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My Favorite Books I Read in 2023

January 17, 2024

I read 60 books in 2023! Some were alright, some were not so good, but some were amazing! Those are the books that I’ll be discussing in this post. I initially wanted to share all my 5-star reads but I realized that not all my 5-star reads were my favorite reads, you would think so, right? I think a book can be both a 5-star and not necessarily your favorite. In this post, I’m sharing a few books that were memorable to me that I want to recommend to you all.

Make sure to follow me on Goodreads to be updated on what I’m reading and on StoryGraph if you’re curious about my book statistics.

My star reading scale
★★★★★/5 – Loved it! Would reread and recommend it to others.
★★★★/5 – Kept me entertained. I would reread.
★★★/5 – Didn’t love or hate but would recommend to others.
★★/5 – Did not enjoy it and probably skimmed through most of it.
★/5 – I hated it and regret wasting my time with this book.
DNF – Did not finish. This will probably be rare because I like to finish every book I start.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie ★★★★/5
I read five books by Agatha Christie (I think she may be my favorite author!) in 2023 and while not all of them were amazing two of them were, Murder on the Orient Express and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. If I had to suggest one over the over it would be The Murder of Roger Ackroyd because it was the first that I guessed correctly! No, but really I was entertained and had fun trying to connect the dots trying to solve the murder, I felt like Hercule Poirot! haha

The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery ★★★★/5
This book was recommended to me by the ladies from the Unbound Books podcast. I would have never known this book existed if it weren’t for Ariel! The Blue Castle is a book starring L.M. Montogomery’s oldest main charaters who is a startling 29! This is one of those books about an unhinged woman (one of my favorite tropes) who decides to take charge of her life despite what others think set in the early 1900s. I read this the week before I turned 30 so I feel like this book was speaking to me! It did have a little bit of romance but it was done in a way that didn’t annoy me (I’m not a fan of romance) and romance wasn’t the major topic. It was beautiful.

The Ballad of Sophie by Filipe Melo ★★★★★/5
I read a lot of graphic novels in 2023 but no other graphic novel was as impactful as The Ballad of Sophie, it’s a more mature graphic novel about a reporter who interviews a famous pianist who was a child protege but then went “crazy” at the height of his career, the novel goes back to when he was a child and through a progression of his life. I was mesmerized by this novel, the colors, images, and patterns, it was done very well. I was shocked at times and didn’t see many things coming, especially the ending! Even if you aren’t into graphic novels, if you just want to read a well-done story then I recommend this one.

I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid ★★★★/5
This is a 4-star read that I would probably give a 5-star now. This is about a couple who goes to visit one of the couple’s parents for dinner but strange things start to happen. This book kept me on the edge the entire time! This is one of those unsettling books that I think about from time to time because I still have so many questions. It’s a very interesting book that I can see myself reading again in the future.

The Tea Dragon Society Series by Kay O’Neill ★★★★★/5
This graphic novel was such a lovely read! Kay O’Neill did an outstanding job creating this world of magical tea dragons. I read these digitally via my iPad but will be purchasing the whole series irl because the illustrations are gorgeous and the stories are heartwarming. If you are looking for a cute series with amazing visuals and wholesome stories then I recommend the Tea Dragon Society series to you.

Lotería by Cynthia Pelayo ★★★★/5
In 2023, I fell in love with short story collections. I read many short stories, anthologies, and novellas last year but my favorite of all that I read was Lotería by Cynthia Pelayo. This was an accidental find, I was looking for another book with the same title but found this one and decided to read it instead because it was available and I loved it! It marries my love for the Mexican bingo game, Loteria with my love for Latin American folklore and puts it all in short stories and I loved it! As I mentioned, in my ‘What I Read November’ post, not every story hits but there are more good stories than bad. If you want a creepy read for spooky season this year, I highly recommend this one!

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata ★★★★/5
This was one of the last books I read last year so it’s still fresh on my mind. This book was one of those that makes you think, what did I just read?!? I watched Saltburn after I read this and this book makes that film look like a film for children! There were so many moments that had me grossed out (the last part especially) but I was entertained the entire time and the book does try to send a message to not follow the status norm but yeah it’s disturbing and not for the faint of heart. haha

What was your favorite book of 2023?

in 2024, January, reading # 2023, 2024, books, January, reading

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Hello! I’m Michelle, a kawaii lifestyle blogger, crochet designer and artist. Creator of Mooeyandfriends. Based in the United States. New posts every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday!

