#2023 Book Recs

[bulletnotestudies]

similar to last year, here are the best books we read this year in the Studyblr w/Knives Server! these are just a couple of our absolute fave reads, feel free to take them as friend recommendations for the 'recced by a friend' prompt(s) in our reading challenge :)

our favourite reads of 2022:

in no actual order, these are all bomb reading experiences:

The Anthropocene Reviewed by J. Green

She Who Became the Sun by S. Parker-Chan

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

The Cruel Prince by H. Black

Icebreaker by A.L. Graziadei

The Scholomance Trilogy by N. Novik

Her Body and Other Parties by. C. M. Machado

I'm Glad My Mom Died by J. McCurdy

The Dreamer Trilogy by M. Stiefvater

Hamnet by M. O'Farrell

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by S. L. Tan

All the Bright Places by J. Niven

The Six of Crows Duology by L. Bardugo

Malibu Rising by T. Jenkins Reid

Deeplight by F. Hardinge

Spy x Family by T. Endo

Whose body? by D. L. Sayers

The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by S. Turton

Girl Meets Boy by A. Smith

The Tarot Sequence by K. D. Edwards

Lost Boy by C. Henry

for our honorable mentions, check below the cut!

This year we also really enjoyed:

Iron Widow by X. J. Zhao

The Charm Offensive by A. Cochrun

Piranesi by S. Clarke

Ella Minnow Pea by M. Dunn

The Hunger Games Trilogy by S. Collins

The All for the Game Trilogy by N. Sakavic

The Importance of Being Earnest by O. Wilde

The Locked Tomb Series by T. Muir

[gollancz]

Locus magazine have released their 2023 recommended reading list, and there are so many wonderful Gollancz titles there!

Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon, Wole Talabi

The Sinister Booksellers of Bath, Garth Nix

The Blue, Beautiful World, Karen Lord

Hopeland, Ian McDonald

Airside, Christopher Priest

A Fire Born of Exile, Aliette de Bodard

Creation Node, Stephen Baxter

[prideprejudce]

The Ocean is terrifying!

Here are some book recommendations to prove it!

[celepom]

It’s Pride 2023! Time to put up some more comic recs!

This time I’ve put together some stories about discovering one’s own queer identity, outlining a family history of queerness, and several stories where being queer isn’t the focus - queer characters are simply allowed to be.

Belle of the Ball By Mari Costa

High-school senior and notorious wallflower Hawkins finally works up the courage to remove her mascot mask and ask out her longtime crush: Regina Moreno, head cheerleader, academic overachiever, and all-around popular girl. There’s only one teensy little problem: Regina is already dating Chloe Kitagawa, athletic all-star…and middling English student. Regina sees a perfectly self-serving opportunity here, and asks the smitten Hawkins to tutor Chloe free of charge, knowing Hawkins will do anything to get closer to her. And while Regina’s plan works at first, she doesn’t realize that Hawkins and Chloe knew each other as kids, when Hawkins went by Belle and wore princess dresses to school every single day. Before long, romance does start to blossom…but not between who you might expect. With Belle of the Ball, cartoonist Mariana Costa has reinvigorated satisfying, reliable tropes into your new favorite teen romantic comedy.

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The Moth Keeper By Kay O’Neill

Anya is finally a Moth Keeper, the protector of the lunar moths that allow the Night-Lily flower to bloom once a year. Her village needs the flower to continue thriving and Anya is excited to prove her worth and show her thanks to her friends with her actions, but what happens when being a Moth Keeper isn't exactly what Anya thought it would be? The nights are cold in the desert and the lunar moths live far from the village. Anya finds herself isolated and lonely. Despite Anya's dedication, she wonders what it would be like to live in the sun. Her thoughts turn into an obsession, and when Anya takes a chance to stay up during the day to feel the sun's warmth, her village and the lunar moths are left to deal with the consequences.

