It’s been another GraceBought year! *confetti cannon and dancing* Here’s our 2023 Reading Recap.
Reflecting each year is a practice I greatly value, and it’s fun to reflect specifically back on my reading since reading is so important to me. Because I work to read widely I broke the year down into a few different categories. You can click on the links to find my complete reviews on any of the books/series below.
For 2023, I put a special twist on my reading goals. I meant to make a post about this at the beginning of the year, but guess who forgoooottt? Yup. Anywho, my best friend, Cassie, and I both created a 2023 Reading Challenge on IG. Essentially, we chose to focus on books we owned this year, so we wouldn’t get distracted by new buys, shiny new releases, and impulse reads. Don’t worry! We added buffer to make the challenge realistic and rewarding.
For all the fun Reading stats and Goals Recap check out my 2023 Wrap-Up post here! And check out our announcement for our 2024 Reading Challenge if you’d like to join us for a TBR Challenge!
And now, check out some of my favorite reads of 2023.
Best Re-Reads of 2023
One of my reasons I chose to focus on Books Owned for the 2023 Reading Challenge was specifically to allow me to focus on a few rereads. It was a delight to revisit favorite books like Ella Enchanted and to re-experience the Disney Fairies world. It was deeply moving to reread A Time to Die in a very appropriate season. But even more so, I found joy in rereading books I hadn’t reread in a very long time or ever like Fairest and Eragon. Rereading is important to me and absolutely something I intend to continue to prioritize next year in our TBR Challenge.
Of all the awesome books I chose to reread, there was one that stood out as the most wonderful re-reading experiences of the year (well, two honestly, but they’re both MG, so I saved the other for best MG of the year XD).
Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger
My original goal for 2023 was to catch up on the 3 books I haven’t read yet (7, 8, & 8.5), but I realized it’s been so long since I read the first 6 books that I was afraid I’d forgotten crucial details. So, I chose to go back and reread the first 3 books (all that the challenge would allow me to read XD), and they were possibly the most delightful reads of the year. It was such fun to not only re-experience these epic stories with their fantastic characters, but to find such delight in them the second time around. I am greatly looking forward to rereading 4-6 next year and then finishing out the series!
Best New Read of 2023
Okay, I’ve wrestled and wrestled with this category (and the YA one) for months. As part of our Books Owned Challenge, Cassie and I are each giving away our favorite read of 2023, and y’alllll! You know how I hate choosing favorites (hence a whole post of multiple cateogories in which I still can’t choose favorites sometimes!). But I think I’ve finally figured out how I’m going to do this.
First, as hard as I’ve tried to choose, ultimately I have a tie for favorite New Read of 2023.
Of Fire and Ash by Gillian Bronte Adams
This book had everything I love in a book: fantasy, elemental magic, epic adventure, fascinating cultures, characters to fall in love with, political intrigue, lots of pages, a stunning cover, and the tightest plot I’ve ever seen. From a writing perspective, I’ve been smitten with this book. It was just an awesome read and I loved it. It was easily my favorite read of the year until Cathy McCrumb blew in and took me by surprise.
Recorder by Cathy McCrumb
So, sci-fi isn’t my favorite genre. I love it in film, but I have a harder time with it in books usually. I’d heard great things about this one, but finally moved it up my list and tackled it after meeting McCrumb at a conference this year. I’m so glad I did. Recorder touched my heart in a way I never though it would and for that reason alone it has refused to be second place this year.
Best YA of 2022
Now on to Best YA, of which I also have just decided to use a tie. The thing is, these books are so very different and I enjoyed them for very different reasons. Much like Of Fire and Ash and Recorder equally earned first place for effecting me in different ways, so have these two YA picks.
To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo
This was one of my first reads of the year and as excited as I was to read some piraty-sireny-mermaidy books (I had a whole shelf set aside for 2023 to dig into!), this one wins because it surprised me (much like Recorder won because it surprised me, though both were different kinds of surprises). It must be noted that there is some content to be aware of and I do recommend the book for 18+ readers (see full review for details), but I truly enjoyed this read. I was skeptical from the first page, but the author pulled it off. She finished the story well and it was worth it. The characters didn’t disappoint me and the epic sea adventure was a magical battle to end all battles. It definitely scratched the siren itch.
