Happy New Year, my cozy friends!
If you’d prefer to listen to this book list, you can check out the full episode on The Bookmarks ‘n Blankets Podcast on your favorite podcast platform or listen below.
I’d love to know your thoughts on any of these books if you’ve read them. I invite you to hop over to my Instagram or X (aka Twitter), where you can comment.
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I hope everyone had an amazing year last year, and if not, I hope this new year will bring you everything you dream of, hope for, desire, and want. I wish nothing but the best for all my listeners.
2023 was an amazing reading year. In March, I found the online book community and other book reviewers on YouTube and social media. I never knew this exciting, bright, and shiny world existed. I’m so grateful that I found a community where I feel like I truly belong. It has become a breath of fresh air for me, and a cozy, little spot online that brings me so much happiness and joy. I’ve learned so much – about myself, about other readers, about the publishing world, and the entire book community at large. It has been a wild, fun, and entertaining ride these last ten months.
So looking back at 2023, I read 100 standard novels. These don’t include any short stories, graphic novels, or children’s books that I read. I can’t believe I read that many books. I’ve never read that many in my life, let alone in just one year. I have learned so much about my reading tastes and preferences. There are certain genres that have become new favorites. There are new authors I’ve discovered that I absolutely fell in love with their stories and want to read everything they’ve ever published. There are certain BookTubers that I follow who has become a wonderful resource for book recommendations because we have the same reading taste, and then other reviewers that I just love how they make their videos and deliver their reviews. I really feel at home with this extraordinary community.
I will admit, though, that one of the worst things about reading so many amazing books is narrowing down a huge list of 100 to just 10. So I’m gonna cheat and include some honorable mentions.
Honorable Mentions
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
Full review coming soon.
My Top 10 Best Books of 2023
Wrap-Up
Well, there you have it! Out of 100 novels that I read this year, these were my favorites.
I feel like 2024 is going to be an even better year, now that I know how to navigate this book community and have learned so much. I’m more curious about certain authors and specific genres. I feel like I’ve really grown in my reading journey. I’m so excited to pick up more books this year and find some new favorite stories and authors.
Until next time, my sweet friends, happy reading…and Happy New Year!
