A closer look on some memorable books from 2023.

A new year means looking back at what I read last year, which adventures I embarked on and what themes I explored - it is time for a yearly wrap up!

The first newsletter of 2024!
Usually I would be posting a story or a wrap up post on Instagram about my reading year - but as I have stepped out of the social media game and into the writers corner of the Internet, I have a wrap up newsletter instead.

Looking back at 2023 and what I read, I must admit it was a rollercoaster. Some books really hit home, others were more of a meh experience and some were just utterly disappointing. Overall, it was a good year as I did discover new authors, new books and even dipped my toes into something more unusual. I also continued with my 12 books a year goal.

My goal of 12 books a year has become a tradition at this point, one that I have become very fond of. It is not so much about the amount of books that I read, but rather the quality and experience of it. In Norwegian we have this wonderful word, leseopplevelse, and I am not sure if I can find an equivalent word for it English - but it pretty much translates to a reading experience.

You could say that my goal for 2024 is to have as many great reading experiences as possible, and in preparation for that I have compiled a list of the 12 books I will be prioritizing in the upcoming months.

Last year was the first time I tried out storygraph as an alternative for goodreads, I have been adding my books in both places, which has been okay. There were two books I was not able to add in storygraph, so the statistics are not complete. Nevertheless I have enjoyed the statistics they do provide, breaking down my reading habits in this way has been a fun and eyeopening experience.

To nobody's surprise most of my reads are fiction, with a few being nonfiction, 76% fiction compared to a 24% nonfiction. My favorite moods are adventurous and dark - in other words, no surprises there. I like having my heart torn into pieces on multiple occasions. 

You embarked on exciting adventures, delved into dark and intense narratives, and pondered thought-provoking themes.

And most of the stories developed at a steady pace.

Storygraph

It is fun to look back and see where I started and where I ended up at the end of the year. My first book in 2023 was Spare by Prince Harry, and my last read was The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien, two complete opposite genres!

It turns out that the average length of the books that I read was 422 pages and it took me around 12 days to finish each book. I’m impressed! The fun thing I noticed through this wrap up was that my best month was March, were I gave out some good reviews, while July was my least favorite month - my average rating was down at 2.63. Considering what I read then, it fits pretty well!

Some other fun statistics:

• I read 36 books in total

• I DNF'ed 5 books

• Average rating: 4.21 stars

• Five books were given a 5 star review

• The longest book I read was Manacled with a total of 1235 pages

• While the shortest book was A Gentle Reminder with 152 pages

A screenshot of my most read genres in 2023.

Memorable books of 2023

Out of the 36 books I finished there are some that stood out to me in one way or another. I have been amazed by new authors, surprised (both positively and negatively) by certain books and one left me so baffled that I am yet to decide were I landed on it. So with no further due lets look at some of the memorable books from last year:

Three books that stood out to me in the dark mood category were:

• The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood
  This is a book that left me shook. I've seen the show, I love the show. I knew what I was walking into, and yet I was not prepared. Hauntingly written and I am still trying to articulate how much it has affected me. It is a book that takes you down so many paths; hate, love, politics, religion, war, morals and ethics.
  
  What remained after finishing this book was the silence. It is a dystopian world, but there are no zombies, no grand fighting scenes and whatever you are used to in dystopian books. Its just…quiet, dark, subtle and powerful.
  The ending was one thing, the epilogue another, but what haunts me, are her words at the very end. I will never forget this book.
  

• Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie
  I had a long break from Abercrombie and Steven Pacey, but what a delightful trip into this dark and twisted fantasy this was! New favorite characters emerging, new storylines to follow - Abercrombie manages to get that perfect balance that is required in a dark grim fantasy series.
  
  I still believe that The First Law are the strongest books by him, but this was a entertaining and great revenge story - and I cannot wait to continue on with these books.
  

• Manacled by SenLinYu
  Ouf, and I thought I had read some twisted dark fantasy on Ao3 in my youth, but holy moly, this one - this one was on another level. What a damn dark journey this was! It was dark. It was messed up and left its own kind of scar. I ended up binging the 1200 pages of this book, and it is a fanfiction - its not going to be amazing for all those pages, but it was a really good read. If you do enjoy getting into dark, twisted, and honestly a little disturbing stories, this might be for you.

