Beating the backlist in 2023, AKA working my way through an out-of-control bookcase

Surveying my stacks of books that have now spilled out from the bookshelves and into piles, I decided it was time to participate in the Beat the Backlist Reading Challenge. As per the challenge, it is: ‘designed to help you tackle all the books you keep meaning to read and still haven’t’.

The guidelines are simple:

1. The book must be published in the previous year or earlier (for the 2023 challenge, anything published in 2022 or earlier counts).
2. You have to start and finish the book in 2023.
3. I’m adding a third guideline that I have to own a physical copy of the book, as this is the real impetus behind reading these

Any format, any genre. Re-reads count, and you don’t have to own the book. It’s open for the entire year so whenever you feel like jumping in, you can!

Prompt: meant to read it last year (and every year for the past 6 years)

Do Not Say We Have Nothing
by Madeleine Thien (2016)

Prompt: multiple points of view

Of Women and Salt
by Gabriela Garcia (2021)

Prompt: recommended by a bookseller

The Hierarchies
by Ros Anderson (2020)

Prompt: more than 450 pages

The Warmth of Other Suns
by Isabel Wilkerson (2010)

Prompt: featuring travel (time optional)

I’m Waiting for You and Other Stories
by Kim Bo-Young (2021)

Prompt: set on a continent you don’t live on

The Republic of False Truths
by Alaa Al Aswany (2018)

Honestly, I’ll be very happy if I get to these 6 this year without getting distracted by shiny new books!

2022 round-up: the best books of the year

2022, another year over. This was a pretty good reading year – 28 books in total, under my initial (and overly ambitious) reading goal of 40 but over my revised goal of 25. I am always in awe at readers who can manage 52+ (the only time I got close to that, other than when studying for my Literature degree 10+ years ago, was 2020).

Before I get on to my favourites, here’s a quick wrap up:

Of these 28:

• 17% were non-fiction, 83% fiction
• All but one were written by women
• 57% of authors were American, 37% British, with the remaining being Irish and Australian. This is less geographically diverse than previous years and something I want to improve on in 2023!

I love these wrap-ups because they remind of how much joy there is in reading a book you adore. Here are my top reads of 2022…

True Biz
by Sara Nović

Genre: contemporary fiction

In a sentence: an incredibly eye-opening read that introduced me to Deaf culture in all its exuberance.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

How High We Go In The Dark
by Sequoia Nagamatsu

Genre: lit fic/sci-fi/speculative

In a sentence: deeply imaginative, illuminating and original stories from a plague-ridden world that transcend the boundaries of genre.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The Hop
By Diana Clarke

Genre: contemporary fiction

In a sentence: refreshing and empowering perspective on the sex work industry with whip-smart commentary on contemporary culture.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Yellowface
by R. F. Kuang

Genre: lit fic

My one 5-star read of the year. In a sentence: a biting and deliciously dark story, satirizing the publishing world and the creative process in a very on-the-nose way. Publishing 2023!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Nobody Told Me
by Holly McNish

Genre: poetry

In a sentence: poetry and prose that is candid and funny, playful yet serious, and unflinchingly honest on the realities of motherhood.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Intimacies
by Katie Kitamura

Genre: lit fic

In a sentence: a translator navigates language and power in this brilliant, incisive novel where the writing is a joy to behold.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Fight Night
by Miriam Toews

Genre: memoir

In a sentence: an irrepressibly energetic book told through the eyes of a nine-year-old – a hilarious and moving rallying cry.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Happy new year – let’s hope it’s a good one!

Some recent posts

April 11, 2023

March 28, 2023

March 19, 2023

March 12, 2023

March 2, 2023

7 books on my autumn 2022 TBR

Bliss Montage
by Ling Ma

Genre: literary fiction

‘A new creation by the author of Severance, the stories in Bliss Montage crash through our carefully built mirages… What happens when fantasy tears through the screen of the everyday to wake us up? Could that waking be our end?’

The Family Remains
by Lisa Jewell

Genre: psychological thriller

‘From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell comes an intricate and affecting novel about twisted marriages, fractured families, and deadly obsessions in this standalone sequel to The Family Upstairs.’

