Hello, everyone! Today I have my first year-end list of top books, my favorite backlog reads of 2023. I’ve read so many books this year that it was impossible to narrow the list down any further than my favorite fifteen. I read all of these in 2023, but they were published prior to the beginning of the year. I’ll have a post with all of my favorite new 2023 releases sometime in the next couple of days. So, be on the lookout! All of the covers link to Goodreads in case anything catches your eye…
Merry Christmas! I couldn’t let the holiday pass by without doing one of my favorite Christmas tags. It was created by Lizzie Loves Books. I always have so much fun with this one, and this year was no different. I’ve read so many great books this year, and I enjoyed trying to decide what books fit each prompt best. If any of these catch your eye, each of the covers links to the book’s Goodreads page.
This has been another good year for Star Wars content. We’ve gotten plenty of great TV shows, comics, and books in 2023. As the year draws to a close, I always like to reflect on my thoughts about the books released in a given year. For my thoughts on previous years’ Star Wars releases, check out my rankings from 2021 and 2022. This year, I’ve chosen to stick strictly to YA and adult fiction releases for my ranking, with the exception of one High Republic middle grade adventure. There were also comics, manga, and other middle grade stories published this year, but I find it difficult to compare them to the books for the purpose of ranking. Without further ado, here are my rankings for the 2023 Star Wars books.
Hello, everyone! I’ve done this tag the last two years (2021 and 2022) and had fun with it. So, I thought I’d do it again. The Naughty or Nice Book Tag was created by Jen of Jenniely, and the goal is to answer the bookish questions to find out if you will be on Santa’s naughty or nice list this year.
Happy Thanksgiving to those of you in the United States (and anywhere else you may be celebrating)! 🦃 I did this tag last year and thought it’d be fun to repeat with choices from books I’ve read this year. Thank you to Anna’s Book Nook for creating this tag!
The Rules
Thank the person who nominated you
Give credit to the author (Annasbooknook)
Answer the prompts
Tag others if you desire!
The Questions
1) Friends and Family: A Book with Characters that Feel Like Family
Only This Beautiful Moment follows three generations of Iranian American men on the cusp of adulthood. I learned so much about Iran and what it means to be queer there from this book. By the end, I felt like part of their family, and this one is a huge contender for my favorite book of the year.
2) Fallen Leaves: A Book that Fell Flat (didn’t meet your expectations)
The Three-Body Problem was interesting, but the structure of the narrative just didn’t work for me. I was so excited to read it because of all the hype around the series, but I definitely won’t be reading the rest of the series.
3) Thanksgiving Dinner: A Book You Want to Read Every Year During This Season
I don’t re-read certain things by season, and I rarely re-read anything at all because there’s always so much great new stuff being released. I’ve been in the mood to re-read A Marvellous Light (and the other two books in the series), Jade City (and the other two books in the series), and The Darkness Outside Us. I have a special edition of the latter coming in the mail soon and plan to re-read it when I get it.
4) Turkey: A Book With a Bird in It
The Raven Boys and its sequels were the first books that came to mind for this prompt. Chainsaw was such a great animal companion.
5) Ham: A Book that Made Your Eyes Glaze Over (Boring)
I wanted to DNF Immortal Longings so bad, but I somehow made it through it. I was so excited to read it, too, but it just did not capture my interest at all.
6) Dinner Rolls: A Book that Melted Your Heart and Made You Feel Warm
Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute was ADORABLE. I had so much fun reading this book and laughed so much. It definitely warmed my heart.
7) Mashed Potatoes: A Book With a White Cover
Academy Arcanist was a cute start to a fantasy series with such great creature companions. Different for Boys was a really cool mix of illustration and story that explored the queer experience of boys. These are very different books, but they both were really great in their own ways.
8) Gravy: A Book You’re not Totally Sure Why You Love, but You Do
The Navigating Fox was a recent read that I enjoyed quite a bit. Although, I’m not quite sure why. lol. It was weird, with talking animals and humans living side by side. The messaging and symbols felt super important, though, as if I was reading something profound guarded by the absurdity of it all.
9) Pumpkin Pie: A Dessert Book That You Love
Last year I answered this prompt with a sickeningly sweet book that I adore. This year I’ve decided to take a different approach by choosing a series of books that are guilty pleasures. I started reading some more manga this year, and one of my favorites was On or Off. This story was steamy with graphic depictions of sex, and I came away from them feeling a little dirty, which is half the fun. 🙂
Bonus: Black Friday: The Top 5 Books on Your “I want to buy them” List
As I said last year, I don’t really have a list because I typically just buy a book when I want it (or borrow it from the library, if available). So, instead I’m going to list the last five books I bought on a whim…
Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft, Emmett by L.C. Rosen, Fangirl (10th Anniversary Edition) by Rainbow Rowell, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins, The Uncensored Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
I Tag
Anyone who wants to participate. I recognize that today is Thanksgiving. So, if you’re bored, feel free to have some fun and consider yourself tagged. Otherwise, bookmark it until next year!
Ihope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving full of good food and great times. I’ve already stuffed myself full of turkey, ham, and too many sides. I think it is time for a nap…
December is rapidly approaching, which means the end of 2023 is right around the corner. That makes it time for the End of the Year Book Tag. I did this one last year, too, but I’m still not sure where it first originated. If you know the creator, feel free to link them in the comments.
Last month’s book haul was another wild one. There were a lot of great new releases in October, and I got my hands on SO MANY of them. 🙂 My bookshelves aren’t very happy about it, but I am. My poor TBR cart is overflowing, but I have been consistently reading a lot of new releases recently. So, it isn’t as bad as it could be. lol. I also managed to pick up some highly anticipated ARCs and utilized the library quite a bit last month, too. Here’s everything I added to my shelves in October:
I definitely self-soothed all the anxiety I felt in September with book purchases. lol. So, there’s plenty of great stuff in this haul. This is actually part two of my September haul. You can find part one here, which highlights all the books I bought in the first 12 days of the month. Without further ado, here are the ARCs, books, and library acquisitions I got my hands on in the latter part of September.
A new month means it is time for a new TBR. I’ve continued to split things into a ‘need to read’ pile and a possibility pile for mood reading. I’m sure I’ll probably also read stuff that isn’t listed anywhere in this post, as well, but these are the books I’d definitely like to get to this month.
Every year for bi visibility day, I create my list of favorite books with bi+ male characters (2021, 2022). The lists are always comprised of books I’ve read in the preceding year. I’ve decided to continue making this a yearly thing… because why not? Without further ado, here are some of the books I’ve read since last September that included bi+ male rep within the main cast of characters (book covers link to Goodreads and book titles link to my review, if available). Happy bi visibility day to all my bi peeps out there!