The Out of Time trilogy by Nadine Brandes
Yes. Yes I am choosing the whole trilogy because it’s all one story and all three books played an important part of my reading journey this year. 😀 Displaying the cover for Book 2 because it’s stunning and it was a New Read for me (along with the third book). If I had to choose just one, I think A Time to Speak hit me the deepest this year. It came at a particularly rough time for me personally, but the message and theme resounded like an ancient bell in my soul. The whole trilogy is beautiful in so many ways and it definitely has earned this spot.
Best MG of 2023
Middle Grade books are just hard to beat. I love children’s stories and junior fiction. These are the most magical stories! Anything can happen. Kids have a childlike wonder that we often lose the older we get, so I gladly strive to intentionally keep MG in my reading diet each year.
As mentioned above, there were two series that both are MG that tied for Best Reread as well as Best MG for the year, so here is the second one!
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Cassie and I buddy read the Inkworld trilogy. Inkheart and Inkspell were re-reads for both of us, and Inkdeath was a new read. I was so thankful to have a friend who was just as excited as I was to revisit this enchanting world and finally finish the beloved trilogy. And what an ending! (See my full thoughts on the books.) Also, I just gotta say the narrators for each book did fabulous and totally added to the experience for me.
I also wanted to throw in an honorable mention for children’s fiction.
Mooses with Bazookas by SD Smith
This is a delightful collection of shorts that brings levity and silliness to a world that often takes itself far too seriously. We’re easily weighed down by the darkness and brokenness around us, and SD Smith has quite effectively created a charming book for kids to enjoy and just be kids. Full review coming soon, but it’s definitely worth mentioning as a top MG read of the year!
Best Classic of 2023
I’ve been slowly working to cultivate more classics into my reading more regularly, and I managed to read a handful this year. Classics are on a whole different playing field than most of our modern books, and should be weighed differently in my opinion. However, as much as I enjoyed all four of the classics I read this year, there was a clear favorite for me.
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
This one was actually a reread. And honestly I almost feel a little guilty choosing it over The Fellowship of the Ring (one of my all time favorite stories!), but P&P is so brilliantly written. It’s a completely different genre than LOTR or A Christmas Carol, which is part of why it’s so hard to compare classics. But I dub it the best classic of 2023 for me this time around.
Best Indie Read of 2023
One of the reasons I co-created the Books Owned Reading Challenge with Cassie was to give myself a reason to prioritize some of the indie fairy tale authors I’ve loved so much again. There are many series I wanted to finish, start, and make progress in this year by some of my favorite indie authors. But one series I read just to pass the time took me completely by surprise.
K. M. Shea’s King Arthur and Her Knights
When I tell you I binged this little novella series, I mean I read all 7 of them in about 10 days. I love Arthurian legend, but I honestly didn’t expect these to be all that great. Just a quick, light and fluffy way to pass the time. But Shea got me. She hooked me in and ended with a lot more emotion than I anticipated. So, it wins the Indie award of 2023 in my book.
Best Audio Books of 2023
For a Bonus Category this year, I want to take a moment to mention Audio Books. I read a lot more audio books this year than normal and some of them were absolutely fabulous. Honestly, I didn’t want to pick a “Best of” for this category; I just included it to share about some of the epic audio book narrators I experienced this year. These are not in any particular order because each was its own piece of art to be enjoyed.
I’ve also already mentioned both The Fellowship of the Ring and Pride & Prejudice but I’d like to say that the P&P narrator really transported me to the Regency Era and brought Austen’s characters to life.
For LOTR, I actually ended up listening to two different narrators. I first checked the book out by Rob Inglis, but I didn’t get through the whole book before the library took it back. And when I learned that Andy Serkis narrated the trilogy too, I just had to check that out! Both were absolutely fantastic and I cannot more highly recommend them.
I’m not the hugest Harry Potter fan in the world–I’m relatively new to the HP world actually. But two of my closest friends adore HP and they convinced me to buddy read Beyond the Wand with them this year, specifically to listen to the audio book. While there is some content to be aware of (see my full review for details), Tom Felton nailed the narration. It was absolutely one of the best audio books I’ve heard and I quite enjoyed the book itself as well.
I feel like there’s a pattern here where I just like European narrators…but in this Historical Fantasy by Nadine Brandes, the narrator completely pulled me into the story of Fawkes making me forget the world around me.
