This post was hard to write this year! I had a good reading year but I think I had fewer standout favorites. I came up with maybe 2 on this list off the top of my head and didn't remember many of the others until I was going through my 2023 list in Goodreads. Then I remembered many I enjoyed!
A few stats:
- 170 books this year
- 32 were rereads (19%)
- Finished 6 books with Luke (4%), 13 with Sam (8%), and 6 with them jointly (4%) (nearly all of those were also rereads included above. I was mostly reading Harry Potter with Luke which took MUCH longer per book than what I was reading to Sam.)
- 33 were books we/I own (19%)
- 33 were non-fiction (19%)
I read more chapter books to the boys (combined) this year but spent less time reading to them overall, that came out in fewer pictures books this year (300+ less!) due to Sam starting school and Luke doing sports in the winter and fall. I hate to think we are moving out of our picture book era completely, it'll be many years before we completely give those up! I also just spent less time reading myself this year, nearly 40 fewer hours, which shows in the number of books I finished for myself in 2022 (161) vs. 2023 (145).
Always fascinating to look back and see how all my reading came out in a year! I do put thought into what I read but not really at numbers or percentages until the end of the year! Now onto my favorites! As always, I do not include rereads since I obviously like those enough to reread them! I plan to do a post about all the books I reread every year or every other year with some consistency!
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This book lingered on my TBR for over 2 years before I finally read it, I had to put it on my 23 in 2023 list to get it done! I almost erased it many times from that list but I'm glad I stuck it out because it was a great historical read. Set mostly at Bletchley Park during World War II and the code breaking work the women did. Men did a lot of that to but the story mostly focused on the women, literally helping the Allies win that war. It is an incredible story about incredible women. I know there are more World War II books than anyone can read but this is certainly a standout in the genre, if you can get through 600+ pages (they went faster than I expected).
Roomies by Christina Lauren
This is one of those books in which the reading experience really impacted how much I liked the book. I was reading this entirely on our Chicago trip, where the cover of the book looked very much like the view from our window! Christina Lauren can be hit or miss for me but this one is maybe my favorite of theirs. Fake relationship, New York City, behind the scenes of Broadway, and green card marriages. I wrote a post about this and gave it a semi-related book flight here!
Happier Hour: How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, and Focus on What Matters Most by Cassie Holmes
This
was a book club pick, either one that I picked or one that one of my
sister's picked from MY TBR list. Hahaha. (It an effective picking
strategy because they get many of their TBR books from what I've
already read...) I LOVE a good time management book because I am always trying
to tweak how to spend my time to make it more efficient but also more
worthwhile, more in line with my priorities which obviously include my
family but also needs to include some time just for me to think and
right my brain (i.e. reading and sleep and running). All those things
in the subtitle are things I am looking to do with my time and this laid
it out line by line how to do them. We read this this fall when life
was a different kind of busy than ever before and I really appreciated
this at that time. Definitely some things I need to put into practice
now that we are past the crazy of the holidays and that prep work.
Faking Christmas by Cindy Steel
It's rare a Christmas book makes this list although not unprecedented. I read a few books in this Christmas Escape series in 2022 but then purchase requested the rest from my library in early 2023 and finished the whole set in the last few months. This was my favorite of the bunch. Another fake relationship! And the CUTEST sounding little New England resort at Christmas! And ex-boyfriends and fraught family relationships. And a slightly stretched snowmobile accident and a convenient covered bridge! It was a delight to read over the holiday season and one I could see myself rereading another December.
Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan
This is two years in a row her books have made my list! I enjoyed Nora Goes Off Script in 2022 so much that I pre-ordered this and was delighted when I got to read it this summer. Long lost ex's are reunited at their neighboring beach houses. She's engaged. He's just around. Things are rekindled. A fun romance, fun location I haven't read much in (Long Island), slightly older protagonists (although still younger than me...). I have already pre-ordered her 2024 release!
Life in Five Senses: How Exploring the Senses Got Me Out of My Head and Into the World by Gretchen Rubin
I
have read all of Gretchen Rubin's self-help books and always come away
with something from them. This one was about the five main senses (the 5
you learned as a kid) but also just about being more present. There
was a little bit of The Happiness Project or Happier at Home with
just seeking out experiences outside of the norm, trying to be a little
happier without major life changes. I have thought about and noticed
certain senses more since reading this. I really respond to her
approach and appreciate everything she's written for how it makes me
look at my own life.
Hello Stranger by Katherine Center
I picked this book for Matt to give me for my birthday because I have never been disappointed by a Katherine Center book. Every single one has had a swoony enough romance and a story line I just can't put down. This one was about face blindness (a real thing!) and an artist who gets it, right before she's supposed to be doing the biggest portrait of her career. There is a vet and a neighbor and an illegal living situation in something of a closet. It was a fun read. I did a good job picking my birthday book!
The Spectacular by Fiona Davis
A second historical fiction book! I've read nearly all of Fiona Davis' books and they are all set at New York City landmark buildings. She's done one at Grand Central and the New York Public Library among others. This one is set at Radio City Music Hall, a place I've walked past but never been inside. The early days of the Rockettes and a murder story line based on a real story. It was compelling and went behind the scenes of that famous building and the famous Rockettes.
Has a parenting book made this list before?? Probably but it's been a few years. This is about being both more hands off (let your kids be bored!) but also more hands off (KEEP an eye on those devices and what they can access on the internet!). I LOVED her approach, letting kids be kids, in all the ways. Get dirty and messy but also keep them from growing up too fast. Highly recommend. My kids are bored right now because I'm not letting them have screens but instead they are playing a card game my oldest made up. That's the kind of fun they need to be having!
Will They or Won't They by Ava Wilder
This one makes the list because it was a book that I could not put down this summer. It's often the memorable books where I really remember the reading experience (I know I read a significant portion of this one sitting on my front porch before the boys were awake). This is fairly standard romance, two former co-stars (and ex's) come back together to film a final season of their tv show. They start off hating each other. Until they don't! I just remember really enjoying it and trying to sneak in more reading around all the parenting that was required at that time.
What were some of YOUR favorite reads of 2023?
Favorite {Grown-Up} Reads of 2022
Favorite {Grown-Up} Reads of 2021
Favorite {Grown-Up} Reads of 2020
Favorite {Grown-Up} Reads of 2019
Favorite {Grown-Up} Reads of 2018
Favorite {Grown-Up} Reads of 2017
Favorite {Grown-Up} Reads of 2016
Favorite {Grown-Up} Reads of 2015
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