Notable UC books of 2023

If you love reading, University of California authors delivered a library of treasures over the past year to keep you turning pages all winter long.

UC writers this year brought home the Pulitzer Prize, the Lambda Literary Award, and the National Book Award, among other honors with titles spanning a broad variety of genres and topics.

Whether your taste leans toward coming-of-age memoir (set at UC Berkeley!), gritty crime fiction or non-fiction books that can expand your capacity for wonder and attention, there’s something on the shelf for all. When you need to wind down from all that reading, there’s even an award-winning adaption on TV.

Fiction

“Blackouts” by Justin Torres

An English professor at UCLA, Justin Torres’ debut “We the Animals” made Best Books lists across the world upon its release in 2011. More than a decade later, his follow-up, “Blackouts,” has finally arrived, earning him the 2023 National Book Award for Fiction. A boldly experimental work that incorporates vignettes, imagery and poetry to present a dialogue between a 20-something narrator and a much older man named Juan Gay, who is on his deathbed, “Blackouts” is about memory and storytelling but also early, discriminatory science.

“Juan also explains to the narrator the history of a major study of homosexuality that took place in the 1930s,” Torres said in a recent UCLA interview. “As you can imagine, this kind of early sexology was rife with pathological language and disturbing pseudoscientific practices — but, still, the testimonies of the participants in the study make for fascinating reading.”

“Gangsters Don’t Die” by Tod Goldberg

Riverside has no shortage of alumni and faculty writing across genres (check out this star-studded LA Times Festival of Books lineup). What might surprise you is that UC Riverside is also home to one of America’s most acclaimed crime writers. A professor and director of the UC Riverside Palm Desert low-residency MFA, Tod Goldberg evokes original con men and women in his New York Times-bestselling novels, most recently “Gangsters Don’t Die.” Picked as a must-read by the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and Amazon, his new book features a Chicago hitman, Sal Cupertine (alias Rabbi David Cohen) hiding out in Las Vegas, angling for a new life and a happy ending for his family.

“Fire in the Canyon” by Daniel Gumbiner

Families are putting their lives back together in UC Berkeley alum Daniel Gumbiner’s new novel, “Fire in the Canyon,” a story that puts into words some of the domestic and community upheaval created in the wake of wildfire.

A portrait of farmers and grape-growers in small town California, the book has drawn comparisons to John Steinbeck while retaining the wry, contemporary voice you might expect from the editor of one of the nation’s leading literary magazines, The Believer.

“The Reformatory” and “The Wishing Pool and Other Stories” by Tananarive Due

If you like to send a chill up your spine, check out not one, but two of UCLA Black Horror and Afrofuturism lecturer Tananarive Due’s new books. Due, an American Book Award winner, is known for her innovative takes on the horror genre. “The Reformatory” follows a young man sent to a segregated reform school in Jim Crow Florida, modeled loosely on a relative in her own family and the infamous Dozier School for Boys. While his sister rallies for his release, her protagonist navigates the living and the dead and horrors both supernatural and all too real. “The Wishing Pool and Other Stories” trains its eye on horrors both historical and futuristic, even touching on a post-pandemic world in one tale. If you like the films of her classroom guest Jordan Peele, these books are for you.

Memoir

“Stay True” by Hua Hsu

For true stories written with the delicacy of fiction, UC authors do not disappoint. Alum Hua Hsu’s recollection of a deep friendship formed on the UC Berkeley campus, “Stay True,” earned the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for memoir.

The book recounts his momentous decision to attend Berkeley in the mid-90s, where he met his friend Ken, a popular Japanese-American student with whom he shares a surprising bond until a tragic accident occurs. The book is a love letter to an era, youth and staying true to who you were to the person who knew you best.

“Life on Other Planets: A Memoir of Finding My Place in the Universe” by Aomawa Shields

As children, many of us look up at the stars in wonder; Aomawa Shields never stopped. With few role models of color in astronomy and many conflicting interests, Shields initially vacillated in her pursuit of a scientific career, becoming a classically-trained actor before finding herself drawn back to the real-life stars, working at NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. Now an associate professor of physics and astronomy at UC Irvine, Shields recounts in “Life on Other Planets” her unique story of finding her calling and balancing her love of science, the arts and motherhood.

Non-fiction

“Our Migrant Souls” by Héctor Tobar

In his first non-fiction book in nearly a decade, Pulitzer Prize winner and UC Irvine professor Héctor Tobar explores what it means to be Latino in the United States in “Our Migrant Souls.”

