This week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt is all about picking your favourite books of 2023. I don’t often think about books in terms of favourites, especially since my reading is highly capricious and mood-based… so I’ll just be picking ten books that stand out when I think back on the year, without trying to say they’re the best or my favourites. I’ll omit any rereads, just to make things easier.

And these are the books I read in 2023, which probably didn’t come out in 2023, because I’m rarely that up to date on recently released books.

1. Nettle & Bone, by T. Kingfisher. It’s rare lately that I find it difficult to put a book down, with lots of other things grabbing my attention. Nettle & Bone is one that I found myself eagerly picking up again right away, ready for more.
2. The Governess Affair, by Courtney Milan. I haven’t posted my review for this one yet, but I really liked it: Milan handles a traumatic issue sensitively, creating a bond between two characters that felt solid and real.
3. An Immense World, by Ed Yong. I love non-fiction when it makes me want to tell everyone the facts I’m learning, and Ed Yong’s book fit the bill. I was actually texting my mum about stuff I’d learned from it while waiting to be discharged from the post-op ward after a minor surgery!
4. Legends & Lattes, by Travis Baldree. I actually read this twice in 2023, because it really hit the spot for me — cosy and full of people being good to one another, and forging bonds.
5. Death of an Author, by E.C.R. Lorac. I often really enjoy Lorac’s work, and this was no exception, though it wasn’t much like her other work. It felt less cosy somehow, but it was a heck of a brainteaser.
6. The Waking of Angantyr, by Marie Brennan. Marie Brennan’s an auto-buy author for me, and I ended up reading this side-by-side with my wife while we were on a weekend away. We raced through it!
7. Untethered Sky, by Fonda Lee. I found this story lingering with me after I was done. I loved how the obsession was built up, the special relation between the handler and the roc illustrated.
8. The Good Virus, by Tom Ireland. Totally fascinating stuff about bacteriophages, and I learned a fair amount I didn’t know about existing bacteriophage therapy.
9. Murder: The Biography, by Kate Morgan. A history of murder and trials for murder, showing how precedent has shaped law. Interesting for its own sake, but especially in light of my interest in crime fiction!
10. He Who Whispers, by John Dickson Carr. Finally, this is the only one on the list not rated 5/5 by me this year, but it deserves a mention because it’s the book that actually piqued my interest in John Dickson Carr. Previously I’d tried several books by him and just couldn’t get on with them… but here we are in a world where I enjoy his books now, at least some of them!

And before we go, I have to give an honorable mention to Juneau Black’s Shady Hollow books, which I discovered in the last couple months of the year and had me totally absorbed.

How about you? Can you pick a top ten? Fascinated to see what has stood out for people this year!

This week’s theme from Reading Reality’s Top Ten Tuesday is all about the books we’re hoping Santa brings!

I’m not really allowed to go look at my wishlist at this time of year, since it automatically removes things that have been purchased for me… so we’ll just have to go with the ones that jump to mind, stuff I’d like to read in the year ahead, or things that I’ve only recently added and probably won’t be receiving for Christmas. Here goes…

1. Final Fantasy XIV: Eorzea Academy, by Esora Amaichi. This silly manga about certain characters from Final Fantasy XIV at a high school has been out officially in English for a little bit, but I virtuously put it back without purchasing it because I thought it might be something people could get me for Christmas. I love FFXIV, and am a total nerd about it, so this is right up my street.
2. The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System vol. 2, by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù. I thought this series might be too silly for me… and it is pretty silly. But I’m also really curious about it and kind of charmed by it, so I’m eager to read more.
3. More Object Lessons. Object Lessons is a series of short books covering a small topic in depth — like personal stereos, or blue jeans, or trench coats. I love learning about random things, and each book is bitesize enough that if it turns out an object isn’t that interesting… well, it’s fine.
4. More of the Edible series. Similar to Object Lessons, each book covers a very specific topic in detail, but in this case it’s always food. I’ve read books about cookies and candy and doughnuts, and these are all beautifully illustrated with photos, too. And I never knew before how much argument there is over the definition of a pancake.
5. Miraculous Mysteries, edited by Martin Edwards. This one’s a rarity: a British Library Crime Classic that I don’t already have my hands on. It seems to be out of print, too.
6. A Sinister Revenge, by Deanna Raybourn. Owing to the particular plot in the previous book, An Impossible Impostor, I’m struggling to finish it. But I’m told that the next book is a lot more fun, even if you disliked the plot of An Impossible Impostor, so I’d like to get hold of this and give it a shot before the ninth book in the series comes out in March.
7. The second Griffin & Sabine trilogy, by Nick Bantock. Sometimes the prices for these have been silly, and second-hand is a bit of a gamble given the nature of the books (they contain letters in pouches, for example), but I really do want to read these someday. The first trilogy was very charming, and there remains a childlike glee in an interactive book like this, even one intended for adults.
8. Some Desperate Glory, by Emily Tesh. I’ve been tempted by this one since I saw it available for review, but I didn’t request it because I knew I wouldn’t get round to it in time. I’ve been promised a found family story and vengeance for the destruction of Earth, and I am definitely intrigued — especially as I loved Tesh’s Green Man novellas.
9. The Warden, by Daniel M. Ford. I saw this mentioned on K.A. Doore’s list of 2023 Queer Adult Science Fiction & Fantasy, and it had me at “necromancy” and “investigate mysteries in a small town”. It sounds like combining two very specific interests of mine…
10. The Undetectables, by Courtney Smyth. “Be gay, solve crime, take naps.” Do I need to say anything else? I spotted this on the above list as well and I’m definitely intrigued…

