2023 book list.
While I seldom come here to post anymore, something is comforting about keeping traditions—case in point: my annual book list. It’s interesting to see how my tastes have evolved from almost entirely non-fiction to seriously cheesy fiction in recent years. I attribute this shift to the overall geopolitical climate and my headspace as I navigate this world. But rather than deep end on that thought for too long, let’s look at what I read:
We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman
Rating: 5 stars
Finished: January 5
Trust by Hernan Diaz
Rating: 4 stars
Finished: January 12
Siren Queen by Nghi Vo
Rating: 2 stars
Finished: January 24
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
Rating: 3 stars
Finished: January 29
It’s Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han
Rating: 3 stars
Finished: January 31
We’ll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han
Rating: 3 stars
Finished: February 2
Dickens & Prince by Nick Hornby
Rating: 3 stars
Finished: February 4
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
Rating: 4 stars
Finished: February 10
Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey
Rating: 5 stars
Finished: February 18
The Sweet Spot by Amy Poepell
Rating: 5 stars
Finished: February 20
Good for a Girl by Lauren Fleshman
Rating: 5 stars
Finished: February 22
Love, Pamela by Pamela Anderson
Rating: 3 stars
Finished: February 28
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
Rating: 3 stars
Finished: March 5
The Pet Loss Companion by Ken Dolan-Del Vecchio
Rating: 3.5 stars
Finished: March 6
The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai
Rating: 3 stars
Finished: March 9
The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes
Rating: 3 stars
Finished: March 23
Have I Told You This Before by Lauren Graham
Rating: 3 stars
Finished: March 24
Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson
Rating: 3.5 stars
Finished: March 28
Someday, Someday Maybe by Lauren Graham
Rating: 2 stars
Finished: April 4
The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore
Rating: 3 stars
Finished: April 13
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
Rating: 3 stars
Finished: April 24
I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai
Rating: 4 stars
Finished: April 27
Rogues by Patrick Radden Keefe
Rating: 5 stars
Finished: May 5
Happy Place by Emily Henry
Rating: 2.5 stars
Finished: May 10
Non-binary by Genesis P-Orridge
Rating: 5 stars
Finished: May 20
Sea Change by Gina Chung
Rating: 3 stars
Finished: May 30
None of This Would Have Happened If Prince Were Alive by Carolyn Prusa
Rating: 4 stars
Finished: June 4
The Guest by Emma Cline
Rating: 2 stars
Finished: June 14
The Book Proposal by KJ Micciche
Rating: 3 stars
Finished: June 19
The Five Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand
Rating: 4 stars
Finished: June 22
The Ghost Club by Kate Winkler Dawson
Rating: 2 stars
Finished: June 29
My Murder by Katie Williams
Rating: 3 stars
Finished: July 8
Save What’s Left by Elizabeth Castellano
Rating: 3 stars
Finished: July 12
Cultivating the Doula Heart by Francesca Lynn Arnoldy
Rating: 4 stars
Finished: July 23
A Very Typical Family by Sierra Godfrey
Rating: 4 stars
Finished: July 30
Final Gifts by Maggie Callahan and Patricia Kelley
Rating: 5 stars
Finished: August 9
It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
Rating: 4 stars
Finished: August 15
It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover
Rating: 3.5 stars
Finished: August 17
You Are Here by Karin Lin-Greenberg
Rating: 3.5 stars
Finished: August 25
Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Rating: 3 stars
Finished: August 30
Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune
Rating: 2 stars
Finished: September 5
All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover
Rating: 1 star
Finished: September 10
Incidental Inventions by Elena Ferrante
Rating: 3 stars
Finished: September 15
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah Maas
Rating: 4 stars
Finished: September 24
Bad Summer People by Emma Rosenblum
Rating: 3.5 stars
Finished: October 4
The Second Chance Hotel by Sierra Godfrey
Rating: 2 stars
Finished: October 16
Marrying the Ketchups by Jennifer Close
Rating: 3.5 stars
Finished: October 20
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Rating: 4.5 stars
Finished: October 29
Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey
Rating: 1 star
Finished: November 1
Just My Type by Fallon Ballard
Rating: 3 stars
Finished: November 6
The Homewreckers by Mary Kay Andrews
Rating: 3 stars
Finished: November 14
Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn
Rating: 2.5 stars
Finished: November 20
The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
Rating: 3.5 stars
Finished: November 22
Writers & Lovers by Lily King (re-read)
Rating: 5 stars
Finished: November 30
Hidden Potential by Adam Grant
Rating: 3 stars
Finished: December 7
Bookworm by Robin Yeatman
Rating: 3.5 stars
Finished: December 15
Small World by Laura Zigman
Rating: 2.5 stars
Finished: December 25
The Castle on Sunset by Shawn Levy
Rating: 3 stars
Finished: December 26
I Used to Have a Plan by Alessandra Olanow
Rating: 3 stars
Finished: December 28
No One is Too Small to Make a Difference by Greta Thunberg
Rating: 3 stars
Finished: December 28
A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan
Rating: 3 stars
Finished: December 29
To Bless the Space Between Us by John O’Donohue
Rating: 3.5 stars
Finished: December 31
Admittedly, I didn’t love much of what I read this year, and what’s not reflected here are the numerous books I started and couldn’t get through. Some of which were very popular. Oh well, to each their own. Life is too short to stay committed to a book that doesn’t catch you. Onto the next.