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2023 Reading Goals and Hopefuls


New year, new reading goals! I'm stoked to talk about the upcoming year and the books I plan to read, but I want to take a moment to dive into some stats from 2022 before discussing goals. I've also taken this year's reading challenge from a TikTok reading challenge I saw last year from The Novel Neighbor, an indie bookstore in St. Louis, MO. Since I didn't correctly plan my pages in my reading journal to accommodate all 12 prompts, it's only 10 this year. Which, to be honest, I think I'm fine with. Lol. The last piece of news is that, as of December, my tiny book club that started in the peak of the pandemic, has disbanded for now. Two of our members are pregnant and one is going into labor any day now. In prioritizing time and commitments, they have understandably decided to leave. Since they were the heart and souls of the club, we are taking a potentially permanent hiatus. That means I don't have a book club list of reads as of right now, but I'm putting out my feelers to maybe start up a new one in 2023. If you want to revisit my reading goals from 2022, that's linked here. Otherwise, enjoy reading through this one! Happy reading, friends. Here's to a lot of five-star reads in 2023.

Total Number of Books Read

122

Total Number of Pages Read

39,402

Average Rating

3.83⭐️

Most Read Authors

  1. ​Alice Oseman (5)

  2. John Steinbeck, Madeline Miller, Kay O'Neill (3 ea)

  3. Art Spigelman, Rachel Hawkins, Olivie Blake (2 ea)

Genre Overview

85% Fiction

15% Nonfiction

Top Five Genres

  1. ​Literary, Contemporary (36 books)

  2. LGBTQIA+ (31)

  3. Historical (24)

  4. Romance, Fantasy (23)

  5. Graphic Novels (18)

Format Breakdown

​Print: 83%

Digital (ebooks): 12%

Audio: 5%

Pacing Breakdown

​Fast: 18%

Medium: 66%

Slow: 16%

All of these stats were collected via StoryGraph.


My reading goals for 2023 are as follows:

  • Read 50 books off of my physical TBR (to be read) shelves. Read at least 65 books total.

  • Buy no new books in 2023. (Exceptions: Book of the Month and Libro.fm subscriptions.)

  • Utilize my library for new releases or books I'm tempted to buy.

  • Only say yes to books in my book subscriptions that excite me.

  • Make at least 30% of the books I read monthly diverse reads (LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, etc.).

  • Only keep books that I could see myself reading again, or that I thoroughly enjoyed. Give away anything else!

  • Keep reading fun!

2023 Reading List

2023 Reading Challenge

  1. A collection of short stories: This is Paradise: Stories by Kristiana Kahakauwila

  2. A retelling of a classic or myth: Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes

  3. A book in translation: Metamorphoses by Ovid

  4. A book in a series: Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

  5. A book with a morally grey character: These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever

  6. A book that's won an award: Beloved by Toni Morrison

  7. A book that teaches you something new: The Happy Isles of Oceania: Paddling the Pacific by Paul Theroux

  8. A book that's been out for at least five years: The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

  9. A nonfiction book written by a queer or BIPOC person: Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

  10. A book recommended to you by Booktok: All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir

Other Titles I'd Like to Read

A Life on Our Planet: My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future by David Attenborough

Plenty: A Memoir of Food and Family by Hannah Howard

The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev


Read - In Order

January

~Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia by Christina Thompson ~The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen ~Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell Spare by Prince Harry ~Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel ~A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers English Pastoral: An Inheritance by James Rebanks Beartown by Fredrik Backman ~A Lot Like Adios by Alexis Daria ~A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers `Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston ~Ocean's Echo by Everina Maxwell

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December


Did Not Finish Reading

`The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

/ Hello, Beautiful by Ann Neopolitano

~Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin

/ Stamped from the Beginning: A Graphic Novel by Ibram X. Kendi

The Bridge of Little Jeremy by Indrajit Garai

/ A History of Burning by Janika Oza

~ Pieces of Happiness by Anne Ostby

/ Perilous Times by Thomas D. Lee

~ Dead Astronauts by Jeff VanderMeer

~ To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini

/ The Moon Represents My Heart by Pim Wangtechawat

/ Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur

/ Oh God, the Sun Goes by David Connor

A Ship of Bones and Teeth by Karina Halle

` The Stench of Honolulu: A Tropical Adventure by Jack Handey

~ In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead

/ Maybe Once, Maybe Twice by Alison Rose Greenberg

/ Mudflowers by Aley Waterman

/ Something About Her by Clementine Taylor

/ Gwen and Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher


Key

* Books I am currently actively reading

^ Books from my attic

~ Library books I've borrowed

` Unhauled

/ Advanced Reader Copies

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