I’m proud of myself for reaching my 2023 goal of reading 25 books by mid-November and ultimately read 30 books! If you’re trying to get back into reading, check out my 6 tips to read more.
I truly read a mix of genres from historical fiction to romantasy to self-help and celebrity memoir. If you’re looking for more book recommendations, check out my 2022 book reviews and 2021 book reviews.
Goodreads is a social platform for reading where you can find book reviews, recommendations, and see what your friends are reading. I keep track of all my books and reading progress on it, feel free to add me as a friend! All Goodreads ratings below are current as of December 2023.
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5 STAR READS
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
My rating: 5 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.22
This is my third Taylor Jenkins Reid book, and I think this is my favorite so far! Another page turner and easy breezy read, I finished it in like 4 sittings. Like who doesn’t love love, sex, drugs, and rock and roll?? Yes, this was inspired by Fleetwood Mac, so it’s not an original plotline, but I don’t think that takes away from the story that Reid created and the way she tells it through multiple perspectives. I loved the interview-style writing for the book and I always enjoy learning about stories behind songs, real or fictional. I thought there were a perfect amount of characters and although none were perfect all the time, they were likeable. After watching the tv series on Prime Video, I think the book is wayyy better.
I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
My rating: 5 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.48
The title is jarring and all the adults around me were like “WHAT are you reading?” but I had listened to an episode of Jenette’s podcast where she briefly spoke about her relationship with her mom (and interviewed David Archuleta about his dad), so I had an idea of her story. I’m Glad My Mom Died was a very quick read with 91 vignettes/chapters recounting specific moments in Jenette McCurdy’s life. I liked how her writing style was candid, yet not too casual. She doesn’t hold back and talks about things that maybe might make her look bad, embarrassing moments, and moments she isn’t proud of. I am still curious to know how she grew out of her OCD, but other than that I think there was enough of a wrap-up at the end, post her mom’s death. This book is a reminder that you never know what people are going through. As an iCarly watcher, I never would have guessed Jenette was suffering with all of this at home. The book was paced and edited very well and I was hooked the entire time, 10/10 would recommend (beware trigger warnings for parental abuse, eating disorders).
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
My rating: 5 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.20
I had seen all the positive reviews of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, so I knew it was going to be a good book, and I was not disappointed! I was hooked within 15 pages. I’m not a gamer at all, but I like movies about games (i.e. Ready Player One, Free Guy.) It was cool that some of the main characters were half or full Asian and that a good chunk of the story took place in LA. I feel like as soon as you got to know the character, they changed, which kept it interesting. It was fast-paced but not too fast-paced where the details are lost. The themes and messages are endless, I feel like the book was about love, friendship, work, tragedy, healing, creativity, business, family, everything. The ending was satisfying, and I didn’t even skip ahead like I usually do. Worth the 4-month wait from the library!
The Happiness Project
My rating: 5 stars | Goodreads rating: 3.64
As a self-help fan, I loved this book!! I admired and supported Gretchin Rubin’s idea of making a project and taking deliberate actions every month to make her life happier. I haven’t read the Goodreads reviews yet (only 3.64 stars so a reminder to not let those ratings sway me), I’m sure they say this is white privilege, she didn’t really have any problems in her life, etc. but I think that’s the point. She wasn’t clinically depressed or trying to recover from a tragedy. She was just trying to make normal life a little bit better, and I found that very relatable. She was candid and vulnerable, admitting when she didn’t have success and the ways she failed to adhere to her resolutions in everyday situations with her husband and kids. I think everyone should read Atomic Habits by James Clear to learn how to successfully implement a habit, and then read The Happiness Project to give yourself ideas for what kinds of concrete habits you should start.
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
My rating: 5 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.62
Fourth Wing wow! I didn’t know anything about the plot before I read it, but I get the hype! I’d describe this book as Divergent but with dragons. In contrast to so many books I’ve read this year, I liked a lot of the characters and there were a lot of complex relationships. The author really thought everything through and there weren’t any plot holes that I noticed. Everything in this world had a reason and a history that made sense. There was a very big cliffhanger in the end, and now I do need to read the second one. I haven’t read dystopian fantasy in so long, it’s so nice to escape to another world. Excited for this to be turned into a show on Amazon Prime Video and bring the story to life!
