The Ones That Got Away in 2023
Picture this. It’s the last week of December, Betwixtmas as some call it, it’s 2 am and I am reading furiously by the dim light of a Himilayan salt lamp while my boyfriend sleeps oblivious to my strife beside me. I’ve done what I always do. Set a completely unrealistic Goodreads target for the year and am letting it haunt my every thought as the end of 2023 races towards me.
Yes, it’s a completely self-imposed goal. Yes, literally no one cares.
At 3 am I finish my 49th book and quickly pass out. Spoiler alert - it’s 2024 and I didn’t hit my 2023 target. Before I set off on my 2024 marathon, I dedicate this post to the ones that got away last year.
Babel - R. F. Kuang
I have bought multiple copies of Babel as gifts, but I still haven’t gotten around to reading it myself! I did read Yellowface, which was Kuang’s big release this year (another bestseller in another genre? What an overachiever) but Babel has been scaring me off a little because I’m not an ~experienced Fantasy girlie~. I’ll be about two years late to the Babel discourse once I finally read this, but I’m going to borrow a copy and read it ASAP.
The List - Yomi Adegoke
When this cover first hit Twitter, it created as much buzz in the book-sphere as Taylor Swift announcing new Eras tour dates. From that point on Yomi Adegoke’s The List was guaranteed to be a bestseller, and the glowing endorsement from Bernadine Evaristo was just a cherry on the cake.
Described as a juicy Gossip Girl-esque book about the rise and fall of two insta darlings, I can see this being the perfect beach read, so it’s going to have to stay on the shelf for another six months or so.
Ordinary Human Failings - Megan Nolan
Every year there are a few books I really want to read but am actually quite concerned about how depressed they’ll make me. This was one of them. In 2023 I leaned into ‘easy’ books more than ever (and finally admitted to myself that I like reading romance novels).
Following up Nolan’s critically acclaimed debut Acts of Desperation - which emotionally destroyed me in the best way - Ordinary Human Failings follows a reporter investigating an Irish family implicated in the death of a child on a London estate in the 90s. I know once I get around to reading this it’s going to be incredible, but for now the rom-coms prevail.
Let the Light Pour In - Lemn Sissay
At the other end of the spectrum is Lemn Sissay’s ‘joyous’ Let the Light Pour In. For the last decade, Sissay has penned a short poem as the sun rises on each new day. Doesn’t that just sound lovely? This collection brings together a selection of these poems, and I can see myself starting the day by reading one each morning - after I’ve finally woken up from my fifth alarm.
I only read one book of poetry in 2023 so this book completely passed me by, but I’ll definitely be buying a copy to keep me company in these dark winter months.
Antarctica - Claire Keegan
2023 was undeniably Claire Keegan’s year. She’s the kind of author that I imagine other authors hate. Everything she writes is gold. So effortlessly good that you realise some people are just meant to be writers…and others aren’t. She could write a manual for a dishwasher and I’d read it, recommend it to everyone I know, and get a quote tattooed on me. Anyway enough of my speech as head of the Claire Keegan fan club - I’m off to buy a copy of Antarctica so I can complete my Keegan collection.