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Hollow By Shannon Watters, Branden Boyer-White & Berenice Nelle

Isabel "Izzy" Crane and her family have just relocated to Sleepy Hollow, the town made famous by—and obsessed with—Washington Irving's legend of the Headless Horseman. But city slicker-skeptic Izzy has no time for superstition as she navigates life at a new address, a new school, and, with any luck, with new friends. Ghost stories aren't real, after all.... Then Izzy is pulled into the orbit of the town's teen royalty, Vicky Van Tassel (yes, that Van Tassel) and loveable varsity-level prankster Croc Byun. Vicky's weariness with her family connection to the legend turns to terror when the trio begins to be haunted by the Horseman himself, uncovering a curse set on destroying the Van Tassel line. Now, they have only until Halloween night to break it—meaning it's a totally inconvenient time for Izzy to develop a massive crush on the enigmatic Vicky. Can Izzy's practical nature help her face the unknown—or only trip her up? As the calendar runs down to the 31st, Izzy will have to use all of her wits and work with her new friends to save Vicky and uncover the mystery of the legendary Horseman of Sleepy Hollow—before it's too late. 

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Until I Meet my Husband By Ryousuke Nanasaki & Yoshi Tsukizuki

The memoir of gay activist Ryousuke Nanasaki and the first religiously recognized same-sex marriage in Japan. From school crushes to awkward dating sites to finding a community, this collection of stories recounts the author’s “firsts” as a young gay man searching for love. Dating is never ever easy, but that goes doubly so for Ryousuke, whose journey is full of unrequited loves and many speed bumps. But perseverance and time heals all wounds, even those of the heart.

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Is Love the Answer? By Uta Isaki

When it comes to love, high schooler Chika wonders if she might be an alien. She’s never fallen for or even had a crush on anyone, and she has no desire for physical intimacy. Her friends tell her that she just "hasn't met the one yet," but Chika has doubts... It's only when Chika enters college and meets peers like herself that she realizes there’s a word for what she feels inside--asexual--and she’s not the only one. After years of wondering if love was the answer, Chika realizes that the answer she long sought may not exist at all--and that that's perfectly normal.

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M Is for Monster By Talia Dutton

When Doctor Frances Ai's younger sister Maura died in a tragic accident six months ago, Frances swore she would bring her back to life. However, the creature that rises from the slab is clearly not Maura. This girl, who chooses the name "M," doesn't remember anything about Maura's life and just wants to be her own person. However, Frances expects M to pursue the same path that Maura had been on—applying to college to become a scientist—and continue the plans she and Maura shared. Hoping to trigger Maura's memories, Frances surrounds M with the trappings of Maura's past, but M wants nothing to do with Frances' attempts to change her into something she's not. In order to face the future, both Frances and M need to learn to listen and let go of Maura once and for all. Talia Dutton's debut graphic novel, M Is for Monster, takes a hard look at what it means to live up to other people's expectations—as well as our own.

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Golden Sparkle By Minta Suzumaru

Himaru Uehara’s first year of high school is off to a good start, minus one problem—he keeps having wet dreams. With only his mom and sister at home—and having skipped health class in middle school—he thinks it means there’s something wrong with him. Thankfully, a new friend has just the remedy and teaches Himaru exactly how to deal with those pesky dreams! But his solution only leads to more confusion, and the two find themselves navigating feelings they’ve never felt before.

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Thieves By Lucie Bryon

Ella can’t seem to remember a single thing from the party the night before at a mysterious stranger’s mansion, and she sure as heck doesn’t know why she’s woken up in her bed surrounded by a magpie’s nest of objects that aren’t her own. And she can’t stop thinking about her huge crush on Madeleine, who she definitely can’t tell about her sudden penchant for kleptomania… But does Maddy have secrets of her own? Can they piece together that night between them and fix the mess of their chaotic personal lives in time to form a normal, teenage relationship? That would be nice.

