Every Book I Read in 2023, Reviewed in Two Sentences or Less

7. Into the Deep by Robert D. Ballard

Star Rating: 4

An interesting and adventure-packed autobiography by the man who found the wreck of the Titanic.

8. More than a White Man’s Religion by Abdu Murray

Star Rating: 4.5

A well-presented and interesting deep-dive into some of the troubling questions and misconceptions about Christianity.

9. How to by Randall Monroe

Star Rating: 3

A hilarious and incredibly impractical guide to completing everyday tasks with a scientific and unhelpful twist.

10. Neurotribes by Steve Silberman

Star Rating: 4

A fascinating and comprehensive account of the history of autism and its impact on the world.

11. Calculating the Cosmos by Ian Stewart

Star Rating: 3

I’m not going to lie, the majority of this went straight over my head. What I did understand, however, was very interesting.

12. Persuasion by Jane Austen

Star Rating: 5

A fourth or fifth re-read from my most-loved author. This wasn’t my favourite of Austen’s books on the first read, but I enjoy it more and more each time I re-read it.

13. The Book of Ivy by Amy Engel

Star Rating: 4

(See my full review here.)

Not my favourite YA dystopia novel, but certainly not the worst I’ve ever read.

14. The Revolution of Ivy by Amy Engel

Star Rating: 3.5

(See my full review here.)

The second in the duology, much the same as the first; again, not the best or worst I’ve ever seen from the genre.

15. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Star Rating: 5

Another Austen re-read, this was around my fifth time. A somewhat unpopular opinion, but this is my favourite of Jane Austen’s works, perhaps because I identify so much with the heroine.

16. The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

Star Rating: 3

(See my full review here.)

A good enough read, but I have read better stories set during the holocaust, especially considering the reputed historical inaccuracies.

17. Cilka’s Journey by Heather Morris

Star Rating: 3

(See my full review here.)

Like its predecessor, the story was good and the writing style tolerable, but considering the inaccuracies and other accusations levelled against it, this is far from the best piece of true story-based historical fiction I’ve come across.

18. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Star Rating: 5

The next in line in revisiting my favourite author’s works for this year. Again, this is about my fifth time reading this particular work, and, like Persuasion, this one grows on me more with every repetition.

19. Chain of Thorns by Cassandra Clare

Star Rating: 4

This author is one of my guilty pleasure reads. I didn’t like some of the things that happened in this book, and it’s not the conclusion I would have liked to the series, but it was still a fun time.

20. A History of the English Speaking Peoples vol. ii by Winston Churchill

Star Rating: 2.5

This is English history for those who already know it quite well and enjoy recapping the events from a rather biased point of view. It is my opinion that history probably shouldn’t be written by politicians, whether they were a part of it or not.

21. Different not Less by Chloé Hayden

Star Rating: 5

A refreshing and beautiful take on what it means to navigate the world as a disabled individual. A positive and uplifting message from an important neurodivergent voice.

22. The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie

Star Rating: 4.5

Another fun murder mystery from one of my favourite crime authors; I devoured it in one day. Kept me guessing up until the end, and through all the twists and turns.

23. William Shakespeare’s Tragedy of the Sith’s Revenge by Ian Doescher

Star Rating: 4

A hilarious retelling of the movie as a shakespearean-style play. As a die-hard Star Wars fan with an odd sense of humour, this was right up my alley.

24. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Star Rating: 5

A truly heartwarming and wonderfully funny story in the form of an epistolary novel. One of my favourite books of 2023, and my feel-good read of the year.

25. The Iliad by Homer

Star Rating: 4

For some reason I find this classic inexplicably more hilarious every time I read it. It’s nice to know that men haven’t changed over thousands of years.

26. Far Rockaway by Charlie Fletcher

Star Rating: 4.5

This is an old favourite of mine, a great adventure that shows the value and power of both books and family.

27. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Star Rating: 5

(See my full review here.)

Another favourite. It made me both laugh and cry on several occasions, and had some of the most unforgettable character’s I’ve come across the whole year.

28. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Star Rating: 4

About my third re-read, and it still makes me cry every time. A beautiful book, and not just for kids, in my opinion.

29. Fable by Adrienne Young

Star Rating: 5

I absolutely adore the feel and setting of this fantasy story, and the writing is wonderful. Overall, the book is exquisite, another of my favourites for the year (and I know this says nothing about the book’s quality, but the cover designs for the hardcovers of both this and its sequel are some of the prettiest I’ve ever seen).

30. Namesake by Adrienne Young

Star Rating: 4.5

Not quite as good as the first in the duology in my opinion, but I still loved it. Wonderful writing and characters and a rich and beautiful setting.

31. Saint by Adrienne Young

Star Rating: 3.5

This kind of disappointed me if I’m being honest; as the prequel to one of my favourite series, I expected to like both the characters and the story more, but if anything I felt as if it detracted from the magic of the original series.

32. Evelina by Frances Burney

Star Rating: 4.5

As someone who is deeply upset by the fact that Jane Austen only wrote six full novels, this book was an unexpected delightful read for me. I would recommend it to other Austen fans; for bonus points, it was a favourite of Austen herself, and an inspiration for her works (really, it’s a wonder it’s taken me this long to read it).

33. The Last Legacy by Adrienne Young

Star Rating: 4

I didn’t like this quite as much as the Fable duology, which is set in the same universe but with different characters; however, it was still an enjoyable read.

34. Villette by Charlotte Brontë

Star Rating: 3.5

A very slow novel in which not much happens, but for some inexplicable reason I still quite enjoyed reading it. That said, if I hadn’t been in the mood I most likely would have hated or even DNFed it.

