2023: End of Year Book Survey

From Perpetual Page Turner blog.

I did not answer the questions that did not apply to my reading, this is why there are missing numbered questions.

Stats:

Number Of Books You Read: 62
Number of Re-Reads: 0
Genre You Read The Most From: 14 historical (12 scifi – I was assuming the answer was going to be SciFi 🙄)

Questions:

1. Best Book You Read In 2023?

Brother by Ania Ahlborn – still thinking about Michael.

First published September 29, 2015 • 329 pages, Kindle Edition • Horror, Thriller, Dark

Dark horror gets and keeps my attention. I definitely want to read more of Ania Ahlborn.

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

Plastic Plankton by Avis Kalfsbeek – book 2 of the Pedro the Water Dog Series.

Once I read book 1, of the series, I had great hopes and then book 2 felt like more of the same. I should probably reserve judgement until after reading the rest of the series.

 3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?  

The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

Originally added to my TBR when it was first published back in 2022 and it’s average rating, at that time, was 4 stars. By the time I read it the average rating was around 3.6 stars, so my hopes were not very high.

The story was constantly not going as I thought it would, but in good way: The analogy of literally feeding girls fairy tales, regardless of their personalities, while feeding the boys tales of adventure, regardless of their pesonalities, was spot on in showing how this is not a sustainable culture.

 4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir – I am seeing it listed more and more on other bloggers TBR. It may be scifi, but it is more about sentient beings getting along in the universe.

 5. Best series you started in 2023? Best Sequel? Best Series Ender of 2023?

Best Series Started: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells.

Best Sequel: Artificial Condition (book 2 The Murderbot Diaries) by Martha Wells

Best Series Ender: none in 2023 🤷🏻‍♀️

 6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2023?

New to me: Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

I read The Daughter of Doctor Moreau in January ’23 and then The Lover in December; loved both of them.

I want to read Mexican Gothic and Silver Nitrate this year.

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

I consider Romance to not be my typical read.

In ’23 I did not read anything considered mainly Romance. I do think Light From Uncommon Stars should have Romance as one of its first three tags on goodreads.

 8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

There were so many!

Final analysis: Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah.

SciFi, Dystopia: “profit-raising program inside America’s private prison system.”

 9. Book You Read In 2023 That You Would Be MOST Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

Probably not in 2024, but definitely want to re-read Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2023?

Tales from the Gas Station (volume three) by Jack Townsend – Whenever I read another Tales from the Gas Station I always envision the gas station where my brother-in-law worked in the 1970s on a highway in rural southern Kansas. There was only one outside light on the small building with two pumps: one diesel and one regular gas. The bookcover gas station is more lit and modern, but still has that desolate feel.

11. Most memorable character of 2023?

Murderbot, from The Murderbot Diaries –

Murderbot is a mixture of Data from Star Trek and the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz only with lots of baggage.

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 12. Most beautifully written book read in 2023?

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett 

At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves.

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Layer upon layer of ignored emotions are peeled away until the reader is left with the ultimate truth: the importance of Mom.

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2023?

Thought-provoking: Network of Lies by Brian Stetler – subtitle: The Epic Saga of Fox News, Donald Trump, and the Battle for American Democracy

We listened to the audiobook after dinner in the evenings. It was cathartic to go back over the events that culminated on January 6, 2021.

 14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2023 to finally read? 

The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy – First published July 29, 2003

In the last months of the Nazi occupation of Poland, two children are left by their father and stepmother to find safety in a dense forest. Because their real names will reveal their Jewishness, they are renamed “Hansel” and “Gretel.” They wander in the woods until they are taken in by Magda, an eccentric and stubborn old woman called “witch” by the nearby villagers.

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Although I did not know the story existed until last year, I am surprised I had never come across it prior to 2023.

 15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2023?

That’s the beauty of God’s grace. It’s understanding, it’s choosing to show grace. It’s holding each other accountable, yes, but it’s also not creating our own narrative and forcing others’ stories into it.

The Souls of Lost Lake

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2023?

Shortest: My Evil Mother by Margaret Atwood – 32 pages – fantasy, witches

Longest: Our Share of Night by Mariana Enríquez – 608 pages – horror

17. Book That Shocked You The Most

The Only One Left by Riley Sager – twists on top of twists on top of twists

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2023 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (historical fiction) – previously read: The Poisonwood Bible, and Animal Dreams.

21. Best Book You Read In 2020 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure/Bookstagram, Etc.:

MARiiMO by Tyrel Pinnegar – “discovered” on another book blog.

Thank you book bloggers!

Fun fact: I was first told I had the symptoms of Asperger’s Syndrome in my early 20s, when my mother was still living. She said, “There is nothing wrong with you.” with such finality that I disregarded what made sense and continued to live like a bull-in-a-china-closet. Fast forward to seven years ago (and in my third marriage) when my current employer had me work with someone who can help people understand their outside-the-usual POV.

23. Best 2023 debut you read?

White Horse by Erika T. Wurth – First published November 1, 2022 – horror

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

The Poppy War (The Poppy War #1) by R.F. Kuang – China 20th century – Fantasy, Magic

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

Upgrade by Blake Crouch – might not be hidden to anyone but me. 😁 I keep forgetting I read it in 2023.

First published July 7, 2022 • Scifi, Thriller

The doctors say he’s been infected by a virus – one designed not to make him sick, but to modify his very genetic structure. In a world where the next-generation gene-editing tool known as Scythe is widely available – and has already reaped disastrous consequences – the possibilities are too many and terrifying to count.

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