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4 STAR READS
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
My rating: 4.5 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.27
This book got so popular, and by the title, I thought it was going to be a funny story about Asian food, but it was very depressing. My relationship with my parents is extremely different from Michelle’s, but her story had relatable elements for me, like growing up in the PNW in a mixed-race family and having to see your mom fight cancer. Learning more about Korean culture and seeing how she used food to find herself, grieve, and heal was unique and interesting to read about. I feel like it was very therapeutic for Michelle Zauner to write and she expresses herself with a raw and almost careless honesty that I wish I could allow myself in my own writing. I’ve never read a narrative that goes so deep into the experience of being a caretaker of someone with cancer, so that was a new perspective, but obviously incredibly sad.
28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand
My rating: 4.5 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.20
Breezed right through this one! 28 Summers was my first Elin Hilderbrand book and it won’t be my last. Although half the story was set in DC, it still felt like a beach read, but like an elevated beach read lol. Now I want to go to Nantucket, adding it to my list! I also liked how the author set the scene for each year. Also, I don’t think I’ve read a book that incorporated 9/11 this well into the plot. I thought all the characters were distinct and well-developed, and I loved the drama. Somehow I didn’t hate Jake, and I was rooting for both the main characters the whole time. It was interesting that as a reader, I felt like I knew the characters better than they knew each other since they only spent a weekend a year together. The ending was pretty rushed for me, but I guess the book starts at the end, so it wasn’t a surprise.
None of this is True by Lisa Jewell
My rating: 4.5 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.18
I wasn’t going to read this book despite seeing it on Goodreads a lot, but recently a bookstagrammer asked his 90K followers what their favorite book of the year was in a bracket and this made it to the top 2, so I caved. I don’t know iif it’s just because I don’t usually read suspense/thrillers but this book was a TRIP and I finished it in a day, which never happens!! I won’t give anything away but it was like a combination of Gone Girl, You, and Only Murders in the Building. The ending was interesting because I assumed everyone was telling the truth about what happened but not sure who to trust because we didn’t get to know the other characters very well.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 4.25 stars | Goodreads rating: 3.92
I really didn’t know what to expect from this Hunger Games prequel, but Suzanne Collins is simply a mastermind and has created a complex world and history for this dystopia. I felt for and even liked Coriolanus at some points, but I also obviously didn’t like him. Lucy Gray was an interesting and clever character as well, and I’m satisfied her storyline went. This book was very long, but there was a lot of action that kept me interested. It’s crazy that the story only takes place across like 3 months. I feel like I need another book between this and the first Hunger Games book, like how did it evolve from Coriolanus’s first games to the flashier games Katniss is a part of? I had no interest in seeing the movie but now I’m invested.
Conversations on Love by Natasha Lunn
My rating: 4 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.28
Conversations on Love is a series of interviews that Natasha Lunn had with other writers and people about all kinds of love from friendship to family to romance. In between passages, she also has her own narrative sections that focus a lot on her miscarriage, a topic that I could not relate to but had also never read that much about, so it was still kind of interesting. I thought the chapter on loss was particularly insightful. I felt rushed while reading because of book club and I think I would’ve enjoyed it more/gotten more out of it if I had slowed down. But I did make a list of things I need to talk to a therapist about so I’m taking that as a win.
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
My rating: 4 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.22
Taylor Jenkins Reid does it again!! This woman KNOWS how to write a story. I am a very new tennis fan and Carrie Soto is Back was very entertaining. I feel like Carrie Soto was such a fun character to write, as you don’t come across a lot of stories with female characters with that much confidence and bravado. I loved her relationship with her dad and Bowe. This book has significantly less characters than other books by this author, but that allowed for more character development. The chapters were short, and this was definitely a page-turner. I would absolutely love to see this turned into a movie!!
