#books i read in 2023
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I hated this book.
I mean that in positive way. The book is an excellent journey into spiraling madness but there is no neutral 3rd party distance and objectivity. Dazai pulls you into his own personal hell for you to live it with him.
It is an uncomfortable experience.
I found myself deeply empathizing with the protag, Oba who in the midst of alienation and inability to connect with/relate to family puts on a mask to make himself more palatable to others and is utterly consumed by it. Eventually he cannot discern a self outside of the mask and loses his sense of agency.
His behavior is vile and possibly evil but also deeply tragic as all his choices are attempts to escape his despair. I felt like i was to hate him but its difficult because Oba and his trainwreck of an existence is so relatable. In many ways i found Dazai reflecting my own anxieties and self loathing back at me. Relatable enough to be more annoyed at Oba for dragging down others than I was sad for his suffering or angry at a world that generates such alienation.
Like I said, it is an uncomfortable experience.
Ultimately this a book about social death. It is about man who is drowning in misery that you cannot save because he will drag you to death along with him
#books i read in 2023#no longer human#black dark academia#dark academia#poc dark academia#noir library#books#journaling#bibliophile#book review#book cover#osamu dazai
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Elinor agreed to it all, for she did not think he deserved the compliment of rational opposition.
Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen
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Best and Worst Books I Read in 2023
Of the 90+ books I read this year, here are some of the best, some of the worst and some of the interesting additions to series that I keep up with. You can find all of these books on Amazon, except for the Hunters Universe books, which are available on @alhilton's website.
LMK if you want to hear more about my thoughts on any of these books! (Or how in fact Ann Leckie cocked blocked me. I'm still smarting over that.)
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Books I read in 2023
Parable of the Sower - Octavia E. Butler (1993)
#octavia butler#octavia e. butler#parable of the sower#earthseed#i was completely captivated in the beginning#then the scarily realistic future and apparent nihilism of the world got to me and i had to take a break#but when i got back to it i finally reached the part where it turns out that no IT'S REALLY NOT NIHILISTIC AT ALL#and i'm definitely going to read the second earthseed book#books i read in 2023#i just want a tag for the things i personally put out into the world
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girls when they start a new book by the same author even though they haven't finished the last one just because they watched a movie with the similar theme as the new book (i promise I will complete it this time)
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Thanks for the tag @palominojacoby . I read very few novels in 2023, but the few I did I really really loved. To get to my nine favorites, I snuck in a couple that the mensch read to me. It would be hard to overstate the joy I feel listening to him read.
Tagging @charmtion @greenhikingboots @sanktasansa @foxlikeandfickle @thistle-and-thorn @ladyalayne and whoever else wants to join.
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📚Books I've read in 2023📚
1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. The Quiet Gentleman, Georgette Heyer
3. The Turn of the Screw, Henry James
4. The Book of Magic, Alice Hoffman
5. Abaddon's Gate, James S. A. Corey
6. The Blue Castle, L. M. Montgomery
7. Cibola Burn, James S. A. Corey
8. The Adventures of Pinocchio, Carlo Collodi
9. The Foundling, Georgette Heyer
10. Hamlet, William Shakespeare
11. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Jules Verne
12. Dangerous Women, Anthology Edited by George R. R. Martin
13. Artemis, Andy Weir
14. The Miserable Mill, Lemony Snicket
15. The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
16. The Last Olympian, Rick Riordian
17. Gerald's Game, Stephen King