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Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic By Alison Bechdel

Meet Alison's father, a historic preservation expert and obsessive restorer of the family's Victorian home, a third-generation funeral home director, a high school English teacher, an icily distant parent, and a closeted homosexual who, as it turns out, is involved with his male students and a family babysitter. Through narrative that is alternately heartbreaking and fiercely funny, we are drawn into a daughter's complex yearning for her father. And yet, apart from assigned stints dusting caskets at the family-owned "fun home," as Alison and her brothers call it, the relationship achieves its most intimate expression through the shared code of books. When Alison comes out as homosexual herself in late adolescense, the denouement is swift, graphic -- and redemptive.

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She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat By Sakaomi Yuzaki

Cooking is how Nomoto de-stresses, but one day, she finds herself making way more than she can eat by herself. And so, she invites her neighbor Kasuga, who also lives alone. What will come out of this impromptu dinner invitation...?

Kasuga and Nomoto promised to spend their Christmas and New Year’s together. Now, they find themselves learning more about each other’s families through the food sent by Nomoto’s mother. Cute character bento, salmon and rice, stollen, fruit sandwiches, roast beef…Nomoto and Kasuga warm up to each other over a cheerful holiday season.  

[the-modern-typewriter]

January Book Recs

My favourite books that I read in 2023! (In no particular order!)

Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo (M/M, codependency, Supernatural Dark Academia vibes)

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland (delicious little YA horror!)

Vampires, Hearts and Other Dead Things by Margie Fuston (A lover letter to vampires stories and grief)

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi (Got me in my fairytale loving heart. Exquisite writing style.)

Fraternity by Andy Mientus (M/M, 90s dark academia, demons)

Yellowface by R.F Kuang (Tense, fascinating)

Once Upon A Broken Heart/The Ballad Of Never After by Stephanie Garber (JACKS!!!)

In The Lives of Puppets by T.J Klune (M/M, Pinocchio retelling)

Honourable mentions go to:

Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson (I love the dynamic between the protag and their demon companion), What Moves The Dead by T. Kingfisher (retelling of The Fall of The House Of Usher, got me obsessed with this writer) and Friendaholic by Elizabeth Day (thought-broking, memoir style non fiction, about how we talk about friendship).

[hannaslibrary]

Best reads of 2023 - Manacled by SenLinYu

Rating: ★★★★★

“There was a part of her that felt she might somehow doom them if she said it. If there were important things left unspoken, then perhaps tomorrow would come.”

[luvellx]

fic recs , timothée chalamet !

by @lola-la-cava

⤷ if you'll have me

⤷ met'23

⤷ sky full of stars

crayons by @timottea

by @lixzey

⤷ the story of us (series)

⤷ mine, forever mine.

⤷ forever yours.

the photo booth by @hamlets-ak

by @bonesandchalamet

⤷ quite in new york

⤷ lessons in french

⤷ o' christmas

⤷ slumber party

⤷ i miss you i'm sorry

"sleeping mates" by @oneshots-heaven

by @growup-thatbeautiful

⤷ gravitation

⤷ our daughter

for my hand by @catharsisfalls

ella's note !

hello im back! with yet more fanfics for u guys! in honor of the release of wonka i'm going to be sharing a bunch of my favourite timmy fics i have read! so hope u guys enjoy them! thx for reading, muah<33

p.s the movie was soooo good ^^

[christophernolan]

Fantasy books by female authors that deserve more praise and recognition and are so SO MUCH better than whatever SJM writes.

The Sun Sword series | Michelle West

A hundred thousand kingdoms | NK Jemisin

The killing Moon | NK Jemisin

An ember in the Ashes | Sabaa Tahir

Shatter Me | Taherah Mafi

Furyborn | Claire Legrand

The bone season | Samantha Shannon

Darker shade of Magic | VE Schwab

The invisible life of Addie LaRue | VE Schwab

Realm of the Elderlings | Robin Hobbs

Sands of Arawiya | Hafsah Faizal

The Daevabad Trilogy | SA Chakraborty

Year of the Reaper | Makiia Lucier

The bear and the Nightingale | Katherine Arden

The Night Circus | Erin Morgenstern

Descendent of the Crane | Joan He

The bridge Kingdom | Danielle Jensen

Dark Shores | Danielle Jensen

Falling Kingdoms | Morgan Rhodes

Range of Ghosts | Elizabeth Bear

Children of blood and Bone | Tomi Adeyemi

The Wrath and the Dawn | Renee Ahdieh

Lumatere Chronicles | Melina Marchetta

The Alchemists of Loom | Elise Kova

[frankencanon]