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
My rating: 4 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.33
This book is honestly just so depressing that it is HARD to get through, with almost 500 pages! The story follows a family down 4 generations over the course of 80 years in Korea and Japan. There were a ton of characters, and the author did a good job of explaining them, so I was never confused. Every single character was sad and suffering from something. I’ve never read anything like this before, and I didn’t really enjoy it, but it was a good book. I learned a lot about the relationships between the Koreans and Japanese, which was new to me. Also, it doesn’t mention what pachinko is until like 250 pages in. I can definitely see how the book lends itself well to a TV series and will be watching it soon. I didn’t like the story’s ending, it felt random to me, but I think it will be communicated better in the show. There are so many themes and so much to unpack in this book.
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
My rating: 4 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.02
I didn’t really know what to expect from The Rosie Project, but I was pleasantly surprised. The story is written in first person from the perspective of the main character, Don, an Australian genetics professor with Asperger’s syndrome. He wants to find a wife and sets up an experiment, but things don’t go as planned. I don’t personally know anyone with Asperger’s, so reading his thoughts on social norms and behavior was very interesting. This book is basically a quirky romcom and I didn’t know where the storyline would go, so it was cute and entertaining! I want to read the other 2 books in the series!
Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick
My rating: 4 stars | Goodreads rating: 3.86
I’m a fan of Anna Kendrick’s movies, but I really didn’t know much about her except what I heard on her episode of Armchair Expert earlier this year where she talked about her dad passing away and some unfortunate relationship issues. This book was more candid than other celebrity autobiographies I’ve read, and it included her highlights and lowlights and everything in between. I liked that she writes the way she talks and didn’t try to make everything a joke. I totally forgot she was in Into the Woods and I liked learning about her time on set and doing all the Hollywood things. I think Anna Kendrick actually is one of those celebrities who is “just like us”: anxious, quirky, and hardworking.
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
My rating: 4 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.31
I thought Lessons in Chemistry was going to be a fun science-themed romance book like The Love Hypothesis, but it definitely wasn’t. The story was more tragedy than romance and all the characters were either sad or vile people. We love the feminist theme and the strong female leads, but I didn’t particularly like any of the characters. I mostly felt sorry for them. I feel like the dog was the only source of levity, but even he was damaged. The pacing throughout the book was good and I just didn’t know where the plot was going to go, so it felt like a fast read. The ending was satisfactory for me and tied up all loose ends.
One Life by Megan Rapinoe
My rating: 4 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.21
This book covers Megan Rapinoe’s life up until the pandemic. I’m shook by how many times she injured her ACL and I didn’t know she had a twin that played soccer too. Her time in France seemed rough but her descriptions of the French people were amusing. Megan is definitely woke, and I feel like a good chunk of the book was devoted to informing people on social justice issues. However, as someone who already shares her beliefs, I wanted to know more about her life. Learning more about the struggle for equal pay for the USWNT made me mad even though I know they came to an agreement later. I just wish this book was longer and was published after the pandemic!
The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner
My rating: 4 stars | Goodreads rating: 3.74
I don’t really like reading historical fiction because the stories are usually just so sad, and all the characters did have some tragedy, but overall this book was cute. Although it was published in 2020, the writing style definitely reflects an older time period. It reminded me of books I had to read in middle school and high school, so that took a bit of getting used to. It was a slow burn and the plot didn’t pick up until 140 pages in, but I liked all the main characters and the small town setting. They all really loved Jane Austen and I’m sure I would’ve appreciated this book more if I had read Austen’s books. The ending was so short and wrapped everything up in like 15 pages, but all the relationships had been building throughout the story, so nothing was a surprise. I was happy with the ending, and I would totally watch it if it was turned into a little Hallmark-esque movie.
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3 STAR READS
8 Rules of Love by Jay Shetty
My rating: 3.75 stars | Goodreads rating: 3.98
I really liked Jay Shetty’s first book, Think Like a Monk, so I was excited to read his second! Self-help books about love can sometimes seem pointless because if there was any universal perfect formula for love, we probably would’ve figured it out by now, so in that way, you do have to take everything with a grain of salt. I liked the structure of the book and how it’s separated into 4 parts: how to love yourself, how to love others, how to leave love/let it go, and how to spread love. I do think it would be a more beneficial read if I was in a relationship, but ultimately I think it all comes down to communication, acceptance, and support of yourself and your needs and others’ and their needs.
