#reading wrap up 2023

[tolive1000lives]

I read 90 books in 2023! These are the ones I still have on me.

I’ve never read this much in a year and I don’t think I’ll have time to read nearly as much in 2024 but I’m satisfied.

[eggcatsreads]

May Reading Wrap-Up

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Favorite Read of the Month:

Master of One by Jaida Jones and Dani Bennett (GR review)

Rags is a thief until he's caught by the Queensguard and forced to find an ancient fae relic for a sadistic royal sorcerer. And now he's forced on a journey to find the rest of these relics so they can save the world before it's destroyed.

Y'ALL. THIS BOOK DOES NOT GET ENOUGH LOVE AND THAT IS A CRIME. THIS CAME OUT IN 2020 AND THERE'S NOT EVEN A WHISPER OF A SEQUEL IN THE WORKS??? HELLO??? MORE PEOPLE NEED TO READ THIS SO THERE'S ENOUGH HYPE FOR THE AUTHORS TO CONTINUE THIS SERIES.

This is the queer fantasy adventure we've all wanted and it's been slept on. (Personally, I think it's the cover and the name keeping people from picking this book up.) Trust me, this book is PHENOMENAL. If you have ever read a fantasy adventure with some romantic tension in it, and thought "okay but what if it was gay?" then THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU.

The best way I can describe it is if Crier's War and Realm Breaker had a baby. If you haven't read both of those books (what are you doing?) I'll try to describe the vibes. It's Crier's War in that it's a queer fantasy story where the protagonists are practically fighting against society itself to correct the corruption throughout the realm, where solving this won't be an easy fix - as well as it standing in the way of the romance, where two people from different worlds try to come together anyway and overcome the obstacles. It's Realm Breaker in that it's a found family adventure story where you collect more and more characters along the way as they have to fight to save the realm before it's destroyed. It's the love of my life in that I stayed up until like 6am to finish it in one sitting.

READ THIS BOOK. PLEASE.

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Other Five Star Reads:

Painted Devils by Margaret Owen (GR review) (series)

Let’s get one thing straight—Vanja Schmidt wasn’t trying to start a cult.

If you haven't read Little Thieves yet, what are you doing? Read that, read this (the sequel), cry at the ending, and then wait with me with baited breath for Holy Terrors. While you're at it, read Margaret Owen's other book series, The Merciful Crow. She's a fantastic author.

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Yellowface by R.F. Kuang (GR review)

Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars: same year at Yale, same debut year in publishing. But Athena's a cross-genre literary darling, and June didn't even get a paperback release. Nobody wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks. So when June witnesses Athena's death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena's just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers to the British and French war efforts during World War I.

R. F. Kuang is a PHENEMONAL writer, and in this darkly humorous memoir from the white women who stole the manuscript for her famous Asian-American author "friend" when she died, you won't be able to stop to take a breath before you realize you've finished the book in one sitting. In an impressive twist of expectations, R.F Kuang's self-insert character ISN'T the main character - she's the one who dies.

Instead, we're stuck inside June's ("Juniper Song's") head as she complains about the unfairness of political correctness and how only minority authors are getting the big breaks now, and no one supports her work because she's white. So when her friend dies unexpectedly in front of her one night, she takes the opportunity to steal her book and pass it off as her own - and it's a cultural phenomenon of a book - until her fraud comes to light. Her response to all of this will keep you on your toes until the last page.

Also R.F. Kuang has a trilogy called The Poppy War which I HIGHLY recommend reading. She's also written Babel, which while I liked, academia focused books aren't my forte. However, reading all four of these books can kind of lend some insight into Yellowface, as R.F. Kuang takes the criticisms she's faced and turns it around to mock them in this book, and there were a few moments I laughed out loud because I knew EXACTLY what book and where a certain criticism came from. It's not required, but if you were interested at all in these books, I recommend them before Yellowface, if you can.

