Arrianarose's 2023 Reading Challenge

Happy new year, everyone! I'm Shari, and this is my 13th reading challenge. Lucky thirteen! I'm hoping to encounter some great books in 2023. I love history, travel stories, post-apocalyptic fiction, fantasy and time travel, amongst other things. My friends and I have put together our own book challenge for the third year in a row, with 23 different reading prompts, so that should definitely help me discover some new and interesting books. Wishing you all an amazing year!

2022: 85 books
2021: 109 books
2020: 81 books
2019: 61 books
2018: 69 books
2017: 39 books
2016: 46 books
2015: 55 books
2014: 49 books
2013: 46 books
2012: 47 books
2011: 40 books

Where has my reading taken me this year?



I'm going about this a bit differently this year. In the manner of Scategories and Sesame Street, I've randomly chosen letters, and will try to read books that take place anywhere beginning with those letters: countries, cities, regions, places - everything is fair game!

My travel reading in 2023 will be brought to you by the letters D, Y and L.

Africa
Djibouti - In the United States of Africa
Luxor, Egypt - Mistress of Nothing
Nefertiti
Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya - City of Thorns
Liberia - The House at Sugar Beach
Libya - In the Country of Men
Lagos, Nigeria (and USA) - Americanah
Sierra Leone - Little Family

Asia
Yangon/Rangoon, Myanmar/Burma - Miss Burma
Dongguan, China - Factory Girls
The Yangtze River, China - River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze
Iraq - The Yellow Birds
Lebanon - Wild Mulberries
Pakistan - Unmarriageable
Dubai, United Arab Emirates - The Sand Fish
Yemen - A Winter in Arabia
The Monk of Mokha

Europe
Austria - The Only Woman in the Room
The Woman Who Split the Atom
Croatia (formerly Yugoslavia)- Hotel Tito
Denmark (and UK) - Meet Me at the Museum
London, England - Wolf Hall
Bring Up the Bodies
The Mirror and the Light
My Lady Jane
France - The Paris Wife
Germany - Slaughterhouse-Five
Greece - My Family and Other Animals
Birds, Beasts and Relatives
Garden of the Gods
Hungary - This Rebel Heart
Dublin, Ireland - Conversations with Friends
Italy - Where Angels Fear to Tread
Liguria, Italy - Call Me By Your Name
Lithuania (and USSR) - Between Shades of Gray
Leave Your Tears in Moscow
Dead Mountain/Dyatlov Pass, Russia - Dead Mountain
United Kingdom - Pride and Prejudice: A Graphic Novel
Watership Down
Just One Damned Thing After Another
Leningrad, USSR - The Hunger Between Us
(and USA) Russian Tattoo

North America
Yukon Territory, Canada - I Married the Klondike
Honduras - Lost City of the Monkey God
USA:
This Tender Land
Before the Ever After
Down the Great Unknown
California - Learning to See
Dial A for Aunties
A Very Typical Family
Yosemite National Park, California Where the Fire Falls
Denver, Colorado - Little Souls
Daniel Boone National "Park," Kentucky - (really a forest) Deserts, Drives & Derelicts
Lexingon, Kentucky - Horse
Massachusetts - Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
Liberty Lake, Minnesota - Nice Girls
New York - Time After Time
Trust
Angels in America
Mornings on Horseback
Ohio - Ready Player Two
Laurel Township, Pennsylvania (also Philadelphia & NYC) - Sold on a Monday
Rhode Island - Agatha of Little Neon
Virginia - You Never Forget Your First
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming - Lost in My Own Backyard
Wyoming - Brokeback Mountain

Oceania
Australia - The Sun Walks Down
Clade

South America
Lima, Peru - The Bridge of San Luis Rey
Lesser Antilles: Trinidad & Tobego - Golden Child

Around and about
Unspecified town - The Turnout
The Box Social
All around the world - At Home in the World
A Fork in the Road
The Years of Rice and Salt
The Historian
Pale Rider
Girl Reading
Consider the Fork
The Atlantic Ocean - Adrift

Elsewhere
Unknown moon - The Woods: Vol 1 & The Woods: Vol 2
Fictional land - Into the Riverlands
Mars - How To Mars
Jotunheim - The Witch's Heart
Panem - The Hunger Games
Catching Fire
The Mockingjay
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Fictional world - The Name of the Wind

1. Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson Jan 1: Jan 4
2. The Woods: Vol 1: The Arrow by James Tynion IV Jan 4: Jan 5
3. The Woods: Vol 2: The Swarm by James Tynion IV Jan 5
4. Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris Jan 7: Jan 8
5. Agatha of Little Neon by Claire Luchette Dec 29: Jan 11 (audiobook)

First batch of 2023 books read!

