Revisiting my year in books, and curating a list of my favourites, is another annual tradition I have been following since I rekindled my reading habit in 2015. It was originally started to pick out favourites from over 100 books I was reading every year.
That number may have dwindled over the last couple of years with the addition of more activities taking up my spare time but the tradition has remained.
Earlier this week I posted an update on the year that went by, with the focus on reading, crafting, and my addiction to all things Korean.
Today, I share some statistics on my 2023 reading activity along with a snapshot of some of my favourite books from that list.
With three back-to-back semesters of language study, it was challenging to find time not only to read books but also craft book-pairings to go with them, and write reviews. Then there was the time spent on watching Kdramas, or as I like to call it – supplement study material.
I anticipated all these changes and set a lower target of 30 books for 2023, down from 60 books the previous year. Between this limited target and an ever-rising TBR, I could only pick and choose books that were available at hand and/or fit the mood. Unfortunately, this meant I read only one translated fiction and a handful of Indian authors through the year.
Here’s a look at my reading stats for 2023:
This year, I’ve included a Year-on-Year comparison of number of books read by month between 2022 and 2023. I noticed the numbers were directly proportional to the time availability during, and between, semesters. For example, I was reading more before the start of a semester, the number of books decreasing as the semester picked up speed, and dropped to one or two books before the end when I had to prepare for exams. The only exception to this was between Oct-Dec when I took up my Annual Binge-Read and could read at a stretch, since the binge-read series needed only one review post and one craft-pairing for all those books.
Also the number of books I read in a month vs the number of reviews that were published are far apart. This is mostly because I take more time in thinking of a project, collecting material and putting it together, than the time I take to read a book.
With a lower annual reading target, I’ve also read fewer books in one day this year. My average reading speed decreased to 2-4 days per book.
In terms of Published books vs. Advance Review copies, the ratio has changed from 1:1 in 2022 to 3:1 in 2023.
With respect to Publication year, I tend to read a higher number of books published within the last 2-3 years. However, reading the Mitch Rapp series for my Annual Binge-Read changed this statistic as these 23 books were published between 1997 to 2023.
Next up: my Blog stats which has seen an even greater surge of activity this year:
My total blog views have jumped 300% in 2023 – a marked increase from last year, and a long way since I first started this blog in October 2015.
Even the number of countries from which this blog has seen visitors has gone up by 40% this year with visitors from 120 countries. Of these, the top five countries were USA, India, UK, Australia, and Canada, in decreasing order. Interestingly, for the first time visits from USA have surpassed India, that too by 150%.
My most viewed blog post this year was the review of my 2022 Annual Binge-read – The Scot Harvath series by Brad Thor. This post garnered nearly one-third of my total blog views at 32%.
My reading stats continue to be my most viewed pins on Pinterest, though this was overtaken last year by my KDrama overview of 2022.
Moving on to favourite books from the 2023 list, I have put together a selection of my five-star reads. These are categorised under the following four heads –
1. Indian Fiction
2. Indian Non-Fiction
3. International Fiction
4. International Non Fiction
In addition, I have created two more categories, to segregate by genre and age group:
1. Mystery/Thrillers
2. Children / Middle Grade Fiction
So, here are my recommendations from the books I read in 2023. These lists are in no particular order.
INDIAN FICTION:
Meera Rajagopalan’s debut carries you over waves of calm and storm. Her nuanced approach to the subject of mental health with her character’s unapologetic humour and flaws leaves you with bittersweet emotions.
This poignantly humorous tale pushes you to question age-old beliefs and remedy them when still possible. A rare find, this book is nothing short of being a gem of Indian literature, the kind you wish for more to discover and read.
INDIAN NON-FICTION:
A handy guide for anyone looking to step into entrepreneurship or even to understand the basics of running a business, The Dolphin and The Shark is your go-to guide for everything you wanted to know about start-ups but didn’t know whom to ask.
As a natural progression to the author’s first book,
Remnants of a Separation, this looks at how Partition memory is preserved and bequeathed, its consequences disseminated and manifested within family, community and nation
An insightful, original piece of work, In the Language of Remembering is a trove of history that was buried deep within the memories of partition survivors and now illuminates our past for present and future generations before it is lost into oblivion.
This book provides a superb insight into broader aspects of the birds seen in NCT and the surrounding areas, beyond identification, to contextualize their presence in the Delhi area, their habitat, distribution and to sum up the current state of our knowledge of their status, and changes in status over the past decades.
A beautifully presented checklist of Delhi’s birds, this is a superb companion for your birding escape from the hustle and bustle, as well as a starter kit to get into bird-watching.
INTERNATIONAL FICTION:
Athena Liu is a literary darling. Juniper Hayward is literally nobody. When Athena dies in a freak accident, Juniper steals her unpublished manuscript and publishes it as her own. But as evidence threatens Juniper’s stolen success, she will discover exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.
As much literary fiction as a thriller, this is a razor-sharp, twisty satire that questions the concept of morality and marks the line between truth and reality.
Emmy Lake, the much-loved agony aunt at Woman’s Friend magazine is struggling with the arrival of a glamorous new owner who tries to charm her way around the rest of the team. Unfortunately, she plans to destroy everything readers love about the magazine.
Powerful, heart-warming and compelling, this feel-good adventure overwhelmed me with emotion. There is no doubt the series only gets better with every book and I don’t want it to ever end. It would be like losing a best friend.
