2023 was somehow a special year because I finally found back to reading books. I also started buying more books (and of course I haven’t read that many of them, that’s the law. Maybe I’m more of a book dragon than a book worm). Actually I bought so many new books that we had to get a third bookshelf (and then I had to buy even more books so that the shelf wouldn’t look super empty).
Yet, my reading list of 2023 isn’t super impressive. Under the cut you’ll find out a bit more, but be prepared: My impressive count of books read in 2023 is 17 (actually 19, but I couldn’t add the two volumes of Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne to Storygraph, but that’s fine, because 3 out of those 17 are the Concrete Jungle comics which literally have 20-25 pages each…).
The stats
As mentioned before, my total of books I finished reading this year is 19 if you include the two volumes of Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne I’ve read this year (it’s an luxury edition where all volumes of the manga were put together in 2 hardcover books). There are several books I started but did not (yet) finish.
Now I’m taking a look at my StoryGraph stats (I went from Goodreads to Bookwyrm to StoryGraph this year and that was a struggle you can’t imagine) and it tells me that the majority of books I read were lighthearted, adventurous or funny (and I am not sure if this is based on the average rating of users on the books I’ve read or on my own ratings). I mostly read medium- or fast-paced books that usually had 300-499 pages. Apparently I didn’t read a single non-fictional book this year (except that I don’t track my reading of school-related books…)
My top genres were Fantasy followed by LGBTQIA+, Young Adult and Romance books. Seems like I enjoyed a bit of cosy escapism this year – no wonder, given the terrors (lol) I’m facing at work. Funnily, StoryGraph thinks I’ve read one digital book because I chose one false edition and you can’t change them on StoryGraph without losing your reviews and everything, but all books I’ve read were actually print books. My most read authors made me snort, because it’s unsurprisingly Noah Sebastian, Kevin Roditelli and Nicola Izzo. And more than half of the books I’ve read were written in English.
The graph shows that I started reading again in July (summer break, yay) and read most books in August or September (when I was still determined to read every single night before going to bed), then didn’t read at all in October and November (when shit hit the fan and I was stressed out into the fingertips and also the book I was reading wasn’t very appealing to me. I forced my way through it. I can’t tell you which one it was because half the internet would hate me for this statement). I picked up reading again in December (Christmas break, yay).
The DNFs / paused reads
My first DNF that I definitely will not finish was Anja Bagus‘ AetherSymphonie, the third part of her Aetherwelt-trilogy. I loved the first part. I liked the second part. And throughout the first part I got bored, confused and annoyed by the events and everything and at some point I decided that it’s just too much. Since leaving university and having no more required reading to do, it happens very rarely that I do not finish a book with the intention to never continue reading. And it kinda breaks my heart because I really liked the Aetherwelt stories – enough to inspire me in some parts to write an own story that includes ether with similar characteristics as described in Anja Bagus‘ novels. But I really couldn’t.
The other DNFs are rather books that I put on pause. The list includes John Green’s Alice’s Nightmare in Wonderland, a fantastic gamebook in which Alice returns to wonderland, but the reader makes choices. You can use either dice or cards to determine Alice’s fate and it’s really entertaining. I love anything related to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and I especially love darker renderings of the story, like this one, in which you can easily get killed in the most horrible ways. The reason why I did not finish is that I got completely lost in the maze, then decided to pause and somehow lost track of where I was, where I had been and what my stats were (despite having written down everything!) My aim for 2024 is getting back into wonderland and making my way through an entire story without getting Alice killed.
The good thing is: This book has a lot of re-reading potential because depending on your stats and choices, the story can take different turns and it keeps you occupied for quite a while.
The second paused book I started this year was Sebastian Fitzek’s Elternabend – I took this book with me on a class trip because what else could be more fitting when you have to look over a bunch of screamy teenagers day and night on an island in the North Sea than reading a book that is somehow related to one of the worst horrors of school. Unfortunately I didn’t really get into the story because each time I had started reading, somebody knocked on my door and demanded my attention. So I’m taking this book into 2024 with me.
