According to Goodreads, I read 84 books in 2023. Some I’ve listened to as audiobooks, some were paperbacks from the library, some I read on my kindle or iPad, and some were purchased at airports (in my view it’s the law to buy a book at the airport).
Anyways, as I did last year and the year before that and … you get the idea … here’s the annual bookish round-up. Grab a brew and settle down – we could be here a while.
Any new series?
Absolutely.
- Julia Chapman’s Pyrenees series
- Elly Griffiths Ruth Galloway series
Additions to favourite series?
- The Last Devil To Die by Richard Osman
- Death on the Limpopo, by Sally Andrew
- Terror in Topaz, by A.M. Stuart
- Date With Evil, by Julia Chapman
Series I missed this year?
Nope. All good.
The classics…
Since my co-hosts and I decided to form our little book club in December 2020 we’ve read 20 classic books. Some we’ve loved, some we’ve struggled with (hello Villette and The Professor), some have prompted some robust discussion (Mrs Dalloway, I’m looking at you …) and most have sent us down numerous rabbit holes to find out more – about the author, the book, the time.
In 2023 we read:
- Great Expectations
- Mrs Dalloway
- The Buccaneers
- Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland
- Out of Africa
- To Kill A Mockingbird
- Little Women
I also read Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s and re-read Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, well, I listened to Hugh Grant read it, as I did my Christmas baking.
Thanks for the recommendation…
I rely on my book blogger friend Debbish for additions to my to-be-read pile, and she certainly didn’t let me down in 2023. Special thanks for book recommendations also to my stunning fellow book club members and thanks also to everyone who has linked up or contributed through comments in What’s On Your Bookshelf. You’ve all contributed in some way to my TBR pile.
Any books written by friends?
Yes! 2023 saw the fabulous debut novel written by my copy editor Joanne Speirs; and a very enjoyable new book from Jodi Gibson. I know I’ve said it before, but she’s one of the hardest working indies I know – and incredibly generous with her promotion (and the promotion of community) of Aussie authors – aspiring, emerging, and established.
Both are great reads.
Any books adapted into a movie?
A few – but mostly from the list of classics.
Apple did a new series of The Buccaneers in 2023 which didn’t rock my boat; I believe there’s a French adaptation of Julia Chapman’s Dales Detective agency which I’d love to see; and I understand Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club is being made into a movie.
If any producers are reading, I think A.M. Stuart’s Harriet Gordon series should be made into a TV series.
Genre-hopping?
Over the last couple of years, I’ve been reading more non-fiction than I had previously. This year was no different. My aim was to read 12 non-fiction books but I only managed 9. Most of these were read as audiobooks – my favoured way of reading nonfiction.
Food memoir was covered with Grace Dent’s Comfort Eating, while Kate Humble’s Thinking On My Feet, and Sam Heughan’s Waypoints are (at least partly) responsible for me booking to walk Queen Charlotte Track next month even though I’m completely unprepared for it.
Listening to Richard E Grant’s A Pocketful of Happiness made me cry, while Same Neill’s, Did I Ever Tell You This had me chuckling as I walked along.
My favourite of these reads was Friend For Life – all about dogs, their evolution from wolves, their relationship with us, and their incredible talents. If you love dogs, give this a read.
Craft books read?
No.
Any business books?
Nope … thankfully.
What about cookbooks?
For the full round-up, head over to BKD.
Festive Reads
As always I read only festive-themed books in December. To be honest, aside from . Unless there are a lot of new offerings I suspect I’ll struggle a tad next year…
2024 Book-related resolutions?
I have books on my bookshelf – both physical and virtual – that are crying out for attention and yet last year (and the year before and the year before that and…you get the idea) spent the equivalent of a very good holiday on books. I intend to work my way through some of these this year. And yes, I said all of this last year too!
This year I’m aiming for a non-fiction book a year and to read a tad more outside my usual genre.
Stand-out reads?
In order of the month I read them, here are my favourite reads. Some months it was tough keeping it to just one…so I didn’t.
Alrighty, that was my year in books.
Tune in next Friday for the first of our monthly bookish linkups – What’s On Your Bookshelf. Deb, Donna, Sue, and I would love you to share what you’ve been reading…
Dates for the Diary:
The link for What’s On Your Bookshelf (WOYBS) is open on the third Friday of each month at 8 am (AEST) – that makes it sometime on the third Thursday of each month if you’re in the northern hemisphere…
• January 18/19,
• February 15/16,
• March 14/15,
• April 18/19
• May 16/17,
• June 20/21,
• July 18/19,
• August 15/16
• September 19/20,
• October 17/18,
• November 21/22
• December 19/20.