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💕🐮I feel like it’s been a minute since I p 💕🐮I feel like it’s been a minute since I posted one of these 😅 Here’s my weekly photo roundup from the week (7/14-7/20) How was your week? 🐮💕

1️⃣ Birthday journal spread 🥳
2️⃣-3️⃣ Dinner at Revolving Sushi Factory (my favorite)
4️⃣ Tres leche cake 🎂
5️⃣ Me as a restaurant 🦀
6️⃣ New card decks!
7️⃣ Post birthday dinner boba
8️⃣ Woke up to Lucy on my foot 😂
9️⃣ Lamoomoo plushie 🐮 
1️⃣0️⃣ Lucy approves 💖
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#blogger #weekinthelife #petitejoys #journaling #creativejournal #junkjournal #kawaiiaestethic #flatlaylove #photodiary #weeklyphotodump
✨🪸🧜🏻‍♀️ It’s the final day of t ✨🪸🧜🏻‍♀️ It’s the final day of the mermaid readathon! Thank you so much for hosting this readathon @thebrightsidegirl! I had so much fun reading these mermaid/island/ocean/underwater books! I also enjoyed making these mermaid themed flat lays for the photo challenges and can’t wait until next year! Swipe to see all the books I read and the mermaid treasures I collected! 🧜🏻‍♀️🪸✨

📖 Day 14: Fave mermaid read
Technically, my favorite read wasn’t a mermaid book but an island book 😆 Beauty Queens by Libba Bray was my favorite read during this readathon! It’s about a group of pageant girls who get stranded on a mysterious island. I listened to the audiobook and was blown away! The author narrates the entire book and does different voices for each of the characters in the book, and there are a lot of characters! Highly recommend the audiobook! I’m not a fan of the cover though, it looks like a smutty book 😂🙈 Have you read Beauty Queens? 👸🏻

Stay tuned for a mermaid readathon recap blog post which I’ll be posting on my website later this week! If you participated in this readathon, what was your favorite read?🧜🏻‍♀️
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#mermaidmarathonreads #bookish #readathon #bookstagram #thebrightsidegirl #summerreads #kindlepaperwhite #beautyqueens #summerbooks #kindlereads
✨🐚🌊 It’s day 12 of @thebrightsidegirl me ✨🐚🌊 It’s day 12 of @thebrightsidegirl mermaid readathon! 🌊🐚✨

🦀 Day 12: Ocean creature
How cute is this cookie! I was gifted this crab sugar cookie on my birthday because I’m a Cancer 😆 but I thought it would be perfect for today’s photo challenge!

I just started the second book in the Emily Windsnap series, Emily Windsnap and the Monster from the Deep. I’m assuming based on the title, there will be some sort of ocean creature involved, we will see! 🧜🏻‍♀️
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#mermaidmarathonreads #bookish #readathon #bookstagram #thebrightsidegirl #summerreads #cancer♋ #cancerszn #mermaidmagic #oceancreature #kindlepaperwhite
🪸🧜‍♂️ It’s day 11 of @thebrightsideg 🪸🧜‍♂️ It’s day 11 of @thebrightsidegirl mermaid readathon! 🧜🏻‍♀️🪸

🧜🏻‍♀️ Day 11: Mermaid in the title
Last year, I wanted to read The Mermaid from Jeju by Sumi Hahn but didn’t get the chance to. So, this year one of my goals during this mermaid readathon is to finish this book! Have any of you read this novel?
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#mermaidmarathonreads #bookish #mermaidvibes #mermaidaesthetic #readathon #bookstagram #thebrightsidegirl #summerreads #mermaidmarathon #kindlepaperwhite
⛅️😎 Snapshots from my weekend trip to Savan ⛅️😎 Snapshots from my weekend trip to Savannah, Georgia. 😎⛅️
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#junkjournaling #junkjournal #travelblogging #traveljournal #savannahgeorgia #journalinspo #journaling #thebookladybookstore #eshaverbookseller #bookish #summerinthecity #photodiary
🍃🏝️ It’s day 10 of @thebrightsidegirl me 🍃🏝️ It’s day 10 of @thebrightsidegirl mermaid readathon! 🏝️🍃

🏝️ Day 10: Island read
I started the Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins last night and can’t wait to get more into it today! Have you read this novel before?
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#mermaidmarathonreads #bookworm #bookish #islandvibes #readathon #bookstagram #thebrightsidegirl #summerreads #mermaidmarathon #kindlepaperwhite
✨🪸 It’s day 9 of @thebrightsidegirl mermaid ✨🪸 It’s day 9 of @thebrightsidegirl mermaid readathon! 🪸✨

🧜🏼‍♂️ Day 9: Merman
I didn’t think I was going to have a picture for this one but when I opened the book “Mermaids, Sirens and Selkies: Myths and Legends“ by Jean Menzies I was surprised to see that the first story was about a merman! 😂 
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#mermaidmarathonreads #mermaids #bookworm #bookish #merman #readathon #bookworm #thebrightsidegirl #mermaidbooks #mermaidmarathon
✨🐬🐙 It’s day 8 of @thebrightsidegirl mer ✨🐬🐙 It’s day 8 of @thebrightsidegirl mermaid readathon! 🐠🦀✨

🧜🏻‍♀️ Day 8: Current read
I’ll currently reading The Tail of Emily Windshap. It’s a cute middle grade series about a girl who finds out she’s a mermaid. I should finish it tonight! 
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#mermaidmarathonreads #mermaids #bookworm #bookish #summertbr #readathon #kindlepaperwhite #thebrightsidegirl #mermaidbooks #mermaidmarathon
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