My Reading List for 2023

This has been a banner year for me reading-wise. I tend to be a slow reader; books that my friends will fly through in a few sessions take me much longer. But this year, I buckled down and focused much of my leisure time on reading, and I don’t regret it. To that end, I am proud to say I have set a personal record, finishing the year with fifty-four books behind me. That’s over a book a week! I don’t really know how I did it, who knows if I’ll replicate it again. As always, I mainly focused on novels, but a few novellas are scattered in there, and a few epic tomes for balance.

On other fronts, I read more graphic novels this year than last. But not enough to feel comfortable to name a favorite, although it is probably evident which series stood out from my list. (It’s not Saga!) However, I surpassed my goal in poetry, there was enough there that I forced myself to pick a favorite and a few runners-up. Don’t miss that section if you’re looking for a poetry fix.

As it does every year, this list correlates with my Goodreads 2023 Reading Challenge. Occasionally, you might find some slight differences between the two. (Not this year.) This list is all strictly reading for pleasure—I typically forgo listing any research/history books I’ve read for a project as I read those differently than I do fiction. This list is always enormous, so l skip reviews except for the standouts. However, I’d invite you to follow me on Goodreads, where I occasionally leave other reviews.

Most links will go to IndieBound/Bookshop.org—now more than ever, be sure to support your local bookstore. If possible, I am directly linking to each author’s website—if you’re on the list and I didn’t find your website, please let me know about it. (I won’t link to social media, sorry.)

Quick Links• Novels & Novellas • Graphic Novels • Poetry • Novels & Novellas Babylon’s Ashes (The Expanse #6)
by James S. A. Corey The Great Hunt (The Wheel of Time #2)
by Robert Jordon A Black and Endless Sky
by Matthew Lyons The Hunger
by Alma Katsu Racecraft: The Soul of Inequality in American Life
by Barbara J. Fields &  Karen E. Fields Queen of Teeth
by Hailey Piper Synners
by Pat Cadigan Book of Night
by Holly Black Zeus Is Dead: A Monstrously Inconvenient Adventure
by Michael G. Munz The Dismembered
by Jonathan Janz Jade Legacy
by Fonda Lee The Cabin at the End of the World
by Paul G. Tremblay The Conspiracy Against the Human Race: A Contrivance of Horror
by Thomas Ligotti The Justice of Kings
by Richard Swan Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution
by R. F. Kuang The Victorian City: Everyday Life in Dickens’ London
by Judith Flanders You Shouldn’t Have Come Here
by Jeneva Rose Altered Carbon
by Richard K. Morgan Locklands
by Robert Jackson Bennett Tropic of Kansas
by Christopher Brown The Book Eaters
by Sunyi Dean World Without End
by Ken Follett Duma Key
by Stephen King Smoke
by Dan Vyleta The Poppy War
by R. F. Kuang The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories
by Ernest Hemingway Today’s Saints
by Michael Ripplinger Dark Night Golden Dawn ( Amazon …*grumble*)
by Allison Carr Waechter City of Illusions (The Hamish Cycle #3) …again.
by Ursula K. Le Guin Pawn of Prophecy ( Amazon …*grumble*)
by David Eddings The Hand of God
by Yuval Kordov Cruel Angels Past Sundown
by Hailey Piper Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West …again
by Cormac McCarthy The Hod King (The Books of Babel #3)
by Josiah Bancroft Infernal Machines (The Incorruptibles #3)
by John Hornor Jacobs The Monster of Elendhaven
by Jennifer Giesbrecht The Covenant
by James A. Michener Mongrels
by Stephen Graham Jones What Moves the Dead (Sworn Soldier #1)
by T. Kingfisher For Whom the Bell Tolls
by Ernest Hemingway The Shining
by Stephen King Negative Space
by B.R. Yeager Below
by Laurel Hightower The Prestige
by Christopher Priest Children of Time
by Adrian Tchaikovsky Small Mercies: A Detective Mystery
by Dennis Lehane Red Mars
by Kim Stanley Robinson Dreams of Shreds and Tatters
by Amanda Downum The Farthest Shore (Earthsea #3)
by Ursula K. Le Guin On a Pale Horse (Incarnations of Immortality #1)
by Piers Anthony Kings of the Wyld
by Nicholas Eames Witchmark (The Kingston Cycle #1)
by C. L. Polk The Parable of the Talents (Earthseed #2)
by Octavia Butler Half a King (Shattered Sea #1)
by Joe Abercrombie Favorite Novel of 2023 Children of Time

by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Weaving a few classic sci-fi tropes, an uplift story, a first contact tale, and an ark ship set across a time span of thousands of years on a remote planet. Tchaikovsky managed to create a compelling set of characters while maintaining their utterly alien perspective on life, society, and the world around them. It’s a feat that worked perfectly for me, and I found myself enamored from start to finish. I can’t wait to dive into the next one.

Favorite Novel Runners-up of 2023 The Hand of God

by Yuval Kordov

There is so much here that sucked me in. It’s a post-apocalyptic book that confronts dealing with an apocalypse, it’s a mecha book but done in a grounded way that feels more Battletech than Transformers, and it’s a weird-fantasy-faith book that at times feels like an homage to Warhammer 40k, but forges its own path. Loads of twists and turns and solid characters, the sort of thing I crave in a genre-bending novel. I’ll be back for more.