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One book that I am not entirely sure what I think of - still:

• My Life in the Bush of Ghosts by Amos Tutola
  Even months after I finished this little book, I still am not able to describe it entirely. It is a folktale filled with symbolism and surreal scenes and deeper meanings, all tied back to the Yoruba folk-tales and culture. It is combined with the European colonialism and gives a unique exploration of culture, identity and to me, a very different kind of fantasy. You can read my full review here.
  
  I loved how bizarre it all was, how our main character wanders through this strange dream filled with spirits and magic. I do believe this is a book that has to be experienced. Lived in. And I do want to do reread of it at a later point, maybe just to discover new layers of this unique story.

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Discovering new authors was one of my goals for 2023. I knew I would get some through my fantasy reading project, but I am also pleased to say I found a couple on my own. There are three that I will be reading more of in the future.

• Ocatvia E. Butler with Wild Seed
  Wild Seed was a happy find in a bookstore on a random day. It looked interesting and the synopsis had me intrigued. This was one of the books that was unlike anything else I’ve ever read. Like Tutuola, this is a book you just have to experience. What had me was her writing style, it is a slow book, so slow, and yet she had me at the edge of my seat, anxiously waiting to see how this cat and mouse game would end. How is that possible?
  
  It is book one in the Patternmaster series, published through the 70s and 80s, with the latest being released back in 2007. I cannot believe I have not been introduced to this amazing author before now.
  

• Andy Weir with Project Hail Mary
  Oh how I adored this book!
  Rocky has my heart, they both do to be fair. I did not expect this book to really grab at my heartstrings, but it did. It was one of those books that you just have to keep listening to see how the story unfolds. Weir did an amazing job at unraveling the story, in such a way that I was taken by surprise and publicly going: She did NOT do that! She did NOT JUST DO THAT!
  

  One of the best recommendations I’ve gotten in 2023 and one of the five stars reviews of the year. I highly recommend the audiobook edition of this book, as it was perfection.
  

• David Grann with The Wager
  Ah my history heart loved this one.
  If you missed it you can read my full review here. In short: it is a magnificent story about what humans do to survive under extreme situations and then how one tries to come out of it on top when you do survive. A question that I kept coming back to while reading this book was: who lives, who dies and who tells your story?

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Books will always be an individual experience, some books are drowned in the noise from other readers or reviewers or media attention. Sometimes you do go in with expectations being too high or too low, so here are the books that took by surprise.

• Spare by Prince Harry
  After all the trash talking, the horrible reviews, people making fun of it - I was not sure what to actually expect when I decided to pick this one up. However, I was positively surprised, as I found this book to be better than what "everyone" said it was.
  
  I found his story, or well truth, to be compelling and honest - and refreshingly so. Many people ranted about him oversharing but I liked it, to me it reflected more of what kind of person he is. I found somethings to be really funny, while others gave him a deeper layer. The one feeling I was left with after finishing this book was that it must have been a huge relief - a relief to get it all out there. Your truth. Your words. Spare is very much Prince Harrys experiences in the public eye.
  

• The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang
  A self published epic fantasy that made me ugly cry on more than one occasion.
  It is a beautifully written fantasy, that really gets you. I found it to be one my highlights from 2023 and thank you to the bookstagram community who recommended it to me.
  
  What do you do when the empire you were bread to defend stands on a foundation of lies? The very question our main protagonist has to ask himself when he is faced with a dark truth. This is a SFF book that combines two genres in a wonderful way within in a Japanese inspired world. It has two of the best characters I have ever read, Mamoru and Misaki. Their bond is truly touching and amazing to watch throughout the story, which made my heart break even more towards end. I do not want to spoil it, just say; read it!
  

• Stefan Ahnhems Fabian Risk series
  Ah Fabian Risk.
  I have heard so much about this series and it has been recommended to me so many times by readygoread. But alas, this was not the Nordic thriller/crime books that I wanted. Do not get me wrong, I truly enjoyed the first book and had high hopes for the rest, but it went downhill quite quickly after that one. It is like Jason Bourne meeting Harry Hole - and not in a good way. If you want a quick and easy read, it is a series to get in on - but if you want more good Nordic thrillers I would go for Kepler, Samuel Bjørk, Jo Nesbø, Camilla Läckberg or Gunnar Staalesen.

