2023 in Reading: Did not finish!

2023 was my fourth year of creating a reading list for myself. It was my second year of writing my own list without any reference to a reading challenge.

Before I tell you how I did, let's review:

• In 2022, I completed my reading challenge
• In 2021, I completed my reading challenge
• In 2020, I completed my reading challenge
• In 2019, I read 36 books without any reading goals

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So in 2023, I set some high reading goals. I listed 45 books for myself and many were not easy reads for me. Five of them were over 600 pages, some over that by quite a bit (I'm looking at you Kristin Lavransdatter). And this year, I did not finish my list. In fact, I don't even plan to finish reading all these books.

But I had a great year of reading, thanks in no small part to my reading plan. I read titles that I would not have attempted or finished without my goals, like The Aeneid and I Contain Multitudes. I read more widely and feel like I'm a more well-rounded person than I was at the beginning of the year. 

I could have completed this list if I hadn't wasted as much time online, passively reading news and pseudo-news.  However, reading books has also been a way to escape from things I need to do in the here and now. This is why I did not push super hard in November and December to finish when I realized that I could make it happen. My mental presence is in high demand with five kids, even more so that four are school-aged and homeschooled. 

Failing to complete my list is liberating in a way. Maybe I should stop thinking of my list as a goal to complete. I want to diversify the things I spend my time on now that I don't have little babies anymore. But change is hard. So I have made a list for 2024 because I love book lists and I read so much more when I already know what to read next. But I will try to hold it more loosely. 

Before I unveil my 2024 Reading List, let's review 2023:

Science

For the Love of Physics: From the End of the Rainbow to the Edge of Time - A Journey Through the Wonders of Physics by Walter Lewin 

I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong 

The Secret World of Weather: How to Read Signs in Every Cloud, Breeze, Hill, Street, Plant, Animal, and Dewdrop by Tristan Goole 

I read (or listened to) all three of my science picks for the year and I feel proud of myself. Truthfully, all of them felt like a slog to me at some points but they were all very worthwhile reads and I believe all recommendations from Nicole Williams at Sabbath Mood Homeschool. 

For the Love of Physics was a potential homeschool preread and I did it by audiobook because I needed to check it off my list and didn't have time to read it. 

I Contain Multitudes was wow! Very detailed and interesting, but dense and took a lot of brain power. It covered a wider span of topics than I expected and I learned a lot. I read most of it and finished the last third by audiobook. 

The Secret World of Weather was a bit repetitive at times and maybe too detailed. But it gave me so much to think about and has helped me notice my environment more. 

Philosophy

The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis

The Sickness Unto Death by Soren Kirkegaard - Did not finish

Phaedo by Plato - Did not finish

I was not successful with this category. I majored in philosophy in college and thought I might enjoy digging into some classic works. Boy, was I wrong! I enjoyed listening to The Abolition of Man, a title long recommended by Pam Barnhill and I really enjoyed it. But I only read about 10% of the other two with no plans to complete them anytime soon. 

Memoir / Biography

Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? By Seamus O'Reilly 

That Bird Has My Wings: The Autobiography of an Innocent Man on Death Row by Jarvis Jay Masters

Everything Sad Is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri 

Barracoon: The Story of the Last Black Cargo by Zora Neale Hurston

Between the Devil and the Sea: The Life of James Forten by Brenda A Johnston 

I love reading memoirs and YA biographies but they aren't the easiest ones for me to think of when I need a new book. Making my yearly reading list is a way of intentionally making time for this category. I chose to listen to Barracoon: The Story of the Last Black Cargo which I would recommend because of the dialect involved. The rest I read as books or ebooks. All of them are worthwhile if you enjoy this genre. That Bird Has My Wings was the most disturbing one and Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? was the most light-hearted. Everything Sad Is Untrue is a YA memoir that also had lots of heavy content, mostly domestic abuse but being written for a YA audience, it was easier to bear. 

History / True crime / True Adventure

Black Hands, White Sails: African American Whalers by Fredrick McKissack and Patricia McKissack 

Debt the First 5000 Years by David Graeber 

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote 

Adnan's Story: The Search for Truth and Justice after Serial by Rabia Chaudry

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer 

The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party by Daniel James Brown 

Miracle in the Andes by Nando Parrado 

History of Art for Young People by Anthony F. Janson, H. W. Janson 

I grouped this oddball assortment together and realized afterward that I had a cannibalism theme running through my entire reading list this year!?! I did complete all of these titles and my four favorites were:

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer - An absolutely riveting true-life adventure story. If you are at all fascinated by mountain climbing and the mystique of Everest, it is a must-read.

Debt the First 5000 Years by David Graeber - This is a fascinating book about the origins of debt, money, and ultimately inequality. I read The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow in 2022 and loved it, so I knew I wanted to read Graeber's earlier book. Both are so packed with ideas that it takes some brain power and focus for me to read these but well worth the effort.

Miracle in the Andes by Nando Parrado - I was familiar with this story from the 90s movie Alive which was based on an earlier book by a British journalist. It tells the story of a group of rugby players whose plane crashes in the Andes and they have to survive for 72 days before rescue. Miracle in the Andes was written after the movie by one of the survivors who played a key role in the team's survival. The original book dealt with a lot of gross details involving the means of survival (they had to eat the bodies of those who had died). Parrado's book didn't shy away from those details but dealt much more with the feelings and struggles of the starving and injured men (and one woman) who worked together and overcame so much to make it out of the mountains together. I was so moved by the story that I also read the original book, Alive, and rewatched the movie which I hadn't seen since my teens.

