My favorite books of 2023
2023 was a year that happened and now it’s over, hurray! No, I mean actually it was a fine year – not particularly bad, but not a year I’d tell my grandchildren was the best year ever, either. Just a middle of the road, okay year. Iykyk.
I feel like this is also reflected in the 100 books I read this year, too. I don’t have a stand out as my absolute favorite book of 2023, but I did read some amazing books in 2023 that deserve all my praise. Also, I started a Booktok! So, if you’re on Tik Tok, you should follow me there to get more updates about what I’m reading.
I was in my fantasy reading era this year and leaned heavily into horror. I also only DNF’d two books, which is way lower than usual. Go me!
So, are you ready to hear about my favorite books of 2023?
Let’s go!
My top 10 favorite books of 2023:
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
Actually, I lied. This is probably my favorite book of the year. The Reformatory is a sweeping ghost story set in 1950 JimCrow Florida and sheds light on the horror of reformatory schools in the deep south.
If you don’t know anything about reformatories, this book is a good, horrifying intro. They were basically schools where boys who were “troubled” were sent to be reformed, but of course, they were not a place for learning and atoning, but a place filled with racism, sexual and physical abuse, toxic masculinity and everything in between. Boys, especially if they were boys of color, could be sent there for as little as looking at someone the wrong way. It was the place for poor, disenfranchised young kids to be abused and murdered.
Did you know Reform schools were still running and functioning until 2011 (!!!) in Florida? The last one closed the year I graduated high school. When I read that stat, I wanted to vom because my god, Florida needs to pay for it’s sins.
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due follows twelve-year-old Robbie, who is sent to one of these horrific schools after kicking the local plantation owners son for groping his sister. Robbie can see ghosts, or haints, and when at the school, sees so much more than he bargains for as he does his best to survive his six month sentence.
This book was beautiful, horrifying, and sad. I cried. I couldn’t put it down.
10/10 would highly recommend.
Slewfoot by Brom
Not only do I support women’s rights, I also support women’s wrongs!
Set in Colonial New England, this witchy story follows a young English woman just trying to the Puritan society she was forced to marry into – but of course everything goes wrong, the devil intervenes (and he’s a hot goat man!), and the evil, misogynistic men in town find out what happens when a strong, independent woman is scorned.
I loved everything about this delicious little novel. Please read it so we can discuss.
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
When an unpopular white author watches her Asian rival choke and die right in front of her, she steals her unpublished manuscript, changes her name to sound more “Asian” and does everything she can to rise to fame as a writer.
Yellowface is a scathing look into the world of publishing, racism and the lengths some people will go to get their name in lights.
And tbh with the whole Cait Corrain drama that just happened…this story is probably closer to nonfiction than we’d all think.
R.F. Kuang is such a genius. I would read her grocery list.
Emily Wilde’s Encylopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
We love faeries in this house! 2023 was definitely my cozy fantasy era, and what a great way to get into it than this book.
Do you like Norwegian faeries, hot, brooding professors, and academia? Than this book is perfect for you.
It’s so cute! I cannot wait for the sequel coming out this year because hi, Austrian/German/Swiss Fae! Take all my money!
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Did you know Russian literature is funny? I had no idea Russian Lit would be so damn funny!
C&P was the surprise read of my life. I was expecting a brooding murdery story, which it is, but it’s also a comedic look into 1880s Russian society.
When an anxious little freak decides to kill his pawnbroker for some extra cash, all hell breaks loose and he’s not even remotely trying to hide what he’s done (aka he is fainting and sweating anytime the police even look his direction… like my dude, you’re so bad at this whole murder thing).
I was actually laughing out loud. It was so good! But I would highly suggest making a list of everyone’s names because I was struggling.
Here’s a peek into my list if you need inspo:
How to Survive a Plague by David France
This is a story about the AIDS epidemic and the sick activists who became scientists because the government turned their backs and let them die.
David France was there through the whole thing, and he expertly tells the story from the beginning of the epidemic and shows how these young, gay activists were fighting back to save themselves and the people they love, and how they changed the way we produce medicine today. We honestly have these people to thank for getting the COVID vaccine as quickly as we did.
This was such a great, necessary read that had me in tears and boiling with rage.
I hope Ronald Reagan and Jesse Helms are burning in the deepest, fiery pits of hell. xoxo
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
I loved Hamnet, so I’m so thankful to my friend Shervin for letting me borrow O’Farrell’s latest book.
And as always, she gives a voice to the voiceless. Based off of the poem, The Last Duchess, this is the story of Lucrezia de’ Medici and the marriage she’s forced to have after her sister dies.
I honestly don’t want to say too much about this, because the less you know the more powerful the story. Just trust me! Read it, okay?
Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson
What would you do if your college best friend writes you out of the blue to ask you to be the live-in nanny for her two kids? Seems like a no-brainer, right? Except there’s one little, teeny-weeny catch: when the kids get angry, they spontaneously burst into flames.
Nothing to See Here is a weird, beautiful little story about found family and the lengths we’ll go to keep the ones we love safe.
I loved it so much.
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
It’s no surprise to anyone who has been following this blog for a while that I love time travel stories.
Octavia E. Butler, who is the mother of Sci-Fi, may have written one of the best time travel stories of all time.
Dana, a black woman living in 1970s California, is aprubtly thrown back in time to the antebellum South, which is horrifying for many reasons. In a race against time (literally), she needs to figure out why she keeps being thrust back into time in order to save her ancestors and herself.
I was just blown away by this novel. It’s so intricate, beautiful, and sad.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinback
Honestly, I’m just going to leave you with my Goodreads review:
Honorable Mentions:
When the Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen
When a woman goes back to her small town to attend a wedding on a plantation, she finds out quickly that the spirits who roam the land are angry, and they want revenge.
God I loved this book.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
I love The Hunger Games and I love Suzanna Collins for disappearing for YEARS to only come back with this absolute BANGER of a prequel. This was so brutal and Snow is a hot, evil bastard.
The ACOTAR Series by Sarah J. Maas
Was this well-written? Not even remotely. I wanted to throw myself off a bridge every time the word “hissed” is written – which would maybe be over 2 million times.
And yet, I had so much fun.
The Stonewall Reader curated by The New York Public Library
An oral history of The Stonewall riots – this curated book of essays and interviews that go minute by minute into the Stonewall riots and it’s aftermath was so beautifully done. It’s also a curious look into memory – and how little details change with time.
Confessions by Kanae Minato
Again, I support women’s rights AND wrongs!!!
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldtree
This was my first forray into low-stakes, cozy fantasy and I had an amazing time! When an Orc decides to put away her bloodied swords to open a coffee shop, she finds love, home, and family. There’s also a talking mouse who bakes bread! We love to see it!
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