Glenn Dixon's 3 favorite reads in 2023

I love a good adventure, especially stories that take place in far-off countries. What Strange Paradise fits the bill on both counts, but there’s so much more. It’s the story of a young boy named Amir who is washed ashore on a Greek island. He’s the sole survivor of a disastrous migrant crossing.

What’s remarkable about this story is that the other main character, Vanna, a slightly older Greek girl, helps him evade the authorities (running from problems of her own), and together, they tell you everything that’s good about humanity.

It’s a beautifully written tale that will both break your heart and give you hope for a better world.

What a premise in this book. Girlfriend on Mars is about a reality game show where the two winners will go along on a one-way trip to Mars, essentially setting up the first human settlement there.

This is not a science book. It’s really about the main characters: Amber, who’s been accepted as a contestant on the show (she’s quite brilliant in horticulture), and her loser boyfriend Kevin (a pot dealer who lives in terror that she will actually be chosen for the trip to Mars).

The winners will be a man and a woman (for obvious reasons), which leads to all sorts of misplaced jealousy and, I should emphasize, a whole lot of hilarity.

Babel is epic. Spanning 500 pages, it’s the story of a young translator at Oxford University in the 1830s.

What makes it special is the thread of magic realism that weaves through it (silver bars infused with that which cannot be translated). It’s a little bit Harry Potter but so much more.

The great British Empire is extending its power over the world. There are sailing ships and opium wars with China, and deep moral questions discussed by a young group of scholars studying and walking amongst the ancient towers and lamplit streets of old Oxford.