The Prestige

by Christopher Priest

Having seen the 2006 Christopher Nolan film a few times, I knew the secret twist going in. But the compelling writing, wonderful characters, and significantly expanded plot made any spoilers inconsequential. Told in an epistolary style, the tale of rival stage magicians weaves with that of their grandchildren who meet to discover the mystery of their grandfather’s illusions and the wedge that was driven between them. The book here is much larger than the film in scope, and the ending is more unsettling than I could have anticipated. Fantastic work.

 Honorable Mentions of 2023

Picking those three was not easy. There were a lot of books that engaged me this year. Some other standouts:

Babylon’s Ashes by James S. A. Corey
It’s Book Six in The Expanse which is probably my favorite sci-fi series of all time. So more is always better in this regard.
Book of Night by Holly Black
Solid second-world urban fantasy with fun shadow magic and delightful worldbuilding.
The Dismembered by Jonathan Janz
A fast-paced gothic horror about a writer who discovers more than he bargained for when he offers to help a young woman rescue her sister.
The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul G. Tremblay
A family staying at a remote cabin for vacation is terrorized by four strangers who claim they must make an impossible sacrifice or the world will end.
The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan
Fantasy lawyers with unique magical abilities unearth a conspiracy that could upend the empire they’re sworn to protect.
Today’s Saints by Michael Ripplinger
An action-packed adventure that blends genres, yet looks deeper. A book infused with the fun of 80s cartoons and somehow still a study on trauma and faith. Solid endings to a wonderful series.
Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones
A young boy learns the ins and outs of werewolf life from his aunt and uncle. No one writes rural poor like Jones, he captures the complexity and nuance perfectly.
Negative Space by B.R. Yeager
Profoundly disturbing but strangely captivating, Negative Space is more of a treatise on the pervasive malaise and discontent experienced by American youth. Not for everyone, but it was almost one of my top three.
The Shining by Stephen King
It’s the tragic story we all know but done so much better and with more deftness and nuance than the film ever managed. I’m now a “the book is better” guy. (I was always that guy.)
Small Mercies: A Detective Mystery by Dennis Lehane
It is a murder mystery with a grieving but tough-as-nails mother as a central character told against the backdrop of the Boston bussing crisis.
Witchmark by C. L. Polk
A doctor with magical ability tries to solve the murder of a patient and ends up uncovering a complex conspiracy (and finds a little romance.) Delightfully sweet, very prim and proper.

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 Graphic Novels

I read quite a few graphic novels this year. But I read zero short stories. (Hence why it’s missing from the list this year.) As far as comics go, digital reading has revitalized my experience. Not totally surprising since it did the same with novels. I am a graphic novel trade reader, and I appreciate being able to lose myself in a story and not have to figure out dedicated bookshelf space.

Undiscovered Country, Vol. 1 – Destiny
by Scott Snyder (Author), Charles Soule (Author), Giuseppe Camuncoli (Cover Art, Artist), Leonardo Marcello Grassi (Artist), Daniele Orlandini (Artist), and Matt Wilson (Artist) These Savage Shores
by Ram V (Author) and Sumit Kumar (Artist) Gideon Falls, Vol. 5: Wicked Words
by Jeff Lemire (Author), Andrea Sorrentino (Artist), and Dave Stewart (Artist) Undiscovered Country, Vol. 2 – Unity
by Scott Snyder (Author), Charles Soule (Author), Giuseppe Camuncoli (Cover Art, Artist), Leonardo Marcello Grassi (Artist), and Matt Wilson (Artist) Undiscovered Country, Vol. 3 – Possibility
by Scott Snyder (Author), Charles Soule (Author), Giuseppe Camuncoli (Cover Art, Artist), Leonardo Marcello Grassi (Artist), and Matt Wilson (Artist) Census, Vol. 1 (Link goes to Amazon)
by Marc Bernardin (Author), Adam Freeman (Author), and Sebastian Piriz (Artist, Colorist) Bitch Planet Vol. 2: President Bitch
by Kelly Sue DeConnick (Author), Valentine De Landro (Artist), and Taki Soma (Artist) Undiscovered Country, Vol. 4 – Disunity
by Scott Snyder (Author), Charles Soule (Author), Giuseppe Camuncoli (Cover Art, Artist), Leonardo Marcello Grassi (Artist), and Matt Wilson (Artist)

I don’t think I have read widely in comics to pick a favorite, but I think, based on my list it’s clear that Snyder and Soule’s Undiscovered Country has been my go-to series this year. The first few books remind me the most of the Morrison era of Vertigo. It’s surreal and weird and wonderful. While it’s slipped a little in the last few editions, I still eagerly anticipate the next volume. (Gotta wait until April, though.)

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 Poetry

Last year I set a challenge for myself to read more than fifty poems. I did that and more, ending with nearly sixty. The Poetry Foundation’s Poem of the Day mailing list was a godsend in this regard. Even if I didn’t read them all, their daily poems sent to my inbox were always excellent and often topical and poignant. I’ve read enough this year that I picked a favorite as well as my runners-up—they can be found after the list.