The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party by Daniel James Brown - As my kids are studying the 1800s, it was a very interesting read. It is hard for me to imagine taking on the hardships of a journey west like these people did.

Two of the titles--Black Hands, White Sails: African American Whalers and History of Art for Young People--were juvenile nonfiction, as was Between the Devil and the Sea: The Life of James Forten in my biography section. Reading excellent juvenile nonfiction has been my biggest hack for giving myself a liberal education. I have an incredibly difficult time reading adult biographies because they are so detailed and lengthy. Good juvenile nonfiction teaches me so much but doesn't require 30 reading hours. Of course, I learn from the books I read to my kids, but I also like to plan some of these books just for me.

Modern Fiction / Science Fiction

Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica 

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky 

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver 

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

Trinity by Leon Uris 

The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki 

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson 

Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson 

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke 

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler 

I was able to complete all of the titles in this section as well. Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica was deeply disturbing if you like that sort of thing. But Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler was the most chilling and realistic post-apocalyptic novel I've ever read. I cannot stop thinking about it! The sequel is on my list for next year. 

I loved Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson so much and I highly recommend it. I loved it only slightly more than I disliked The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki. Modern fiction is very hit-or-miss for me. 

Despite the hype, Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver was only ok for me. Growing up in an area with similar drug problems and a high poverty level makes me very touchy about how these topics are treated. While I appreciated some of the truth embedded in this novel, at times the stories felt very flat and fake to me. But I hope to read David Copperfield in 2024 and see if that changes my feelings about it. 

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky and Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson were both interesting science fiction novels in different ways. But I think they made me realize that sci-fi is no longer my favorite genre. 

Trinity by Leon Uris was apparently very popular when it was published. Some parts were very moving and well-written, but most of it wasn't. Plus, so much of it was so stressful and horrible that it was difficult to finish and the female characters seemed highly unbelievable in many ways. I wouldn't recommend it. 

Classic Fiction

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier 

Adam Bede instead of Scenes of Clerical Life by George Elliot 

Bird in the Tree by Elizabeth Goudge 

Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset translated by Tiina Nunnally (reread of different translation) - almost done, but not quite finished yet.

The American Senator by Anthony Trollope 

Lieutenant Hornblower by C.S. Forester 

Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann - only 10% completed

The Long Ships by Frans G. Bengtsson 

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen 

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray 

The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy 

The Talisman by Sir Walter Scott - only 20% completed

Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell

The Story of Siegfried by James Baldwin 

The Aeneid by Virgil

Oedipus Cycle by Sophocles (reread)

I was able to read most of the books on this list, except I substituted Adam Bede for Scenes of Clerical Life because I wanted an audiobook for a car ride. As of today, I have three books still in progress. So many were notable for me.

I loved The Long Ships by Frans G. Bengtsson which was a slightly earlier Nordic historical fiction novel set just a few hundred years before Kristin Lavransdatter. 

Vanity Fair may be responsible for my failed reading goals because even though I really liked it, I got to a super depressing section and I did not want to read for weeks on end. Once I kept going I was rewarded with a solid ending. This is another one of my books set in the 1800s to coincide with our history stream.

I had read C.S. Forrester's first Hornblower novel years and years ago but someone mentioned it recently and I remembered that I had always intended to read another and it fit with our history period. My kids got sick at the same time so I read Lieutenant Hornblower by C.S. Forester in two days. So enjoyable!

I was also so happy to finally be able to read a novel by Elizabeth Goudge. The premise of Bird in the Tree did not interest me at all but it was the one I picked up at a book sale. I was surprised that it was so touching and meaningful to me. Now I understand the Goudge hype and look forward to reading more. 

The Story of Siegfried by James Baldwin was another book to explore my interest in Norse mythology. Here Baldwin is retelling the story of Siegfried (also known as Sigurd) which comes from the 13th-century Volsunga Saga (which itself is based on earlier stories recorded in the Poetic Edda, which I read last year).

After reading The Illiad and The Oddysey both more than once, I'm happy to have completed The Aeneid by Virgil for the first time. As year-end was approaching, I was convinced I would not finish this one but I got an audio version and listened to the whole thing while driving to Ohio and back by myself. I did prepare by reading a children's retelling last school year which helped me get more out of the experience.

On to the books I didn't finish:

Kristin Lavransdatter is even more of my favorite novel of all time with Tiina Nunnally's translation. And I could have finished it this year. But why rush something so good? I've been reading it on and off all year and savoring it! Honestly, it deserves to be read several times at least. And to be fair, it is really a trilogy published as one volume and is over 1000 pages long. If I could recommend one book, it would be this one. But read the new translation . . . seriously! 

I'm well into The Talisman by Sir Walter Scott and I will finish it this year. 

When I put Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann on my reading list, I felt sure that I would be able to borrow an ebook or physical book somewhere. Then I couldn't find a copy and I didn't want to buy one. A few days before Christmas, I received an interlibrary loan from my library and I started to read. I have about 2 weeks to finish it or give it up and I'm not sure if I'm going to finish it or not. 

That sums up my reading for 2023! I'm always glad to put it in the rearview mirror and plan another beautiful slate of reading for the new year. Stay tuned for my 2024 reading list coming soon.