6. Pride and Prejudice: A Graphic Novel by Jane Austen and Ian Edgington Jan 15
7. You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington by Alexis Coe Jan 15: Jan 20
8. A Winter in Arabia: A Journey Through Yemen by Freya Stark Jan 9: Feb 1
9. The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers Feb 4: Feb 8
10. Mistress of Nothing by Kate Pullinger (audiobook) Jan 31: Feb 9

Batch #2 read

11. The Hunger Between Us by Marina Scott Feb 7: Feb 10
12. Deserts, Drives and Derelicts by Tonya Kappes Feb 10: Feb 16 (audiobook)
13. At Home in the World by Tsh Oxenreider Feb 13: Feb 18
14. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel Feb 11: Feb 18 *re-read*

I generally don't like writing reviews of most of the books I read, but then I'm always glad to read back on them later, and wish I'd done so for more of them, so leave myself in a bit of a pickle on what to do. Clearly my first two book posts were especially sparse and lazy - I didn't even remember to add in the locations for the second bunch, whoops. So, let's go back a bit and mention a few of the books I've read so far this year.

Meet Me at the Museum was a great book to start off my year. It's an epistolary novel, which there are not a lot of around anymore. I think it's really about human connections and friendship, how to open up to someone else. It also half took place in Denmark, so there's D spot checked off first thing in the year!

The Hoopla app through my library has comics and graphic novels, and I have a few bookmarked that I might be interested in. I'm not quite sure about The Woods, I may read more or I may not, I haven't quite determined which yet.

Not whole lot to say about Sold on a Monday. It was fine, but nothing amazing. Agatha of Little Neon was more interesting, though I was a bit confused about the time frame it was supposed to take place in. That's something that always irks me in a story, when I don't feel that it rings true to its stated time frame.

You Never Forget Your First was funny and had some interesting new info on George Washington that I hadn't known. Shorter than I expected.

A Winter in Arabia was a bit slow, but still interesting. I expected more of a travelogue, which it wasn't quite, but it was instead a slice in time to a different world and culture. The map was immensely frustrating, as nearly every spot she mentioned was completely lacking on the map, and I couldn't follow her journey well at all by it.

Okay, losing steam here. Deserts, Drives & Derelicts was awful. All cozy mysteries can't be this dreadful, can they? Ugh, the title doesn't even make any sense. I expected it to be silly, which would have been fine, but not poorly written. I disliked the narrator as well, so that didn't help any. At least it was short.

I want to finally read The Mirror and the Light, so decided to re-read the first two in the series to bring me back into the land of Tudors and Cromwell. I really love these. So well written.

15. Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel Feb 19 *re-read*
16. The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder Feb 17: Feb 22 (audiobook)
17. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys Feb 20: Mar 1
18. Horse by Geraldine Brooks Mar 12: Mar 17
19. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Feb 24: Mar 20 (audiobook)
20. Lost in My Own Backyard by Tim Cahill Mar 26: Mar 27
21. Learning to See by Elise Hooper Mar 27: Mar 28
22. City of Thorns by Ben Rawlence Mar 21: Apr 4

Wow, slacktastic with keeping track of books here yet again. I think that will be my theme for the year. Let's try to quickly review these before I lose momentum!

The standouts here were Horse, Americanah and Learning to See. Though in Horse, the modern storyline seemed too forced and I much preferred the historical story and characters. I'm so glad I listened to Americanah on audio, Adjoa Andoh did a wonderful job setting the scene. Though her attempt at American accents is awful, lol. I knew Dorothea Lange's name, but not really who she was or why I knew of her prior to reading Learning to See, and I'm definitely interested to learn more about her after this. Her photography is simply stunning, showing the beauty even in such tragic and devastating situations as the 1930s depression and the Japanese American concentration camps.

Between Shades of Gray and City of Thorns were also very good, if one can say that about forced relocation to Siberia and poverty and uncertainty in the world's largest refugee camp. I've read about Dadaab before, but had no idea about the soviet relocation and forced labor of so many Balkan citizens during WWII.

23. Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo Apr 2
24. Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney Mar 15: Apr 10
25. Time After Time by Lisa Grunwald Apr 5: Apr 10
26. Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto Apr 14: Apr 15

I was excited to read something by Sally Rooney. I'd watched the mini series of Normal People, but hadn't read her works yet. Unfortunately, Conversations with Friends didn't really do anything for me. I didn't like any of the characters very much, and Francis felt so shallow and vapid. It made me feel old more than anything else. She just annoyed me with her blandness and disregard of anyone but herself.

