2023 Book Round Up

2023 was a busy year for me, and I read less than I have in previous years, but I still got a good deal of books under my belt. I’ll keep this simple for my five friends who care deeply about this post each year. I am so grateful for Storygraph, which now keeps track of so much data for me.

Storygraph allows for quarter star increments which is lovely because so many books fall somewhere between the stars. I am a generous star giver in general, but having this wiggle room made me a more discerning critic. Look at this beautiful graph! I’ve said this before, but I think it’s worth noting every year—when I rate books, I rate them in comparison to other books like them which is why I can end up with a middle grade contemporary novel, an epic presidential biography, a cozy mystery, and a celebrity memoir all with five stars.

I made some graphics with just the 5 star titles from this year. There are lots of titles in the 3 and 4 star ranges that I would recommend too, but these are the ones that earned the whole 5 from me. This means the writing was exceptional (in the context of its genre), the story was captivating and generally complete, and I did not find myself wondering when the book was going to be over at any point in time. In most if not all cases, the books had something extra that can’t be defined—it could be originality/surprises in plot, playful language, or a character that is such a stand out that I can’t stop thinking about them.

I reread more books than I ever have this year as a consequence of reading books with my kids (both big and little), and by the stats at any given time, I was most likely to be reading a medium-paced fictional audiobook between 300-500 pages. And here is one of my favorite graphs that Storygraph puts together:

If you’re interested in seeing the rest of my list, you can visit me at my Storygraph profile. Let me know what books I need to read next year, friends. Happy reading and happy New Year!