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The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison (series)

When the young half-goblin emperor Maia sought to learn who had killed his father and half-brothers, he turned to an obscure resident of his Court, a Prelate of Ulis and a Witness for the Dead. Thara Celehar found the truth, though it did him no good to discover it. He lost his place as a retainer of his cousin the former Empress, and made far too many enemies among the many factions vying for power in the new Court. The favor of the Emperor is a dangerous coin. Now Celehar lives in the city of Amalo, far from the Court though not exactly in exile. 

Thara Celehar my beloved. I would die for you, you sad gay wet cat of a man.

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Rest of Books Read Under the Cut:

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison (series)

Thara Celehar continues to be a sad gay wet cat of a man, as we watch him go on his little adventures and solve crimes.

Babel by R.F. Kuang

1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel. The tower and its students are the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver-working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as the arcane craft serves the Empire's quest for colonization.

Dragonfall by L.R. Lam

Long ago, humans betrayed dragons, stealing their magic and banishing them to a dying world. Centuries later, their descendants worship dragons as gods. But the gods remember, and they do not forgive.

Tbh this might have been 5 stars if the main character wasn't so vanilla that he'd see a half dragon/half man hybrid saving his life and didn't immediately want him, and instead went to hide and think about it. SIR. WHAT.

Also it's the classic enemies to lovers, one has to kill the other and the other doesn't know it, betrayal love stories we all love. Except gay. And with dragons. So better.

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Seven Faceless Saints by M.K. Lobb

In the city of Ombrazia, saints and their disciples rule with terrifying and unjust power, playing favorites while the unfavored struggle to survive. After her father’s murder at the hands of the Ombrazian military, Rossana Lacertosa is willing to do whatever it takes to dismantle the corrupt system—tapping into her powers as a disciple of Patience, joining the rebellion, and facing the boy who broke her heart. 

Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina

Anna Horn is always looking over her shoulder. For the bullies who torment her, for the entitled visitors at the reservation's casino...and for the nameless, disembodied entity that stalks her every step--an ancient tribal myth come-to-life, one that's intent on devouring her whole. With strange and sinister happenings occurring around the casino, Anna starts to suspect that not all the horrors on the reservation are old.

Our Hideous Progeny by C.E. McGill

It's 1853 London. Frankenstein's great niece Mary Saville and her husband, Henry, are trying to follow in his scientific footsteps and become renowned paleontologists. But after finding clues to her great uncle's disappearance, Mary's luck may just change. She constructs a plan that will force the scientific community to take her and her husband seriously; no one will be able to ignore them after they learn to create life.

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Books read so far this year: 59

How I rate books.

[sailormoonsub]

please tell me that someone else has read Swordspoint and/or Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner. given the high proportion of sword lesbians and people who are so normal about messy relationships in my audience, it seems possible

[bookaddict24-7]

🎃 October 2023 Wrap Up! 🎃

I read a total of 28 books

11 were physical books from my physical TBR.

Most were audiobooks from the library!

Favourite read: Time to Shine by Rachel Reid

Least favourite: Theodore Boon: Kid Lawyer by John Grisham

I DNFed 18 books

How was your October reading?

[ninja-muse]

And the obligatory ListChallenge! This doesn't include my picture book reads, but it does have my rereads.

[readaroundtherosie]

[thereadingchallengechallenge]

JOMP BPC - December 30th - Read in December

I had so much fun blasting through my TBR in December and getting to some anticipated reads I hadn't had time for yet. fingers crossed I can carry this energy into 2024 🤞

[carryon-countdown]

❄️COC 2023 Wrap Up🍂

Hello everyone!  

The Carry On Countdown of 2023 has sadly come to an end. We hope that everyone who participated had a wonderful time. The admins sure had a blast feasting on all of the fabulous content from this year's countdown.

We hope everyone will remain inspired to create even more fantastic Carry On related content into the new year.

But before we say goodbye to you all, it’s time to welcome new people onto the Page of Honour!

