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Entry tags:
reading in 2023
Total books read this year: 125
Books read posts: Just review this tag.
Cnovels I read this year:
Webtoons I read this year:
How many books read in 2023?
125 - 30 fewer than last year.
Fiction/Non-Fiction?
Fiction: 104 (83.2%)
Non-Fiction: 21 (16.8%)
Male/Female authors?
Female: 77%
Male: 19%
Multiple/Various: 3.5%
Most books read by one author this year?
Oda Eichiiro because I was catching up on One Piece (14 volumes). That aside, T. Kingfisher and Carola Dunn tied at 5 books — the former all standalones, the latter for her Daisy Dalrymple mystery series.
Favorite new author you discovered this year?
I really enjoyed discovering Kelly Link this year! She writes lovely fairy tale-inspired short stories. S.A. Chakraborty was also wonderfully rich in her fantasy world development; I should try her completed series.
Format?
Ebook/online: 36
Physical: 88
How many rereads?
Eleven, so definitely a step up on last year's two. (Hilary Tamar series, Captive Prince trilogy, a couple Heyers, a Discworld, a cnovel.) I will try to be intentional abouta few rereads next year as well! (Bridge of Birds trilogy perhaps, more Heyer and Pterry.)
Any in translation?
34 (3 cnovels, 2 webtoons, 20 manga, then works in Korean, Spanish, Japanese, German, Indonesian, Danish).
First book of 2023:
A Winter's Earl by Annabelle Greene. I did not enjoy it.
Last book of 2023:
The Mona Lisa Vanishes! by Nicholas Day. Absolutely delightful nonfiction book about the true history of the theft of the Mona Lisa, along the life of Leonardo da Vinci, written for middle grade readers. Snappy pacing, very interesting facts and storytelling.
First book you will finish in 2024:
Haven't decided — perhaps a reread of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None since I discovered a copy in the room.
Favorite?
Hmm, hard to pick one (that isn't just the tropey cnovel). I think I really liked and learned a lot from Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital by Elise Hu. But I really loved the various takes on fairy tales I read this year too: Angela Carter, Kelly Link, and T. Kingfisher. Put The Halcyon Fairy Book and Get in Trouble up there.
Least favorite?
Probably the first book of the year, A Winter's Earl. Unlikeable characters and not iddy enough for my m/m regency romance tastes!
Book I most wanted to love but didn't:
Miss Percy's Pocket Guide (to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons) by Quenby Olson. What a premise! A spinster in regency England inherits a dragon egg and raises a dragon — I wanted to love it so much, but unfortunately the execution was not my cup of tea at all. Weird pacing and romance, strange characters.
Longest time to finish?
On Account of Darkness: Shining Light on Race and Sport by Ian Kennedy, which took 22 days. It's a critical look at hockey and sports culture, but through a fairly narrow lens of a very specific Ottawa community. Unfortunately, quite dry.
Oldest?
Curious, If True: Strange Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell (1860). (Elizabeth Gaskell again!)
Newest?
A Power Unbound by Freya Marske (November 7, 2023).
Longest title?
By words: The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity by Nicholas Day
By characters: Real Self-Care: A Transformative Program for Redefining Wellness (Crystals, Cleanses, and Bubble Baths Not Included) by Pooja Lakshmin
Longest in length (not counting cnovels/webtoons which I have no idea how to tabulate for page count): Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton
Shortest title?
Trust by Hernan Diaz - Pulitzer Prize winner!
Shortest in length (not counting the literal picture books I read!): Selena Didn't Know Spanish Either: Poems by Marisa Tirado (chapbook of poetry) or The Little Book of Scottish Beasties by Tim Kirby.
Book that most changed my perspective:
Real Self-Care by Pooja Lakshmin — another Asian American psychiatrist talking about mental health! But with some helpful clarifying explanations and deconstructions around self-care as a concept, plus useful practices.
Book I learned the most from:
Either Flawless by Elise Hu or The Mona Lisa Vanishes by Nicholas Day. Both very informative and entertaining reads, the former on Kbeauty practices and economics and the latter on the creation of and theft of the Mona Lisa.
Book that was the trope-iest/most comforting:
Clearly Bite Your Fingertips, the cnovel. Close runner ups: Unrivaled by Ashlyn Kane and Morgan James was basically Draisaitl/Tkachuk expy love story. (I have a thing for rivals in love.) But for less tropey but very comforting, Richard Osman's latest Thursday Murder Club: The Last Devil to Die. They felt like friends.
Favorite character:
I really love the MC playing Penelope in Villains Are Destined to Die! She's what hooked me into the story: her practicality about the game, in the face of her past trauma, etc.
General thoughts:
I'm glad I reread a few things this year: I want to revisit more books that I love in 2024! Fewer cnovels/webtoons, but I do feel like I tried more genres I don't usually: sci-fi, anyway, some more literary fiction, different mystery setups. Still had my historical mysteries, interesting memoirs, and fairy tale adaptations. Fewer romances and fantasy stories on the whole, plus more non-memoir nonfiction (self-help essays/philosophy?). It's interesting how a lot of the nonfiction I read intersects and helps inform my thoughts on the others.
Next year I'd like to tackle more classics/older novels, continue the series I'm reading (Singing Hills Cycle, Murderbot, etc.), and read more authors translated from countries I haven't read before. And of course, as always, tackle my owned books...
Books read posts: Just review this tag.
Cnovels I read this year:
- Bite Your Fingertips by Su Jingxian, my favorite non-esports cnovel!
- Thinking of Deer Fei Fei by Mo Li, an entertainment world cnovel that was only...fine. I don't remember anything except the love interest being very tall!
