My reading list for 2023.
All books link back to the original review.
Key to Abbreviations.
- O = Own copy – I bought / swapped / was given / inherited it
- RC = Print review copy / freebie from publisher / Amazon Vine etc
- L = borrowed from the Library
- NG = Review copy via Netgalley
- NF = Non Fiction; P = Poetry; Gr = Graphic novel; Ch – Children’s
- Tr = Translated
- DNF= Did not finish
- And finally, an asterisk * = from the TBR (acquired by any of the above routes before 1.1.23)
Finished in 2022, reviewed in 2023
- Kill Me Tender by Daniel Klein – RC
- Blue Suede Clues by Daniel Klein – RC
- Bournville by Jonathan Coe – RC
JANUARY
1. Our Man in Kuwait by Louise Burfitt-Dons – RC F (7.5/10) Review
2. This Should be Written in the Present Tense by Helle Helle – O* FTr (8.5/10) Review
3. The Birds by Tarjei Vesaas – O* FTr (10/10) Review
4. Trouble by Katja Ivar – RC F (8.5/10) Review
5. The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup – O* FTr (8/10) Review
6. The True Deceiver by Tove Jansson – O* FTr (10/10) Review
7. Dirt by Sarah Sultoon – RC F (8.5/10) Review
8. And the Wind Sees All by Guðmundur Andri Thorsson – O* FTr (9/10) Review
9. Hanging Out: The Radical Power of Killing Time by Sheila Liming – RC NF (8/10) Shiny Review
FEBRUARY
10. You Will Never Be Found by Tove Alsterdal – RC FTr (9/10) Review
11. The Promise by Damon Dalgut – O* (9/10) Review
12. Dead Man’s Creek by Chris Hammer – RC (9/10) Review
13. Weights and Measures by Claire Cock-Starkey – RC (7/10) Review
14. The Forcing by Paul E Hardisty – RC (9/10) Review
15. The Chase by Ava Glass – RC (9/10) Review
16. The Other Half by Charlotte Vassell – RC (9/10) Review
17. The Pachinko Parlour by Elisa Shua Dusapin – O* (6.5/10) Review
18. Lifestyle Revolution by Ben Highmore – RC (8.5/10) Shiny Review
19. The Hand That Feeds You by Mercedes Rosende – RC (9/10) Review
MARCH
20. Star by Yukio Mishima – O* (8.5/10) Review
21. Squeaky Clean by Callum McSorley – RC (9/10) Review
22. Foster by Claire Keegan – O (10/10) Review
23. The Institution by Helen Fields – RC (7.5/10) Review
24. The Prince’s Pen by Horatio Clare – O* (7.5/10) Review
25. Cary Grant’s Suit by Todd McEwen – RC (9/10) Shiny Review
26. Trespasses by Louise Kennedy – O* (10/10) Review
27. Beautiful Shining People by Michael Grothaus – RC (9/10) Review
28. My Phantoms by Gwendoline Riley – O* (10/10) Review
29. The Acapulco by Simone Buchholz – RC (8/10) Review
APRIL
30. The Translator by Harriet Crawley – RC (9/10) Review
31. Chaise Longue by Baxter Dury – O* NF (9/10) Review
32. The Kon-Tiki Expedition by Thor Heyerdahl – O NF (8/10) Review
33. More. Numbers. Every. Day. by Micael Dahlen & Helge Thorbjørnsen – RC NF (8.5/10) Review
34. The House by Simon Lelic – O* (7/10) Review
35. Journey into Fear by Eric Ambler – O* (9/10) Review
36. Viper’s Dream by Jake Lamar – RC (10/10) Review
37. The Baroness: The search for Nica, the rebellious Rothschild by Hannah Rothschild – O* NF (9/10) Review
38. River Spirit by Leila Aboulela – RC (9/10) Shiny Review
39. Isaac and the Egg by Bobby Palmer – O* (7.5/10) Review
40. Shy by Max Porter – O (9.5/10) Review
41. Atalanta by Jennifer Saint – RCa
42. Kleinzeit by Russell Hoban – O* (9.5/10) Review
MAY
43. Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky – O* / RC (10/10) Shiny Review
44. Skin Deep by Antonia Lassa – RC (9/10) Review
45. Service by Sarah Gilmartin – RC (8.5/10) Review
46. A Game of Deceit by Tim Glister – RC (8.5/10) Review
47. Zona by Geoff Dyer – O* NF (9/10) Review
48. England’s Green by Zaffar Kunial – O P
49. First Blood by Amélie Nothomb – RC FTr (8.5/10) Review
50. Thirty Days of Darkness by Jenny Lund Madsen – RC (8.5/10) Review
51. Perfect Little World by Kevin Wilson – O* (9/10) Review
52. The Man in the Corduroy Suit by James Wolff – RC (9.5/10) Review