Time After Time was okay, but not a standout. Sort of time travelish, but not quite. I didn't fully buy into the love at first sight relationship, it was a bit problematic for me. I think I would have preferred focusing on Nora's story without the romantic relationship.

Dial A for Aunties was fun and silly, a quick read that made me laugh at it's many absurdities. I particularly liked the horrifyingly misread dating texts between her mom and the online date. Utterly over the top in an entertaining way.

27. The Turnout by Megan Abbott Apr 5: Apr 27 (audiobook)
28. The House on Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper Apr 22: Apr 29

I know nothing at all about Liberia. I actually thought it was Ghana that free American blacks had emigrated to, so you can see the extent of my ignorance on western African history. I appreciated, therefore, that Cooper included the interwoven history of her family and country, along with her personal story.

29. Little Souls by Sandra Dallas Apr 29
30. Trust by Hernan Diaz Apr 9: May 7
31. Golden Child by Claire Adam Apr 27: May 8 (audiobook)

Two more locations to check off on my around the world alphabet soup challenge! I'm really enjoying this, though I wish more of the incredibly interesting books I've found mentioned were available - it's so hard to track some of them down!

Little Souls is the story of two sisters in Denver, CO during WWI and the Spanish flu epidemic. Mostly good, though a bit more of a crime caper than I expected from historical fiction.

Trust I read for my alumni book club, and, although the second two parts interested me more than the first two, I kept referring to it as "my boring book," and probably would have DNFed it if it hadn't been for the book club. Honestly not sure why it's doing well. Not much happens, and the characters are not terribly interesting.

There was something about Golden Child, though I can't really articulate what, that resonated and really made an impression on me. I only had a few minutes left to listen to this morning on my commute, and drove in silence after it finished - I needed time to be quiet and recalibrate before I could turn on the radio and go back to the mundane. It was devastating but still had heart. I was thinking later today that it reminded me of Things Fall Apart, a family story with awful choices being made under pressure, and living with the consequences of them.

32. A Fork in the Road by Misc. May 5: May 16
33. Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston (audiobook) May 8: May 18
34. The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson May 9: May 21

Wow, a Pulitzer for my boring book, Trust? Guess we are not looking for the same things at all when we choose our favorites.

A Fork in the Road was a collection of short stories of varied interest, mostly mediocre, that involved food - some rather more peripherally than others.

I listened to Lost City of the Monkey God for my alumni book club, and found it extremely interesting. I do dislike the name, though, and as always in these instances, hope it's the fault of the publishers and not the author himself. Unexpectedly, the majority of the last part of the book dealt with disease and pandemics, plus speculation about the future (hello, Dr. Fauci!) just a few years before our own COVID-19 pandemic occurred.

I have finally now read The Years of Rice and salt, which I've been interested in for years. I was surprised to find that it was formatted similarly to Piers Anthony's Geodyssey series, with a cast of characters whose stories, though in different locales and situations, are continued throughout the speculative history of the world, mixed in with scenes in the bardo, between their reincarnations. A few of the later story lines felt too forced to be realistic, and the bardo scenes were less interesting that the slices of life, but overall it was interesting how an imagined alternate historical trajectory might play out. On a side note, I also discovered, from the author blub in the back of the book, that the author is male, when I thought they were female. My first thought was - ack, Kim! male never even occurred to me. Second was - ah, that's why most of the characters were male. Not that that's entirely valid, as there are several significant female characters, and lack of female representation on the world stage was addressed, but there you have it.

35. The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel Feb 20: May 27
36. Nice Girls by Catherine Dang May 17: May 28
37. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova Apr 21: Jun 1
38. Wild Mulberries by Iman Humaydan Younes Jun 1: Jun 3
39. Factory Girls by Leslie T. Chang May 28: Jun 3

The end of the Cromwell trilogy! It's a rather bittersweet finish, knowing Ms. Mantel is now gone, and will not be gracing us with any more of her works. I took a bit of a hiatus while reading this one - I was a bit Tudored out after having re-started the trilogy this year, plus knowing the end would not go well made for hard reading towards the end. I honestly had no idea the outcome of any of the secondary individuals, such as his son Gregory and his right hand man Rafe, so I was nervous to find out if history had been kind to them or not - thankfully it mostly had been, which was a relief. This last book was also much wordier than the previous two. Although the language was beautiful throughout, the subject matter and timeline meandered quite a bit, as though Cromwell was incapable of focusing his mind on the present, which quite clearly was not the case. Still, altogether an amazing collection of historical fiction.