It has arrived...!! 🦊❤️‍🔥🐲

Fox's Tongue and Kirin's Bone by Allison M. Kovacs (@muffinlance)

[whilereadingandwalking]

As always, my favorites of the year list was beset by last minute changes, doubts, and decisions, especially because this year I forced myself into a top 10!

Second photo is my honorable mentions...I literally already have regrets! Ask me anything about these top choices—I'm happy to share my reviews, thoughts, and more!

My Top Ten of 2023:

Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki Shikibu tr. Seidensticker

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds

The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff

What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon

Ace by Angela Chen

Babel by R.F. Kuang

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Our Share of Night by Mariana Enríquez tr. McDowell

Honorable mentions:

Now Go: On Grief and Studio Ghibli by Karl Thomas Smith

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami tr. Gabriel

The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang

White Cat, Black Dog: Stories by Kelly Link

The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin

When the Hibiscus Falls by M. Evelina Galang

Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward

The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal

Bleed: Destroying Myths and Misogyny in Endometriosis Care by Tracey Lindeman

Never a City So Real by Alex Kotlowitz

The Crown Ain't Worth Much by Hanif Abdurraqib

Sons of Darkness (Jan ’24) by Gourav Mohanty

The End of August by Yū Miri tr. Giles

(Unpictured): Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

(Unpictured): The Thick and the Lean by Chana Porter

[the---hermit]

A Psalm For The Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

I loved everything about this little book. When I first started seeing this cover online I didn't pay too much attention, until the day in which I heard a bit more about it. When I heard not only it's a cozy scifi but the main character is a tea monk I knew I had to have this. The story follows Sibling Dex, a tea monk living in a world where robots have left humans. After awakening robots had decided to leave humans and retreat into nature, and when the story of the book takes place the world has already moved on and readjusted to the change. In their travels Dex will meet a wild robot, and I won't add much more because I don't want to spoil the story. This book healed my soul, it gave me so much existential peace, it was the perfect thing to pick up right now. It's a comforting and calming story that brought me so much joy over simple things, I loved every second I spent with it. I cannot wait to read the sequel and I am sure I will be rereading this in the future. It made into the list of my comfort books. I highly recommend it to everyone, even if scifi isn't usually your thing, if you want to spend your time with a book that will warm your heart and make you smile this is what you should be reading.

[haridraws]

Favourite graphic novels I read in 2023

I love comics and think you should too, so thought I'd share some I loved reading this year.

Edit: way more readable version now here

[magicalyaku]

Hello and welcome to my 2023 reading wrap up! A big Thank You to everyone who followed my ramblings throughout the year! <3 I will continue through 2024. Maybe I'll learn how to write proper reviews, at least I'll try to remember better what I actually want to say about the stories. In 2022, I read 93 books plus my own. Guess how many it were in 2023? 93 plus my own!! xD That was huge coincidence and I love it. Of these 94 books, 4 are rereads (which won't be included in the "Favourite" sections), 2 are non-fiction, 11 are non-queer. I only DNFed 1 book (which is not pictured) and other than that I only disliked 6 books! (And it's a pretty soft dislike in comparison. I don't hate them nearly enough to want to shit on them again. :'D).

So on the the awards!

