2023 Year in Review
The year of fiction, reading staycations, & finding my joy through a newsletter
Every year, I curate my own “Goodreads” wrapped of sorts, tallying up the number of books, pages, and new authors I’ve explored, and ranking my favorite books across various genres. I try my darndest to go beyond quantitative metrics, and I also like to include a sneak preview of what I am most looking forward to reading in the year ahead. This tradition is more art than science, and it always brings me an immense amount of joy.
The key standout this year is how much fiction I consumed - in fact, at nearly 100%, this is the first time in years that I won’t include a nonfiction ranking. There was a year - granted that year was pre-pandemic - where I was rather regimented about alternating between fiction and nonfiction, and I could not put my hands down on anything that had to do with political theory, history, social science, etc. (who among us remembers my annotated copies of Good and Mad, Caste, The Sum of Us, Mediocre, Invisible Women, the list goes on). These books still delight me, but this was a tough year, and my reading needed to be an escape. And escape I did: this year featured rereads of TJR classics (Carrie Soto is Back, Daisy Jones and the Six, and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo); new books by familiar authors (Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune, Happy Place by Emily Henry, and Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel); and books and authors that have sat on my shelf for a while and finally made it to the forefront (Alice Munro and Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko).
Going with one ranked list proved challenging, so at the encouragement of one of my favorite fellow readers, I have added a fun twist: superlatives! This new element added much variety, flavor, and fun to my year-end practice (and many thanks to those who contributed superlative ideas over the past few weeks).
Please do share your favorite/standout reads of 2023 and what you’re looking forward to reading in 2024 - I want to hear from you! And truly, sincere gratitude for tagging along with “it’s a quick read” this year - this idea came about at my birthday with some very wonderful and supportive friends, and in just a few short months, it has brought me an incredible amount of joy.
Now without further ado, the 2023 year in review!
Year-End Stats
Total Books Read/Goal: 50/50
Total Pages: 18,294 (new personal best!)
New Authors: 27
Total Rereads: 5
Audiobooks: 1 completed (3 attempted)
Best of 2023
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman
Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson
The Man I Never Met by Elle Cook
After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting by Clare Pooley
Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren
Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn
The Invisible Husband of Frick Island by Colleen Oakley
The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren
Happy Place by Emily Henry
2023 Superlatives
Most likely to find me reading… at Union Market with a coffee or cocktail in hand
Best reading experience… Alexandria Reading Bar Crawl Day (runner up goes to monthly Silent Book Club at Sonny’s Pizza, pictured here)
Favorite local bookstore… Politics & Prose at Union Market
Book most likely to encourage spontaneous behavior (i.e. quit job, get bangs, profess feelings to a crush)… Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn
Book most likely to impress your boss … Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Book most likely to change your mind about a genre… The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
Book most likely to make you download the dating apps (again)… The Shift by Tinx
Book most likely to make you delete the dating apps (again)… After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Character with the most enviable wardrobe… Daisy Jones (see below for all the TJR leading ladies)
Book most likely to induce crying in public… The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Biggest WTF moment… Something Wilder by Christina Lauren (IYKYK)
Best use of time continuum… Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Best book-to-screen adaptation… Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Book I would recommend to Taylor Swift… The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
“On repeat” reading soundtrack… Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever) deluxe album by Noah Kahan
Book least likely to utilize “it’s a quick read”… Stolen Focus by Johann Hari
Book most likely to utilize “it’s a quick read”… Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson
Best overall story… Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Lookahead for 2024
Sticking with 50 books as my goal, adding “reading vacations” to my vision board, and apparently piling up on the celebrity memoirs!
Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton
My Name is Barbra by Barbra Streisand
Tell Me Everything by Minka Kelly
Worthy by Jada Pinkett Smith
The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships by Nina Totenberg
Thicker than Water: A Memoir by Kerry Washington
This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune
Funny Story by Emily Henry
I Feel Bad About My Neck, and Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron
I *love* Christina Lauren, and especially love and other words. I think I now own 4 copies of it in two languages. that moment in something wilder made me gasp out loud.