The Books of 2023

I suck at GoodReads. I want to not suck at it, and try to dip back in again from time to time, but it just feels like one more thing to maintain for some reason. So I just use my Keep app to keep track of my books read, and then tally them up at the end of the year by month and by genre. 

2023 was a great reading year, probably in part because of my knee surgery (although pain meds and reading don't go well together). Last year I read 79 books, which was disappointing because I usually like to hit 100. This year I also didn't hit 100, but I hit 91. AND I didn't feel pressure, like past years where I didn't read superlong books because of The Count. Actually, I might have read a ton more pages this year, but I'll never know because I SUCK AT GOODREADS. 

My best reading month was August, with 12 books read. My worst was tied between January, May, and September with 5 books read each of those. 

There is intersectionality in the categories below, but here's the breakdown: 

33 books were Young Adult

77 were Fiction

14 were Nonfiction 

9 were books Bryce gifted me (although there were more that he was going to gift me that I bought myself)

33 were Twisty/Mystery/Horror

15 were Fantasy/Speculative Fiction/Sci Fi

37 were "Diverse Books" that were written by and about people whose identities and experiences differ from mine and offer a window, mostly BIPOC/LGBTQIA+/Disability

I would say the book that I didn't enjoy the most was (and please forgive me if you loooove this book), A Little Life by Hanya Yanigahara. It was long. It was heavy. It was beautifully written, and it did reduce me to tears on more than one occasion, but oh my god. So much sexual abuse and trauma, so much self harm. AND I read it because people at school wanted to read it together because it was on TikTok for something, and I'm the only one who finished it! In SEPTEMBER no less, when I really don't want to wallow in awfulness. I guess I'm glad I read it but heavens, not my favorite. 

The book that made me think the most was White Women: Everything You Already Know About Your Racism and How to Do Better by Regina Jackson and Saira Rao. It was a very, very necessary book about the role white women play in upholding racism and the patriarchy, and how often white women are the first to say they want to help and the first to flee when things get hard and bias is called out. It was uncomfortable. It was very, very thinky. It made me examine myself and my role, and where I need to do better. Really, really good, because it was really, really difficult but necessary.

My top 12 Books (I couldn't limit to just 10) of the year: 

#1, 🏆, the BEST book of 2023 according to me: 

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin 
OMG so good, the writing is beautiful, and I don't at all care about the world of video game development but this book pulled me in and refused to let go. I laughed, I cried. It was sooo good. Did I mention it was good?

The rest are not in any particular order: 

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
An octopus is one of the characters! So much heart, some mystery, tons of humanity (often the most from the octopus), just beautiful.

Red Clocks by Leni Zumas 
The cover is basically a somewhat-sneaky origami vulva which is amazing, speculative fiction about militant control over women's bodies that was frankly much more realistic fiction now, but told fromb varying perspectives including infertility and a younger person who is pregnant not by choice, handled really well.

Yonder by Jabari Asim 
A slim and yet insanely poetic book about the horrors of slavery but also the peril of escaping, difficult yet hope-filled and stuck with me long after I finished it.

The Maid by Nita Prose 
I just loved this mystery with a main character who is quirky and struggles with social skills and loves, Loves, LOVES being a hotel maid, but whose Gran has just died and a murder has happened in her hotel and somehow through her social missteps she is a prime suspect and so has to try to solve the mystery herself... It is DELIGHTFUL. Twisty and funny and heartfelt. And, the second book came out this year too which is also quite good!

Lone Women by Victor LaValle
I love Victor LaValle -- if you haven't read The Changeling, go read it. I mean, if you like twisty, unpredictable, everything-is-not-as-it-seems books with a touch of Nordic mythology thrown in for fun, you will love it. This one was about a Black woman who goes to homestead on the prairie after her parents have died somewhat suspiciously, and she has this giant chest/trunk that is locked and can NEVER BE UNLOCKED or else... well, some unfortunate people find out. It is AWESOME and very empowering, also scary and I learned some history. 

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill
Oh, this book was deliciously bonkers. It involves a reality where women suddenly become dragons, a "dragoning," and the government/patriarchy is hellbent on pretending it's not happening and quelling this insane empowerment of women. It's like Don't Look Up but with dragons and feminism instead of a extinction comet. 

We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds
Ooooh, this book. YA, a girl and her mom go South to take care of her ailing grandma, but all is not as it seems and there's a whole lot of history that the main character discovers about her family. There's a trio of friends, violence, queer romance, mystery, and the end! Holy crap the end. So good. 

Mickey 7 by Edward Ashton
Another bonkers selection, but so good! Mickey is an "Expendable," someone who gets their consciousness uploaded so that they can do dangerous stuff on this colonization mission on a planet that as soon as they land, is not at all as advertised. As soon as he kicks it, they create a new body and upload his consciousness into it. Except at the start of the book, he has a mishap and is presumed dead, but he's not, so when he gets back to the base, there's a Mickey 8. Which is apparently an abomination, you can't have two of you, and all kinds of craziness ensues as they figure out what the heck to do. There's creatures, moral dilemmas, creative worldbuilding, and I laughed. A LOT. 

Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin
This was one of the last books I read this year and a Bryce pick that was just delightful. I laughed and snorted out loud SO MANY TIMES, looking like a crazywoman in Vermont. It is about a quirky woman who is not socially aware and suffers crippling anxiety, who somehow accidentally interviews for and gets the job as receptionist at a Catholic Church, even though she is a gay atheist. All kinds of craziness ensues, there's a mystery, and a whole lot of humanity. It was delightful. I saw a (less functional) version of myself in Gilda, the main character. I adore this book. 

How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler
This was a series of essays about the author's life that were all focused on a different sea creature that fit with moments in their life. It was beautifully written, and I learned about sea creatures, and it was window into Sabrina's lived experiences. 

Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
Ooooh, this book was so much fun. Guess what? A QUIRKY researcher with QUESTIONABLE SOCIAL SKILLS is the main character, and she is traveling to catalogue and interact with faeries on this island that is probably maybe Nordic? These are not sweet flower fairies. These are, largely, malevolent faeries and she is like "cool, I'm going to put myself in the middle of all this" and is doing great when another professor, who is super charismatic and charming (TOO much so) comes to "rescue" her and she is pissed. But they get into adventures and it's a delightful romp of cozy dark magic and academia and the two main characters are just charming. The second book comes out this month. 

That's it! Here are pictures of my whole list, but I am pretty pleased with my reading life in 2023.

What were your favorite books this year?