Not the best

• 22.04.2023 14:48 UTC+01:00
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They got there in the end. BBC Culture's resident bookworms, Rebecca Laurence and Lindsay Baker, were not subjected to pest-control agents after all. They just seem to have been waiting to see what Barber and James came up with first. And one thing they've learnt is to dial back the hyperbole. Unlike last year's lists, we're presented with twelve of the best books that 2023 has had to offer thus far.

What they haven't picked up on from their filmic counterparts, is actually reading the bloody things they're recommending. Like last year, every one of their reviews falls back on other sources. And sources, in this case, doesn't refer to the primary source, i.e. the damned book in question, but the published critiques of real critics.

I guess the advantage in not offering their own opinions is that they cannot be wrong. And scouring the web for reviews is quicker and easier than getting hold of a whole book and reading it. Still, at least they've reviewed two reviews in making each of their recommendations, so that's something.

Victory City

(Salman Rushdie)

RL defers to genuine bookworms at: The New Yorker, The Guardian

Birnam Wood

(Eleanor Catton)

LB cites: Vogue.com, The Guardian

Shy

(Max Porter)

RL admires the work of: The Telegraph, i*

Pineapple Street

(Jenny Jackson)

LB cribs from: The Sunday Times, Medium

Maame

(Jessica George)

RL falls back on: The Washington Post, The New York Times

The Survivalists

(Kashana Cauley)

LB [cough] shares best practices with: Los Angeles Times, Vulture

Wandering Souls

(Cecile Pin)

RL consults: Los Angeles Times, i*

The Garnett Girls

(Georgina Moore)

LB seeks inspiration from: The Independent, The Observer

Old Babes in the Wood

(Margaret Atwood)

RL is intellectually stimulated by: Financial Times, The Guardian

Old God's Time

(Sebastian Barry)

LB has a meaningful cultural engagement with: Irish Independent, i*

This Other Eden

(Paul Harding)

RL gains insight from: The Observer, The New York Times

Romantic Comedy

(Curtis Sittenfeld)

LB wants to be just like the real critics working at: The Guardian, The Washington Post

WaPo has this to say: The work becomes terrifically exciting and reminds us how rarely we get to see what people actually do at the office. I don't know whether that's meant to be taken tongue-in-cheek, but it's not really selling it. (shrug)