Finished books in 2023
Here’s a list of my readings this year in order of reading (to be honest, I’m starting to wonder if there are books missing in that list that might have got lost in my transfer from one tracking service to the other to the next … but yeah, let’s assume this list is complete):
- Sher Lee – Fake Dates and Mooncakes
- F.T. Lukens – So This Is Ever After
- Sebastian Fitzek – Der Heimweg
- Adiba Jaigirdar – The Dos and Donuts of Love
- Manuel Schmitt – Godmode – Der Videospiel-Prophet
- Gry Kappel Jensen – Rosen & Violen (Roses & Violets – Rosenholm Trilogy 1)
- Neil Gaiman – Norse Mythology
- Meike Stoverock – Das Strahlen des Herrn Helios: Ein Fall für Skarabäus Lampe
- John Boyne – Als die Welt zerbrach (All the broken places)
- Malinda Lo – Last Night at the Telegraph Club
- Terry Prachtett & Neil Gaiman – Good Omens
- Andreas Dutter – Starlight in our Dreams
- Gry Kappel Jensen – Gedenkemein (Forget me not – Rosenholm Trilogy 2)
- Noah Sebastian, Kevin Roditelli, Nicola Izzo – Concrete Jungle Issues 1-3
- F.T. Lukens – In Deeper Waters
And at some point I sneaked in the Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne luxury editions I couldn’t track.
So basically that’s not much and it’s very queer and that is because I am fully embracing the fact that there’s actual queer fiction with happy endings and happy stories in stores now. I’ve suffered from a lack of those for long enough.
(Yes, I’m still practicing taking aesthetic photos lol)
And given that I didn’t read that many books, my „favourite reads“ pile is quite big. And also veryqueer. Adiba Jaigirdar’s The Dos and Donuts of Love wasn’t exactly the best damn book I’ve ever read, but it was highly entertaining and the first sapphic romance I’ve ever read. I’m looking forward to reading her other books, The Henna Wars and Hani & Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating (Fake Dating ♥ Love that trope!)
Fake Dates and Mooncakes was extra cute and warmed my heart (and it’s FAKE DATING!). In my review of In Deeper Waters I have already mentioned my deep love for F.T. Lukens‘ stories and those books are probably my absolute top most favourite reads this year (So This Is Ever After radiates so much idiots-to-lovers energy that everything in me was constantly screaming while reading this book). And finally, the Rosenholm-books might not be the strongest example of fantasy / dark academia fiction, BUT they kept me entertained and I can’t wait for the third part to be released in German.
And finally … well, the Concrete Jungle comics just have a special place because they’re Bad Omens-related.
The outlook
The remaining question is: What will be my reading aim for 2024? I’d love to re-establish my habit of reading a bit every evening before I go to bed, but that’s just not realistic (mostly because when I return from a concert in the middle of the night I won’t sit down and read, neither will I have the brain capacity to read a book after a full day of parent-„speeddating“ at work). Concerning the amount of books, I have to stay realistic as well. My job is stressful and demanding and at times I just don’t have the energy and right mind to read anything that is not school-related. So I’m not even sure if 20 would be a realistic goal, but this year I almost managed to read 20 books in only half a year, so … could work (and if there’s a risk that I won’t make it I’ll go get myself some mangas and comics 😂)
I also won’t set myself any goals like „Getting out of my comfort zone“ or „reading more books of this and that genre“. After all, reading is supposed to be a hobby that helps me relax, not a competition or a challenge. Okay, well, here’s one aim: Reading at least one book by a Nigerian author. While teaching about Nigeria, I’ve discovered so many authors and so many interesting books I would like to read that I definitely have to add at least one of them to by TBR list (a good example might be Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie).
But other than that – no pressure. If I want cosy queer romance or fantasy (or queer fantasy) to escape reality for a whileI’m not going to force myself to read something else than what I’m craving. And if I only make 15, but find back into writing my own stories I’d be very damn satisfied as well.