18. Mirror in the Mirror: A Labyrinth, Michael Ende
19. The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
20. Nemesis Games, James S. A. Corey
21. Harrow the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir
22. The Austere Academy, Lemony Snicket
23. Rogues, Anthology Edited by George R. R. Martin
24. Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
25. Babylon's Ashes, James S. A. Corey
26. Arabella, Georgette Heyers
27. The Ersatz Elevator, Lemony Snicket
28. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood
29. Nona the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir
30. The Vile Village, Lemony Snicket
31. The Hostile Hospital, Lemony Snicket
32. Fire and Blood, George R.R. Martin
33. Anne of Ingleside, L. M. Montgomery
34. Rainbow Valley, L. m. Montgomery
35. The Carnivorous Carnival, Lemony Snicket
36. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, Douglas Adams
37. Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen
38. The Slippery Slope, Lemony Snicket
39. The Magic Mountain, Thomas Mann
40. The Grim Grotto, Lemony Snicket
41. Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir
42. A Civil Contract, Georgette Heyer
43. The Penultimate Peril, Lemony Snicket
44. The End, Lemony Snicket
45. The Angel of Darkness, Caleb Carr
46. Y colocín, colorado... Tú, David Safier
47. The Hitchshiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
48. The Chestnut Man, Søren Sveistrup
49. El Juego del Ángel (The Angel's Game), Carlos Ruiz Zafón
50. The Prison of Freedom, Michael Ende
51. Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart, Chrétien de Troyes and Godefroi de Leigni
52. A Room with a View, E. M. Foster
53. A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
54. La Cocinera de Castamar (The Cook of Castamar), Fernando J. Núñez
55. Sleeping Beauties, Stephen King & Owen King
56. Love Among the Chickens, P. G. Wodehouse
57. The King's Man, Elizabeth Kingston
58. 1984, George Orwell
59. My family and other animals, Gerald Durrell
60. The Princess Bride, William Goldman
61. Birds, Beasts and Relatives, Gerald Durrrell
62. The Garden of the Gods, Gerald Durrell
63. Dead Until Dark, Charlaine Harris
64. Living Dead in Dallas, Charlaine Harris
65. Club Dead, Charlaine Harris
66. Rivers of London, Ben Aaronovitch
67. Dead to the World, Charlaine Harris
68. Dead as a Doornail, Charlaine Harris
69. Definitely Dead, Charlaine Harris
70. All Together Dead, Charlaine Harris
71. From Dead to Worse, Charlaine Harris
72. Dead and Gone, Charlaine Harris
73. Moon Over Soho, Ben Aaronovitch
74. Dead in the Family, Charlaine Harris
75. A Touch of Dead, Charlaine Harris
76. Kiki's Delivery Service, Eiko Kadono
77. Whispers Under Ground, Ben Aaronovitch
78. The Inimitable Jeeves, P. G. Wodehouse
79. Persepolis Rising, James S. A. Corey
80. Cranford, Elizabeth Gaskell
81. El Silencio del Asesino, Concha López Narváez. I read it because one of my students asked me. She had to read it for school (she's in 9nth grade), and want for me to explain her the end because she got confussed and doubted her reading comprhension. It's a murder mystery withouth the mystery, omniscient narrator that's a jumping POV, and the cheapest plot twists at the end. It was painful, a mess. Poor girl, of course she was confussed.
82. Drive, James S. A. Corey
83. The Churn, James S. A. Corey
84. The Butcher of Anderson Station, James S. A. Corey
85. The Last Flight of the Cassandra, James S. A Corey
86. Tiamat's Wrath, James S. A. Corey
87. Gods of Risk, James S. A. Corey
88. The Vital Abyss, James S. A. Corey
89. Strange Dogs, James S. A. Corey
90. Auberon, James S. A. Corey
91. Cotillion, Georgette Heyer
92. The Great Gastby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
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Books of 2023
Tagged by @synindoodles Thanks for thinking of me!
So I went on a Terry Pratchett bender and got into Discworld... a series that had been sitting in my to read list for several years and I finally broke down and got them. Also read Fire and Blood, started Hild (still reading that) and did my annual re-read of the Silmarillion, Lord of the Rings, and Hobbit. (Yes I read them once a year as well as watch the movies!)
No pressure tags: @garunsdottir @thelettersfromnoone @itbmojojoejo and whoever else wants to share!
