Reading Wrap Up | October - December 2023 + 2023 Recap
One more year has gone by, I almost can't believe it and yet it's already time to review how the year was.
[Jan-March] [April-June] [July-Sept]
Code: books read in English are in black, books read in Spanish in red, books read in French in blue & books read in Portuguese in purple.
OCTOBER (3)
West With the Night - Beryl Markham -> 4/5
Desencajada - Margaryta Yakovenko -> 3/5
Death and the Penguin - Andrey Kurkov, trad. George Bird -> 2.5/5
My favourite was definitely Markham's: as a British woman in colonised Kenya, I was wary of starting her memoir, but it actually was a really pleasant surprise. Her love for the country where she grew up in was palpable with each description of the land and the sky, and her life as a rancher, horse trainer, and chartered pilot was fascinating and full of adventures.
Desencajada was a good insight into the life of a second-generation immigrant, but it was too similar to Supersaurio (by Maryam El Mehdati), which I read earlier in the year, to offer anything different. Kurkov's book was curious, but not enough for me to really recommend it.
NOVEMBER (4)
O Alquimista - Paulo Coelho -> 2/5
The Intimacy Experiment (The Shameless Series #2) - Rosie Danan -> 4/5
Greek Mythology: The Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes Handbook: From Aphrodite to Zeus, a Profile of Who's Who in Greek Mythology - Liv Albert (ilustrado por Sara Richard) -> 3/5
The Housekeeper and the Professor - Yoko Ogawa, trad. Stephen Synder -> 3/5
Coelho's was for a book club and it was as simple and as bland as I expected, but it was my first ever book read in Portuguese so yay for a landmark! Rosie Danan's was great, and I actually added her new book to my TBR because in just two books she's become a trusted author for romance.
DICIEMBRE (7)
A Viagem do Elefante - José Saramago -> 3.5/5
Infocracy: Digitalisation and the Crisis of Democracy - Byung-Chul Han, trad. Daniel Steuer -> 4/5
My Roommate is a Vampire - Jenna Levine -> 2.5/5
Demigods & Magicians (Percy Jackson + The Kane Chronicles) - Rick Riordan -> 3/5
In Bed with the Stablemaster (The Rogue Files #6.5) - Sophie Jordan -> 2.5/5
¿Para qué sirve realmente la ética? - Adela Cortina -> 2/5
Le Testament Français - Andreï Makine -> 2/5
December was very good in terms of numbers but not in terms of quality. Infocracy was super interesting and I do really recommend it as a good intro treatise on contemporary debates about democracy and information. Saramago's was also fun if a little overlong, and as usual Riordan is a good comfort read. But the rest of them? I've already forgot what they were about, definitely meh.
As usual, if you want to have a chat about anything I read just send me a message!
Yearly Recap
[Hello 2023 post]
Reading (at least) 55 books [59/55]
12 books in French [4/12]
12 books in Spanish [12/12] [Plus several books translated into Spanish!]
12 non-fiction books [11/12] [So close and yet so far...]
12 LGBTQ+ books [3/12]
12 books by European writers (excluding British ones) [10/12]
12 books by African/Afro-Caribbean writers [1/12]
12 books by Asian writers [3/12]
4 books by writers from Oceania (Australia, New Zealand, etc.) [1/4]
4 books by Latin American writers [4/4]
Okay, so I didn't do THAT great in my goals, actually. A couple of them were reeeeeally close, but some others were so far away it's actually a little embarrassing. But oh well, we live and we learn, and we try again...
I'm actually fairly happy with how my reading year went, even if I didn't manage to read one single 5-star book in the whole year (something to improve for next year for sure!). I think that after a couple of years of stallment and block, I'm really getting my groove back and I'm really excited for what the new year will bring! I have also been curating my TBR this past month to make sure everything on it brings me joy, and now all of my picks excite me. I can't wait to get to them in 2024; you can follow my reading adventures over in GoodReads if you want to take a look at my shelves :)
I hope you all close out 2023 in style and have a wonderful start to 2024. May it bring happy adventures and many good books!
