I love to read. There isn’t much I enjoy more than curling up under a blanket with a good book. I’ve been an avid reader since I was 7 years old. I always had a book or two going throughout childhood, up until I started having kids. They have a way of taking time away from other things, but I did still manage to read here and there. My kids would joke around about it. “Mom’s been reading all day. We’re having ‘I’m not sure’ for dinner.”
I have set a new reading goal each year on January 1st since 2017. I use the Goodreads app to keep track of my Want to Read list, what I’m currently reading, and the books that I have completed. Some years I do better than others.
In 2017, I set a goal of 25 books but completed only 7. In 2018, I got way too ambitious. I set a goal of 50 books and I read…. one. 2019 saw me start taking my reading goals seriously. I read 16 out of 20 books that year. In 2020, the fact that I was able to do ANY reading was a miracle because I went back to college AND I was working on the Covid unit at the hospital. I still managed to read 17 of my goal of 40 books. I was still in school in 2021, and Covid was still happening as well. My goal of 25 books wasn’t even reached by half that year. I managed to finish 10. 2022 and 2023 were MUCH better! In 2022 I read 24 of the 25 books I wanted to read. And in 2023 I exceeded my goal of 25 by 14 books! I completed 39 titles.
I re-discovered the joy of audiobooks and utilized them for many of the self-help and nonfiction books. I struggle to get through those otherwise. I use the Libby app through my library for the audio versions. I mostly read iBooks or Kindle as I own very few hard-copy books these days. Say what you will about ebooks, but no one knows exactly how many books I am hoarding, and I never have to dust them! I have 8 unread in my Kindle app and 29 in my iBooks app. I buy a lot of books through BookBub. It’s dangerous! They come out with new deals every day.
I increased my goal this year to 40 books. I am in school again, in a Bachelor of Science program, so we shall see how things go. I am thinking about posting my completed titles each month. If you want to join me, just ~~~> follow me on Goodreads! For now, I will share my 2023 reads with you, and if you want to buy one, I’ve got links for that as well, so if you see a book that interests you, just scroll down a little for the Amazon link. I am an Amazon Associate and receive a (very small) commission if you purchase. {“Very small” = pennies per sale.} 🙂
Fantasy
- Deborah Harkness’s All Souls Trilogy: A Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night, and The Book of Life— I loved these!! I couldn’t put them down. I read them nonstop, one after the other.
- Weyward by Emilia Hart- One of the top three best books I read last year.
- Crossings by Alex Landragin- FIVE STARS. Loved it.
- The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson- Great story!
- The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow- My FAVORITE book of the year. This needs to be a movie at least, or a series on Amazon or Netflix would be even better!! SUCH a great storyline. And Alix is my “Read everything she writes” author. I love her.
- A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan- It was okay.
Historical Fiction
- The Outlander by Diana Gabaldon- I read this because I absolutely LOVE the show. The book was good but slow reading. I don’t know if I will read the read of the series. I’m waiting for the next season on Starz.
- The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner- Five stars!! SUCH a good book.
- Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn- I enjoyed this, although it took a little while for me to get into the storyline. I may read the next books in the series.
Biography/Autobiography
- How Y’all Doing by Leslie Jordan- I loved him! Do yourself a favor and get the audio version. Leslie narrates it. You’ll thank me. 🙂
- Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern- The Twitter profile made into a book. Funny stuff!
- The Electric KoolAid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe- I had to switch to the audio because it is so terribly written.
- The Radium Girls by Kate Moore- I read the Kindle version but it was a struggle. I will watch the movie though. It’s crazy how bad the dial painters were just disregarded while they were all dying of radiation poisoning.
- Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
Inspirational/Self-Help
- Be Here Now by Ram Dass
- Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder by Edward M. Hallowell, MD
- Unfuck Your Boundaries: Build Better Relationships Through Consent, Communication, and Expressing Your Needs by Faith G. Harper PhD
Multicultural & Diversity Experience
- Where the Dead Sit Talking by Brandon Hobson
- Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck- BANNED BOOK. I was looking for a classic to read and came across this.
- The Teller of Secrets by Bisi Adjapon
- Ordinary Wolves by Seth Kantner- Alaskan Native protagonist. Interesting story!
Fiction
- All Adults Here by Emma Straub
- Winter Hours by Mary Oliver- a book of poetry
- The Music of Bees by Eileen Garvin- Really good story!
- Hippie by Paul Coehlo
- Confessions of a Curious Bookseller by Elizabeth Green- Don’t waste your time on this one.
- Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley- Meh.
- Winterdance by Gary Paulsen
- Kyla Stone’s Edge of Collapse series: Edge of Collapse, Edge of Madness, Chaos Rising, Edge of Darkness, Edge of Anarchy, Edge of Defiance, Edge of Survival, and Edge of Valor– I read these back to back over 3 weeks. The first book was a cliffhanger and I was hooked. This is how I started the year off!