- I Ship My Adversary X Me by PEPA, a reread. (I also read the manhua, and it was adorable and beautiful.) Also a favorite.
Webtoons I read this year:
- After School Lessons for Unripe Apples by Soonkki. An ongoing slice-of-life m/f romance between childhood acquaintances turned high school friends and then a slow burn romance.
- Killer Crush by Eresemo. Ongoing silly m/m webtoon about a secret assassin who works in a convenience store and the famous actor he falls in love with.
How many books read in 2023?
125 - 30 fewer than last year.
Fiction/Non-Fiction?
Fiction: 104 (83.2%)
Non-Fiction: 21 (16.8%)
Male/Female authors?
Female: 77%
Male: 19%
Multiple/Various: 3.5%
Most books read by one author this year?
Oda Eichiiro because I was catching up on One Piece (14 volumes). That aside, T. Kingfisher and Carola Dunn tied at 5 books — the former all standalones, the latter for her Daisy Dalrymple mystery series.
Favorite new author you discovered this year?
I really enjoyed discovering Kelly Link this year! She writes lovely fairy tale-inspired short stories. S.A. Chakraborty was also wonderfully rich in her fantasy world development; I should try her completed series.
Format?
Ebook/online: 36
Physical: 88
How many rereads?
Eleven, so definitely a step up on last year's two. (Hilary Tamar series, Captive Prince trilogy, a couple Heyers, a Discworld, a cnovel.) I will try to be intentional abouta few rereads next year as well! (Bridge of Birds trilogy perhaps, more Heyer and Pterry.)
Any in translation?
34 (3 cnovels, 2 webtoons, 20 manga, then works in Korean, Spanish, Japanese, German, Indonesian, Danish).
First book of 2023:
A Winter's Earl by Annabelle Greene. I did not enjoy it.
Last book of 2023:
The Mona Lisa Vanishes! by Nicholas Day. Absolutely delightful nonfiction book about the true history of the theft of the Mona Lisa, along the life of Leonardo da Vinci, written for middle grade readers. Snappy pacing, very interesting facts and storytelling.
First book you will finish in 2024:
Haven't decided — perhaps a reread of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None since I discovered a copy in the room.
Favorite?
Hmm, hard to pick one (that isn't just the tropey cnovel). I think I really liked and learned a lot from Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital by Elise Hu. But I really loved the various takes on fairy tales I read this year too: Angela Carter, Kelly Link, and T. Kingfisher. Put The Halcyon Fairy Book and Get in Trouble up there.
Least favorite?
Probably the first book of the year, A Winter's Earl. Unlikeable characters and not iddy enough for my m/m regency romance tastes!
Book I most wanted to love but didn't:
Miss Percy's Pocket Guide (to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons) by Quenby Olson. What a premise! A spinster in regency England inherits a dragon egg and raises a dragon — I wanted to love it so much, but unfortunately the execution was not my cup of tea at all. Weird pacing and romance, strange characters.
Longest time to finish?
On Account of Darkness: Shining Light on Race and Sport by Ian Kennedy, which took 22 days. It's a critical look at hockey and sports culture, but through a fairly narrow lens of a very specific Ottawa community. Unfortunately, quite dry.
Oldest?
Curious, If True: Strange Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell (1860). (Elizabeth Gaskell again!)
Newest?
A Power Unbound by Freya Marske (November 7, 2023).
Longest title?
By words: The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity by Nicholas Day
By characters: Real Self-Care: A Transformative Program for Redefining Wellness (Crystals, Cleanses, and Bubble Baths Not Included) by Pooja Lakshmin
Longest in length (not counting cnovels/webtoons which I have no idea how to tabulate for page count): Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton
Shortest title?
Trust by Hernan Diaz - Pulitzer Prize winner!
Shortest in length (not counting the literal picture books I read!): Selena Didn't Know Spanish Either: Poems by Marisa Tirado (chapbook of poetry) or The Little Book of Scottish Beasties by Tim Kirby.
Book that most changed my perspective:
Real Self-Care by Pooja Lakshmin — another Asian American psychiatrist talking about mental health! But with some helpful clarifying explanations and deconstructions around self-care as a concept, plus useful practices.
Book I learned the most from:
Either Flawless by Elise Hu or The Mona Lisa Vanishes by Nicholas Day. Both very informative and entertaining reads, the former on Kbeauty practices and economics and the latter on the creation of and theft of the Mona Lisa.
Book that was the trope-iest/most comforting:
Clearly Bite Your Fingertips, the cnovel. Close runner ups: Unrivaled by Ashlyn Kane and Morgan James was basically Draisaitl/Tkachuk expy love story. (I have a thing for rivals in love.) But for less tropey but very comforting, Richard Osman's latest Thursday Murder Club: The Last Devil to Die. They felt like friends.
Favorite character:
I really love the MC playing Penelope in Villains Are Destined to Die! She's what hooked me into the story: her practicality about the game, in the face of her past trauma, etc.
General thoughts:
I'm glad I reread a few things this year: I want to revisit more books that I love in 2024! Fewer cnovels/webtoons, but I do feel like I tried more genres I don't usually: sci-fi, anyway, some more literary fiction, different mystery setups. Still had my historical mysteries, interesting memoirs, and fairy tale adaptations. Fewer romances and fantasy stories on the whole, plus more non-memoir nonfiction (self-help essays/philosophy?). It's interesting how a lot of the nonfiction I read intersects and helps inform my thoughts on the others.
Next year I'd like to tackle more classics/older novels, continue the series I'm reading (Singing Hills Cycle, Murderbot, etc.), and read more authors translated from countries I haven't read before. And of course, as always, tackle my owned books...
no subject
Any particular 'older' books you're keen on reading?
no subject