“Verses Designed to be Sent by a Friend of the Author to His Brother-in-Law on New-Year’s Day”
by H. P. Lovecraft “At the New Year”
by Kenneth Patchen “The Robots are Coming”
by Kyle Dargan “If you smell iodine, the captain is nearby”
by Lyudmyla Diadchenko “In the Storm, a Country” via The Deadlands , Issue 21
by Omodero David Oghenekaro “The Lammergeier Daughter”
by Pascale Petit “Scallop Song”
by Anne Waldman “No Images”
by William Waring Cuney “We Play Charades”
by Uma Menon “Show Biz”
by Charles Bukowski “Why Did It”
By William J. Harris “In My Dreams”
by Stevie Smith “People”
by D. H. Lawrence “I Was Sleeping Where the Black Oaks Move”
by Louise Erdrich “Memoir V”
by Rodolfo Avelar “A Memory of Us”
by Safia Elhillo “The Author to Her Book”
by Anne Bradstreet “The Lost Land”
by Eavan Boland “In Defiance of Fortune”
by Queen Elizabeth I “A fierce and violent opening”
by Dorothea Lasky “picasso laughing”
by Patti Smith “The House of Life: 66. The Heart of the Night”
by Dante Gabriel Rossetti “Bay Leaves”
by Nikki Giovanni From “Listen to the Golden Boomerang Return”
by CAConrad “Dawn Will Usher Me”
by Juan Felipe Herrera “Am I Going to Kill My Daughter”
by Rae Rose “All You Have is a Country”
by Ha Jin “Elliptical”
by Harryette Mullen “The Language of Joy”
by Jacqueline Allen Trimble “On Confinement”
by Torrin A. Greathouse “This Is Not a Small Voice”
by Sonia Sanchez “You Also, Nightingale”
by Reginald Shepherd “Of Monsters I Loved”
by Ali Trotta “Then the War”
by Carl Phillips “Silent is the House”
by Emily Brontë “Passage over Water”
by Robert Duncan “Submission”
by Lynn Crosbie “The Look”
by Sara Teasdale “The Unknown”
by Edgar Lee Masters “Holy Sonnets: If poisonous minerals, and if that tree”
by John Donne “Dear Dr. Frankenstein”
by Jericho Brown “Triolet on a Line Apocryphally Attributed to Martin Luther”
by A.E. Stallings “The Song of the Smoke”
by W. E. B. Du Bois “Sheltered Garden”
by H.D. “When I Stutter”
by Elizabeth Meade “The Beautiful Changes”
by Richard Wilbur “Advice to a Prophet”
by Richard Wilbur “Echolalia”
by Noa Micaela Fields “Danse Russe”
by William Carlos Williams “A Future History”
by Suzi F. Garcia “Monster in the Lake”
by Martín Espada “One Cow, Two Moos”
by J. Patrick Lewis “The Haunted Palace”
by Edgar Allen Poe “Notes on “The Scream””
by Edvard Munch translated by Eirill Falck “Ars Poetica”
by José Olivarez “Full Moon”
by Elinor Wylie “To The Dead in the Graveyard Underneath My Window”
by Adelaide Crapsey “Witch Wife”
by Kiki Petrosino Favorite Poem of the YearHa Jin “All You Have is a Country”

by Ha Jin

Honorable Poetry Mentions of 2023

Poetry, to me, is a lot like music. Some days a poem will hit you the right way, and in others it’ll fall flat. The poems below all struck a nerve when I read them this year. Perhaps you’ll find your own emotional connection to them as well.

“Of Monsters I Loved”
by Ali Trotta

“The Unknown”
by Edgar Lee Masters

“Dear Dr. Frankenstein”
by Jericho Brown

“Triolet on a Line Apocryphally Attributed to Martin Luther”
by A.E. Stallings

“The Song of the Smoke”
by W. E. B. Du Bois

“Sheltered Garden”
by H.D.

“When I Stutter”
by Elizabeth Meade

“Advice to a Prophet”
by Richard Wilbur

“A Future History”
by Suzi F. Garcia

“Monster in the Lake”
by Martín Espada

“Full Moon”
by Elinor Wylie

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So, there has been my year with the written word—many fantastic reads, a few new favorites, some books I still think about, and, as always, there are a few terrible ones I never want to think about again. I suppose that comes with the territory. Overall, it was a record-setting list for me and a good year in reading. I can’t complain. I am excited to see what’s next in 2024.

How about you? What were the standout books, graphic novels, short stories, or poems you read this year? I’d love to hear about it. Leave a comment and let me know!

Are you looking for a good book? Want to see my reading lists from previous years? Check any of the links below and see what I was reading in the bygone days of yore.

• 2013 •  2014  • 2015 •  2016 •  2017  •
• 2018 • 2019 • 2020 • 2021 • 2022 •

Next year, why not join me? Goodreads does a reading challenge every year, and I am an active participant. First, follow me on Goodreads (leave me a review while you’re there), and once the New Year arrives, participate in the Goodreads Reading Challenge for 2024.

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