Wallowing in the End of Year Data Dumps: BOOK RECS INSIDE
It's the end of year, and apparently that means it's time to quantify shit.
The bad news is, I'm bad at counting. And tracking. And general numbers-related business.
The worse news is, I'm procrastinating, so I'm going to shake some numbers in my hands and toss them at you anyway, just like a toddler who hasn't learned how to use dice.
Weird metaphor. Anyway.
I just started tracking my writing in a central place, and I'm going to spare you the (incomplete) data about words written/revised this year. I'll skip the submission stats, too, because you'll be able to find a recap of those somewhere else after the new year (vague newslettering is a thing, right?).
This edition of the newsletter is dedicated to reading! More specifically, what I read this year and what I'm looking forward to (in terms of new releases) next year.
Keep reading for some bangers!
The Best Books I Read This Year
In 2023 (so far), I have read 34 library books, 18 purchased books, and 8 or 9 manuscripts (beta reads). And that's not counting the horrifying number of times I read my own manuscript while revising.
I bounced off of about 19 more books, which is a high rate for me. Some of them were very good--I just didn't have much of an attention span--and I plan to return to them later.
The following were my standout reads. I yelled about some of them in this very newsletter, over the course of the year:
Thistlefoot, GennaRose Nethercott
The Salt Grows Heavy, Cassandra Khaw
The Book Eaters, Sunyi Dean
Book of Night, Holly Black
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, Sangu Mandanna
Silver Nitrate, Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Nettle & Bone, T. Kingfisher
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Fairies, Heather Fawcett
A Half-Built Garden, Ruthanna Emrys
Yellow Jessamine, Caitlin Starling
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, Shannon Chakraborty
Shanghai Immortal, A.Y. Chao
What Stalks Among Us, Sarah Hollowell
Just Like Home, Sarah Gailey
Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon, Wole Talabi
2024 Books I'm Most Looking Forward To
Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett
I enjoyed Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Fairies so much. It was the perfect blend of cozy, magical academia, and slow-burn romance and I cannot wait to dive back into this world!
Everfair was such a stunning read, and I was thrilled to learn about the sequel! I happen to have an eARC and the only reason I haven't dived in yet is that I want to refresh my memory on the first book before diving in. But I'm fully prepared to be staggered.
A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna
Ya'll, the first book in this series (another one of this year's favorites) was like my ideal for what witchy romantasy should be. Beautiful and substantial while also an accessible read, with a love interest I actually care about and found family drama that is poignant and lovely.
A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall
I SCREAMED when I first came across this on Twitter. Magic academia, epistolary romance, siblings, the sea! And the cover just makes me want to weep over its beauty.
Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell
I think I wrote, here, about getting to listen to a reading of the beginning of this book at ReaderCon this year. It was a delight, as is all of John's work, and I can't wait to... build a nest inside it? Too early for that to land, I think. At any rate: I very much anticipate it!
That's the whole list. There are, of course, lots of other 2024 books I'm looking forward to, and I have a whole TBR list you can check out if you need some reading inspiration!
Thank you so much for wallowing with me, this year. May 2024 bring you all you need and more, or else may you turn it upside down and shake it until joy and fulfillment fall out of its pockets.
Cheers,
Courtney