→ 2023 book round up
Dec. 30th, 2023 05:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
libbi1. How many books did you read this year? Any trends in genre/length/themes/etc?
79 books. About 34% romance, with mystery/thrillers a close second. Also, three books by Japanese authors about books/bookshops and cats.
2. What are your Top 3 books that you read this year for the first time?
Exiles by Jane Harper
The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
The Favourite by Alice Coldbreath
3. What's a book you enjoyed more than you expected?
What Once Was Mine by Liz Braswell is a Disney Twisted Tale book, retelling the story of Tangled with Rapunzel's mother drinking the moondrop flower potion instead of the sundrop flower. Instead of healing, Rapunzel's hair can kill. There are aspects of the book that I found weird (a whole subplot with a sibling pair in the hospital; the book is apparently the brother retelling the story to his sister as she recovers from a round of chemotherapy) and Elizabeth Báthory is a major villain?! All that being said, Rapunzel's voice throughout is amazing, and I hope to write a fic about this particular universe in the upcoming year.
4. Which books most disappointed you this year?
I read Joan is Okay by Weike Wang for a book club pick, and was immensely bored. Nothing happened, and I was surprised when it just... ended. I think I'm not a fan of the literary genre, but I'm willing to give it a few more chances. I also read a romance where the hero said "just let it happen" to get the heroine into bed and just... no.
5. Did you reread any books? If so, which one was your favourite?
I re-read The Inheritance Games so I could read the entire series (at the time) this year. I have not yet read the fourth book. It's a pretty decent series, and I would've adored them as a teen.
6. Did you DNF (= did not finish) any books?
Quite a few, I think, mostly because library loans ended. The most recent was Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice. I may or may not go back to that one, as the whole plot seems to be "100 Reasons Why I Hate Lestat", and it's a bit boring after a while.
7. Did you start any books that you'd like to finish in the new year?
I have an unfortunate habit of starting books and never finishing them. One book I'd like to finish is How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States by Daniel Immerwahr. I apparently checked the book out from the Kindle Unlimited library in January 2023, so I say it's high time I finish it.
8. Did you read any books outside of your usual preferred genre(s)?
I started reading more classics in the second half of the year, and The Man in the High Castle was my first speculative fiction book ever.
9. What was your predominant format this year?
Over half were Kindle books, followed by audiobooks, then print books.
10. What's the longest book you read this year?
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, which was meh, but also strangely satisfying. I looked up a lot of the claims about certain facts in American History, and in doing so, learned some fun facts. For example: the United States Capitol Building has a painting in the rotunda called The Apotheosis of Washington, depicting Washington ascending into heaven and becoming a god.
11. Did you reach your reading goal for this year (if you had one)?
Yes, my reading goal was 52.
12. What books from your TBR did you not get to this year, but are excited to read in 2024?
I don't really keep an active TBR. In general, my reading goals for 2024 are to read more non-fiction, more classics, and less romance (if not any at all). I'm sure I'll pick up a reading challenge or two as the new year starts.
And the code for anyone wanting to fill out the meme:
79 books. About 34% romance, with mystery/thrillers a close second. Also, three books by Japanese authors about books/bookshops and cats.
2. What are your Top 3 books that you read this year for the first time?
Exiles by Jane Harper
The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
The Favourite by Alice Coldbreath
3. What's a book you enjoyed more than you expected?
What Once Was Mine by Liz Braswell is a Disney Twisted Tale book, retelling the story of Tangled with Rapunzel's mother drinking the moondrop flower potion instead of the sundrop flower. Instead of healing, Rapunzel's hair can kill. There are aspects of the book that I found weird (a whole subplot with a sibling pair in the hospital; the book is apparently the brother retelling the story to his sister as she recovers from a round of chemotherapy) and Elizabeth Báthory is a major villain?! All that being said, Rapunzel's voice throughout is amazing, and I hope to write a fic about this particular universe in the upcoming year.
4. Which books most disappointed you this year?
I read Joan is Okay by Weike Wang for a book club pick, and was immensely bored. Nothing happened, and I was surprised when it just... ended. I think I'm not a fan of the literary genre, but I'm willing to give it a few more chances. I also read a romance where the hero said "just let it happen" to get the heroine into bed and just... no.
5. Did you reread any books? If so, which one was your favourite?
I re-read The Inheritance Games so I could read the entire series (at the time) this year. I have not yet read the fourth book. It's a pretty decent series, and I would've adored them as a teen.
6. Did you DNF (= did not finish) any books?
Quite a few, I think, mostly because library loans ended. The most recent was Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice. I may or may not go back to that one, as the whole plot seems to be "100 Reasons Why I Hate Lestat", and it's a bit boring after a while.
7. Did you start any books that you'd like to finish in the new year?
I have an unfortunate habit of starting books and never finishing them. One book I'd like to finish is How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States by Daniel Immerwahr. I apparently checked the book out from the Kindle Unlimited library in January 2023, so I say it's high time I finish it.
8. Did you read any books outside of your usual preferred genre(s)?
I started reading more classics in the second half of the year, and The Man in the High Castle was my first speculative fiction book ever.
9. What was your predominant format this year?
Over half were Kindle books, followed by audiobooks, then print books.
10. What's the longest book you read this year?
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, which was meh, but also strangely satisfying. I looked up a lot of the claims about certain facts in American History, and in doing so, learned some fun facts. For example: the United States Capitol Building has a painting in the rotunda called The Apotheosis of Washington, depicting Washington ascending into heaven and becoming a god.
11. Did you reach your reading goal for this year (if you had one)?
Yes, my reading goal was 52.
12. What books from your TBR did you not get to this year, but are excited to read in 2024?
I don't really keep an active TBR. In general, my reading goals for 2024 are to read more non-fiction, more classics, and less romance (if not any at all). I'm sure I'll pick up a reading challenge or two as the new year starts.
And the code for anyone wanting to fill out the meme:
