My Favourite Books of 2023 & Exciting Tales for 2024

My Favourite books of 2023 and exciting tales for 2024!

Well, here we are again! We’re coming near to drawing 2023 to a close, and with that us bookworms start looking over the books we have read for the year.

This is a process I really enjoy, and although I have not had a lot of time for blogging in the recent months,  I just had to make the effort to write about the books that have really made an impact this year.  

To my surprise, this year I still managed to read 100 books, though my reading plans went right out the window!  I pledged to read a Brandon Sanderson each month, but the last book I read for this challenge was back in August.  This doesn’t exactly come as a  surprise, September is where everything became quite difficult and overwhelming at work, and I spent a lot of my spare time looking for a new job. I am happy to report that I  have had some success, and I am starting a new job in February!  New Year-new starts….and with new starts, this year’s reading challenge is going to be to read a Robin Hobb book every other month.  I intend to start this with The Assassin’s Apprentice.  Everyone raves about Robin Hobb books, and with me being such a fantasy fan, I must give her books a go!

Another promise I made to myself was to read one non-fiction book each month, which again, unfortunately I have not done.

But, I worry not, reading is meant to be a fun experience, and I am just so happy that I kept reading regardless of what genre it was.  

So without further ado, here is a list of my favourite fiction books I read in 2023:

Yellowface by R F Kuang

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

Sixteen Souls by Rosie Talbot

House of Sky & Breath by Sarah J Mass

The Stolen Heir by Holly Black

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix

Tress of the Emerald Sea & The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

This Summer’s Secrets by Emily Barr

A Darker Shade of Magic by V E Schwab

Godkiller by Hannah Kaner

True Beauty by Yaongyi

Each of these books left me completely captivated, and left me thinking about them days after I had finished them.  In fact,  I can almost say these books left me in a little reading slump, as I missed reading them so much!

I also discovered some fantastic manga is 2023, which I am still currently reading!  I am looking forward to continuing these in 2024.

These are:

Demon Slayer by Koyoharu

Attack On Titan by Hajime Isayama

Solo Leveling by Chugong

Spy Family is also ongoing, and I am loving this also!

I have a special feature up my sleeve for this year, which I look forward to sharing with you all in January, if you want to be kept up to date with this, keep an eye on my instagram for early seek peeks! 
At the moment all I can say is yes it includes books, and also another love of my life, crafting!  I am very excited about this.

But I know the question you are all eagerly awaiting an answer for, and that is Tammy, which was your absolute favourite book of 2023….well I have to say without a doubt it was….

THE BONE SEASON by Samantha Shannon. 

I adored it!  Although it was a long book, I sailed through it, and did not notice its length in any way, and if I had the second book I would have picked it up immediately, but alas I do not.  I was thinking about going out and buying it, but I decided I would wait until May 24 when the revised editions are hitting shelves!

I hope 2024 brings you lots of good reading, and I look forward to discovering, and sharing lots of new reads with you all.

Take care, and until I blog again, keep reading…

My Reading Thoughts November ’23

I have failed my blog miserably over the past couple of months!  I haven’t written any blog posts, and I have gotten out of the habit of doing this.  I am feeling very down about this, almost as if I have failed myself.  But I have my reasons, and should be less hard on myself.  Since returning to work in September (after the summer break) I have found work very difficult.  Our whole day has been restructured, and what is already a difficult and draining job, has become worse.  As time has been passing, I have been getting a little more used to it, but it is very exhausting.  Some of the changes I don’t agree with,  and as a result of this I have been job searching.  It was a tough decision to come to, but I have decided to move onto pastures new.  A lot of time has been spent searching, and filling out application forms, so I think perhaps that is where my blog has become abandoned, not only that, I don’t think I have been in the correct headspace to write.  So far I haven’t had a lot of luck, quite literally!  The process seems to take so long between filling out application forms, and hearing back from employers, and then waiting for interview dates.  One interview I went for, I was told I was wonderful, but they had to re advertise the job, as they had given out the wrong information-this is the type of luck I have been getting!  I think I could write a book on this alone.  In fact, I think this is part of the problem, my dream job involves books, and writing, but I just can’t seem to access this!

Fortunately, the month of November hasn’t been a total wash out!  I have still been reading!

No of books read: 8

My favourite reads were:

• Legend & Lattes by Travis Baldree
• The Body by Carol Ellis
• Slam Dunk 2 by Takehiko Inove

Books that made me think:

• The Body by Carol Ellis

Unusual Activity for me:

• Starting and stopping books because I just couldn’t settle!  I refused to be in a slump, but I think I was a little!

My overall favourite book was:

• Legend & Lattes
• The Body

In the month of November my daughter and I did a manga swap-she asked me to read Naruto book 1 and 2, and in return I asked her to read Demon Slayer 1 and 2-which I have become obsessed with!  The conclusion was I liked Naruto, but didn’t love it, and she felt the same way about Demon Slayer lol!  All three of us here have completely different tastes when it comes to anime and manga! 

In November  I purchased: 

• A Housefly Buzzes In the Key of F by BBC Studios and Simon Nicholls
• The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
• Sad Cypress by Agatha Christie
• Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case
• Dallergut Dream Department Store by Miye Lee
• Shot with Crimson by Nicola Upson

Books I Received For My Birthday:

• One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
• Books & Bonedust by Travis Baldree
• The Life of Birds by David Attenborough
• Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban: Mina Lima Edition

I’ve got some great books on my TBR for December, either Christmas themed, or cold and icy!  I really am very excited to get to read them all!

I am happy I am still enjoying my reading, and I hope that over the month of December, I can get back into the habit of blogging, and recommending you, the reader, some wonderful books!  

Thanks for reading, and until I blog again, keep reading.