Nice Girls I would skip. I picked it at random, and chose unwisely. An unhappy person who made poor decisions and ruined other people's lives by them, surrounded by other unhappy/unhinged people doing the same. All wrapped up in an unlikely crime thriller situation.

I'm mixed on The Historian. It didn't realize it was a story about the Dracula legend being real. I liked the historical and locational parts the best - the descriptions and imagery were extremely well done overall. Of the characters, the daughter was the best of the main ones, I thought, while her parents were gothically overdramatic. The plot was also quite gothic and unlikely, but I now want to visit all the places that were depicted, as they all sound amazing.

I loved the personal details of the women Ms. Chang met with in China to highlight the lives of migrant workers. Their lives and situations were at once completely familiar and also suddenly foreign. An interesting new perspective on Chinese life and history, which I'm learning more about lately, in small pieces here and there.

40. Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline May 18: Jun 6 (audiobook)
41. Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal Jun 3: Jun 8
42. How to Mars by David Ebenbach Jun 9: Jun 13
43. Little Family by Ishmael Beah Jun 8: Jun 16 (audiobook)
44. Where Angels Fear to Tread by E. M. Forster Jun 19: Jun 23 (audiobook)
45.Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson Jun 26: Jun 27 (audiobook)
46. My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell Jul 3: Jul 9

Little Family was excellent. I loved the interactions between all of them, and Khoudiemata's conflicting desires to both explore life away from her found family and to protect and hold them close to her. A coming of age novel from a very different perspective than is generally seen. I'd happily read anything else by Beah.

Ready Player Two was one of those sequels that you wish had never happened. It drowned you in boring minutia and was a general flop.

Was there a point to Where Angels Fear to Tread? Was I supposed to come away with anything other than disgust at people who apparently had nothing better to do than act appallingly at all times? Ugh, this was definitely not for me.

I wanted to like Unmarriageable but couldn't quite get there. The naming of the various characters was so over the top absurd that it kept annoying and distracting me. I really hope these are not indicative of actual, common nicknames in Pakistan. I also disliked that it kept the names and plot of Pride and Prejudice but also had Alys be a fan of Austen, yet not noticing the parallels to her life and family. It seemed a bad mix to me, I'd rather have either one or the other.

I've wanted to read the Corfu trilogy for a while, and am enjoying finally seeing what they are all about. His poor family, though, they don't come off well here. It's a very unflattering portrayal of them, especially Larry. It makes me wonder how true or inflated it is, and how they all felt about these books being published.

47. Birds, Beasts and Relatives by Gerald Durrell Jul 9: Jul 13
48. In The United States of Africa by Abdourahman A. Waberi Jun 4: Jul 15

49. Garden of the Gods by Gerald Durrell Jul 14: Jul 18
50. Russian Tattoo Elena Gorokhova Jul 19: Jul 23

I watched the first two episodes of The Durrells in Corfu, and was amused to hear Mrs. Durrell tell Larry that he'd better not be one of those awful authors who write terrible things about their families. A funny, tongue in cheek addition to the show.

I devoured Russian Tattoo. I just finished it this morning, and had to make liberal use of tissues for the last few bits of her story.

51. Pale Rider by Laura Spinney Jul 10: Jul 23 (audiobook)
52. Leave Your Tears in Moscow by Barbara Armonas Jul 23
53. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jul 27: Aug 5
54. The Sun Walks Down by Fiona McFarlane Jul 29: Aug 5
55. The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec Aug 5: Aug 6
56. A Very Typical Family by Sierra Godfrey Aug 1: Aug 7

Both Pale Rider and Leave Your Tears in Moscow can be chosen for the fiction/nonfiction book pairing prompt in our reading challenge this year, having already read novels on both the Spanish Flu and Soviet arrests and forced relocation of Lithuanian and other Baltic citizens to Siberia.

I really enjoyed The Sun Walks Down. The language and sense of place were beautifully well done.

While reading The Witch's Heart, I strongly felt that I knew the story and had read it before, though I can't determine why, as it was only published a few years ago, and I know I didn't read it until now. Maybe I read something very similar at one point?