53. On His Majesty’s Secret Service by Charlie Higson – O (9/10) Review
54. Black River by Nilanjana Roy – RC (9.5/10) Review
55. The Mess We’re In by Annie Macmanus – RC (8/10) Review
JUNE
56. The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again by M John Harrison – O* (20B#1) (10/10) Review
57. Psyche and Eros by Luna McNamara – RC (8.5/10) Review
58. The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward – O* (20B#2) (9/10) Review
59. Dead Astronauts by Jeff Vandermeer – O* (20B#3) (6/10) Review
60. The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin – O* (20B#4) (9/10) Review
61. The Ghost Theatre by Mat Osman – RC (10/10) Review
62. Vanish in an Instant by Margaret Millar – O* (20B#5) (9/10) Review
63. Bellies by Nicola Dinan – RC (8/10) Review
64. Undoctored by Adam Kay – O* (20B#6) (8/10) Review
65. Morgan is My Name by Sophie Skeetch – RC (9/10) Review
JULY
66. The Miseducation of Evie Epworth by Matson Taylor – O* (20B#7) (8/10) Review
67. The Housekeepers by Alex Hay – RC (8.5/10) Review
68. The Bleeding by Johana Gustawsson – RC (9/10) Review
69. Dirty Geese by Lou Gilmond – RC (8/10) Review
70. Summer Fishing in Lapland by Juhani Karila – RC (9.5/10) Review
71. The Sound of Being Human by Jude Rogers – O* (20B#7) (10/10) Review
72. Forgotten on Sunday by Valérie Perrin – RC (8.5/10) Review
73. Deadly Autumn Harvest by Tony Mott – RC (8.5/10) Review
74. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carre – O* (20B#8) (10/10) Review
75. Chourmo by Jean-Claude Izzo – O* (20B#9) (10/10) Review
AUGUST
76. An Astronomer in Love by Antoine Laurain – O (20B#10)
77. Assassin Eighteen by John Brownlow – RC (7.5/10) Review
78. A Thread of Violence by Mark O’Connell – RC (20B#11) (9/10) Review
79. A Little Luck by Claudia Pineiro – RC (10/10) Review
80. Fair Rosaline by Natasha Solomons – RC (9/10) Review
81. The Last Resort by Carmen Posadas – O* (20B#12) (6/10) Review
82. The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson – RC (20B#13)
83. The Trap by Catherine Ryan Howard – RC (8.5/10) Review
84. How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie – O* (20B#14) (7.5/10) Review
85. London Rules by Mick Herron – O* (20B#15) (10/10) Review
86. Yellowface by R F Kuang – O (20B#16) (7/10) Review
87. Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein – O (20B#17) (5.5/10) Review
DNF: The Good Soldier Švejk (part 1) by Jaroslav Hasek – O (108 pages of 219)
SEPTEMBER
88. Murder at the Residence by Stella Blómkvist – RC (9/10) Review
89. So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan – O
90. The Nigerian Mafia: Mumbai by Onyeko Nwelue – RC (5.5/10) Review
91. The Traitor by Ava Glass – RC (9/10) Review
92. The Stirrings by Catherine Taylor – O
93. The Murmurs by Michael J Malone – RC – (8/10) Review
94. Divide by Anna Jones – RC – (8/10) Review
95.
96.
97.
OCTOBER
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NOVEMBER
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DECEMBER
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GOODREADS TARGET ACHIEVED!!!
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Reading the World 2023
- Author origin: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, New England, Nigeria, Norway, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Sudan, Sweden, UK, Uruguay, USA
- Language: Czech, Danish, English, Finnish, French, Icelandic, Japanese, Norwegian, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish
- Notable settings: Belfast, Biarritz, Boston, Buenos Aires, Congo, Copenhagen, Dublin, Glasgow, Helsinki, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Khartoum, Korea, Kuwait, Lagos, Lapland, London, Marseilles, Montevideo, Morocco, Moscow, Mumbai, New York, Pacific Ocean, Paris, Peru, Pretoria, Quebec, Romania, Russia, St Tropez, Sudan, Tahiti, Tokyo, Uruguay, Verona, Yorkshire, Wales