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mid year book tag <3
thank you @claimedbytheearth for tagging me!! 😚💖
amount of books you’ve read so far: 10
best book you’ve read so far in 2022: probably Don’t go without me by Rosemary Valero-O’Connor, I really really enjoyed the three short stories, and I have very nice memories of reading it <3
best sequel you've read so far in 2022: I just finished Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World, and I really liked it, it’s a very good sequel and completes Ari’s personal journey in a very nice way. I’m very attached to the characters and I feel like this sequel honored them very well.
new release you haven't read yet, but want to: I'm looking forward to reading Supersaurio by Meryem El Mehdati! I bought it back in april and I'm looking forward to reading it soon
most anticipated release for the second half of the year: I can't say, I don’t really know what people are releasing right now </3
biggest surprise favorite new author (debut or new to you): I read my first H.M. Zubieta book this year (Infinitas) and I was already expecting to like their books a lot, so I was happy to be proven right!! I’m looking forward to keep reading their novels, though I don't own any others yet
newest fictional crush: I read Outlawed from Anna North and while I don’t really recommend it a lot (just read Upright Women Wanted if you want actual queer cowgirls), I had the biggest crush on The Kid chatacter, I was sure that the main character would also fall in love with them because how couldn’t she, but she turned out to be straight and not into cool queer nonbinary cowboys??? Can’t relate but okay. Just read Upright Women Wanted where the main character does fall in love with a cool queer nonbinary cowboy because how couldn't she.
book that made you cry: I cried in the tram a lot reading Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World hahaha
book that made you happy: I loved El cristal imposible by Anabel Colazo, a little comic my gf lent me, it was so fun and cool!!
most beautiful book you've bought so far this year (or received): this question is unfair because my girlfriend gifts me so many beautiful books... I'm gonna say Notes from an Island, by Tove Jansson and Tuulikki Pietilä <3
what books do you need to read by the end of the year?: off the top of my head, i really want to read How to be both by Ali Smith, Supersaurio by Meryem El Mehdati, and finish the Gloria Fuertes poetry anthology I'm currently reading. There are many more of course but those three I'd really like to finish this year!
Not tagging anyone but if we're mutuals feel free to do this and tag me I'd love to know ur books 💖
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Supersaurio - Librería Ofican Supersaurio. , Meryem El Mehdati, 20,19€ www.libreriaofican.com #regalolibros #libros #librerías #libros #librerías https://www.libreriaofican.com/es/libro/supersaurio_L010380002 (en Libreria Ofican Libros Ebooks) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd5HvrmI1-u/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
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📚Estamos a punto de llegar al fin de semana 👏👏, y en estos días de lluvia nada es más placentero que ese tópico de una buena lectura y el ruido de la lluvia en el exterior. Aquí van algunas novedades de esta semana. Librazos que no dejéis perder de vista.👉👉👉 🏷“El museo de la rendición incondicional” de Dubravka Ugrêsić, editado por @editorial_impedimenta 🦕“Supersaurio” de Meryem El Mehdati, editado por @blackiebooks 🏝“A orillas del mar” de Abdulzarak Gurnah, editado por @salamandraed 🙋🏻♀️“Nosotras, las personas” de Berna Mölck-Tassel, editado por @librosdelzorrorojo 🌳“El tercer paraíso” de Cristian Alarcón, editado por @alfaguaraes 🤘“Auambabuluba balambambu” de Nik Cohn editado por @editorial_la_felguera 🔪“Antifascistas” de Miquel Ramos editado por @capitan_swing_libros 🤸♀️“Invulnerables e invertebrados” de Lola López Mondejar editado por @anagramaeditor 🐊“El cocodrilo de Aristóteles” de Michel Onfray, editado por @edicionespaidos 👘“La era de la eternidad” de Hector García, editado por @edicionesminotauro #GrantLibrería #LosLibrosQueQuieresLeer #GrantRecomienda (en Grant Librería) https://www.instagram.com/p/CbfaioVK06Y/?utm_medium=tumblr
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