What you need to do to get your place on the Page of Honour:

You need to have completed all 30 COC 2023 prompts on their set days (If you posted a prompt within a day or so of its set posting date that’s perfectly fine, but, for example, if you posted a prompt for Day 8 on Day 11, that’s a bit too late)

You need to DM @carryonmylovelies ​with an explanation/link of where to find all of the work you posted for this year’s countdown (Can be simply saying what tag everything is under on your blog, or a link to your ao3, etc.)

You’ll also need to let @carryonmylovelies​ know whether you want your blog or another platform where you posted your content (such as ao3 or instagram) linked on the Page of Honour. You can only choose one.

We hope we made this clear, and please remember our ask box is always open for any questions you may have :)

We wish everyone who celebrates a very happy holidays, and we hope everyone will have a terrific 2024.

With lots and lots of love,

The admins of the 2023 Carry On Countdown ❄💘

[samireads]

July wrap up 📚😗

[whilereadingandwalking]

My 2023 wrapped: books edition!

[millylouedward]

Spotify Wrapped, but for my books <3

[tolive1000lives]

2023 reading wrap up through April!

[eggcatsreads]

February Wrap-Up

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Favorite Read of the Month:

Solita by Vivien Rainn (GR review)

It’s only through facing the past and her buried fears can Sadie find salvation as she upturns the Hacienda’s twisted roots, roots born from the faith and fire of the conquistas, the Spaniards who came from distant shores, bringing with them not only their God, but also their demons.

THE gothic romance. This book changed my perspective on romance books. I've thought about this book regularly since I read it.

"In my time," he continues, voice low, "sanctity was measured by suffering. Those saints that abstained from the pleasures of life, fasted to starvation, mortified their flesh, drank the blood of the wounded - it was only they who saw the eyes of God, it was only through their agony that they were touched by true divinity, enraptured by their own faith."

"I...I'm not a saint, Silas." Her eyes meet his in a gaze that's wrapped up in the promise for everything she's always denied herself. The promise of temptation for the taste of that forbidden fruit, a single bite all it takes for irreversible expulsion, for an eternal fall from grace.

"I never said you were."

The warmth of his breath is so close to her own, heat mingling, pulses flush close. "Then what are you saying?"

"That I am," he answers. "I found God. And I'm looking into her eyes."

HELLO???? THIS QUOTE HAS IRREVOCABLY CHANGED HOW I READ ROMANCE BOOKS. THIS IS THE STANDARD.

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Rest of Books Read Under the Cut:

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Undertakers by Nicole Glover (sequel)

The second book in the Murder & Magic series of historical fantasy novels featuring Hetty Rhodes and her husband, Benjy, magic practitioners and detectives living in post–Civil War Philadelphia.

Godkiller by Hannah Kaner

Kissen’s family were killed by zealots of a fire god - now, she makes a living killing gods. That is until she finds a god she cannot kill: Skedi, a god of white lies, who bound himself to a young noble, and are on the run from assassins.

The Book of Living Secrets by Madeline Roux (GR review)

Best friends Adelle and Connie love of a little-known gothic romance novel called Moira. When they find a way to enter the book, suddenly everything isn't how they remember.

The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton (GR review)

It's 1634 and Samuel Pipps, the world's greatest detective, is being transported to be executed for a crime he may, or may not, have committed. Out at sea things begin happening. A twice-dead leper stalks the decks. Strange symbols appear on the sails. Livestock is slaughtered. And then three passengers are marked for death, including Samuel.

The Song of the Sandman by J.F. Dubeau (GR review) (sequel)

After a terrible mass shooting at Cicero’s Circus, the evil presence responsible for the carnage is taken in by a doomsday cult lying in wait for such an opportunity.

The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist by Radley Balko

For nearly two decades, medical examiner Dr. Steven Hayne performed the vast majority of Mississippi's autopsies, while his friend Dr. Michael West, a local dentist, pitched himself as a forensic jack-of-all-trades. Together they became the go-to experts for prosecutors and helped put countless Mississippians in prison. But then some of those convictions began to fall apart.

