Reading Reflection || 2023
2023's reading in review
: 🌕 : SPOILER ALERT : 🌕 :
As the year 2023 draws to a close I find myself eager to reflect on all of the wonderful stories I had the privilege of reading. The end of the calendar year is a time to meditate on the occurrences of the past; leaving room for a smidgen of hope that at the clock’s final chime, the new year will be everything one might hope for. As a reader, there is ample opportunity to simmer on change; the days are short or long, depending on the book one reads.
On a whim, I have endeavoured to combine some of the questions from the End of the Year Book Tag—some of which were influenced by the YouTube girlies—& the Firsts of the Year Book Tag, to publish this Reading Recap of 2023. As always, I will be including wonderful pieces of art from immensely talented artists to accompany the questions & my answers; I love when mediums of expression tie into each other so, without further ado; let’s begin.
(1) WHAT WAS THE FIRST BOOK YOU READ IN 2023?
The first book I read in 2023 was a short story so, I shall answer by including two (2) titles: in the early days of January 2023, I read “Signs and Symbols” (1948) by Vladimir Nabokov. Following closely with a day’s delay, I read “The House at Riverton” (2006) by Kate Morton.
(2) WHAT WAS YOUR MOST DISAPPOINTING READ OF THE YEAR?
I read at a voracious level &, all things considered, I’ve had a very good reading year. However, these few titles were ones I eagerly sought after & each of them left me annoyed (disappointed):
“How to Sell a Haunted House” (2023) by Grady Hendrix
“Boy Parts” (2023) by Eliza Clark
“Happy Place” (2023) by Emily Henry
In the spirit of keeping the scales even; I have come upon some rather less-than-stellar short stories too:
“Afterlife” (2015) by Stephen King
“The Dream” (1832) by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
“Zombie” (1995) by Joyce Carol Oates
(3) NAME A BOOK YOU HAVEN’T STOPPED THINKING ABOUT
These tags will probably never result in simple answers but alas, I shall not seek to alter that. When I think back to this year’s reads there are a few tragically enthralling plots that have kept me captive in the pages with the ink & indentations made by my greedy thumbs:
“The Master and Margarita” (1967) by Mikhail Bulgakov
“Women and Children First” (2024) by Alina Grabowski
“Interesting Facts About Space” (2024) by Emily R. Austin
“The Joke” (1967) by Milan Kundera
“Daughter” (2023) by Claudia Dey
“December Park” (2014) by Ronald Malfi
“Close to Home” (2023) by Michael Magee
“The Guest Lecture” (2023) by Martin Riker
Novels have not been the only reading material that has held the great stories I have read. Alongside my friends, & thanks in great part to the wonderful efforts of LeVar Burton, my year has been filled with great short stories too:
“Lagomorph” (2020) by Alexander MacLeod
“Multo” (2015) by Samuel Marzioli
“The Golden Hour” (2022) by Jeffrey Ford
(4) WHAT ARE YOUR FINAL TO-BE-READ STATS?
I read across various platforms—some of my books are generously sent as Advanced Reader Copies (ARC), which I primarily receive via ebook—while others are the standard hardcover style books.
I currently have 200 physical books on my TBR; & 131 ARCs (73 via Netgalley & 58 via Edelweiss+).
(5) WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE BOOKS OF 2023?
This year has been filled with so many wonderful stories, I’ve been left feeling very grateful to have come upon so many wonderful storytellers. As I’ve listed a couple of books that stood out, here are a few different ones:
“A House Without Spirits” (2022) by David Homel
“The Adult” (2023) by Bronwyn Fischer
“The Trees” (2021) by Percival Everett
“The Rachel Incident” (2023) by Caroline O'Donoghue
“The Glow” (2023) by Jessie Gaynor
“Chouette” (2021) by Claire Oshetsky
“The Catcher in the Rye” (1951) by J.D. Salinger
For good measure, some short stories too:
“The October Game” (1947) by Ray Bradbury
“The Door in the Wall” (1906) by H.G. Wells
“The Lady with the Dog” (1899) by Anton Chekhov
(6) WHAT WAS THE LONGEST & SHORTEST BOOK YOU READ IN 2023?
The longest book I read this year was “Homecoming” (2023) by Kate Morton; the shortest book I read was “The October Game” (1947) by Ray Bradbury.
(7) WHAT ARE YOUR END OF YEAR REFLECTIONS?
This year marks the first round of writing reviews for this newsletter. When I started publishing my reviews on a more public platform in 2019 (i.e. Goodreads) I did so because I wanted to engage with other readers. Reading has always been a very enthralling activity for me. It is a practice that engages me in thought & often encourages me to further my knowledge; researching subject matter so that I am better informed, overall. There was a part of me that was curious, nervously, to follow a schedule & post my efforts to Substack, but, I am glad that I have.
I began posting on this platform on March 2, 2023, I have rolled out some of my older reviews & am still working on finding a flow that works for me. I admit to reviewing my work & I have gone back & altered the themes over & over again until I felt they were crisp enough for my liking.
At the end of the day, my reviews are a reflection of my experience with a story. Sometimes, I love a plot simply because it speaks to me in a language unheard of. In other cases, a book is special to me because it reminds me of someone other people will never know. There are times when I think a book is good because the prose sauntered me through fields in a dance for just us two; when in other cases still, the characters welcomed me into their world without knowing I was there.
Reading is an activity I hold dearly to my heart & I am ever the more grateful, as my life unfolds, that I had the privilege of learning to read & that in my life, people encouraged me to nestle into the stories that guided me through the years of my life.
To whomever has read anything that I have written; to the people who listen to me in silence as I ponder my thoughts; thank you for your presence on this journey.
Until next time,
C. x