2023 Reading: A Year of Books
I’ve always been a reader. From a young age, books provided escape, adventure, and doors into other worlds. While reading, I could get out of my head and connect with others.
But here’s the thing. The more I read, the more I wanted to write.
At least that’s how it worked for years.
But like many of us, once I started writing in earnest, my reading decreased. Between drafting and revisions, each book took so much of my free time, it got harder and harder to find the mental space for reading.
But then I stopped writing. Not completely… but my torrent of words slowed to a trickle.
Don’t panic; I’m not giving up. And frankly, I needed a break. Since I believe reading can make you a better writer, what better break for a writer than a year of reading?
Maybe that’s why my 2023 reading list was so extensive!
The 2023 Reading Breakdown
Since I adore fantasy, it did not surprise me that the bulk of my reading this year was fantasy. And when I say bulk, I mean it. 87% of my 2023 reading was some flavor of fantasy.
General fiction was second at a whopping 6% of titles, followed by science fiction (5%) and non-fiction (2%).
Here is my 2023 reading list for the year. When available, I’ve included links to my reviews.
| Title | Author |
|---|---|
| The Bear and the Nightingale (The Winternight Trilogy, #1) | Katherine Arden |
| Small Miracles | Olivia Atwater |
| The Last Gifts of the Universe | Rory August |
| Bookshops & Bonedust (Legends & Lattes, #0) | Travis Baldree |
| When Women Were Dragons | Kelly Barnhill |
| A Merry Life (Pirates of New Earth #1) | Sarah Branson |
| The Minuscule Mansion of Myra Malone | Audrey Burges |
| Scales and Sensibility (Regency Dragons, #1) | Stephanie Burgis |
| Monstrilio | Gerardo Sámano Córdova |
| The Curious Case of the Werewolf that Wasn't (Parasol Protectorate, #0.5) | Gail Carriger |
| Meat Cute: The Hedgehog Incident (Parasol Protectorate, #0.75) | Gail Carriger |
| Soulless (Parasol Protectorate, #1) | Gail Carriger |
| Changeless (Parasol Protectorate, #2) | Gail Carriger |
| Blameless (Parasol Protectorate, #3) | Gail Carriger |
| Heartless (Parasol Protectorate, #4) | Gail Carriger |
| Timeless (Parasol Protectorate, #5) | Gail Carriger |
| Prudence (The Custard Protocol, #1) | Gail Carriger |
| Imprudence (The Custard Protocol, #2) | Gail Carriger |
| Competence (The Custard Protocol, #3) | Gail Carriger |
| Reticence (The Custard Protocol, #4) | Gail Carriger |
| The Heroine's Journey: For Writers, Readers, and Fans of Pop Culture | Gail Carriger |
| Curse the Day (Spellbound, #1) | Annabel Chase |
| Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell | Susanna Clarke |
| A Winter's Promise (The Mirror Visitor, #1) | Christelle Dabos |
| The Missing of Clairdelune (The Mirror Visitor, #2) | Christelle Dabos |
| The Memory of Babel (The Mirror Visitor Quartet, #3) | Christelle Dabos |
| The Storm of Echoes (The Mirror Visitor Quartet, #4) | Christelle Dabos |
| The Book Eaters | Sunyi Dean |
| The House Witch | Delemhach |
| A Gift of the Stars (The Tales of Zren Janin #1) | M.L. Dunker |
| Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries (Emily Wilde, #1) | Heather Fawcett |
| How to Write a Short Story, Get Published & Make Money: Short Story Writing Advice with Examples | Christopher Fielden |
| Stardust | Neil Gaiman |
| Starling House | Alix E. Harrow |
| Weyward | Emilia Hart |
| Nightfall in the Garden of Deep Time | Tracy L. Higley |
| Magic Lessons (Practical Magic #0.1) | Alice Hoffman |
| Practical Magic (Practical Magic, #1) | Alice Hoffman |
| The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels (Dangerous Damsels, #1) | India Holton |
| The League of Gentlewomen Witches (Dangerous Damsels, #2) | India Holton |
| The Sparrow and the Oak Tree | Jamie Jackson |
| Howl's Moving Castle (Howl's Moving Castle, #1) | Diana Wynne Jones |
| Before the Coffee Gets Cold (Before the Coffee Gets Cold, #1) | Toshikazu Kawaguchi |
| Fairy Tale | Stephen King |
| Paladin's Hope (The Saint of Steel, #3) | T. Kingfisher |
| In the Lives of Puppets | T.J. Klune |
| Ravensong (Green Creek, #2) | T.J. Klune |
| The Dragon Republic (The Poppy War, #2) | R.F. Kuang |
| The Librarian of Burned Books | Brianna Labuskes |
| Butter Witch (Torrent Witches, #1) | Tess Lake |
| Treasure Witch (Torrent Witches, #2) | Tess Lake |
