I was such a mood reader this year. Instead of sticking to a list I read whatever sounded good or was available at the library. I ran one read along on Litsy for The Once and Future King, but other than that I didn’t tackle nearly as many classics as I normally do. I reread things when I felt like it. I read lots of fantasy novels and books based in areas we traveled to, especially Maine.
Number of Books You Read: 143
1.
Best Books You Read In 2023
Classics
— The Once and Future King, Silmarillion, and Jayber Crow
Mystery
— The Late Mrs. Willoughby, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It
Literary
Fiction — Go As a River, Tom Lake, Hello Beautiful, and Shark Heart
Nonfiction
— A Book of Bees, A Fever in the Heartland, You Could
Make This Place Beautiful, Do Nothing, and Notes on Grief
Fantasy
— Starling House, Divine Rivals, Fourth Wing, Throne of
Glass series, Ten Thousand Doors of January, and Legends & Lattes
Play/Essay
— Our Town, The Book of Delights, The Wickhams
YA — Where
the Rhythm Takes You
Children’s
— Hello Lighthouse and All-of-a-Kind Family
2.
Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going to Love More But
Didn’t?
Somebody’s
Fool, The Last Ranger, and The Daughter of Time
3. Most surprising (in a good way) book you read?
Legends & Lattes and The 7 ½ Deaths
of Evelyn Hardcastle
4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?
OMG WTF Does the Constitution Actually Say?
5. Best series you started in 2023?
Throne of Glass and Empyrean
6.
Favorite new author you discovered in 2023?
Alix E. Harrow, I read both The Ten Thousand Doors of
January and Starling House
7.
Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
The
Book of Delights, I don’t often read essay collections, but I loved this one so
much I just bought his new collection.
8.
Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
Fourth
Wing and The Lioness
9.
Book You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
Tom
Lake, I’d love to listen to the audio the second time around.
10.
Favorite cover of a book you read in 2023?
The Measure, Fairy Tale, The Ladies of Grace Adieu
11. Most memorable character of 2023?
Manon in the Throne of Glass series and Satchel from Bookshops & Bonedust
12. Most beautifully written book read in 2023?
Go as a River
13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2023?
Do Nothing, Chain Gang All Stars
14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2023 to finally read?
Silmarillion
15. Best memoir?
Patrick Stewart’s Making It So
16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2023?
The Greatest Gift - 65 pages
The Running Grave - 960 pages
17. Book That Shocked You The Most?
Mad Honey and A Fever in the Heartland
18. Favorite Couple?
Iris and Roman Divine Rivals; William and Sylvie in Hello Beautiful
19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship of The Year?
Violet and Tairn in Fourth Wing; Polly and Agnes’ friendship in Fellowship Point
20. Favorite Book You Read in 2023 From an Author You’ve Read Previously?
Tom Lake
21. Best Book You Read In 2023 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else?
Foster
22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2023?
Xaden
23. Best debut you read?
Go As A River
24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
Fourth Wing and Piranesi
25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?
A Lady’s Guide to Fortune Hunting and The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America
26. Book That Made You Cry in 2023?
A Heart That Works
27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?
A Book of Bees
28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?
Women Talking
29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2023?
The Shark Heart and Leave the World Behind
30. Book That Made You the Maddest?
Marmee & Louisa, Bronson Alcott was just such a selfish jerk. It Ends with Us, I wanted to know what the hype was about, but it just wasn't my cup of tea.
31. Best Audiobook?
Congratulations, The Best Is Over! I will listen to anything R. Eric Thomas reads! Spare was excellent on audio as well.
32. Best Book to Film Adaptation?
Women Talking
33. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2023?
"In
the end, it's not the changes that will break your heart; it's that tug of
familiarity." - The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
“The laughing snort: among the most emphatic
evidences of delight.” - The Book of Delights
"At Auschwitz dying was so easy. Surviving
was a full-time job." - Surviving the Angel of Death
“Perhaps a series of small satisfaction
scattered like sequins over the texture of everyday life was of greater worth
than the academic satisfaction of owning a collection of fine objects at the
back of a drawer.” - The Daughter of Time
“I want my life to be like making pottery. I
want to enjoy it while it’s happening, not just for where it might get me
eventually.” - Happy Place
“I love to watch how the day, tired as it is,
lags away reluctantly and hates to be called yesterday so soon.” -
The House of the Seven Gables
“The idea is not that everything should be
slower, but that not everything needs to be fast.” - Do Nothing
“Grief is a cruel kind of education. You learn
how ungentle mourning can be, how full of anger. You learn how glib condolences
can feel. You learn how much grief is about language, the failure of language
and the grasping for language” - Notes on Grief
Thanks
to Perpetual Page Turner for originating this survey! It’s
always so much fun to look at everything I read throughout the year and think
about what I loved/hated.
