davis, Jr. and Jane and Burt Boyar 📚📚📚

The Distance — Eddie Muller 📚📚📚📚

D.B. Cooper & Me: A Criminal, a Spy, My Best Friend — Carl Laurin and Lisa McNeilley 📚📚📚

Night of the Iguana — Tennessee Williams 📚

Julio — Elizabeth Garcia 📚

Frank: The Voice — James Kaplan 📚📚📚📚

The Gospel Side of Elvis — Joe Moscheo 📚📚

Outlaws of Mesquite — Louis L’Amour 📚📚📚📚

Cousin Brucie: My Life in Rock ‘n’ Roll Radio — Cousin Bruce Morrow and Laura Baudo 📚📚📚

A Canticle for Liebowitz — Walter M. Miller, Jr. 📚📚📚

Born to Run — Bruce Springsteen 📚📚📚📚

The Case of the Borrowed Brunette — Erle Stanley Gardner 📚📚📚📚

Engelbert: What’s in a Name? The Autobiography — Engelbert Humperdinck with Katie Wright 📚📚