Welcome to my 2023 year in reading. A little late, which is probably typical of my whole year really!
I read 62 books in 2023, my lowest total for a long time - since records began in fact. Which was in 2016 if you’re interested, when I read 69 books. Still, it’s quality over quantity, and looking at my top 10 of the year I have read some crackers.
My three biggest genres were what I would call fiction or literary fiction (19), non-fiction (10), and fantasy (9). The vast majority (39) were in paperback, and I only read one audiobook in 2023 - the final book in the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik which got me through many sleepless nights in 2022.
I had a vague idea at the beginning of the year that I might make this a year of re-reading. In the event I only re-read three books, so that resolution didn’t stick! While I didn’t set myself a target of how many books by non-white authors to read this year (which I have done previously), I am disappointed by the realisation that only 15 of my 62 books were by non-white authors, slightly less than a quarter. I’ll be making more of an effort on that in 2024.
The authors I read came from 12 different countries, with the vast majority from the UK and the USA. And the only books I read in translation were those that make up the Neapolitan Quartet, originally written in Italian.
So let’s see what made the top ten:
Fiction
Stone blind by Natalie Haynes
This was one of the first things I read in 2023, and it still holds up. I loved the retelling of Medusa’s story and the different viewpoints she takes on throughout. I just got her new one for Christmas so expect another review soon!
Read it if you... enjoy feminist retellings of myths
Dawn by Octavia Butler
The first in the Lilith’s Brood trilogy, and the best one for me. But the whole trilogy is incredible. It explores how humanity would react if an alien race survived it from extinction, but at the cost of being codependent. Though that’s not really a good way to describe the complexity of the relationship.
Read it if you... love to explore questions about what it means to be human
Small things like these by Claire Keegan
This is on lots of must-read lists because it is simply a perfect book. There is not a single extraneous word, and you are left feeling hopeful about humanity.
Read it if you... need a succinct and satisfying book to start your reading year
The Neapolitan Quartet by Elena Ferrante
The perfect blend of intellectual conversation and messy interpersonal dynamics. I resisted reading this for so long, but to be honest I am glad I waited because I think when it came out I wouldn’t have connected with it so strongly. I couldn’t pick a favourite of the four so they’re all coming in the top ten.
Read it if you... love drama
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
What a novel. I have always loved Kingsolver since I read the Poisonwood Bible a long time ago, but I’ve never loved anything as much again till she wrote this. You will fall in love with Demon and feel for him so much as Kingsolver uses his story to illuminate the horrors of the opioid crisis in rural America.
Read it if you... love a spellbinding story with heart
The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue
I’ve cracked on about this so much that it’ll be a surprise to nobody that it’s on this list. A deeply satisfying story, with a big dollop of nostalgia if you’re a millennial like me. But I think the coming of age story connects with everyone.
Read it if you... want to revisit your early twenties
The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell
This is a last minute entry, as I read this in December. I’ve fallen in love with Rundell’s writing style - expect to see her children’s fiction and non-fiction in my emails this year. This book follows a Russian girl who lives in a dark fairytale, she and her mother are wolf wilders; they re-wild wolves who have been kept as pets by the aristocracy. It’s dark and scary and beautiful, and full of scrappy characters you’ll fall in love with.
Read it if you... want to get swept away
Non-fiction
Rogues by Patrick Radden Keefe
I could have gone for Empire of Pain, Keefe’s detailed and forensic account of how the Sackler family created and benefited from the opioid crisis, but I decided on this collection of his New Yorker profiles as it is a brilliant showcase of his style, with a fascinating cast of characters.
Read it if you... enjoy weird and wonderful profiles of interesting people
We've got this by Eliza Hull
I am still thinking about this collection of essays from disabled parents, which I read all the way back in January. It was eye-opening, and frustrating, and challenged my preconceptions in lots of ways.
Read if it you... want an insight into the lives of disabled parents
Storyland by Amy Jeffs
This collection and exploration of British myths and legends was both beautiful - with lovely woodcut illustrations throughout - and fascinating. I think I’ll be dipping in and out of it for years to come.
Read it if you... love stories with a history
And there you have it, my reading year of 2023. I hope you’ve enjoyed following along. Here’s to many more books in 2024!
What was your favourite book of 2023?