Hell's Half-Acre by Susan Jonusas

In 1873 the people of Labette County, Kansas discovered the remains of countless bodies, and below the cabin was a cellar stained with blood. The cabin's family, the Benders, were nowhere to be found, sparking a frenzy that continued for decades.

Seductive Poison by Deborah Layton

In this haunting and riveting firsthand account, a survivor of Jim Jones's Peoples Temple opens up the shadowy world of cults and shows how anyone can fall under their spell.

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Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Born to be Hanged by Keith Thomson

The year is 1680, in the heart of the Golden Age of Piracy, and more than three hundred daring, hardened pirates gather on a remote Caribbean island. The plan: to wreak havoc on the Pacific coastline, raiding cities, mines, and merchant ships.

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Books read so far this year: 21

How I rate books.

[apinchofm]

EOY Fic Rec List - 2023

a round up of the amazing fics I've read this year! I love all of you authors!

✨ for special favourites!

All Souls Trilogy

The Wolf, the Fox, and the Sable by TheModernTypewriter

✨Ragnall & Astraea, 1269-1270 C.E. by TheModernTypewriter

The Timeless Bonds of Love by NalaClairmont

Bridgerton

fear of god by @phantomphaeton

✨Only You Always by @innerspacecadet

✨and if you never bleed by beautifultropicalfish (@jake-amy)

✨all the bright places by @phantomphaeton

don’t know how i got here (but i’m all alone) by JaeberryShake34 (@jaeberry-smoothie)

love came back to me by @suitsusboth

The Right Regrets by cococris (@dreamofme9)

✨And the rest is stardust by @hptriviachamp

Older but Never Wiser by BumbleBee823 (@dreamstone28737)

Pledging Allegiance by @waterlilyrose

What We Have Together by DellaTrue (@doodlingawaits)

periods, fast food and the female rage - A Survival Guide by @orangepeelshortbreadcookies

The Engagement of Lady Whistledown by @hptriviachamp @orangepeelshortbreadcookies

Stare it down by impossibledream

✨long past the limerence by @phantomphaeton

let’s talk about sex, by @jake-amy and @sofwrites

all that glitters by jynlyra (@lizzibennet)

can’t two people reconnect? by askthearcher (@lucindabridgerton)

Merlin

Queen of Swords by reelin_writer

✨the pleasure of reading by @merlinemrys (divineauthor)

thread of gold by @merlinemrys

HoTD

✨See, What Had Happened Was… by Daylander (@daylander1000)

Early One Morning by Marshmallow_Mar (@an-abyss-of-stars)

what fairytales don’t tell you about the wicked stepmother by AsphodeleSauvage

Miscellaneous

Sally Jackson and the Earthshaker by Anny (@cupcakegirla)

Whiskers by whiteisthewarmestcolor

The Ride Home by thebrightcity

But the wind went and pulled me into the hurricane by barrons (@historyofbellarke)

i never told you what i do for a living by 19burstraat (@pumpkinpaperweight )

✨i like shiny things by skatingsplits

[theinquisitxor]

Mer's 2023 Books

[ninja-muse]

2023 Reading Wrap-up

I feel like this year was pretty average in terms of my reading. Some great books, some awful books, a lot of books in the middle. And while I feel as if I kept hitting slumps, I don’t think my stats really reflect that. I kept reading and even though I didn’t hit my goal of 140 books, that’s more because I read more thick and dense books, spent more time writing, and am one year further from the direness of 2020 and 2021.

This also seems to have been the year of T. Kingfisher for me (and also Ursula Vernon). I read several of her horror novels, as well as Digger and a bunch of the ebooks she makes free for patrons, which are really easy go-tos when you want something light and right now. I was kind of surprised when I realized she was my top author because usually that’s Seanan McGuire.