57. I Married the Klondike by Laura Beatrice Berton Aug 8: Aug 11
58. This Rebel Heart by Katherine Locke Jul 24: Aug 17 (audiobook)
59. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin Aug 10: Aug 19
60. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins Aug 19
61. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins Aug 19: Aug 20
62. The Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins Aug 20
63. Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx Aug 18: Aug 21 (audiobook)
64. The Monk of Mokha by David Eggers Aug 22: Aug 31 (audiobook)
65. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins Sep 2
66. Clade by James Bradley Aug 30: Sep 3

I re-read the Hunger Games trilogy so I could remember the nuances of the books vs. the movies prior to reading the prequel. There were a few things I forgot, a few I remembered the movie had altered, but I was actually surprised by how little was changed, save showing the other side of the fight, from President Snow and the Capitol's side of the rebellion, particularly compared to other book to movie adaptations.

A bit here and there, otherwise. A Y location (Yukon Territory), a BC book club selection (also a Y location - Yemen), and a few random other picks. I would have preferred This Rebel Heart without the magical realism, but the history was interesting. Adding one more book to my unintentional Soviet and post-Soviet theme this year.

67. The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict Sep 4: Sep 6
68. The Jewel in the Crown by Paul Scott Jun 10: Sep 16
69. Watership Down by Richard Adams Sep 4: Sep 16

Wow. I don't know how I made it until now without reading Watership Down, but that was clearly a mistake. I'm not sure how such a seemingly simple book about rabbits can be so amazing, but it's a timeless tale of adventure and hardship, home and exploration, friendship and independence. I'm so glad that I've now read it, and have this story in my mind.

As I was reading The Jewel in the Crown, I kept thinking that the same circuitous storytelling route was being used (and used better) than that which was supposedly so innovative in Trust, my boring Pulitzer winner from earlier this year. Stories, journals, discussions, etc. from various individuals, circling around and around the events to show it from all angles and perspectives, gathering more understanding than could be had from one omniscient narrator. And emphasizing that, in life, no one is omniscient, but only sees the world from their own small slice of life and circumstances.

71. Hotel Tito by Ivana Bodrozic Sep 12: Sep 20 (audiobook)
72. Adrift: Seventy-six Days Lost at Sea by Steven Callahan Sep 7: Sep 30
73. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss Sep 17: Oct 2

Unlike with Watership Down, I'm glad I hadn't read The Name of the Wind until now, as it's apparently saved me just over a decade of drawn out anticipation for the continuance of this series. :) And as a longtime Robert Jordan and George R. R. Martin fan, I know how long and excruciating that wait can be. The world building here is amazing, and I'm eagerly looking forward to acquiring the second book, so I can find out more of Kvothe's story.

74. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain Sep 22: Oct 4 (aubiobook)
75. Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman Oct 3: Oct 13
76. The Sand Fish by Maha Gargash Oct 11: Oct 13
77. My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton & Jodi Meadows Oct 5: Oct 18 (audiobook)

78. The Box Social by James Reaney Oct 29
79. Girl Reading by Katie Ward Oct 21: Oct 31
80. Nefertiti by Michelle Moran Oct 19: Nov 9 (audiobook)
81. Where the Fire Falls by Karen Barnett Nov 8: Nov 15
82. Angels in America by Tony Kushner Nov 9: Nov 16 (audiobook)
83. This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger Oct 15: Nov 17
84. River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler Nov 19: Nov 26

I enjoyed Girl Reading, the connected short stories were interesting, though I would have appreciated a bit more from each of them, and definitely would have preferred that all of the artwork be included in the book. I looked up the ones I could, but I think including visual representations of these central pieces of the story would have been illuminating.

I just realized I have a little bit of a river/water theme here - the Nile, Yosemite Falls, the Gilead River and the Yangtze. I liked the child's point of view in This Tender Land, seeing a difficult and tumultuous situation and time period through a rather naive and limited, but also clarifying perspective. It did wrap up a bit too neatly, but was a good journey.

River Town was an interesting perspective on a more out of the way part of China, both busy and slightly remote at the same time, from someone who made it their home for a significant amount of time, and who really make the effort to become one of the locals, as much as was possible for his situation.

85. Dead Mountain by Donnie Eichar Nov 27: Nov 30
86. In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar Oct 15: Dec 4
87. Morning on Horseback by David McCullough Nov 20: Dec 4 (audiobook)
88. Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor Dec 4: Dec 14 (audiobook)
89. Down the Great Unknown by Edward Dolnick Dec 2: Dec 30
90. Consider the Fork by Bee Wilson Dec 14: Dec 30 (audiobook)

Happy New Year! One more nearly done for 2023, then on to our new year of reading! :)

91. Miss Burma by Charmaine Craig Dec 5: Jan 2

Final book of the year finished up!