2023 has come to an end, and so has my Goodreads annual reading challenge.
I was able to finish 51 books this year, which is two more than last year and more than any other year since I started using Goodreads to keep track of my reading.
I get more excited about my Goodreads year-in-review than my Spotify Wrapped, to be honest.
My Goodreads year-in-review says I read about 17,000 pages this year, and while some of them were duds, I was easily able to list nine books that I really, really loved over the course of this past year.
I definitely read a few disappointments this year. I had so many friends hype up “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin, and I just didn’t love it like I expected to. I read a handful of hyped-up thrillers, including “None of this is True” by Lisa Jewell, “The Family Game” by Catherine Steadman and “Daisy Darker” by Alice Feeney — all of which left me really disappointed. (I read a lot of thrillers, but it’s rare to find one that I love enough to recommend it.)
However, I did read some pretty interesting, thought-provoking, unique and un-put-down-able books this year that I’ll happily recommend to all my friends!
Here are a few of them.
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“Dark Matter” by Blake Crouch. The premise of this sci-fi-slash-thriller will live rent free in my head for the rest of ever. The concept of this book fascinated me. If you’ve ever wondered what your life looks like in an alternate timeline, this novel is for you.
“The House of Eve” by Sadeqa Johnson. This historical fiction explored some of the most shameful parts of American society within the last hundred years — including racism, sexism and the “homes for wayward girls” — but ended on such an optimistic note.
“The Measure” by Nikki Erlick. I didn’t know that a book entirely about death could captivate me so much, but this story —which operates on the premise of “if you could know exactly when you would die, would you want to know?” — weaves together the lives of several strangers as they navigate an uncertain time after finding out how much life they have left.
“Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus. Elizabeth Zott is one of the best characters I’ve read in a while, and this feminist masterpiece left me feeling inspired.
“You’d be Home Now” by Kathleen Glasgow. This book — about addiction and what it does to a family — pulled at my heartstrings and left me reeling.
“Remarkably Bright Creatures” by Shelby Van Pelt. You wouldn’t think a book written from an octopus’s perspective would be a five-star read, but I absolutely loved this adorable novel, which was a light-hearted and optimistic book.
A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles. I wasn’t sure about this book for the first chapter, but I fell in love once I got a little ways in. The main character is a delight and the writing is beautiful.
“Looking for Jane” by Heather Marshall. This book was similar to “The House of Eve,” but with a heavier focus on the Jane Collective. I loved all of the characters in this novel and was really pleased with the ending.
“Still Alice” by Lisa Genova. This book wasn’t a literary masterpiece, by any means, but it definitely made me think and the ending was so heartbreaking. It left me in a bit of an existential crisis, but I’m still so glad I read it.
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Have you read any of the aforementioned books? What’s your favorite book you read this year?
