2023 was a weird year for reading. Mostly because I actually started reading again. I'm pretty sure I have been averaging 1 book per year for at least the last 10 years (not including textbooks), so the fact I managed 24 is wild.
This journey technically began on New Years Eve 2022 as Hunter & I were discussing with friends how we should start a book club. I didn't think any of us would actually commit to a book club, but I was willing to humor the idea for the sake of new year's resolutions. When we decided I would be in charge of running it, I figured we had a 50/50 shot of making this work. I'm very much a type A planner, but I never know when the ADHD is going to take over. As of January 2024 we are now starting our 10th book since forming the club. I'd like to give a third of the credit of my reading success to our book club.
Another third has to go to Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. We bought the book pretty much when it was released in 2021 because Hunter was already a fan of her music, but I hadn't given it any thought. I added it to our book club's 'want to read' list strictly because we owned it. When I started seeing the booktok hype surrounding it, I was eager to start it as our July read. Of course, when I say "eager" I mean I didn't actually start reading it until the day before our meeting. As soon as I started reading Crying in H Mart I couldn't put it down. I finished the book roughly 30 minutes before our meeting. This was book 4/24 of the year & I'd finished it at the end of July.
The last third of the credit goes to Carmichael's Bookstore in Louisville, KY (Photo from their Instagram). Hunter & I live in Owensboro, KY where our only 'bookstore' option is a poorly run 2nd & Charles. So, yes, we will drive 2 hours away just to go to a bookstore. We'd been going to Carmichael's for a while, & I'd been following them on Instagram for a while, but somehow I didn't see their reading challenge BINGO until right after I finished Crying in H Mart.
Something about being obsessed with a book for the first time in over a decade combined with a challenge from a bookstore I already loved connected all of the wires in my brain. I decided I was going to complete the cover all (24 prompts) by the end of the year. I started August 1st. By the time the BINGO sheets were due on December 30th, I was only 4 books shy of the coverall.
Without further ado, here's a breakdown off all the books I read in 2023, starting with the ones I didn't even finish reading.
DNF (Did Not Finish) Reads
In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
Technically, I there was only 1 book I DNF this year because I never even started In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware. It was our 2nd pick for our book club read, & I never even picked it up. I borrowed it from our library on 2 separate occasions in 2023, & both times I never read a single sentence. I have no reasoning for this at all.
City of Light, City of Poison by Holly Tucker
1 Star Reads
Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
I was only a little surprised that I didn't like Milk & Honey by Rupi Kaur. I remember when it was first released & all the hype surrounding it on Tumblr. I was desperate to get my hands on it then but never could. I finally bought it after it had been out for several years, but by then, word was going around that it wasn't actually worth the hype & just worked well for Tumblr aesthetic. I hate to say it, but I agree with this stance. If you're wanting to read poetry, I don't recommend this book.
2 Star Reads
Falling Back in Love with Being Human by Kai Cheng Thom
Let's start my 2 star rating with another poetry book I didn't love, but liked a bit more than Milk & Honey. I wanted so badly to love Falling Back in Love With Being Human, but it just didn't hit the way thought it would. While I loved the concepts of letters & overall, the collection is very well written, I was not prepared for the heavy religious themes depicted throughout. I know I would have skipped the book entirely if I had realized. Overall, I really did enjoy the first half of the book, but the second half was a bit too much for me.
Frog and Toad are Doing Their Best (A Parody) by Jennie Egerdie
Another book I wanted to love more than I did, was Frog & Toad are Doing Their Best. A modern day parody of a book I loved as a kid seemed like a good idea in theory. At the end of the day, I found it more mundane (boring) than I did funny. However, I did enjoy the nostalgia of Frog & Toad in a more "grown up" setting.
The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
My review: Book Review: The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
I'd heard a lot of hype surrounding The Anthropocene Reviewed, but John Green just doesn't do it for me like he does for some of y'all. I have a whole review that you can read detailing all of my dislikes & my few likes of this book. TLDR: I didn't realize how little I cared about John Green's opinion until I read The Anthropocene Reviewed.
Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
Geek Love was a weird one for me. I read at least 90% of it while Hunter & I were driving to & back from Colorado in September. If you're wondering, it's a 15 hour drive one way. Thinking about it now, I want to say it was actually a really good book, but I can't actually remember anything specific about it. I enjoyed the concept of the book a lot, & I appreciated that it had some really out of pocket moments. My biggest complaint is that the descriptions dragged on forever. I almost feel like if Katherine Dunn had cut the page count in half the reader wouldn't have missed anything. I'm not a slow pace girlie, obviously.
3 Star Reads
Scattered All Over the Earth by Yoko Tawada (translated by Margaret Mitsutani)
I read Scattered all Over the Earth because it filled the Carmichael's BINGO spot of a translated book. The premise sounded interesting enough, we already owned it, & Hunter promise me it was a quick read. It was not. It took me an entire month to get through, but I guess it was interesting enough. The story itself felt chaotic & the transphobia seemed extremely unnecessary. I know this is the first book of a projected trilogy & unless the reviews for those future books are amazing I can't say I'm looking forward to reading them.
The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers
My second 3 star read of 2023 was also a book that left me feeling very indifferent. The King in Yellow didn't do anything special for me, but I can understand its influence on the horror genre as a whole. If you're into Lovecraftian horror, I think this is a book you should have on your TBR.
4 Star Reads
Pageboy by Elliot Page
My review: Book Review: Pageboy by Elliot Page
My first 4 star read was Pageboy by Elliot Page. I'll keep my opinion piece for this one short & sweet. If you're a fan of Page, then you should read his memoir, but keep in mind he's an actor not a writer.
Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
I watched Girl, Interrupted back in high school because I was in my Supernatural era & Misha Collins is in it for about 5 seconds, but I didn't realize what it was based off of until a few years later. I loved the movie, so it was only a matter of time before I read Susanna Kaysen's memoir. I enjoyed reading Girl, Interrupted about as much as I enjoyed watching it. I thought the case notes were an essential piece to the book, & it was honestly my favorite part. I really don't have a specific reason for why this was a 4 star & not a 5 star read for me. Thanks, Mom, for letting me steal your copy!
Homebodies by Tembe Denton-Hurst
My review: Book Review: Homebodies by Tembe Denton-Hurst
I'd like to speak directly to Tembe Denton-Hurst for a moment. When's the sequel coming?? I need it -like- yesterday!
Never Whistle at Night edited by Shane Hawk & Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.
I had several anthologies planned for 2023, but only managed to have time for one. I'm glad I went with Never Whistle at Night. There was a good mix of shorter & longer stories & I enjoyed reading the little bios about each author. Almost everyone was unfamiliar to me, so it was nice to read a little bit more about them. My only complaint is that I just didn't like some of the stories & that's not a good excuse for you to not read Never Whistle at Night if you're interested, imo.
The First to Die at the End by Adam Silva
Ah, The First to Die at the End. This is the prequel to They Both Die at the End, which I haven't read, so I really am starting at the beginning here. Let me just say that this was a fantastic read for me! It's one of the few books I annotated because I was trying to mark predictions to the ending to this book, predictions to They Both Die at the End, & predictions to the future sequel. So, why a 4 star? Honestly, I just didn't care for the death. Obviously, I knew it was coming, but I thought the actions taken were a bit out of character given the rest of the book. It's still an amazing book, & I will still be reading the rest of the series in time, but the death scene just gave me a bit of an ick. That's all I can say *spoiler free*.
