Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted at That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week you compile a list of ten books that coincide with that week’s theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining here!
The topic this week is Favourite Books of 2023.
Looking back at 2023, I read and loved many books, and it’s hard to narrow it down to just 10 books.
- Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy – I like a good, long, classic read, but often don’t get the time, or have the concentration to focus on one. But this book was amazing, just layers and layers.
- The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell – Thrillers are becoming very predictable of late, but I liked how this one kept me guessing.
- The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller – A sweet, tender, love story, while sticking to the original mythology.
- Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this romp by a vampire and her boyfriend through violence-torn Mexico.
- The Sandman (Preludes and Nocturnes, The Doll’s House, Dream Country) by Neil Gaiman – Amazing visuals, crazy story that somehow makes sense. Probably my favorite series of the year.
- Breasts and Eggs by Meiko Kawakami – An introspective deep dive into the choices that women make regarding their bodies. Very thought-provoking.
- The Greatest Urdu Stories Ever Told by Muhammad Umar Memon – Anthologies of short stories are generally pretty hit-and-miss for me. But the shorts in this compilation were uniformly good.
- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens – One of those Southern stories that wind its way through your heart.
- These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong – I am not a fan of YA, and usually avoid this genre, but this riff on Romeo and Juliet based in Shanghai was thoroughly enjoyable.
- A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series by Holly Black – I almost didn’t include this in my list because of my dislike for the third book in the trilogy. But the first two were so good that I eventually gave in and added it to the list.
What were your favorite books of 2023?
Where the Crawdads Sing is a thought-provoking book. I liked it. Happy 2024!
Glad you liked it! Happy 2024 to you too!
I agree with you on the third book in the Good Girl’s series – what the WHAT? But, I really liked the first two. They’re clever and entertaining. I need to read more by Jackson.
Happy TTT (on a Thursday)!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
what the WHAT is the best description of the book! I think Holly Black was probably forced to continue the series after book 2, so she decided to just have some fun with us.
It wasn’t one of my Top 10 but The Song of Achilles was one I read last year and really enjoyed (despite my strong dislike for Achilles from the mythology) 🙂
I really wish I got on with graphic novels because I WANT to read and like Sandman – I’ve tried it a few times and the style just doesn’t work for me which makes me sad
I felt the same way about graphic novels for the longest time too! Then during pandemic, I started reading them just because I could no longer focus on harder reads. And now it’s becoming one of my favorite genres.
The Greatest Urdu Stories Ever Told sure sounds interesting.
Here is my Top Ten Tuesday post.
It’s one of my favorite anthologies ever.
I agree with your assessment of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder! The first two were so good, but the third was so disappointing! Adding that Silvia Moreno-Garcia book to my TBR! Happy reading this year!
My Favorite Books of 2023
I almost didn’t add the series to my top ten list, just because the last one was so disappointing.