Most Read Author: KJ Charles (8 books)

Least Favourite Book: Daresh (Katja Brandis) (the one I could not finish for dear life)

Favourite Character: Brand (The Tarot Sequence) and Will (The Will Darling Adventures) (yes, there's a trend)

Favourite Covers (of books I read, not releases):

(There were too many. D:)

Highest Emotional Investment (aka The Agony, the suffering, the why you do this to me Award): Dark Heir - The Scottish Boy - In Memoriam

Wildest Story: The Adventures of Pinocchio

Favourite Books:

The Devil's Luck (L.S. Baird)

The Scottish Boy (Alex de Campi)

In Memoriam (Alice Winn)

Just Lizzie (Karen Wilfried)

Dark Heir (C.S. Pacat)

The Will Darling Adventures (KJ Charles)

Gwen & Art are not in Love (Lex Croucher)

The Buried and the Bound (Rochelle Hassan)

More Books I enjoyed greatly:

Oracle of Senders series (Mere Joyce)

Of Feathers and Thorns (Kit Vincent)

Wren Martin Ruins it all (Amanda deWitt)

Simon Snow series (Rainbow Rowell)

The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley (Shaun David Hutchinson)

The Tarot Sequence (K.D. Edwards)

The First and Last Adventure of Kit Sawyer (S.E. Harmon)

Sixteen Souls (Rosie Talbot)

By any Other Name (Erin Cotter)

The High King's Golden Tongue (Megan Derr) and more!!

Most Used Name: I counted names last year and didn't want to do it again this year because I read so much fantasy, so the names were all over. Still, there was one who stood out amongst them all with at least 4 instances, if not more. Probably more.

Will

Congratulations. I have to admit, I've always liked that name. My favourite character of all times and part of my one and only OTP is named Will as well and I kinda hope the last book of their second trilogy never comes because it will probably make me scream and ... ...

Bonus! This year, I counted pages! Because I felt that most books were much shorter than what I read before. So I wanted to know. Turns out, my feeling was wrong. My 93 books had a whole of 33011 pages which results in approximately 350 pages per book. That's pretty normal I dare say.

That's it for 2023! I had a very good year in books. I wanted to read less actually, and failed spectacularly because I had too much fun. And if anyone's wondering how I read so much, I read fast and I just didn't do anything else in my free time. Escapism to the max. I hope, the new year treats you well! I hope, you have fun with the books you read! Let's meet again soon! <3

[xxxyzart]

"It doesn't matter how charming you are if there's no one to charm.”

― Leigh Bardugo, Ninth House

[logarithmicpanda]

Best books read in 2023

There aren't that many books I've loved this year, but those I loved, I loved indeed

Special shout out to The Hourglass Throne and The Eidolon, which gave a whole new meaning to the events of the first two books, that was truly masterful, can't wait for the next one!

[elizmanderson]

free shipping with BookShop.Org this Prime Day

on July 11 & 12, 2023, BookShop.Org will offer free shipping to entice book buyers to buy from them rather than Amazon. BookShop is an independent seller owned by a small group of investors, the American Booksellers Association, and employees, and they donate to and partner with independent bookstores around the U.S. to benefit brick-and-mortar indies.

(you can read their "about" here.)

unfortunately, BookShop only ships within the U.S., although they do have a UK branch. (I'm not sure whether the UK branch is offering free shipping for Prime Day, but if you're UK-based it's worth checking!) but if you're U.S.-based and would like to buy The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher (or any other books) with free shipping and WITHOUT supporting Amazon this Prime Day, you can order through BookShop!

additionally, Edna's fantastical journey canonically begins on July 11 - the same day the free shipping starts. what better time to buy the book than the very day it begins?

orders over $100 will also receive a BookShop branded tote bag, which according to the email I received about this whole thing is their first-ever merch.

(I am not associated with BookShop. although I did sign up as an affiliate and do get a small commission when people buy through my affiliate links, which the buy links in this post are. but they didn't ask me to advertise. I'm just an author whose book starts on July 11, just like the free shipping.)

anyway, this Prime Day please consider buying The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher through not-Amazon. the book is an adult contemporary fantasy about an 83-year-old who leaves the nursing home for fantastical adventure and gets oodles of found family.

hardcover | paperback