My 2023 Reading Wrap-Up!

Here is my 2023 Reading Wrap-Up!

2023 was a continuation of the restart of my love of reading. If you didn’t know, when the Big P hit in 2020, I had a birthday. I remember it. It was a Friday and I went out and bought myself some new books and a few fun spa-type things. I was very excited to read one of my new books, but then something happened.

On the Sunday, the schools closed.

Forever.

Okay, not forever, but when you have a kid who does NOT want to learn online, it feels like forever.

Unfortunately, my reading seemed to stop. With the news and the kids home AND the husband home, I just could not focus on reading. I don’t think I read anything after that March weekend. And then, the next year I read ONE book. So, last year it was very exciting to get back to reading and know that it wasn’t just a fluke. I kept reading this year!

This year I read 117 books!

Last year I had read 56 books, so this more than doubled that. And I absolutely LOVE reading again. I’ve been listening to audiobooks this year, reading poetry and graphic novels, diving into really LONG books, and it’s all been great.

I also found that I was more likely to just put a book down if I wasn’t enjoying it – straight to the donation pile that book would go – and I reread some books, too. Way back in 2018, I think, I deleted my previous Goodreads profile (which I am still annoyed with to this day) so I lost all of my reading data for the previous 10 years, so sometimes I pick up a book and get anywhere from 10 to 50% through before I realize I had read it before.

Oops.

Here are my ratings from this year:

I reread FIVE books.

I read SEVEN nonfiction books – one more than what I wanted to read in 2023. Hopefully in 2024 I can read a lot more nonfiction.

I listened to TWENTY-FOUR audiobooks! This included rereads of three books, and finishing some books that I had initially started reading physically. Sometimes it was just hard to find the time to physically read a book, but with my work I can sometimes listen to a book, so audiobooks came in handy!

My longest read: Dreamcatcher by Stephen King (704 pages)

My shortest read: Pemmican Wars by Katherena Vermette (48 pages)

My favourite book of 2023: Too many to choose from!

1. My favourite audiobook would be Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq because it was amazing to listen to. It wasn’t just a book – it was an experience.
2. My favourite classic was Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons. I can’t believe I waited so long to read this!
3. My favourite fiction would have to be A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman – I cried reading the book AND watching the movie.

My least favourite book of 2023: Bad Girl Reputation (Avalon Bay, #2) by Elle Kennedy (which is SUCH a disappointment since I do love her books!)

My only regret is not reading more classics.

I only read THREE classics this year and wish I had thought to read more:

1. The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery
2. Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie (read before seeing A Haunting in Venice)
3. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons

I ended the year with Cold Comfort Farm and a determination to read more classics in 2024.

I also hope to post more on Instagram in 2024.

Even More Stats!

Thanks to my reading spreadsheet that I sat down to complete on the 31st, I have some graphs to share:

As you can see, my reading was up and down all year long! In June, I listened to a lot of audiobooks, which helped bump up my number, and then in September I went away on a solo vacation where I read 15 books in 5 days. August was extremely busy with work so I only managed ONE book that month.

I had originally been tracking through decades, but then decided to track by each year. Not surprisingly, a lot of the books I read were published from 2018-2023, but I did manage some pre-2000 books.

Most surprisingly is that my most-read genre was horror and THEN romance. Usually I read a lot of romance and contemporary fiction, but I did read a lot of J. L. Bryan and Stephen King this year, both of which are horror, though you might technically categorize J. L. Bryan’s books as paranormal. I also loved reading thrillers and mysteries this year, too.

I buy a lot of books for my kids and read some of them, so that’s why 13.7% are middle grade. Some of them, like the Nat Enough series, I really enjoy! The New Adult books are pretty much all Elle Kennedy books. I would like to try and read some more YA books in 2024 – I used to read a lot of them, but haven’t in a while.

This might look like I’m crushing my owned books, but the chart doesn’t tell you how many I bought in the year. I actually had a whole spreadsheet where I tracked this, but I fell out of keeping track of things so I have no numbers to share. Maybe I can try and update that spreadsheet this year, but I own a LOT of books and would rather read than track all the books I own.

Final Thoughts

As I said at the end of my 2022 reading wrap up – and it is still true today – it is so great to be back in the bookish community again. I hope I can try to update this blog a bit more in 2024 (MAJOR fail this year), but ultimately, I just want to continue to enjoy reading.

In the comments below, share your 2023 reading wrap-up with me – I’d love to get more book recommendations!