And Anyways... 
Hi Jo what a fabulous round up! I enjoy the Ruth Galloway series and just finished The Locked Room which fit nicely into Prompt #1 in the 52 Book Club Reading Challenge for 2024. I am going to look for the Julia Chapman Pyrenees series and you’ve inspired me to maybe delve more into non fiction. I know Rachel my daughter runs listening to non fiction books so perhaps that is a good way to start. So many books you’ve recommended I know I would enjoy. Here’s to another year of making time to read and enjoy. xx
This is a great bookish post Jo with so many recommendations. I’ve noted a few for my ever growing list. I read None of This is True recently and loved it.
Good going there Jo, and congratulations on YOUR books and no more work books….One of my changes for me in 2024 is to stop “trying to improve” and accept and enjoy who I am now. So, funnily enough I am and have found two awesome fiction books by same author. I listen, as you know, in the car and occasionally at home. The stories by this person are quality and cover so many issues. It was an accidental find: author is Ann Napolitano “Dear Edward” was first one and the second one I am almost at the end…”Hello Beautiful”. Also loving Julia Baird’s Bright Shining a few chapters at a time and The Inner Self By Hugh Mackay is about me trying to understand…not improve…me
That’ll do!
Denyse #weekendcoffeeshare
High grant sounds like the perfect choice to voice a Dickens novel! I’m going to have to keep my eye out for that one next Christmas.
Wow, 84 books read in 2023—go Joanne! Goodreads told me I read 56. My goal was 12, so I’m happy. Haha. Happy Saturday.
What a great collection Jo! I’ve read a few of them but have added some to my list as I’m doing the 52 Book Club reading challenge this year and will need to look outside my usual comfort zone for books to read and hopefully enjoy! See you next week for WOYBS, I’d better get a move on and write a post 🙂
A great year for reading. Very nice there.
Congrats on your impressive reading, Jo. Thank you for your weekend coffee share and book recommendations. I’ll refer to your post when I look for a book to read next.
Wow! Your list is impressive. I take it you enipyed Sam’s book. Going hiking soon! Amazing that a book can help inspire that. I also really enjoyed The Little War Time Library. I am gobsmacked by your volume and cookbooks and you write and blog and cook. Do you ever sleep?
I need to read in order to sleep – am a terrible sleeper. Seriously though, last year was full of travel – and I tend to read more on planes, trains etc … plus I listen to books when I walk … and when I was doing boring day job stuff with spreadsheets (but that’s our secret!)
It’s interesting to see someone who is so intentional about their reading list and keeping track of it all. I just jump all over the place – I’m a big fan of those “if you liked xxxx then you’ll like xxxx” type recommendations. I’m also still hugely into Nora Roberts and JD Robb and read every.single.new.book that she puts out under either name. Looking forward to seeing you in bookshop windows this year – or on Oprah’s bookclub list (does she still do those?)
A veritable library worth of books in your list – very impressive. I’m totally with you on the pile of books/digital books that are awaiting reading and yet I still keep buying more! There are just too many books that catch my attention and cause feelings of FOMO if I don’t buy them.
I try so hard to just borrow from the library (at least the author still receives something) but yes, the FOMO is real.
I’m exactly the same! The FOMO is real.
What a great list. I’m adding a few to my Amazon reading list. I haven’t read ANY of the ones you mentioned. Did you gals have similar responses to the books or were they varied? That wintering book sounds interesting. Look at all those yummy looking cookbooks. Wow. I was just thinking the other day that I really need to read some of the books already on my shelf. That should be a big goal of mine. I really need to join your WOYB…Maybe I’ll add it to my Weekend Coffee share since sometimes it’s hard to add another post in.
Interestingly some of our bookclub choices have prompted different reactions from each of us – and that’s ok. Thankfully we respect each other not to make judgement. Wintering is an interesting one – about embracing the dark seasons or winters in our lives. We have a few people who add their books to their coffee share posts so would love to see you.
Jo, that is a prodigious amount of reading. I like memoirs and like to listen to them especially when read by the author. Right now I am listening to Barbra Stiesand’s memoir. It is interesting and every once in a while she sings.
I’ve heard great things about teh Streisand memoir.
It is good but it is so long, I started to get bored. So, I am taking a break and reading another book and then will return to it.
When it comes to adaptations from book to movie, I tend to steer clear. When they made my favorite book, “All the Light We Couldn’t See” into a movie, I was initially excited. Then I saw the trailer and I didn’t understand why they had the French characters speak in British accents. That made me lose interest.
I know exactly what you mean. I rarely watch adaptations but when I do I have to separate them from the book.