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
My rating: 3.75 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.10
Red, White & Royal Blue was a quick, fun read! I was definitely rooting for Alex and Henry the whole time and I liked all the other supporting female characters. The first 100 pages felt kind of long, but they were ultimately needed to set the scene for the rest of the story. The emails were terribly cringey and I’m not really a fan of politics, but this would be the kind of drama I would eat up if it happened in real life of course lol. The book is more complex than the movie on Prime Video, so even if you saw the movie, I’d still recommend reading the book.
Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
My rating: 3.5 stars | Goodreads rating: 3.87
Hillbilly Elegy is the autobiography of J.D. Vance, and it’s centered on his childhood, growing up poor in a small town in Ohio, where babies are fed Mountain Dew and many don’t go to college. His mother struggled with addiction, so his grandparents stepped in, and he eventually defied the odds by leaving Ohio and now he is a US senator. This wasn’t a fun read, but it was interesting and shows that poverty exists in all towns and within all races (for different reasons obvi). I didn’t agree with his POV/commentary in certain parts, but there is no question he overcame incredible hardships. I feel like the book rushed through the adult part of his life and I wanted to hear more about his time in the Marine Corps and Yale. I didn’t know this was turned into a Netflix movie, but I may watch.
The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner
My rating: 3.25 stars | Goodreads rating: 3.48
I just wasn’t into The London Séance Society within the first 40 pages of the book. I didn’t like the setting, the premise of murder, the characters, or the relationships between the characters. But I’m not a quitter so I had to finish reading. Ultimately, all the twists and details that unraveled in the last 100 pages were interesting and satisfyingly tied up all the loose ends, so I appreciated that there were no unanswered questions. Like the author’s first book, there were strong female characters, but I just didn’t really care for this story and plot. I wish there were more “real” séances and the book was just about solving mysteries through those.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson
My rating: 3.25 stars | Goodreads rating: 3.90
The title The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck is clickbaity, but it works. The book is about how to prioritize your values and choose to care about what really matters. While I don’t disagree with most of what he says, it just felt like Mark Manson was mansplaining happiness from his high horse, I’m missing where his ethos comes from? Like why are people listening to his advice and reading this book, is it just because he has a blog? His trauma from his friend and his transformation were very rushed in the last chapter of the book and his attempts of humor were off-putting and unnecessary. Little of what he writes is eye-opening, like he has the “do something principle,” which is basically just Nike’s slogan. I think this book would’ve been more impactful if I read it when I was feeling lost in high school or early college, but at 26 and having lived through a global pandemic, I feel like I’ve figured most of this stuff out already. Overall, there are better self-help books out there and authors who deliver the messages in more inspiring ways.
Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover
My rating: 3 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.08
Ugly Love is my first Colleen Hoover book and while it wasn’t my favorite, it’s probably not my last. The pacing was good and it was entertaining, but I thought the plot was just ok. I really needed all those chapters from the past from Miles’s POV to rationalize his annoying behavior toward Tate in the present day. I think all the characters should’ve been older, as I just don’t see how Miles could’ve only been 24, especially with the whole pilot captain thing. Tate’s character wasn’t that complex and it was weird that she made like zero other friends in SF besides Cap. It felt similar to the After movies (not good). The ending felt kinda rushed but in the end, I was satisfied with how things played out.
Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner
My rating: 3.5 stars | Goodreads rating: 3.60
Big Summer was a quick, easy read! There were a few plot elements that I did expect, but I was surprised by the last reveal. However, I just couldn’t really understand Daphne and Drue’s friendship, as I’ve never had a friend that I put on a pedestal like that, and she didn’t really have a lot of redeeming qualities until the end. I also thought Daphne’s self-deprecating comments got annoying. I’d definitely read more of Jennifer Weiner’s books though!