If you fancy granting any of these wishes, uhhh… talk to my wife first. Or, actually, you can use my wishlist (they keep it up to date, ensuring stuff that’s bought gets taken off). These books might already be waiting under the tree. I don’t know, and I’m not going to ask!

For everyone else — what about you? Are you hoping Santa will bring you an epic haul? What are you most looking forward to? Some people are including links to their wishlists, so I’ll be a wish-granting fairy for a bit this afternoon; I love getting people books!

This week’s theme from That Artsy Reader Girl’s Top Ten Tuesday linkup is the books that are on your winter TBR. I don’t usually read stuff with a deliberate eye to seasonal appropriateness, but this year I did end up acquiring a bunch of seasonal mysteries all at once… so they play a big part in my upcoming choices.

1. Silent Nights: Christmas Mysteries, edited by Martin Edwards. This is in the British Library Crime Classics series, and is one of the older anthologies — I’ve already read this year’s, Who Killed Father Christmas?, and another from a previous year, The Christmas Card Crime. Some of them don’t feel very seasonal and obviously murder isn’t entirely cheery, but it’s fun all the same.
2. Christmas: A History, by Judith Flanders. I’ve enjoyed Flanders’ work before, so this seemed both something likely to interest me and something a bit seasonal, since I appear to be getting into the mood this year. I’ve read a bit of it already, but I’m not far in.
3. The White Priory Murders, by Carter Dickson (aka John Dickson Carr). I only recently found my way to enjoying John Dickson Carr’s work, so I’ve been working my way through a backlog of the British Library’s reprints. Not all of it is a hit even now, but I’m looking forward to giving this a shot. Very classic crime setup with only one set of footprints in the snow, etc (John Dickson Carr was famous for impossible mysteries, so there’s probably something especially ingenious here).
4. Who Killed the Curate? by Joan Coggin. This one’s also a Christmas-themed one, so I’d better get round to this before the end of December. Otherwise it feels like singing carols in September — only appropriate if you’re in a choir and practising for performances!
5. A Portrait in Shadow, by Nicole Jarvis. This is a historical fantasy novel featuring Artemisia Gentileschi, which is a choice that absolutely has my attention. I can’t remember who originally mentioned it such that I grabbed a copy — I thought it was imyril, but her review only went up recently… In any case, I’m intrigued.
6. Pockets: An Intimate History of How We Keep Things Close, by Hannah Carlson. This is a bit of change of pace from the others! In the last few years, perhaps due to the influence of the Great British Sewing Bee, I’ve developed a bit of an interest in the history of clothes. I’ve read a book about pockets before, so I’m not sure how much this one will add, but someone at Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights said he’s listening to the audiobook and finding it fascinating, so… that seems like a solid recommendation.
7. Unnatural Magic, by C.M. Waggoner. Over the course of the last six months or so, I’ve been meeting up with a friend to go to bookshops every so often. On our very first trip he got this book, and on our most recent one he recommended it to me very highly. He’s said some interesting things about it, so I’m definitely ready to give it a shot!
8. The Bone Chests, by Cat Jarman. This is another non-fiction book from a recent haul, but I’ve had my eye on it for a while. I think I enjoyed Jarman’s previous book, and I was just intrigued by the idea of understanding the context around the chests of royal bones in Winchester Cathedral. Here’s hoping it’s as interesting as it looks!
9. A Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel, by KJ Charles. I know, I know, I’m late to read this — but I was late about the first book too, so I’m just running to my own clock here. I always read everything KJ Charles writes, so I’ll get there soon. In part, I needed to shake off the characters of the previous book to be ready to embrace a different pair of leads.
10. A River Enchanted, by Rebecca Ross. I started this a while ago and then sort of got distracted, but not for lack of interest. It was actually a random pick at the bookshop that I hadn’t heard anything about, where reading the first couple of pages intrigued me enough that I decided to give it a go. I think I’m still finding my footing with the book, but I do want to finish it. I’m a little annoyed, though; the cover copy did not make it obvious that it’s a duology and not complete in itself. Oh well!

So that’s a rather random grab bag of potential wintery reads for me. How about everyone else? Do you expect to read all of yours? I expect I’ll get to some of mine… eventually, maybe not this winter.