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He stood straight, not leaning against the chair, color blazing in his face. He reminded James of the Matthew he had tied himself to at their parabatai ceremony so long ago: a Matthew who seemed to fear nothing: not shadow, not fire.
- Chain of Thorns, Cassandra Clare
#matthew fairchild#<3#hes the best#CoT#james herondale#parabatai#shadowhunters#cassandra clare#their bond istg#book blog#books i love#books i read in 2023#writing#writing community#writeblr#writersociety#he has my heart#i love them#the last hours#tlh
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Wanted to do something for the new year, so I guess I'll do a 2023 book wrap up. In chronological order from the beginning of 2023 to the end.
Putting in a read more because this is 90 books and that's too much to not hide it.
Rereads marked with a *
The Iron Dirge by Sam Sykes - Grave of Empires #2.5
Three Axes to Fall by Sam Sykes - Grave of Empries #3
The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo
Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty
The World We Make by N.K. Jemisin - Great Cities #2
Unbreakable by Mira Grant
Apocalypse Scenario #683: The Box by Mira Grant
Juice Like Wounds by Seanan McGuire - Wayward Children #4.5
Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire - Wayward Children #8
The Spirit Thief by Rachel Aaron - The Legend of Eli Monpress #1*
The Spirit Rebellion by Rachel Aaron - The Legend of Eli Monpress #2*
The Spirit Eater by Rachel Aaron - The Legend of Eli Monpress #3*
The Spirit War by Rachel Aaron - The Legend of Eli Monpress #4*
Spirit's End by Rachel Aaron - The Legend of Eli Monpress #5*
Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold - Vorkosigan Saga #1 (Publication Order)
The Coup of Tea by Casey Blair - The Tea Princess Chronicles #1
The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown
Lyconthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses by Kristen O'Neal
The Jewel and Her Lapidary by Fran Wilde - Gemworld #1
Sandry's Book by Tamara Pierce - Circle of Magic #1*
Comeuppance Served Cold by Marion Deeds
By A Silver Thread by Rachel Aaron - DFZ Changeling #1
The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Ann Older - Mossa and Pleiti #1
The Twice-Drowned Saint by C.S.E. Cooney
Tris's Book by Tamara Pierce - Circle of Magic #2*
The Bones Swans of Amandale by C.S.E. Cooney (Novella)
Even Though I Knew The End by C.L. Polk
Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M Danforth
An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard - Unseen World #1
Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales
The Ghost Network by Catie Disabato
The Keeper's Six by Kate Elliot
Siren Queen by Nghi Vo
Servant Mage by Kate Elliot
The Warden by Daniel M Ford - The Warden #1
Daja's Book by Tamara Pierce - Circle of Magic #3*
Jackdraw by K.J. Charles - A Charm of Magpies World #1
The Thief Who Pulled On Trouble's Braids by Michael McClung - Amra Thetys #1
Bluebird by Ciel Pierlot
Lexicon by Max Barry
The Splinter in the Sky by Kemi Ashing-Giwa
The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi
The Thief Who Spat in Luck's Good Eye by Michael McClung - Amara Thetys #2
Briar's Book by Tamara Pierce - Circle of Magic #4*
The Thief Who Knocked on Sorrow's Gate by Michael McClung - Amara Thetys #3
Murder at Spindle Manor by Morgan Stang - The Lamplight Murder Mysteries #1
Ebony Gate - by Julie Vee and Ken Bebelle - The Phoenix Hoard #1
Artificial Condition by Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diaries #2*
Rogue Protocols by Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diaries #3*
Exit Strategy by Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diaries #4*
Zen Bow, Zen Arrow: The Life and Teachings of Awa Kenzo, the Archery Master from "Zen in the Art of Archery" by John Stevens
Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher
Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diareis #6*
Apparently I've hit the character limit without a paragraph break. So, we'll be starting over from 1, but it will really be #54.
Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory by Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diaries #4.5
Compulsory: A Murderbot Story by Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diaries #0.5*
Magic Steps by Tamara Pierce - The Circle Opens #1*
Murder on the Lamplight Express by Morgan Stang - The Lamplight Murder Mysteries #2
Bone Swans by C.S.E. Cooney (short story collection)
Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel - Themis Files #1
Mammoth at the Gates by Nghi Vo - The Singing Hills Cycle #4
The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M Valente
Triggernometry by Stark Holborn - Triggernometry #1
Street Magic by Tamara Pierce - The Circle Opens #2*
Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett - The Foundryside Trilogy #1
Advanced Triggernometry by Stark Holborn - Triggernometry #2
Inda by Sherwood Smith - Inda #1
Thief Liar Lady by D.L. Soria
A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand
Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian
Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne - Tomes and Tea #1
Red River Seven by A.J. Ryan
Dracula by Bram Stoker - via Re: Dracula
Beholder by Ryan La Sala
A Season of Monstrous Conceptions by Lina Rather
System Collapse by Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diaries #7
Cold Fire by Tamara Piece - The Circle Opens #3*
Dream of the Falling Axe by Sam Sykes - Grave of Empires #3.5
The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
The Salvation Gambit by Emily Skrutskie
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
Hikaru No Go Vol 1 Decent of the Go Master by Yumi Hotta - Hikaru No Go #1
These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs - The Kingdom Trilogy #1
Shatterglass by Tamara Pierce - The Circle Opens #4*
Paladin's Faith by T Kingfisher - The Saint of Steel #4
The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill
Forest of Memory by Mary Robinette Kowal
The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon - The Downworld Sequence #1
On The Fox Roads by Nghi Vo
Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrom by John Scalzi - Lock In #0.5
Paris: The Memoir by Paris Hilton
Okay, and according to Storygraph:
My longest book was Three Axes to Fall at 806 pages
My most read authors were: Tamara Pierce, Martha Wells, and Rachel Aaron. Which is due to re-reads. I re-read 16 books this year.
My average rating was 4.14 out of 5.
I read the most in June.
I read 41 new-to-me authors.
52 of the books I read were part of series.
So, I guess, feel free to ask me any questions.
Happy New Year!
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One day Father Candido was expelling a demon. Toward the end of the exorcism, he turned to the evil spirit and sarcastically told him, “Get out of here. The Lord has already prepared a nice, well-heated house for you!” At this, the demon answered, “You do not know anything! It wasn’t he [God] who made hell. It was us. He had not even thought about it.” Similarly, on another occasion, while I was questioning a demon to know whether he had contributed to the creation of hell, I received this answer: “All of us cooperated.”
An Exorcist Tells His Story, Father Gabriele Amorth
#books i read in 2023#an exorcist tells his story#gabriele amorth#father gabriele amorth#exorcism#religion#catholicism#yeah i'm gonna be real i read this because of the movie#the pope's exorcist
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Books I read in 2023
Bonus Stories - Derin Edala (2023)
#curse words#derin edala#bonus stories#love the idea of using short stories to explore lore and worldbuilding in brief spurts#no need to write a prequel-prequel when a few short stories will do#books i read in 2023#i just want a tag for the things i personally put out into the world
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Gabriel Byrne's memoir Walking With Ghosts was SO GOOD. I liked how it wasn't in chronological order, so he doesn't have to start with the humiliation of ruining a Catholic mass as a drunken 10-year-old. He builds up to it.
This man is a complete disaster. Possibly on the autism spectrum. Total Tumblr sexyman material.
I hope somewhere there are pictures of him and Leo DiCaprio in their Gianni Versace suits.
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Books I Read in 2023 1/30: "Jo & Laurie” by @margaretstohl & @authormelissadelacruz
#Jo x Laurie#Jo & Laurie#Jo/Laurie#Little Women#Little Women Edit#book edit#bookish edits#books I read in 2023#book recs#YA novels#Melissa De La Cruz#Margaret Stohl#userbeautifullyflawed#my edits
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Book #001 - Boyfriend Material - Alexis Hall
Figured for the first book I "reviewed" of this blog I would start simple with a book I've read a couple of times! [I've never done reviews before, this blog is more just general "what I thought about this book" vibes]
I will be talking about some spoilers in this post, be warned!
Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall [2020] is a romantic comedy that follows its main character, Luc O'Donnel, as his job is threatened by appearing as the "wrong type of homosexual" to the donators of the charity he works for. His boss tells him that he needs to get his donors back to keep his job, and his coworker gives him the idea that, if he can't get a real boyfriend, he can get a fake boyfriend. Luc's best friend, Bridget, sets him up with her "only other gay friend", a barrister by the name of Oliver Blackwood. While their first date is a disaster, Oliver also has a family event coming up that would go more smoothly if he had someone to bring, so he agrees to be Luc's "fake boyfriend", with a few rules and stipulations put in place, of course.
What follows is a rather sweet story of two lonely people growing together, and the panic of it starting to feel real to both of them. I found most of the characters charming, even the ones that only showed up for a small amount of time. I've seen a lot of criticism of Bridget's character in particular, and while she is quite repetitive I always found the joke funny, so she's pretty inconsequential to me.
There are other aspects of the book that I enjoy other then just the "fake dating to real dating" trope which I'm still not even sure I actually enjoy or if this book just did it well. For example, I like hearing about Odiel O'donnel, Luc's mother, and her friend Judy and the nice little tucked away life they seem to have. Luc's friend group is always fun when they're on screen, and so is Oliver's- and I even wish there was a bit more of each. Luc's whole fraught relationship with his rockstar dad, and what it's done to his life even as he gets older is a fun thing to read about. Overall, even though the romance is a big part of this book, I find the other parts of the story fun as well
If I had to make a complaint about the book, I would say that the ending felt a little bit rushed. [Spoilers for the ending, of course]. When Luc and Oliver go to Oliver's Parent's "Ruby anniversary" Luc is pretty blindsided about how offensive Oliver's parents are to him. It is hinted at earlier in the book that Oliver has self esteem issues, and Luc mentions how unprepared he feels to meet them, the seen where Luc confronts Oliver's parents by telling them to quite literally fuck off just felt a bit off, in a way I'm not sure how to describe. I think it might have something to do with how we jumped straight from the beetle drive to the other big event that the story was leading up to with not very much more plot in between, and I feel like that could have helped.
The only other thing I would like to have had more of in this book is a sense of description for what other characters look like. The way the characters are described gives a great sense of their personality, but less so for their physical appearance. This can somewhat be forgiven in Luc's perspective- since you are reading the story through his eyes- but even he's given some amount of description by how he interacts with the world, like how on his first date with Oliver he kept complaining about how he kept accidentally kicking him since he's "All legs"
The book has a sequel, Husband Material, that I will rate separately, and Father Material, which is set to release in 2024, which I will read and rate when it releases.
Overall thoughts: I reallllly liked this book. This isn't the type of story I would normally read- but it was featured in my library during pride month last year and the bright ass colors of the cover caught my eye. I'm glad I read it, but I felt like it was better as a stand alone book- but I'll talk more about that when I review Husband Material. The audiobook is also nice to listen to, unlike some other books I read in 2023 [Mothflight's vision, I'm looking at you]
My favorite character: Luc is probably my favorite overall, but if I had to pick someone other then the main character, it would be Luc's boss, Dr Fairclough, who's one of those "Doesn't care about anything other then this one specific instance of creature/science field" and the way she is described is just really funny to me.
Would I buy a copy of this book: Yes, I would buy a copy of this book for my personal book shelf, and I do have a copy! I also bought the audio book! [I only buy copies of books I like- otherwise I check them out through my library!]
Total Rating: 4.5/5
[Feel free to send any reading/review recommendations in my ask box!]
#zenreadsthings#Boyfriend Material#recommend read#book review#kind of lol#books I read in 2023#4.5 stars
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