Another year has come and gone. Despite the insane global events, I seem to have reached the point in my life when I can finally say I’m in a good place. In 2023, the wins were more than the losses – a new job, healthier lifestyle, better work-life balance, and some interesting adventures. I was also happy to regain my love for reading, which I had missed in 2022. I didn’t quite hit my reading target, but I finished 28 books (some quite hefty ones) and came very close to reaching my 10,000-page goal. I also indulged in the book-buying hobby, resulting in several books in my TBR pile that I’m looking forward to reading in 2024.
Although it seemed like I was staying a lot in my comfort zone of sci-fi and fantasy novels, I managed to explore less-known cultures and historical events. I started my reading year with Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Afterlives, which took me to East Africa (today’s Tanzania). I also travelled to Trinidad and Tobago (The Bread the Devil Knead by Lisa Allen-Agostini), 15th century China (Lady Tan’s Circle Of Women by Lisa See), the Australian countryside in the 1960s (The White Girl by Tony Birch), and all over North America on The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. All these books were not just great reads, but they are helping me build an understanding of times, places, and happenings that still impact many people’s lives today. I hope to continue my cultural education through reading in 2024 and beyond.
The Best Discovery 2023
I don’t know if I can truly call it the best discovery of my reading year, but the book surprised me a lot. I didn’t expect a classic sci-fi novel to be so interesting. Of course, I’m talking about Frank Herbert’s Dune and its sequel, Dune Messiah (I read both this year). I don’t know if I would have gotten around to reading it if it wasn’t translated into my native language. It was on my reading wish list for a very long time. But the sheer number of pages (and the fact it’s a classic) was putting me off. Once I got into it, my doubts faded away. It’s an amazingly well-constructed and multilayered story that is still relevant today. Mind you, you’ll need to keep your wits about to follow the storyline. I’m looking forward to reading the next one as well.
The Favorite Reunion with an Author 2023
Ohhh… It’s been a tough one this year because there were several important reunions. My first important reunion was with Trudi Canavan. I had the first Millenium’s Rule book waiting on my shelf for ages. And thanks to the author’s storytelling skills, it was just what I needed as my fantasy read of the year. I managed to finish all four books in 2023. Admittedly, it’s not the most complex or intricate fantasy series. Still, it’s well-written and even has a decent romance in it.
My second important reunion was with Emily St. John Mandel and her Sea of Tranquility. I can’t really explain what the book is about, but it was such a joy to read. Emily St. John Mandel has woven together a beautiful story that takes you on a journey to solve a seemingly unusual phenomenon in time. We get to travel from 1912 to 2401 and all the way back in search of an answer to an unanswerable question. What else do you need?
The Weirdest Read 2023
I stayed a lot in my reading comfort zone genre-wise, so it wasn’t easy to pick a book that would fit this category. However, Raven Leilani’s Luster might be the best candidate in 2023. It portrays a dysfunctional relationship among three adults (consenting and not-really-consenting) – a young woman with a series of failures behind her, a middle-aged white man with a suburban family (and a mid-life crisis), and his wife. It’s a raw and honest account of how things are bound to go wrong. But I found it weirdly interesting to see the world from the perspective of a young painter looking for inspiration while navigating a shitty situation in her life.
The Most Challenging Read 2023
In 2023, my challenging read had nothing to do with the writing or the slow reading. Lisa Allen-Agostini’s The Bread the Devil Knead brings a completely different kind of challenge to the table. The kind that is unafraid to depict things we don’t want to know about. From being abused by her boyfriend to being raped as a child, the author doesn’t shy away from describing the experiences of Alethea in great detail. Nevertheless, these stories need to be told, because they are also happening to real people.
The Most Disappointing Read 2023
I generally trust the Booker Prize label (longlisted or shortlisted) as a sign of quality content. Little did I know it might not always be the case. Patricia Lockwood’s No One Is Talking About This only got two feeble stars from me. One part of the book was great but felt unfinished and too short. The other was complete gibberish. The book might have gotten a better review if I didn’t have to suffer through the gibberish. But listen… I’m all for experimenting with new formats and writing styles, but it has to make sense. There has to be a story. It just didn’t work for me.
The Honorable Mentions 2023
I just wanted to mention a couple more books in wrapping up my year in books. The first one is Claire North’s The Sudden Appearance of Hope. It was another candidate for the reunion category, so I decided to mention it here. The story focuses on a woman that no one can remember (Hope Arden) in a world ruled by the latest tech innovation – a lifestyle app called Perfection. The story poses a lot of important questions – from what it means to be truly free to what the true face of loneliness is. I liked that it’s a bit of a philosophical thriller that plays with the big challenges of our modern world.
The second one is Viktar Martinowich’s Mova. It’s a dystopia set in future Belorussia, where language has become a drug. Our two main characters are a dealer and a junkie. In many ways, it can be read as a cry for help to avoid a future where national identity has been swept away by Russians and Chinese. I also managed to meet and hear the author read a passage from the book in its original language (and get my book signed). It was definitely one of the highlights of my reading year.
That’s all from 2023! I hope the next year will bring a lot more exciting literary adventures. Stay safe, stay sane, and read some books!
All things I mind... 