35. The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Star Rating: 4.5

Absolutely epic in more ways than one. It takes a lot for a book this long to not feel this long, but this one managed it; I was hooked from beginning to end.

36. Winning words by William Sieghart

Star Rating: 4

A wonderful choice for those making their first forays into the world of poetry (aka me). These poems were collected from a wide variety of authors, some well-known and some not, and while some pieces were just weird, a lot of them I really enjoyed (my favourite was Two Cures for Love by Wendy Cope).

37. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Star Rating: 4

Totally creeped me out in a really good way. The kind of book that you think about a lot, even once you’ve finished it.

38. The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

Star Rating: 2.5

Even though this book was well-written, I still found it disappointing and kind of average. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either.

39. A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

Star Rating: 4

I didn’t like this one as much as The Priory of the Orange Tree, but I was still really absorbed and enjoyed it quite a bit.

40. Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

Star Rating: 4

This story made me both very sad and very angry; I truly think the book was ahead of its time. And let me go on record to say I really, really hate Angel Clare (what an insufferable hypocrite).

41. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

Star Rating: 5

A beautiful, heart-warming, feel-good read that I was totally unprepared for. I loved every moment of it, and it has become a new all-time favourite.

42. Unlikeable Female Characters by Anna Bogutskaya

Star Rating: 2.5

I got some of the points that were being made in this book, but not others, and it got a little repetitive after a while. Still, it remains an interesting analysis of women in pop culture.

43. Flush by Virginia Woolf

Star Rating: 3

A short and sweet story; I love Virginia Woolf’s writing, which can make even a dog’s imagined biography interesting.

44. Replacing Darwin by Nathaniel Jeanson

Star Rating: 3.5

An interesting and evidence-based look at the alternatives to evolutionary theory, based on genetics. As a cell biology major, I found this one very interesting, especially in contrast to the unquestioning loyalty to the evolutionary theory I have encountered in all my lectures and textbooks.

45. The Time Machine by H. G. Wells

Star Rating: 2.5

Definitely not my favourite of the old science fiction books, and not Wells’ best work by his own admission, but short enough to be tolerable.

46. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

Star Rating: 4

Satirical and humorous, I had a lot of fun with this book, despite its length.

47. 1984 by George Orwell

Star Rating: 4

This book made me think — a lot. A very interesting and uncomfortable read.

48. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Star Rating: 4

I disliked this book on my first read, but I really enjoyed it on this second one. At its heart, it is a story that portrays humans in all their flawed and beautiful nature, and I was old enough to appreciate that this time around where I wasn’t before.

49. The Poetry of Emily Dickinson

Star Rating: 3.5

I am fairly new to the world of reading poetry, and some of this I wasn’t able to fully appreciate. However, I did find plenty of delightful verses, and enjoyed reading the book overall; I would like to get my hands on the remaining volumes.

50. Laziness Does not Exist by Dr. Devon Price

Star Rating: 3.5

As a chronic perfectionist and over-worker, this book was a good fresh perspective for me, and inspired some interesting thoughts.

51. Is God a Moral Monster by Paul Copan

Star Rating: 2.5

This book takes a look at trying to solve some often-posed moral issues presented by the Bible. It did bring up some interesting thoughts, but overall I felt it suffered from a lack of evidence to the suggestions made, and I’m not sure how solid the conclusions are.

52. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Star Rating: 5

(See my full review here.)

The only Dickens I’ve ever truly loved, but man, do I love it. This book remains one of my all-time favourites, and never fails to make me shed a tear or two.

53. The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan

Star Rating: 3

This was a nice bit of nostalgia for me, as I’m sure it was for many others.

54. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Star Rating: 2.5

I had no idea what to expect going into this book, and I was still taken aback. Difficult to read, and very depressing, but it does explore some important concepts.

55. A Lady’s Guide to Scandal by Sophie Irwin

Star Rating: 4

A light and fun modernised Austen-esque novel. A chance find at the library that I had a really good time reading.

56. Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

Star Rating: 4

(See my full review here.)

Not my favourite-ever Christie, but still good fun. The drama was especially on-point.

57. Social Queue by Kay Kerr

Star Rating: 4.5

As an autistic woman reading my first novel written by an autistic woman with an autistic woman as the main character, this book made me feel seen in a way that I haven’t before. Sweet and funny, but still deals with some important themes.

58. The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Star Rating: 3

Prettily written, but the plot was a bit slow, and some of the story elements felt unnecessary.

59. Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley

Star Rating: 4

An absorbing story about identity and family, with a good mystery plot.

60. Please Don’t Hug Me by Kay Kerr

Star Rating: 3

I wanted to enjoy this more, considering how much I loved the author’s other book (and how deeply I relate to the title), but the tone of this one wasn’t as much to my taste.

61. King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard

Star Rating: 1.5

(See my full review here.)

A re-read from my childhood; back then, I didn’t realise how problematic this book was, but I certainly did on the re-read, and it definitely eclipsed how much I enjoyed the adventure plot line.

62. As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh

Star Rating: 5

This book made me sob. One of the saddest and most touching and important books I’ve read in a long time.

63. Pardon My French by Rachel McIntosh

Star Rating: 3

A very funny and very Australian memoir recounting an Aussie family’s year living in France.

64. A Lady’s Guide to Fortune Hunting by Sophie Irwin

Star Rating: 4.5

Really good fun; the wit and humour were masterfully done, and I laughed out loud on several occasions. I read it over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and it was the perfect light and entertaining read to suit the holiday.

65. Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley

Star Rating: 3.5

The Sequel to Firekeeper’s Daughter; this one was still good, and brought up and explored important issues, but I felt it wasn’t as well-done as the first book; the ending, especially, felt rushed (as did the ending to the year, so perhaps it was an appropriate way to finish off).