5 Star Reads
50 Ways to Protect Bookstores by Danny Caine
This was the last book (or zine) I read in 2023. Technically, I was also on a book buying ban that lasted about 3 days when I bought it. If there was ever a justification to breaking a book buying ban, I feel like you can't go wrong with 50 Ways to Protect Bookstores. I could write at least 5 separate blog posts about supporting indie bookstores & libraries is important, so I won't get into it just yet. If you're looking for an easy to digest lists of what you can do for bookstores (especially if you think the only option is buy more books), this is a must read!
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
My first read of 2023 was worth all the hype in my opinion. Even though the topics are tough, Jennette McCurdy's writing is very digestible. I ended up speeding through the book, surprisingly. Will you be able to watch an episode of iCarly or Sam & Cat the same way? Absolutely not, but I'm Glad My Mom Died is so worth the read.
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
My review: Book Review: Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
You already know Crying in H Mart is my book of the year, but If you want to really up your experience with Crying in H Mart & I'm Glad My Mom Died, I have to recommend reading one right after the other. Both books deal with Mom trauma, but their experiences & opinions on their mothers was so vastly different. They are the perfect example of not everyone's experience is universal. They are both amazing books individually, but the juxtaposition between the two still has me messed up.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz
I read this book at least 100 times growing up. It is such an important part of my child hood, & honestly, that explains a lot.
How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
I saw several Goodreads reviews for How High We Go in the Dark that described is as "boring" & "lackluster," & I have to wonder if we read the same book. While I do think there is a lack of world building & characters could have been more developed, it says a lot about the author's writing ability that this multiple POV book (note: NOT short story collection as many reviewers are trying to claim) could still bring readers to tears & be deeply emotional. I was skeptical going into this book as I have been with any book written after COVID that deals with COVID or themes of a plague, but it really held its own. If you can handle the trigger warnings & you're looking for something pretty depressing, this is a must read.
Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon
Is this the book that's going to get your life together? Of course not! Steal Like an Artist does have some really good points for artists especially considering you know we are way too hard on ourselves. I wouldn't say it is a ground breaking book by any means, but it's nice to feel validated from someone who knows what you're dealing with. Read if you're looking to finally get out of your creative slump!
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson
Another book I read over & over again as a kid, & that makes total sense for me, again. I will say I didn't feel like it held up entirely in 2023, but still a solid read. It was really a weird experience reading this with all my adult emotions, & I'm looking forward to reading more books I haven't read since I was 10.
Roll Call by Molly Knox Ostertag
I originally bought this graphic novel for a friend's 8 year old daughter, but I read it because I wanted to make sure it was age appropriate for her first. Spoiler alert: the content is perfectly fine, but I'm waiting until she's a bit older to give it to her because I don't think she will fully appreciate the message. I thought it was a cute story with some mild middle school drama, & I can't wait to read more. Also, how cool is it that kids are getting books & graphic novels about Dungeon & Dragons??
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
Cemetery Boys has been on my TBR since it was published. If I'm not mistaken, this was the first LGBT+ YA book I discovered & it blew my mind. I wouldn't say 25 is old, but I swear I don't remember seeing queer YA books as a teenager. I'm sure they existed, but I feel like it was on a much quieter level. I'm so glad I finally got a chance to read Cemetery Boys though. I really did love everything about it!
Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Canas
I'm going to let you in on a secret... I am a sucker for unusual takes on monsters & mythical creatures. I will be thinking about the vampires in this book forever.
Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn
Mysteries typically aren't my thing, but I was willing to give it another shot for some old lady assassins. It was such a good decision on my part to be honest! I loved this book so much. It was such a fun & quick read. It was one of the first books I read where I was sad it was over.
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
I'm ending my 2023 wrap up with Fight Club & the first rule of Fight Club is... you don't talk about Fight Club. So... yeah? I guess that's it.
Final Thoughts
If you made it this far, thanks for sticking it out! My goal for 2024 is to read 50 books, but who knows what will happen.
If you've read any of the books above, I wanna talk about it in the comments! Did you feel the same as me? Did you hate a book I loved? Love a book I hated? I wanna know!