Recounting conversations with students at UC Irvine along with his own personal experiences, Tobar weaves together the disparate narratives of people descended from across Latin America to form a definition of identity that he hopes may be of use for the next generation. The title is one of The New York Times’ 100 Notable Books of 2023 and won the UC Santa Cruz alum the Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction.

“Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity” by Gloria Mark

With the many distractions available to us in our ever-connected world, you probably won’t be surprised to learn that many people – perhaps even you -- struggle to focus). But you may be surprised to learn our attention spans on any one screen have been zapped to an average of only 47 seconds, and that it takes us nearly 30 minutes to reclaim our attention once it wanders. UC Irvine professor emerita Gloria Mark has been studying our attention spans for over two decades, and has gained not only an understanding of what’s happened but how we can fix it. Her new book, “Attention Span,” named by The Globe and Mail as the best business book of 2023, is a compelling and easy-to-read guide to reclaiming your focus.

“The High Sierra: A Love Story” by Kim Stanley Robinson

Why wander the High Sierra in the winter when you could curl up by a fire with UC San Diego alum Kim Stanley Robinson’s acclaimed book on California’s legendary mountain range? Endorsed by none other than renowned beat poet Gary Snyder, UC Davis professor emeritus, “High Sierra” describes the geologic history and the people of the mountain range with a novelist’s eye for detail (Robinson is best known for his science-fiction, including Barack Obama favorite “The Ministry for the Future.”) The book also includes maps, over 100 photographs, and details of trails to take to fall as deeply in love with the Sierra as Robinson has.

“The Deserts of California” by Obi Kaufmann

A nature-lover might also be drawn to UC Santa Barbara alum Obi Kaufmann’s “The Deserts of California,” the third and final book in his California Lands trilogy. This San Francisco Chronicle-bestseller features watercolor maps and illustrations while taking the reader through the parks, monuments and wilderness areas that characterize the state, from the Great Basin to the Sonoran Desert, uncovering each area’s unique treasures.

“Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life” by Dacher Keltner

Whether it’s the High Sierra or the deserts of California, nature often makes us feel awe. But why is that, and how important is it to our well-being? These are questions UC Berkeley psychology expert Dacher Keltner explores in his new book, “Awe,” leading the general reader through the emerging science of this powerful emotion. Embraced by artists and biologists alike, this book provides a map for how awe can infuse your life.

Poetry

“As She Appears” by Shelley Wong

Poetry can emerge from the most unpredictable places — take UC San Francisco, for instance! Shelley Wong is not just a member of UCSF’s communications team, she’s an award-winning poet (and UC Berkeley alum), whose work reflects not only her own experience as a queer Chinese-American but the worlds of art, dance and nature that she loves. It all comes together in her volume “As She Appears,” winner of the 2023 Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Poetry and longlisted for the 2022 National Book Award for Poetry. Her inventive, gentle lines bring together Madonna, coastal landscapes, personal recollection and Pride Month into a vivid collection.

TV

“Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus on Apple TV

Need a break from all the UC reading you’ve been doing? You can still enjoy the storytelling prowess of UC faculty and alums on your TV. Bonnie Garmus’ breakout novel “Lessons in Chemistry” was one of the top-selling books of 2022, with its cheeky feminist story of a chemist who becomes a cooking show host in the 1960s, just as women’s liberation is coming to the fore.

The UC Santa Cruz alum’s book has now come to life in the Golden Globe-nominated series of the same name on Apple TV, with Brie Larson as the heroine Elizabeth Zott, who empowers housewives across America through their screens. The series also features UC Santa Barbara alum Aja Naomi King as Harriet Sloane, Zott’s neighbor and friend, who fights back against plans to raze her Black neighborhood to make way for the Santa Monica freeway.

“On Swift Horses” by Shannon Pufahl (coming to theaters in 2024)

Look for an adaptation of UC Davis alum Shannon Pufahl’s “On Swift Horses” to hit theaters in 2024, featuring “Where the Crawdads Sing” actress Daisy Edgar-Jones as a 1950s newlywed who falls in love with gambling at the horse track while growing closer to her closeted husband’s brother.

There’s no shortage of arts and entertainment from the UC community to keep you busy through the winter months. Who did we miss? Reach out and let us know what UC authors you are reading.