| The Skin Map (Bright Empires, #1) | Stephen R. Lawhead |
| The Bone House (Bright Empires, #2) | Stephen R. Lawhead |
| The Spirit Well (Bright Empires, #3) | Stephen R. Lawhead |
| The Shadow Lamp (Bright Empires, #4) | Stephen R. Lawhead |
| The Fatal Tree (Bright Empires, #5) | Stephen R. Lawhead |
| The Book That Wouldn't Burn (The Library Trilogy, #1) | Mark Lawrence |
| Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness | Ingrid Fetell Lee |
| Natalie Tan's Book of Luck & Fortune | Roselle Lim |
| Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop | Roselle Lim |
| The Wizard's Butler | Nathan Lowell |
| The Unmarked Witch (Unmarked, #1) | Miranda Lyn |
| The Unbound Witch (Unmarked, # 2) | Miranda Lyn |
| Whiteout: A Nick Ventner Adventure | Ashton Macaulay |
| Assistant to the Villain (Assistant to the Villain, #1) | Hannah Nicole Maehrer |
| Inspector Hobbes and the Blood (Unhuman, #1) | Wilkie Martin |
| The Dog of the North | Elizabeth Mckenzie |
| Once There Was | Kiyash Monsef |
| Pinocchio's Guide to the End of the World | Eva Moon |
| The Quill and the Vial | Bree Moore |
| The Time Traveler's Wife | Audrey Niffenegger |
| Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City (The Siege, #1) | K.J. Parker |
| The Golden Enclaves (The Scholomance, #3) | Naomi Novik |
| Remarkably Bright Creatures | Shelby Van Pelt |
| Wisteria Witches (Wisteria Witches, #1) | Angela Pepper |
| Savage City (The Bliss Wars #1) | L. Penelope |
| Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch | Terry Pratchett; Neil Gaiman |
| The Science of Discworld (The Science of Discworld, #1) | Terry Pratchett; Ian Stewart; Jack Cohen |
| The Globe (The Science of Discworld, #2) | Terry Pratchett; Ian Stewart; Jack Cohen |
| Darwin's Watch (The Science of Discworld, #3) | Terry Pratchett; Ian Stewart; Jack Cohen |
| Judgement Day (The Science of Discworld, #4) | Terry Pratchett; Ian Stewart; Jack Cohen |
| The Color of Magic (Discworld, #1; Rincewind, #1) | Terry Pratchett |
| Equal Rites (Discworld, #3; Witches, #1) | Terry Pratchett |
| Maskerade (Discworld, #18; Witches, #5) | Terry Pratchett |
| Witches Abroad (Discworld, #12; Witches, #3) | Terry Pratchett |
| Small Gods (Discworld, #13) | Terry Pratchett |
| Lords and Ladies (Discworld, #14; Witches, #4) | Terry Pratchett |
| Monstrous Regiment (Discworld, #31; Industrial Revolution, #3) | Terry Pratchett |
| Going Postal (Discworld, #33; Moist von Lipwig, #1) | Terry Pratchett |
| Thud! (Discworld, #34; City Watch, #7) | Terry Pratchett |
| Making Money (Discworld, #36; Moist Von Lipwig, #2) | Terry Pratchett |
| Unseen Academicals (Discworld, #37; Rincewind, #8) | Terry Pratchett |
| Snuff (Discworld, #39; City Watch, #8) | Terry Pratchett |
| Raising Steam (Discworld, #40; Moist von Lipwig, #3) | Terry Pratchett |
| Johnny and the Dead (Johnny Maxwell, #2) | Terry Pratchett |
| The Long Earth (The Long Earth, #1) | Terry Pratchett; Stephen Baxter |
| The Long War (The Long Earth, #2) | Terry Pratchett; Stephen Baxter |
| The Brightonomicon (Brentford, #8) | Robert Rankin |
| The Awakening (The Dragon Heart Legacy, #1) | Nora Roberts |
| The Becoming (The Dragon Heart Legacy, #2) | Nora Roberts |
| The Choice (The Dragon Heart Legacy, #3) | Nora Roberts |
| The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks | Shauna Robinson |
| Cursed Cocktails (Tales of Aedrea, #1) | S.L. Rowland |
| Salthouse Place | Jamie Lee Sogn |
| The Bookshop and the Barbarian | Morgan Stang |
| R.I.P. Viola Winkle | E.P. Stavs |
| The Kiss Curse (The Ex Hex, #2) | Erin Sterling |
| All Work and No Slay (Witches of Devil's Orchard #1) | Skye Sullivan |
| Rain Music | Patrick Swenson |
| Rhapsodic (The Bargainer, #1) | Laura Thalassa |
| The Emperor of Evening Stars (The Bargainer, #2.5) | Laura Thalassa |
| Dark Harmony (The Bargainer, #3) | Laura Thalassa |
| Can't Spell Treason Without Tea | Rebecca Thorne |
| A Fate of Wrath & Flame (Fate & Flame, #1) | K.A. Tucker |
| Baking Bad (Beaufort Scales, #1) | Kim M. Watt |
| All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1) | Martha Wells |
| Project Hail Mary | Andy Weir |
| Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1) | Rebecca Yarros |
| Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2) | Rebecca Yarros |
I hope you had an excellent reading year too!