2023 was another great year in reading. I’m pretty sure I added at least a couple new books to my reading list every week, so much so that I’m beginning to wonder if I’d ever be able to complete the TBR list before I die. Weird thought, but these are weird times. And I’m not getting any younger.

Anyway. I managed to finish 32 books this year. Well down from the 2018 high of 54 books, but I’ll admit I’ve managed to get more out of each book I’ve read as I’ve read less. That’s a trend that’ll continue in 2024 as I seek to take about a dozen books and do a much slower and deliberate read through them.

So, this isn’t really a “Top Anything” books I’ve read this year. But this is what I enjoyed most.

Kindred by Octavia Butler

The Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Ducks by Kate Beaton

The Wild Trilogy by Linda Negata

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

Wayward by Chuck Wendig

There are a couple books that I figured I’d have an easier time with, top amongst them was Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. I really struggled to get through it, having started it while on vacation in Chicago and not finishing it until a couple months later. It finally hit its stride for me about halfway through, but I nearly shelved it a couple times. Piranesi by Susannah Clarke was another that I thought I’d appreciate more. I’d be happy to suggest it as a good read, to be sure, but given all the hype around that book, I was a bit disappointed.

Also, if you’re looking for a Goodreads alternative (and really, we all should be), I’ve been using the StoryGraph for the better part of the last couple years, and I’ve quite enjoyed it as a tool to keep track of books to read and my reading progress. And really, given how shitty most comments and “reviews” are on Goodreads these days, the way StoryGraph has you leave a review is a lot more friendly and intuitive. 

What else is of note? I think I read just as much on ebook as I did in print. It was interesting to see Glynn Stewart’s Exile trilogy by made available on a non-Kindle platform. So it was good to finally get to finish that series. My partner worked with his mom at one point awhile back, and she was gifted the first book in the series, which I read a couple years ago. 

Looking forward to a couple books I’ve recently acquired. I’ve started reading Philip Norman’s George Harrison: The Reluctant Beatle, which I’ve found engaging over the first 60 pages. I’ve come to appreciate George a lot more since watching the Get Back documentary that came out last year. This felt like a great way to close the year out. I’ve also recently grabbed Waubgeshig Rice’s Moon of the Turning Leaves, his follow up to the great Moon of the Crusted Snow which I really liked. And then in April, there’s a new Amor Towles book on the way, and he has easily become one of my favourite authors over the last couple years. Big recommendation to any of his works.

Happy reading in 2024!