My 2023 Bookish Review
The best, the worst, the DNFs
2023 was a very solid reading year for me. I started tracking my books on Goodreads in 2014, and this year I read more books than any other year since then. My total of 47 decisively beats my second-highest total of 32, which I hit way back in 2016. I realize for some people that these are very modest numbers, but for me, 47 is a stretch. I set a goal to read 28 books this year, and I was skeptical about even meeting that goal since I hadn’t reached that number since 2016.
Here’s a loose genre breakdown of this year’s books:
Fiction: 38
Memoir: 2
Christian Living: 5
Nonfiction: 2
As these numbers demonstrate, fiction is always my first choice when picking books, and this year I really came to love one specific genre of fiction: the thriller. 14 of the books I read this year fall into this category. I love being swept up in a good mystery and not knowing where a story is heading.
Favorite Reads of 2023
When thinking about my favorite reads of the year, I consider the following: Did it leave a lasting impression? Did it make me feel deeply? If it’s fiction, did I like the ending? (Endings can make or break a book for me!) Did it make me want to start reading it over again immediately after I finished? A book can end up a favorite for me even if it’s not the most well-written book, as long as I can answer those questions with a definite “yes.” So, in no particular order, here are my top favorites from this year:
Create Anyway by Ashlee Gadd. I have been reading Ashlee’s writing for a number of years and was ecstatic to have the chance to be on the launch team for this book. Applying for a launch team is always a bit nerve-racking for me because I have this fear that I will sign up and then loathe the book and then will have to decide whether to be honest in my review or just not review it. Fortunately, this has not yet happened to me, and it certainly wasn’t a problem with Ashlee’s book. Create Anyway is beautifully written and accompanied by Ashlee’s gorgeous photography, and it was just the push I needed to start writing more consistently, even if that meant writing a poem in the notes app on my phone while waiting in line or while trying to fall asleep at night. I credit this book with inspiring me to finally launch my Substack, and planning and writing posts for this little space has been a highlight of 2023.
Hello Stranger by Katherine Center. This book was such a delight. It is not “great literature” (whatever that phrase even means), but I loved this story and characters so much. It gave me the warm fuzzies. I read several books by Center this year, and I enjoyed them all.
Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister. I had to include a thriller on my list since I read so many of them, and this one is solid. Excellent premise, excellent execution. (But be forewarned: it also has lots of “f” bombs.)
Homecoming by Kate Morton. This book isn’t perfect; I think it’s too long and could have used a bit more editing, but man, it is worth finishing! I raced through the end of this book so I could find out what would happen, and my mouth just kept dropping open. This book shares a lot in common with another Morton favorite of mine, The Lake House.
Memorizing Scripture by Glenna Marshall. I cannot say enough good things about this book. Scripture memory is a discipline I have long neglected, and this book gave me the motivation, encouragement, and practical tools I needed to spend 2024 hiding God’s Word in my heart.
Worst Reads of 2023
I know the word “worst” is completely subjective and recognize that you might love a book I have on this list, and that’s fine! It takes all kinds of readers to make the world go ‘round. But here are the books I really didn’t like this year:
In Five Years by Rebecca Serle. I very rarely give a book 1 star, but this book earned it. I had a visceral reaction to it and was angry for days after I finished it. Some people really loved this book, so again, it might just be me.
Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam. Did I read this almost solely because I was curious about the Netflix adaptation and wanted to read the original first? Yes. Was it worth it? No. The writing was strange, and I had a lot of feelings about how everything ended. (I haven’t yet watched the film, but based on the trailer, it looks like it differs significantly from the book, which may be a good thing.)
Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult. Picoult’s books have been hit or miss for me over the years, and this one was definitely a miss. She throws in a huge bombshell revelation about halfway through the book that changed everything, and I didn’t like it. I loved the information about beekeeping that was sprinkled throughout the book, but that was pretty much the only thing I liked.
Books I Did Not Finish
I usually DNF a book because I have tried to get into it and realize it’s just not clicking for me. I used to feel pressure to finish everything I read, but life is too short to read books I don’t enjoy. I don’t have a set requirement of pages that I read before giving up on a book, but typically it’s at least 70 or so. Here are a few I didn’t finish.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins. I think if I had read the Hunger Games books more recently I would have stuck with this, but I felt too removed from the series to be invested. It also seemed rather grim, and I wasn’t in the mood for that.
Spare by Prince Harry. I admit that the hype surrounding this book is what convinced me to try it, but since I have very little interest in the Royal Family, it was hard for me to stay engaged for the many long hours this book required of me. I did enjoy Prince Harry’s narration, though.
After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Reid has also been a hit-or-miss author for me, and the relationship between the two main characters in this book was too depressing for me. (For what it’s worth, I loved Daisy Jones and the Six and Carrie Soto Is Back by this author.)
2024 TBR
A few books I plan to read in 2024:
All Who Are Weary by Sarah Hauser
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Joyful Sorrow by Julie Busler
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
How to Stay Married by Harrison Scott Key (I feel like a day doesn’t go by that someone isn’t raving about this book on social media.)
Now it’s your turn: what were your best and worst books of 2023? What should I read in 2024?
Great suggestions! My favorite this year in the thriller category (open the envelope please) was "Never Lie" by Freida McFadden. If my memory keeps getting worse, I'm going to read it again because I think I'll forget who dunnit and get surprised all over again. In the biography category was "All My Knotted Up Life" by Beth Moore. I got the audiobooks in both of these. Beth reads her own book in her homey accent, and I learned so much about how you never know what people are dealing with when they look so put together.
Thank you so much for including Memorizing Scripture!! I'm honored and blessed to know it was so helpful for you.
I started Leave the World Behind and the writing (and smut) was so unbelievably forced that I quit after the second chapter. It left such a bad taste in my mouth. It seemed like the author was trying so hard to show that he was a good writer that his sentences were clunky, similes ridiculous, and his tone pretentious. I don't normally hate books so much, but I really hated this one.