“I won’t have anything to do with Twitter though. Limit myself to 280 characters? Ridiculous!” - Miriam Margolyes

This is one of the genres I have explored very little of, I have a few that I would like to read, but never truly prioritized. However, both these people are people that I have seen a lot of and enjoyed their work. So when I found them on audible it was an easy pick and good way to start. (Yes, both got five stars).

Biographies:

• This Much is True by Miriam Margolyes
  Let me be honest. I adore this woman. I find her hilarious and refreshingly honest - she is an amazing actress and a wonderful person. So I am not objective at all in this review. Her biography, that she narrates herself was a pure joy to listen to! Her stories, she has so many stories. It never ends! They are deep, funny, raw and you get the privilege to get to know her as a woman and human being. The truth about Miriam, is that she is who she is, what you see is what you get - 100%. I would like to be just like her. Unapologetically herself. In every single situation of her life. And what a life she has lived!
  

• Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
  I have always liked Trevor, I’ve enjoyed his comedy and remarks on the world. But what I have really enjoyed were his between takes conversations with the audience on his show. That was what made me pick up his audiobook when a friend recommended it. I wanted to learn more about his background, and the book does not disappoint at all.
  
  It is a wonderfully written and narrated biography, combined with the seriousness of his childhood and comedy. He covers so many topics, apartheid, being an outsider, religion, education, gender roles - particularly in regards to his mother. What a woman. I have nothing but admiration for her after this book. It is a heartwarming, funny and deep biography and honestly should he write more books, I would read them too.

Reconnecting with fantasy

I did hit a little bump with fantasy last year as I found myself disappointed in a lot of the books that I picked up from the fantasy list. There were a few that had potential but never truly got there, and after some more disappointment I decided to go back to one that I have always loved; The Lord of the Rings.

Getting the audiobooks narrated by Andy Serkis was probably the best choice I made for myself last year, and I spent weeks walking to work, hiking or working out with this fascinating story on my ear. It reconnected me with my love for the genre and gave me some, long overdue motivation to keep going with this insane reading project that I decided to do. It has also been helpful in knowing what I truly enjoy within in this vast genre.

For the upcoming months I have made some choices that I hope will keep my newfound spark for fantasy lit a little longer, even when I find myself reading books that are not entirely my cup of tea. A more balanced book diet will make sure I do not burn out on only reading fantasy, it will give me time to digest the books I’ve read better and give my mind some time to explore different genres too. Another aspect that has come to play a bigger role in my reading, is surprisingly my age.

My patience runs thin faster than before, I have found myself thinking on multiple occasions “if they just communicated, this book would be done so fast”. Which just proves that I am too old for these stories and it is both sad and fun to have reached this point. Sad, because I have now officially lost some of that youth, in reading. Happy, because I can now clearly see how my reading and I have evolved. I have moved on and stepped into a different sphere of books that I enjoy.

My favorite genres have remained the same, but the taste feels more refined in a way. If we look away from the obvious things that most of us enjoy with the fantasy genre, the escapism, the magic, the world building, the lore and magical creatures - fantasy has a way of making my imagination become more alive.

What the last year and years have taught me is that this genre has a different way of tapping into my brain. It sparks creativity in a way nonfiction never does, nonfiction can make me feel so much and to a certain degree even imagine it. Fantasy however, makes my imagination wake up - I can see the places, smell all the smells, feel everything, observe all the colors and most of all the world of fantasy is limitless.

Reconnecting with the genre has made it clear to me that I do need a balance, to not only be in one corner but also explore multiple corners of what the world of literature has to offer. As 2024 now has begun, I do believe I have a good and balanced list of books to pick from and I am not kicking off the year with fantasy, but rather a historical fiction: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel.

I have joined a slow read along hosted by

Simon Haisell

and have pretty much my entire spring planned out with this book. The historian in me is quite satisfied with the first few pages I have read and as the days grow longer, the daylight comes back, I am looking through my 12 books and trying to decide which fantasy book should the first one out.

Until next time,

happy reading!