Overall, I read 160 books in 2023. This may be the most books I’ve ever read in a year, but as always, read at the pace that suits you and for the type of books you’re reading. Most books I read were under 500 pages, and a large chunk of them were under 300 pages. Read some pamphlets!
The vast majority of the books were fiction, with only 10% nonfiction. I made reading lists for history months: Black History Month, AAPI History Month, Pride Month, and Latinx Heritage Month. What this mostly did was intentionally focus on authors or books I’d been meaning to read from my shelf. I’m a mood reader, so TBRs often don’t work for me.
My most-read “genres” were LGBTQIA+ (81 books), Romance (73), and Fantasy (51). My top-read 7 authors were Kresley Cole (9 books), Mariko Tamaki and Ngozi Ukazu (6), Katee Robert and Tui T. Sutherland (5), and Adriana Herrera and Ilona Andrews (4). I really got into Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark series, and I’ll likely finish everything in the unfinished series in 2024.
My primary reading goal accomplishment was reading (or DNFing) 84 books on my physical TBR that I’d purchased, been gifted, or got for free in 2022 or earlier. My goal was 50. (This does not include anything I’ve unhauled.) I have an extensive collection of unread books. It’s a constant balance for me as I get excited about new and upcoming books, too!
One of the greatest things I did last year was raise $3,050 for Trans Lifeline during the Trans Rights Readathon! I read some incredible books, but most importantly, it was all for a great cause to assist other trans people.
For 2024, I’ll have another 100 book goal, but more importantly, 50 more books off my shelf purchased in 2023 or earlier.
My Top 10 Books from 2023
Of the 37 books, I rated 5/5 stars
1. Amateur: A Reckoning with Gender, Identity, and Masculinity by Thomas Page McBee
Genre: memoir
McBee chronicles his training and becoming the first trans man to compete in a (charity) boxing match against another man at Madison Square Gardens. But this book is so much about masculinity, our relationships with each other (including violence and trauma), and how to be a better man and person.
2. Unwritten Rules (Unwritten Rules #1) by K.D. Casey
Genre: cis achillean contemporary romance
The closet is a stifling and paranoid place that brings out the worst in ourselves and in our relationships. This baseball romance explores the life of Zach, a professional baseball player who believes he can either play ball or be gay, even as he falls in love.
3. Band Sinister by K.J. Charles
Genre: cis achillean historical romance
Charles shows what societal rules and etiquette are meant to be broken and how those who break those rules find each other and stick together, whether by blood or found family. Plus, who knew that Latin could be so sexy.
4. Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
Genre: speculative fiction
A Black woman in the 1970s is sucked back to Antebellum times and to a Southern plantation through a connection with her white slaver ancestors, whose life she must save. Butler’s prose is razor-sharp, and there’s a reason this is a classic.
5. Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin
Genre: splatterpunk horror
Felker-Martin, a trans woman, tackles a gender plague, where any testosterone-dominate person turns into a monster. The true horror in an apocalypse is always other people, as 2 trans women, 1 cis woman, and 1 trans man try to survive and maybe carve out a little hope.
6. The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology #1) by Aiden Thomas
Genre: YA fantasy
Teo is a teenage demigod fighting in Hunger Games-like trials to keep ancient evils at bay. At first, he wants to win and beat the popular kids. Then, everything he thinks about himself, his fellow contestants, and his world is turned upside down.
7. The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey
Genre: sci-fi thriller
No one knows someone else’s marriage, but what about your clone? What about the clone your husband made to replace you after he stole your research? And what if your clone killed him, and then you must cover it up?
8. Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
Genre: queer literary fiction
An utterly heartbreaking tale of Mungo, a young teenage boy growing up in poverty and violence in 1990s Glasgow and discovering his queerness. Stuart’s gaze is unflinching, and his prose is glowing, even as you know the worst will happen.
9. Catwoman: Lonely City by Cliff Chiang
Genre: superhero comics
A stunning tribute to Gotham City’s secret hero, Catwoman. Fresh out of prison for murdering Batman (she didn’t do it!) and 50 years old, Catwoman tackles Batman’s final wish and teams up with her old pals, Killer Croc, the Riddler, Poison Ivy, Barbara Gordon, and more.
10. Saint (Priest #3) by Sierra Simone
Genre: cis achillean contemporary romance
Aiden left his boyfriend Elijah one night and pledged himself to become a Catholic monk. After spending 5 years devoted to God and finding a peace he never had before, Elijah shows up to write an article about the beer the monks brew, and Aiden finds there are other ways to worship God.
Other 5-Star Fiction Reads (alphanumerical by author’s or editor’s last name)
- Think of England (England World #2) by K.J. Charles
Genre: cis Achillean historical romance - A Prince on Paper (Reluctant Royals #3) by Alyssa Cole
Genre: contemporary cis bi man/het woman romance - The Feeling of Falling in Love by Mason Deaver
Genre: YA t4t (trans boy/nonbinary person) romance - You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
Genre: cis bi man/woman contemporary romance - Cheer Up! Love and Pompoms by Crystal Frasier and Val Wise
Genre: contemporary cis/trans sapphic YA romance graphic novel - American Love Story (Dreamers #3) by Adriana Herrera
Genre: cis achillean contemporary romance - Act Your Age, Eve Brown (The Brown Sisters #3) by Talia Hibbert
Genre: contemporary cishet romance - Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin
Genre: contemporary cishet romance - Far Sector by N.K. Jemisin and Jamal Campbell
Genre: superhero sci-fi comics - The Cybernetic Tea Shop by Meredith Katz
Genre: sci-fi sapphic ace romance novella - Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix (Remixed Classics) by Anna-Marie McLemore
Genre: YA queer historical - Xenocultivars: Stories of Queer Growth, edited by Isabela Oliveira and Jed Sabin
Genre: plant-themed sci-fi and fantasy short stories - Heartstopper: Volume One by Alice Oseman
Genre: contemporary cis achillean YA romance comics - The Hidden Kingdom (Wings of Fire #3) by Tui T. Sutherland
Genre: middle reader children’s fantasy - Lumberjanes: The Good Egg (Lumberjanes novels #3) by Mariko Tamaki and Brooklyn Allen
Genre: middle-grade children’s fantasy - Something is Killing the Children Vol 4 by James Tynion IV, Werther Dell’Edera, and Miquel Muerto
Genre: contemporary horror comic - Check, Please! Year Four by Ngozi Ukazu
Genre: contemporary cis achillean romance comics - Rafe: A Buff Male Nanny (Loose Ends #1) by Rebekah Weatherspoon
Genre: contemporary cishet romance - Your Body is Not Your Body: An Anthology, edited by Alex Woodroe and Matt Blairstone
Genre: horror short stories - The Legend of Auntie Po by Shing Yin Khor
Genre: middle-grade children’s historical comic
Other 5-Star Nonfiction Reads (alphanumerical by author’s or editor’s last name)
- The Transmasculine Guide to Physical Transition: For Trans, Nonbinary, and Other Masculine Folks by Sage Buch
Genre: nonfiction gender studies - Testosterone Rex: Myths of Sex, Science, and Society by Cordelia Fine
Genre: nonfiction gender science and psychology - How We Fight For Our Lives by Saeed Jones
Genre: memoir - Girl Sex 101 by Allison Moon, kd diamond, and more
Genre: nonfiction sexual education - Running in the Family by Michael Ondaatje
Genre: memoir
4-star rated books I cannot get out of my head
- Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett
Genre: queer fiction - Demon from the Dark (Immortals After Dark #9) by Kresley Cole
Genre: cishet paranormal romance - The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi
Genre: literary fiction