Books I Read in 2023

I’ve said this before, but I never set reading-related goals because I always want to keep reading as something I truly enjoy. And, I don’t need a goal because reading is like breathing to me, lol. It’s going to happen anyway. So, in 2023, I ended up reading a total of 160 books. Here’s how that stacks up with the past few years:

2017 – 135 books2018 – 153 books2019 – 154 books2020 – 174 books2021 – 190 books2022 – 157 books2023 – 160 books (which is a pretty exact average-per-year from these past seven years)

I read the most books in July (17) and the least in April/May (11 both months), with an average of just over 13 books per month. The first book I read in 2023 was A Duet For Home by Karina Yan Glaser, which was very good! I ended the year with the absolute most GLORIOUS under-24-hour-reread of All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir, which I’ll recommend to everyone until the end of time.

“If we are lost, God is like water, finding the unknowable path when we cannot.”

Sabaa Tahir

I had so many amazing reading experiences this year, from a spring filled with every book about golems that I could get my hands on, to a delicious summertime read of The Inheritance Games series, to discovering the BEST middle-grade authors in the early fall and smiling/sobbing my way through all of their books: Cindy Baldwin and Gillian McDunn. I also loved discovering The Magisterium series by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare in October for the first time; I didn’t want it to end! And in November/December, I had the sweetest reread of the Anne of Green Gables chronicles. The older I get, the more profound wisdom, truth, and beauty I find in those books. People are people are people are people.

“Oh, the old magic had not gone. The world was still full of it.”

L.M. Montgomery

My 2023 reading statistics

In 2023 I read 125 books for the first time, and had only 35 rereads, which surprised me. (Included in my total 160 books are also seven DNFs.)

As usual, I read much more fiction than nonfiction: Only 36 of the books I read were nonfiction, leaving the remaining 124 as fiction. (I could never read exclusively nonfiction. I require a certain amount of fiction to help me continue living in real life. Lol.)

What age genres did I read the most of? Here’s how my 124 fiction reads stacked up between adult, YA, and MG books (no big surprises here):

The last few years, I’ve unconsciously moved away from a lot of speculative fiction (fantasy, sci-fi, dystopian) in favor of a lot more straight MG/children’s lit (although a lot of these do have magical realism elements). (Also, don’t ask me how this ended up as 137 total books instead of 160… I have no idea and it’s bothering me, but not enough to count them up again.)

We aren’t going to talk about how many new books I bought in 2023. Frankly, I don’t know and I don’t want to know. It’s really none of my business.

Books that made me cry this year (lol) were:

A Duet For Home, Karina Yan GlaserThe Boy Who Steals Houses, C.G. Drews (reread)Sick Kids in Love, Hannah Moskowitz (reread)The Lonely Heart of Maybelle Lane, Kate O’ShaughnessyAmelia Unabridged, Ashley SchumacherThe Color Project, Sierra AbramsCaddie Woodlawn, Carol Ryrie Brink (reread)All My Knotted-Up Life, Beth MooreThe Girl Who Fell From The Sky, Emma Carey (reread–I read this book twice last year)The House Swap, Yvette ClarkHope in the Valley, Mitali PerkinsCaterpillar Summer and These Unlucky Stars, Gillian McDunnRilla of Ingleside, L.M. Montgomery (reread)All My Rage, Sabaa Tahir (reread)Movies, TV shows, and other media I consumed

Outside of books, I watched 16 movies this year, mostly from September on (hearts by my favorites):

Bama Rush (documentary)Take Care of Maya (documentary)BarbieThe Devil Wears PradaFreaky Friday (2003) Pete’s DragonHigh School MusicalThe Amazing Spider-ManRed Notice (rewatch)Practical Magic How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days The Other Zoey27 DressesThe Amazing Spider-Man 2The HolidayAladdin

I also watched more TV shows than usual:

Teen Wolf season 1Harry & MeghanOuter Banks season 3Shadow & Bone season 2Gossip Girl season 1XO KittyShiny Happy PeopleThe Summer I Turned Pretty season 1 (rewatch) and season 2Girl Meets World seasons 1-4 (rewatch)Percy Jackson and the Olympians

I even found a way to upload your YouTube data and get a YouTube Wrapped that shows your watch history. My five top-viewed channels from 2023 were:

My own channel (lol)Jordan BauthCutThe Frey LifeMadison Strong

I’m surprised that creators like Shelby Church and Sailing Zatara didn’t make it on there, too.

And, finally, my Receiptify shows the artists I listened to the most in the last 6 months, plus my Spotify Wrapped offers another musical overview:

Overall, I consumed so many good stories this year, no matter the medium/format. And I can’t wait to do it again in 2024!

How many books did you read in 2023? What were some of your favorites? Have you read any of the ones I mentioned here? What genres do you gravitate toward?