23 in 2023
#23in2023 is a reading challenge that has been trending on the Instagram book community (or “bookstagram.”) Essentially, you pick 23 books you want to read in 2023, preferably books you already own but haven’t read yet.
I tried this last year with my #22in2022 list, with limited success. The main problem was (and remains) that I tend to rebel whenever I’m told “you should read this”—even if the person telling me I should read it is ME! Somehow, as soon as reading a particular book becomes an obligation instead of a free choice, I resist.
Because of that tendency, I really debated whether to try this again in 2023. In the end, I decided to go ahead and make a list of 23 books I own that I would like to read this year, but not treat the list as a mandate. Many are books I bought at some point in the last several years, or books that were given to me from my wishlist. Some of those are books I didn’t get from #22in2022, but I didn’t carry over all my unread books from that list. I included a few gifts from people I trust to know my tastes (for instance, Robin gave me Babel for Christmas), even though I hadn’t previously put them on my wishlist. And a few titles are the next entry in series I am in the middle of, or the first book in a series I want to start.
I sorted the list alphabetically by author. I included the format(s) that I own the book in: HC (hardcover), PB (trade paperback), MM (mass market paperback), K (Kindle), and A (audiobook.) I reserve the option to borrow or buy a copy in a different format if it makes reading it easier; for instance, if the print in a physical book is too small, I may borrow a Kindle copy from the library instead.
23 in 2023: My Book List
- The Mabinogion (various anon.; translated by Sioned Davies) – PB, K, A
- Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) – PB, K
- The Last Unicorn (Peter S. Beagle) – HC, K
- Silverwolf (Jacey Bedford) – MM
- The Raven Heir (Stephanie Burgis) – HC
- The October Witches (Jennifer Claessen) – PB
- Once Upon a Tome: The Misadventures of a Rare Bookseller (Oliver Darkshire) – HC
- Well Met (Jen DeLuca) – K
- A Master of Djinn (P. Djèlí Clark) – K, A
- Follow the Flock: How Sheep Shaped Human Civilization (Sally Coulthard; alternate title for A Short History of the World According to Sheep) – HC
- Valour and Vanity (Mary Robinette Kowal) – HC
- Babel: An Arcane History (R. F. Kuang) – HC
- The Lord of Stariel (A. J. Lancaster) – K
- Spin the Dawn (Elizabeth Lim) – HC, K
- A Marvellous Light (Freya Marske) – K, A
- The Starless Sea (Erin Morgenstern) – HC, K
- A Deadly Education (Naomi Novik) – HC, K
- Spinning Silver (Naomi Novik) – HC, K
- Murder on Black Swan Lane (Andrea Penrose) – K
- The Choice (Nora Roberts) – HC, K
- An Enchantment of Ravens (Margaret Rogerson) – HC, K
- A Darker Shade of Magic (V. E. Schwab) – PB, K
- The Cartographers (Peng Shepherd) – A
Wendy
I’m wising your the best on this challenge. I love how you said you don’t like it when someone tells you what to read even when the someone is you! LOL
Wendy recently posted…Book Review: The Rom-Com Agenda by Jayne Denker
Anne+-+Books+of+My+Heart
oooo I see some books I really loved there. A Darker Shade of Magic, Murder on Black Swan Lane, Spinning Silver and Well Met. I hope you get to enjoy some of them.
Anne+-+Books+of+My+Heart recently posted…Magic Tides by Ilona Andrews
Berls
Good luck! I have a similar list problem lol! You have some good ones on there – Pride and Prejudice is an absolute favorite and I really enjoyed Well Met for book club. Oh and a Darker Shade of Magic was a fantastic trilogy! I have owned Spinning Silver for over a year now and wanted to read it… maybe we can try to buddy read it sometime this year! (I’m slow though!)
Berls recently posted…Tell Me Something Tuesday: Classics
Katherine
What a great mix of books! I’ve got a few books that are carryover from last year too and am looking forward to reading them. I liked The Choice and the Andrea Penrose series is high on my TBR.