Tuesday, January 2, 2024

Favorite Books of 2023

Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic is Favorite Books of 2023. Below you will find the top 10 books that I read in 2023 categorized by genre. Let me know if you've read or are interested in any of these books!

Fantasy

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty - there is nothing better than reading a book and knowing you are reading one of your favorite books of all time. That's exactly how I felt all the way through The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi. Every word was perfect and this was my favorite of the year.

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson - What a lovely gift! Tress of the Emerald Sea is the first book in Brandon Sanderson's "secret projects". He wrote this one as a gift to his wife and thankfully she wanted the world to have it. Tress is a beautiful fairy tale inspired by The Princess Bride - one of my favorite books of all time - and there's pirates to boot!

Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson - I'm so glad the mood struck me this year to dive into Words of Radiance! This series is epic in every way and I'm pumped to try to catch up before Stormlight 5 is released in December!

Horror

Chlorine by Jade Song Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle

Chlorine by Jade Song - This. Book. I loved this book. It's a literary fiction with some definite horror elements. The horror is slow to emerge, but it does emerge! I had to put it down and take a few deep breaths. It's a coming of age with great character development, and what a debut!

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle - This book was such a surprise for me. It subverted all of my expectations, and I can't wait for Chuck Tingle's next novel later this year.

Science Fiction

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel - Sea of Tranquility is a well crafted time travel/mind trip type of story, and it really worked for me. It was a great book club pick.

Thriller

What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall The Only One Left by Riley Sager

What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall - I love everything Kate Alice Marshall writes. Middle grade, young adult, adult - give me the books! What Lies in the Woods is her foray into adult thrillers, and I loved it. I have her new one coming out this month, and I can't wait to read that one as well!

The Only One Left by Riley Sager - Yay! Riley Sager is hit or miss and this was a hit for me! It was twisty and fun and set on the cliffside.

Literary Fiction

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt - What a wonderful book club pick this turned out to be! I highly recommend this to everyone regardless of what genres are your favorite.

Romance

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Book Lovers by Emily Henry - I was in my cozy era when I picked up Book Lovers. Thank you endlessly to reviewers for stating what sets Emily Henry apart from other romance writers. I learned a lot last year about what I do and don't like in romance. Maybe this will be a category that stays!

Final Thoughts

I'm sad that I don't have any children's books on this list. I just didn't read very much kid lit last year, and I really did long for it. I'm hoping to have a better year in that regard this year. Other than that, I had favorites in all of the fiction genres that I read and even added a romance category! I think that makes for a great reading year.

10 comments:

  1. Kudos on reading from several different genres! I see so many raves for Riley Sager. One of these days I will try one of his.

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  2. I enjoyed The Only One Left too. I’ve heard so many good things about Book Lovers. Looking forward to reading it!

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  3. The only one of these that I've read is Book Lovers, but I loved that one. And I just checked Remarkably Bright Creatures out of the library. I'm looking forward to reading it...and to reading the new Riley Sager sometime this year. :D

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  4. I am pretty excited to see Book Lovers and Creatures in your top reads. Creatures was such a special story. I am getting all warm and fuzzy just thinking about it

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  5. I want to read several of these. Chlorine I've seen on another list, and Tranquility sounds awesome. Marshall I want to try to since I've been reading so many thrillers

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  6. Tress of the Emerald Sea has such a pretty cover.

    Here is my Top Ten Tuesday post.

    Lydia

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  7. Happy New Year! I always have such a hard time with Riley Sager. I want to love his books, but I always walk away disappointed. I've been keeping an eye on The Only One Left (the cover is so atmospheric), and your review has me curious to give it a shot.

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  8. THE ONLY ONE LEFT isn't my favorite of Sager's books, but I still enjoyed it. He's mostly hit for me.

    Happy TTT!

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  9. Added both those horror books to my TBR immediately! Camp Damascus sounds incredible. Sea of Tranquility has been on my TBR for far too long, so I finally need to go ahead and read it this year.
    My Favorite Books of 2023

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  10. I'm on the library waitlist for Remarkably Bright Creatures. I'm excited to read it.

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