40 books! I read 40 books in 2023 and that was an incredible feat! I’m so proud that I was able to accomplish it. Now that I have established a cadence for myself and not feeling forced to read, I am not going not be setting a goal for myself on the blog this year. The purpose of setting a goal for the last two years was to get back into reading. However, what I do plan to do this year is incorporate more of the genres I didn’t read last year—specifically, non-fiction books and memoirs. I have a few of these sitting on my bookshelf, side-eyeing me, wondering when I’m gonna read them. Hopefully, this is the year.
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EXPLANATION FOR MY RATINGS
⭐️ – I did not like it at all. I barely finished it and should have DNF but I’m still working up the courage to do that. 😬
⭐️⭐️ – I’m disappointed that this book wasn’t anything that I expected. But not horrible enough to question my existence for reading it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ – The medium place for books. It was just okay. Not too bad but also not great.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – Really great book! However, there we some parts that I wasn’t fond of but still enjoyed reading.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – Loved it! 10/10 would recommend. One of the best books I’ve read. I could not put it down and would definitely read it again.
☆ – Half star – I try to use this sparingly, but it’s necessary for books on the border between two numbers. For example, 3.5 stars means it wasn’t a great book to be 4 but it also wasn’t a medium place book to be a 3.
EVERY BOOK I READ IN 2023
MYSTERY/THRILLER/SUSPENSE
- The Push by Ashley Audrain ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- They Do It With Mirrors by Agatha Christie ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- No One Will Miss Her by Kat Rosenfield ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- We Lie Here by Rachel Howzell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆
- The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- A Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha Christie ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆
- Hollywood Homicide by Kellye Garrett ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆
- Hollywood Ending by Kellye Garrett ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆
- The Bullet by Mary Lousie Kelly ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- State of Terror by Hilary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Murder Your Employer by Rupert Holmes ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Maid by Nita Prose ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Night Shift by Alex Finlay ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Maidens by Alex Michaelides ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆
FICTION
- Black Girls Must Die Exhausted by Jayne Allen ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Black Girls Must Be Magic by Jayne Allen ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Hell of a Book by Jason Mott ⭐️⭐️
- Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- In The Night of Memory by Linda Legarde Grover ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆
- Leave The World Behind by Rumaan Alam ⭐️
- Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Elenor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafa ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Guncle by Steven Rowley ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆
- Black Girls Must Have It All by Jayne Allen ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆
HISTORICAL FICTION
- The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Direction of the Wind by Mansi Shah ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
HUMOR
- Dal A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Four Aunties and a Wedding by Jesse Q. Sutanto ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
MAGICAL REALISM
- The Midnight Library by Matt Haig ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
NON-SPICY ROMANCE
- The Bodyguard by Katherine Center ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
YOUNG ADULT
- Cherish Farrah by Bethany C. Morrow ⭐️⭐️⭐️
MY TOP 10 BOOKS FROM 2023
Ranked from highest to lowest based on my arbitrary rating not included above
- Remarkably Bright Creatures
- The Silent Patient
- The Midnight Library
- The Lost Apothecary
- The Push
- Razorblade Tears
- Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers
- The Bodyguard
- Elenor Oliphant is Completely Fine
- No One Will Miss Her
ONE MORE THING!
One thing that I started last year was a bookstagram account. It was another way for me to be on Instagram without the pressure of being on Instagram. I was able to make content that didn’t feel forced and without my face. I’m hoping to continue posting consistently on that account this year, that will only focus on the books I’ve read. You should definitely follow me if that’s your thing.
LOOKING FOR MORE BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS? CHECK OUT MY BOOK PAGE AND FOLLOW ME ON GOODREADS!