Lunch in Paris: A Love Story, with Recipes by Elizabeth Bard
My rating: 3.5 stars | Goodreads rating: 3.67
Overall, this was a quick and cute travel read about a New Yorker living in Europe, experiencing the culture through food. It includes full recipe sections, which is fun. I didn’t realize it was a memoir until about 100 pages in and it made a lot more sense since the narrator had many random thoughts and observations that just wouldn’t be in a typical fictional novel. Some of those were sweeping generalizations about French culture that I don’t agree with, as I went to French immersion school and grew up with a lot of French friends. Also, sometimes the author would write sentences that just didn’t make sense to me, grammar-wise or content-wise? Maybe I was missing the cultural reference of 2010, but I’ve just never experienced that in any book.
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
My rating: 3.5 stars | Goodreads rating: 3.80
Such a Fun Age was an interesting story and addresses race in an effective yet kind of comical way. To me, it felt fresh and different from the tone of other books, which may just be me not reading enough books by Black authors. However, none of the characters were that likable in my opinion. I feel like I still didn’t really know anything about Emira besides she needed money and she loved Briar, but maybe that’s part of the point, that her boss and her bf didn’t really know her? The awkwardness between all the characters was pretty much 24/7 and a lot of elements were so cringey, but it was entertaining when worlds collided and it was a fast read.
The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
My rating: 3 stars | Goodreads rating: 3.84
The Last Thing He Told Me was a page-turner but it wasn’t all that exciting. I didn’t really like any of the characters, and I thought the ending was disappointing. Hannah’s sleuthing was kind of impressive, but overall I didn’t love this mystery, it just felt so blah and ordinary? I think I was looking for more of a thriller. I do, however, relate to the idea that it’s harder to get to know new people as you get older because they’ve already experienced so much before meeting you. It was also interesting to read this story which only takes place over the course of like 5 days compared to the last book I read, which spanned decades.
Normal People by Sally Rooney
My rating: 3 stars | Goodreads rating: 3.81
While Normal People was a quick read (would’ve been quicker if quotation marks were used lol), I just don’t get the hype about this book? Marianne and Connell’s relationship felt very Bella and Edward to me. Neither one of them were particularly interesting or likable, and I think a first-person narration would’ve made a big difference. I do believe Sally Rooney is talented and she artfully put into words the feelings that many people are familiar with but can’t articulate or would never openly express. Despite those powerful moments of prose, I finished the book and felt like I didn’t even know who the characters really were and they didn’t grow much over the years. Overall, this story mostly was dreary and depressing, and I actually liked the Hulu show better than the book.
The Shift by Tinx
My rating: 3 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.01
I was a new Tinx fan and had only recently followed her on Instagram because one of my co-workers likes her. Her Instagram stories are fun to watch and she’s been promoting her book a bunch.I really didn’t know much about her at all when I got this book from the library and didn’t even realize dating was her niche. I decided to read the book for funzies and that’s exactly what it is, a fun quick read! Half of this book sounds like it was written by my friend Kat, so it was very entertaining. Both her and Tinx are gifted storytellers #iykyk. This book had a few interesting points like Box Theory and Reverse Box Theory that actually make a lot of sense, but I feel like the book wasn’t anything revolutionary, I just enjoyed learning about the gossip and drama of her life.
The Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang
My rating: 3 stars | Goodreads rating: 3.60
The Land of Milk and Honey is an A24 film waiting to happen: random, dreamy, disturbing, bizarre. I randomly saw it on Goodreads and thought the premise sounded so interesting. What would life be like if the world’s ability to grow crops stopped? I’ve heard about the seed vaults in Iceland (this book is not about that), so I got it from the library. All the characters were kind of awful, and their final demise was not where I thought it was going at all. The sentence structure made it difficult to read for me, I’m sure some would say it’s poetic, but I found it just confusing. Sometimes I didn’t really know what was going on, and by the end I just wanted it to be over. I was satisfied enough with the ending, but there were so many themes that weren’t explored thoroughly.
RECOMMENDED READING:
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2022 Book Reviews
2021 Book Reviews