Eragon holds a special place in my heart. The whole series is excellent. And I am SO stoked to read Murtagh. In preparation for it, I reread the first two books this year. And I specifically picked up the audio books because I listened to them as a kid. I loved Gerard Doyle when I was 100% not an audio book fan and relistening to his voice read these first two books has been one of my favorite experiences this year.
And finally, though most certainly not least, I wanted to mention Fairest because this audio book was a full cast production. Also, for those of you who’ve read the book, there is a lot of singing in Ayortha. Culturally, music is everything to them and this crew went all out! The compositions for each silly little ditty were delightful and absolutely made me smile.
Best Nonfiction of 2021
Nonfiction is important to me and I work to incorporate a variety of NF in my reading each year–including a combination of devotionals, bible studies, theology books, business, finance, relationship, inspirational, writing craft, etc.
As I did last year, I have my Top 3 NF books to share with you this year: An inspirational read, a personal development read, and a writing craft recommendation.
On Fire by John O’Leary
This book embodies much of what I believe about living on purpose for a purpose. It’s an incredibly inspiring read about the perseverance of a man through great tragedy and darkness. I believe we’re called to live our lives On Fire, but that doesn’t mean we ignore the grief and the loss. We have the power to choose in our lives and O’Leary will ignite a fire under you if you’re looking for meaning, purpose, and passion.
Take Back Your Time by Christy Wright
Time management is one of our culture’s greatest struggles. Christy is one of the warmest and most relatable voices out there. She wields the double-edged sword of practicality and inspiration, while gracefully challenging us to live a countercultural life. I love her stories and practical application for choosing priorities, accounting for seasonal changes, and living our day to day lives focusing on the things we love.
Write Your First Novel by Steve Laube and Gilbert Morris
This one’s for my writer friends out there. I highlighted so much in this book! It’s clear, concise, and brimming with examples–my favorite way to learn. The practical exercises at the end of each section walk you through applying what you learn and really stir the creative juices. I found them a wonderful mixture of educational and challenging.
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Well, there you have it. My top reads of 2023! In no particular order 😉
What about you? What were some of your favorite books of 2023? Have you read any of the above? Or do you want to, but haven’t yet? If you did, what were your thoughts?
In case you missed it, Cassie and I are doing a 2024 TBR Reading Challenge! You can find out more here on IG, but I’ll try to actually make a post about it in the New Year this time. Either way, here’s to the new adventures of 2024 reading!
I’m super surprised that I read 35 books with a total of 9852 pages. That’s unusually high for me, but I did make a concerted effort to read more. I’m going to share Goodreads stats and a couple of opinions. 🙂
My shortest book was The Color Collector by Nicholas Solis, which I read to a baby in the NICU during my regular volunteer visit.
Longest was the Duty of Delight by Dorothy Day. That was a bit of a slog. It’s Dorothy Day’s diaries, which have moments of beauty and insight scattered among weeks of daily tedium. Still, I’m glad I read it as she is a hero of mine.
Average book length was 281 pages, which seems short to me.
The most popular book I read was The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. That was a light and fun one that I really enjoyed.
The least popular book I read was Straight to Heaven by the Reverend T. G. Morrow. There was a lot of material here that I was already well-versed in, but it never hurts to get fresh reminders of what’s important.
The Highest Rated book I read was Ascent of Mount Carmel by St. John of the Cross, but it’s kind of misleading because it was a DNF. At the time I read parts of it, but found it difficult and overwhelming.
Looking over my 2023 list, I see a lot of slogs actually, and quite a few DNF’s. I have only started quitting books in the last year or two – as I get older, life seems too short to read boring books. Yet, I am still reading some that are boring because they are worth it. One of my favorites of the year was The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. He’s a beautiful writer, and the book reads like a story while telling about historically accurate events.
The other favorite was Atomic Habits by James Clear. This was a re-read, but there are so many good nuggets in here I could re-read many times (even thought I rarely do that).
Thanks for the opportunity to reflect!
That’s amazing!! Congratulations! 35 is a lot of books! And it sounds like you had some really interesting ones too.
Atomic Habits is on my TBR! I really want to read that one. I’ve heard great things.
DNFing is so hard for me! But the older I get the more I feel like you said: there are simply too many good books out there to ever read in a lifetime, so why waste precious time on bad books?
Thank you so much for sharing your stats! It’s so fun to see them!! Happy Reading for 2024!