Let's Bust a Recap : 2023

And just like that: here we are. Another trip around the sun behind us and now we're facing a brand new year. 2023 was kind of brutal. So much to be thankful for but all in all, I feel like I didn't sleep at all this year. And that's saying something because I've been an insomniac all my life. Cody started a new nursing job in May. His mom officially moved up to NC in July. My brother and his family finally moved to the mountain which is something we've been anticipating since we moved here in 2021. I went to Florida a lot this year. Like, at least half a dozen times. And the end of our year was marked by unexpected loss. I've just kindof been hanging on for dear life. 

As far as reading goes: I've read a lot this year. According to Goodreads, book-count-wise and page-count-wise I have quantitatively read more than I ever have before. As of this moment, I've finished 53 books this year (by the end of the day, we may up that to 54), and I currently have four books in progress. 

53 books, that's great! Didn't you have 40 on your list for 2023? You must have finished them all! Ha. Good one. I did read 26 books from my original 2023 list, and began three additional ones (one of which we got tantalizingly close to finishing), but that leaves 11 books from my 2023 list that I never even touched. I visited the library a lot this year, and in July I totally fell down a Christy Miller hole.

When I started making annual book lists for myself back in 2015, I would also make a "secret goal" that I'd share at the end of the year. I haven't really done that for the past few years, but this year I decided to bring it back and my secret goal was to read four books each month. In 2018, I made it my secret goal to read three books each month, and I barely scraped by but I managed it, so reading four a month seemed like a pretty big challenge. I came out swinging reading five books every month—six in February!—until May when I only managed three. And so, I failed the secret goal. May and November didn't make the cut, and December is still up in the air. We'll see if I can finish one more book before midnight. 

Enough with the stats though. Here's what I read in 2023 and some of my thoughts about it. 

January

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (read aloud) : completed 1/11

Reading this aloud with Cody was a fun introduction to Verne and I'm excited to read more of his stuff.

Polk by Walter R. Borneman : completed 1/11

I finished three more presidents this year! We're getting close to the Civil War.

Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery : completed 1/24

Another lovely installment from the author of my beloved Anne books.

Emily Climbs by L.M. Montgomery : completed 1/28

Emily's Quest by L.M. Montgomery : completed 1/30

February

Skating Shoes by Noel Streatfeild : completed 2/12

I liked this one even better than Ballet Shoes! 

Live Your Best Lie by Jessie Weaver : completed 2/15

So fun reading a debut novel from someone you know in real life—especially when it's good!

The Tempest by William Shakespeare : completed 2/19

The draft for this blog post has been gathering dust in the archives since February. I'll get to it next year. 

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson (read aloud) : 

completed 2/20

This four-book series has been fantastic to read aloud together, and we almost finished it before the year was over, but alas: we have a few more chapters to go in the final book. Recap coming soon!

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty : completed 2/25

Another fun installment from Liane Moriarty. 

Surprise Endings by Robin Jones Gunn (re-read) : completed 2/28

March

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. by Judy Blume (library book) : completed 3/6

So nostalgic revisiting this, and the movie adaptation is maybe the best book-to-screen adaptation I've ever seen!

On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder (re-read; read aloud) : completed 3/7

Keep a Quiet Heart by Elisabeth Elliot : completed 3/20

Read this like a devotional for the first three months of the year and it was wonderful. 

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (library book; read aloud) : completed 3/20

Maybe my most unexpected read of 2023. 

Zachary Tayor by John S.D. Eisenhower : completed 3/29

April

Caraval by Stephanie Garber (library book) : completed 4/2

Thanks to the book club for my deep dive into Stephanie Garber this year. 

Legendary by Stephanie Garber (library book) : completed 4/6

Finale by Stephanie Garber (library book) : completed 4/16

Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber (library book) : completed 4/25

The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber (library book) : completed 4/29

May

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl : completed 5/16

It's Not Supposed to Be This Way by Lysa TerKeurst : completed 5/20

Probably my least favorite book of the year.

Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns : completed 5/31

Followed by the best standalone novel I read this year.

June

The Undoing of Saint Silvanus by Beth Moore (library book) : completed 6/10

Can we start a petition for Beth Moore to write another novel? Anyone with me?

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin : completed 6/21

The most average book I read this year.

If You Want to Make God Laugh by Bianca Marais : completed 6/29

Not as great as her debut, but still a solid offering from Bianca Marais. 

Island Dreamer by Robin Jones Gunn (re-read) : completed 6/30

Ah yes. The slippery slope into the Christy Miller hole. I should have known I wouldn't be able to stop after Island Dreamer. 

July

All My Knotted-Up Life by Beth Moore (library book) : completed 7/8

The first of two brand new released memoirs I read this year. Who even am I?

A Heart Full of Hope by Robin Jones Gunn (re-read) : completed 7/23

True Friends by Robin Jones Gunn (re-read) : completed 7/25

Starry Night by Robin Jones Gunn (re-read) : completed 7/25

Seventeen Wishes by Robin Jones Gunn (re-read) : completed 7/29

A Time to Cherish by Robin Jones Gunn (re-read) : completed 7/30

Sweet Dreams by Robin Jones Gunn (re-read) : completed 7/31

August

Messenger of Truth by Jacqueline Winspear : completed 8/5

Still marching slowly along through the Maisie Dobbs series. 

North! Or Be Eaten by Andrew Peterson (read aloud) : completed 8/7

The BFG by Roald Dahl (read aloud) : completed 8/22

My favorite reading experience of the year by a long-shot. 

Ghosted by Rosie Walsh : completed 8/29

Another book club selection. Most gasp-inducing book of 2023. 

September

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare (re-read) : completed 9/2

Also sitting in drafts. *sigh*

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart : completed 9/16

Started another mystery series this year. We've got several going now.

Millard Fillmore by Robert J. Rayback : completed 9/21

A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George : completed 9/27

Wins biggest wake-up call in 2023. 

October

A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck : completed 10/5

Probably the sweetest book I read this year.

The Monster in the Hollows by Andrew Peterson (read aloud) : completed 10/6

We could not put this one down. Probably our favorite of the quartet.

The Murder of Roger Akroyd by Agatha Christie : completed 10/9

A Praying Life by Paul E. Miller : completed 10/26

Wins most helpful book in 2023.

November

Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie : completed 11/4

If Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. wins best book-to-screen adaptation; A Haunting in Venice is definitely the worst. Ugh.

A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber (library book) : completed 11/8

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears (library book) : completed 11/11

I could not wait to get my hands on this one and it surprised more than one person in my life. 

December

A Promise is Forever by Robin Jones Gunn (re-read) : completed 12/3

To finish off the original Christy Miller series. I'm sure I'll be dipping into the Sierra Jensen books next year.

Miracles by C.S. Lewis : completed 12/16

Recap coming soon.

Oh My Stars by Sally Kilpatrick : completed 12/26

Because why finish one of the books I'm currently reading when I can just pluck this cute Christmas book off my shelf instead?

If you paid attention, you'll notice I still didn't read David Copperfield this year, although I am ten chapters in so there's that. I watched the 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice this week which prompted me to pick up my beloved copy of the book, and that is the book I may or may not finish today. We'll see. 

All told, it's been quite a year and I'm looking forward to putting 2023 on the shelf and jumping into 2024. Tune back in tomorrow for my reading plans for next year, and have the happiest time bringing in the new year tonight with the ones you love. 

How was your 2023?