I have tried but am unable to describe the effect this book has on me. To an outsider it is simply a story about a doll house and its miniature furniture and crockery and curtains and upholstery. All that changes when you step into the captivating world of Myra’s Mansion and feel the words clamouring for attention, dancing in circles around you, overwhelming you with emotion.
I didn’t think magical realism was something I could enjoy but this book has cast a spell on me in ways I can’t remember any other work of fiction has in a long, long time.
I discovered Jesse Sutanto’s books and have read all her novels for adults, this year.
A hilariously crafted murder mystery with a charming protagonist who worms her way into your heart, this one is a heart-warming story of undertaking a rollicking adventure, age no bar, and rediscovering the meaning of life.
I definitely recommend the audio book narrated by Eunice Wong who pushes the book from great to absolutely fabulous. Her voice enactment suits each character perfectly and forms a fully rendered persona built from Sutanto’s characterisation.
I’m Not Done with You Yet is a cat and mouse game illuminating the dark side of female friendships, blended into a dark, twisted, provocative thriller about obsession, toxic relationships, social anxiety and mental health.
Deliciously wicked, this Gone Girl meets Crazy Rich Asians tale is a perplexing puzzle that will sucker punch you and then question your allegiance with every turn of the page.
The stories in both these books are part crime-thriller, part comedy, part madcap adventure, and a whole lot of Asian love.
I haven’t laughed this hard and this loud in a long time as I have while reading these books by Jesse Q. Sutanto. It ticks all my favourite genres and is an instant mood lifter that will have you in stitches. If you ask me, this series is all one needs for laughter therapy.
The No-Show has three protagonists, each of whom is telling their story about this man they have been spending time with. The problem is he is never present.
This is clearly Beth O’Leary’s best work to date. With The No-Show, she proves she can elevate the traditional rom-com to a genre-defying level that may come close to the Happily Ever After but not before leaving you in a puddle of tears and heartbreak.
A historical fiction novel set in London during WW2, this tells the story of two women who start a book club that meets in the shelter when sirens sound. The Air Raid Book Club is about love, friendship, hope, and most of all – the power of books. Believe me when I say, this is the most gorgeous historical-fiction you’ll read this year.
INTERNATIONAL NON-FICTION:
We are all struggling with something at some point in life and a little push in the right direction can be of invaluable assistance: This book provides that – pushes you to see yourself as a real, living, breathing person who invites joy for themself.
I found this book to be deeply relatable, perhaps not on the larger scale, but in addressing specific aspects of my life. That is really the USP of this book and can hold immense meaning for someone looking for answers to questions they are unable to frame.
MYSTERY/THRILLERS:
Robert Dugoni’s new thriller with Keera Duggan, a Seattle prosecutor, is part courtroom thriller, part crime procedural, and part family drama. It has all the ingredients to hook you and you can see this is poised to become the next big Robert Dugoni series. You will even see familiar names from the Seattle PD team in the Tracy Crosswhite series which makes you wonder about the possibility of a Keera Duggan-Tracy Crosswhite cross-over.
Tracy Crosswhite’s new case is a 25-year-old cold case investigation of a reporter’s disappearance which will push her loyalties and her resilience to the limit. I’ve been following this series since 2019 and this, along with the accompanying short-story The Last Line, is another masterful suspense thriller with a female protagonist who will surely become your hero.
In Book2 of the DC Ffion Morgan Series, Clare Mackintosh puts you in the middle of a reality show being shot in the mountains where each contestant has a secret which, if discovered, eliminates them. Devilishly witty, with sharply written characters and clever twists that even seasoned Mackintosh fans will not expect, this is a worthy sequel that only raises your expectations for what’s coming next.
OrphanX, assassin turned vigilante, better known as The Nowhere Man, has come a long way from the boy he once was. In these last three books, the author delves deeper into Orphan X’s personal relationships which, once you know Evan Smoak, you understand is not easy for him to explore. It is impossible to not get addicted to this series. I love the black, white and grey of Evan’s character, his sense of duty, rules of engagement, and above all – his ten commandments because how you do anything is how you do everything.
Considered one of the most popular characters written in the thriller genre, the Mitch Rapp series was my 2023 #AquaFlavoursBingeReads – my annual one-author-one-character binge-read that included 23 books. It had been on my list for so long I am glad I finally got to it as this was one of the highlights of my reading this year.
CHILDREN / MIDDLE GRADE FICTION:
Stuck on a remote farm with her awful aunt, twelve-year-old Ruth spots a flying saucer blazing across the sky… before crash-landing in a field. Space travel has never looked this exciting and this is clearly one of the more thrilling adventures I wish I had been a part of.
And that brings me to the end of my list of top favourite books this year. What do you think of these titles? If you’ve read any of these, let me know whether our opinions match or not. Are you planning to pick up any of the books from the list I shared above? Leave me a comment on this post so we can discuss more.
Also, do share your favourites from the books you’ve read or are most excited to read this year. I always welcome book recommendations of all kinds.
If you want to see my full reading list from 2023, you will find it here. I’ve shared other details as well about my journey through the year which I hope you will enjoy reading.
If you’re a reader, looking to discover new books, or share book discussions, you can follow this blog (click the ‘Follow’ button at top right or towards the bottom of this page). I’ll continue to share my reviews of books I read through the year with hand-crafted pairings.
You can also connect with me on my socials via linktr.ee/AshieJayn.
Here’s to another year of doing what you love and loving what you do!
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Aquamarine Flavours 
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