And I read more ebooks in general, because why should I wait for two months for the library to get a physical book in circulation when I can wait two weeks for it to come in on Libby? I’m still trying to reserve Libby use for lighter, faster, less involved books, because I tend to end up skimming a little more and there’s something about physical paper that helps me retain info better when the text is dense.

Now, stats! Yearly total: 128, excluding rereads and picture books Queer books: 44 (34%) Authors of colour: 15 (11.7%) Books by women: 74.5 (58%) Authors outside the binary: 7.5 (5.8%) Canadian authors: 14 (10.9%) Off the TBR shelves: 39 (30.4%) Books hauled: 41 ARCs acquired: 57 ARCs unhauled: 60 DNFs: 9 Rereads: 3 Picture Books: 6

If you look at last year’s stats and the year before’s, I’m pretty much holding steady in terms of my diverse reading—a little more than a third queer, about 60% female and 10% Canadian, around 6% gender-diverse authors. I’m way down on authors of colour though, and I didn’t hit my stretch goal of 20 Canadians, so those are things I’ll have to pay attention to in the year to come. It would be nice if I could manage more queer books too, but that’s not something I’m going to try for quite as much.

Two of my reading goals for the year were to read more books from my TBR than I acquired, and to keep my ARC levels about even. Seems like I pretty much hit them! I expect that 2024 will see fewer book acquisitions because a lot of my 2023 haul was bookstore visits with my dad and we’ve now hit pretty much every store in the city. I was honestly kind of surprised that my ARC problem stands where it does. I was so sure that I was going to have at least 10 more incoming books than outgoing. Go me! My spring ARC purge really, really helped.

I did all right on the rest of my reading goals. All but one book read (The Great Cat Massacre), which was the real point of the list! I only managed to finish one StoryGraph challenge, if you don’t count my pages goal, and as always I failed to read as many classics as I wanted. I’m starting to suspect I’m not a classics person, despite my interest in history and historical fiction. If anyone has classics recs for me, let me know?

To be completely honest, though, I'm not sure I'm going to continue posting to Tumblr. I pretty much stopped updating my feed in the summer and I've felt more relaxed, both in terms of Things To Do Each Day but also in terms of my reading. When I was more active on here, I felt pressured to read diversely at all times and though I try to have a healthy spread of perspectives, I know that I generally don't and am therefore a bad person by Tumblr standards. I am curious what my mutuals have been getting up to this year so please, sound off! And let me know if you do want to see reviews and wrap-ups continue here.

(Friendly reminder that I'm ninjamuse on Storygraph and LibraryThing, if you'd like to follow me there.)

And if anyone’s interested, here are the rest of my year’s highlights:

Top Five Fiction (not ranked)

The Hollow Places - T. Kingfisher

Menewood - Nicola Griffith

Bookshops and Bonedust - Travis Baldree

A Half-Built Garden - Ruthanna Emrys

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi - Shannon Chakraborty

Top Five Non-Fiction (not ranked)

Magisteria - Nicholas Spencer

Diary of a Misfit - Casey Parks

Evidence of Things Seen - Sarah Weinman, editor

Lay Them to Rest - Laurah Norton

Like Every Form of Love - Padma Viswanathan

Most Impressed By:

Shubeik Lubeik - Deena Mohamed

Diary of a Misfit - Casey Parks

The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard

A Half-Built Garden - Ruthanna Emrys

Most Disappointing:

Tortilla Flat - John Steinbeck

British Columbiana - Josie Teed

A Killing in Costumes - Zac Bissonette

Tauhou - Kōtuku Titihuia Nuttall

Longest Book: The Hands of the Emperor - Victoria Goddard

Best queer book: Diary of a Misfit - Casey Parks

Did I beat 2022? No. Did I beat my Best Year Ever? No. That would be 2021. Did I read more classics? Not even close. Did I read more Canadians? No. I held about steady. Did I whittle my TBR shelves down any? No. Was it a good reading year? Probably about average?

Breakdowns by month:

January February March April May June July August September October November December