2023 Reading Wrap-up
You embarked on exciting adventures, pondered thought-provoking themes, and delved into dark and intense narratives.
I've been having a lot of fun keeping track of my reading on The StoryGraph over the last two years. Comparing my reading wrap-up from 2022 to 2023, I was surprised how similar they were. Both years I read just under 10,000 pages and just short of 30 books. Not as many theology books this year, but that's probably because I'm listening to more audiobooks this year on my commute, and the books I want to read don't have audiobook versions.
Like last year, I've included a little blurb after my favorites.
Sci-Fi/Fantasy
The Dawn of Yangchen by F. C. Yee - I'm a big ATLA fan, and these books have not disappointed. I was a bit bummed that I couldn't keep reading about Kyoshi, but getting to know Avatar Yangchen has also been very interesting. I especially like how different these two women are and how different the books are in tone. Yee does a great job really making the reader feel like they are being transported to different eras in the same world.
Seasparrow by Kristin Cashore
La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman - I'm not really one for prequel series because I've never found the information gained to be worth a whole book. That said, I really enjoyed this book. I thought it expanded the world in interesting ways. Plus, the main antagonist is chilling and terrifying.
The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman - I really enjoyed the premise of this book: What happens to the hero after the victory? The themes and characters have all matured in satisfying ways, and I look forward to seeing how Pullman resolves everything in the third book.
The Collectors by Philip Pullman
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
The Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner
The Memoirs of Lady Trent (Books 1-5) by Marie Brennan - A friend has been recommending this series to me for years, and I finally picked them up. This genre-bending series mixes adventure, history, fantasy, and romance. By the time I got to the final book and the both anticipated and unexpected plot twist, I finished the book in two days.
Turning Darkness Into Light by Marie Brennan - This book is composed entirely of written documents - letters, telegrams, diary entries, police reports - while tracking the progress of two translators as they decode an ancient epic and contemplate its impact on the world. I thought this was a very thought-provoking book about narrative and cultural construction.
Plainsong by Deborah Grabien
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
Ogre Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
Graphic Novels
Puzzle House (Dragon Prince Graphic Novel #3) by Felia Hanakata and Peter Wartman
Azula in the Spirit Temple by Adele Matera, Peter Wartman, and Faith Erin Hicks
Theology and Faith
The Gospel According to Women: Christianity's Creation of the Sex War in the West by Karen Armstrong
The Church After Innovation by Andrew Root - This book was one of my absolute favorites this year. I'm recommending it to everyone, not just people who work in the church. There are so many things that Root brings into focus and deftly offers us a way to bring some healthy skepticism to the pervasive valorization of innovation.
Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman
Searching for Sunday by Rachel Held Evans
Other Non-Fiction
