2023 Reading Challenge – summary

A big year this year – 40 books. As in the past, book selections later in the year had to be more strategic to get through all the categories, which led to some interesting choices. I’m looking forward to a fresh slate for 2024. Here’s the final book list for 2023:

1 – Book with a murder in it Hangman, by Julie Burtinshaw
2 – A body part in the title The Bone Clocks, by David Mitchell
3 – Published before 1939 Unnatural Death, by Dorothy L. Sayers
4 – Published in 2022/3 Something to Do With Paying Attention, by David Foster Wallace
5 – Book about language The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, by David Koenig
6 – Book about travel (non-fiction) Consolations of the Forest, by Sylvain Tesson
7 – Author’s debut book The End of Men, by Christina Sweeney-Baird
8 – Female author Fates and Furies, by Lauren Groff
9 – Book that is or will be a film/TV show How to Stop Time, by Matt Haig
10 – Non-fiction essays On Animals, by Susan Orlean
11 – Referral from book-clubber Assembly, by Natasha Brown
12 – Book you think you ought to read Rybaiyat of Omar Khayyam
13 – Set somewhere you’ve never been The Quiet American, by Graham Greene
14 – Person’s name in title Olga Dies Dreaming, by Xochitl Gonzalez
15 – A number in the title Three Bags Full, by Leonie Swann
16 – A colour in the title Washington Black, by Edi Edugyan
17 – A place name in the title The Lincoln Highway, by Amor Towles
18 – Short stories Can’t and Won’t, by Lydia Davis
19 – Based on a true story Our Sentimental Journey, by Margaret O’Laughlin-Murphy
20 – One-word title Transcription, by Kate Atkinson
21 – A translation into English There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Job, Kikuko Tsumura
22 – Poetry or play The Light of No Other Hour, by Joseph Massey
23 – Memoir, journal, book of letter With All Due Respect, by Nikki R. Haley
24 – Book about food or cooking Before the Coffee Gets Cold, by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
25 – New author to me This Tender Land, by William Kent Krueger
26 – Science (non-fiction) The Wayfinders, by Wade Davis
27 – Received as a gift The It Girl, by Ruth Ware
28 – Old favourite The Gargoyle, by Andrew Davidson
29 – Previously left unfinished Mrs. Bridge, by Evan S. Connell
30 – Philosophy/religion Trying Not to Try, by Edward Slingerland
31 – History/politics All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days, by Rebecca Donner
32 – Book about art Art, compiled by Shaun Usher
33 – Canadian author The Adversary, by Michael Crummey
34 – Book or author that’s won a prize Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver
35 – Book or author that has been banned We, by Yevgeny Zamyatin
36 – Part of a book series Murder Before Evensong, by Reverend Richard Coles
37 – Non-mainstream Tauhou, by Kōtuku Titihuia Nuttall
38 – Utter drivel Pandexicon, by Wayne Grady
39 – Wild card The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman
40 – Wild card Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus

The 2023 List

There were a few extra books this year, some completed by audible format, plus a few not recorded so nearly 50 in total. Not bad for me, considering that some of these were quite long and, erm, challenging to finish. Favourites were the Kingsolver and Towles, which I had been looking forward to since 2022 – they did not disappoint – as well as Donner, Mitchell, and Slingerland.

Dominant category this year was “new author to me” (28), but also many in the female author (19), books with a murder (17) and book set somewhere I’ve never been (15). The list for 2024 is longer again (up to 40 categories – yikes!), and I’m looking forward with novelust to new books from Anne Michaels and Timothy Taylor, and to revisiting more old favourites to see if they’ve stood the test of time.

Thanks for following along on my journey through books. Looking forward to another year of reading – bring on 2024!

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