We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies
by Tsering Yangzom Lama

Genre: historical fiction

‘For readers of Pachinko and We Need New Names, a compelling and profound debut novel about a Tibetan family’s journey through exile.’

I’m Waiting for You and Other Stories
by Bo-Young Kim

Genre: speculative fiction

‘In this mind-expanding work of speculative fiction, available in English for the first time, one of South Korea’s most treasured writers explores the driving forces of humanity—love, hope, creation, destruction, and the very meaning of existence—in two pairs of thematically interconnected stories.’

Sea of Tranquility
by Emily St. John Mandel

Genre: speculative/literary fiction

‘…A novel of art, time, love, and plague that takes the reader from Vancouver Island in 1912 to a dark colony on the moon three hundred years later, unfurling a story of humanity across centuries and space.’

A Lie Someone Told You about Yourself
by Peter Ho Davies

Genre: literary fiction

‘This spare, graceful narrative chronicles the flux of parenthood, marriage, and the day-to-day practice of loving someone. As challenging as it is vulnerable, as furious as it is tender, as touching as it is darkly comic… an unprecedented depiction of fatherhood.’

My Body
by Emily Ratajkowski

Genre: memoir

‘A deeply honest investigation of what it means to be a woman and a commodity from Emily Ratajkowski, the archetypal, multi-hyphenate celebrity of our time.’

I’m stopping at 7 as that is already very ambitious! What’s on your TBR for these coming months?

Descriptions taken from Goodreads. Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

Some recent posts

February 6, 2023

January 4, 2023

December 17, 2022

October 14, 2022

August 9, 2022

The Mid-Year Book Freakout – 2022 edition

1. Best book you’ve read so far in 2022

This is a tough one, but the one that made the biggest impression on me is Sequoia Nagamatsu’s How High We Go In The Dark.

2. New release you haven’t read yet, but want to

Love Marriage by Monica Ali

3. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng, publishing in October this year.

5. Biggest disappointment

The It Girl by Ruth Ware.

6. Biggest surprise

Intimacies by Katie Kitamura

7. Favourite new author (debut or new to you)

Sara Novic, author of True Biz.

8. Newest fictional crush

I’ll have to pass on this one this year!

9. Newest favourite character

Kate Burns, aka Lady Lane, in Diana Clarke’s The Hop.

10. Book that made you cry

Girl A by Abigail Dean

11. Book that made you happy

Fight Night by Miriam Toewes

12. Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received)

The Republic of False Truths by Alaa Al Aswany

13. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

• All the Things We Don’t Talk About by Amy Feltman
• My Body by Emily Ratajkowski
• Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

P.S. How cute is my new mug? Check out FableBound on Etsy for lots of bookish gifts.

5 dystopian fiction reads for AAPI heritage month

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. I’m going to be doing a mini-series on books I’ve loved by AAPI authors in different genres – last time it was lit fic, today it’s dystopian fiction…

How High We Go In The Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

I picked this book because of that beautiful cover and title, and this is a case of judging a book by its exterior completely paying off. If you’re mentally prepared for a (fictional) pandemic read, and aren’t opposed to a dose of sci-fi, give it a go.

My review

See on Goodreads

The School for Good Mothers by Jassmine Chan

I was fortunate enough to get an ARC of this chilling novel about a woman who makes a mistake and risks losing her daughter forever. It feels very prescient today as I write this the morning before heading to the national march in support of a woman’s right to choose.

See on Goodreads

My review

Severance by Ling Ma

I still think about this book at least once a week. It’s a blistering satire on the millennial workplace and our late-capitalist malaise as a pandemic turns 99% of the population into zombies. One of the best books I’ve read in years.

My review

See on Goodreads

Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam

I know this book is polarizing, but the GR description is just so compelling I think I’ll have to find out for myself: Amanda and Clay head out to a remote corner of Long Island expecting a vacation… But a late-night knock on the door breaks the spell. Ruth and G. H. are an older black couple—it’s their house, and they’ve arrived in a panic. They bring the news that a sudden blackout has swept the city. But in this rural area—with the TV and internet now down, and no cell phone service—it’s hard to know what to believe.

See on Goodreads

The Resisters by Gish Jen

I haven’t read this one yet, so here’s a snip from the back cover copy: An astonishing story of an America that seems only too possible, and of a family struggling to maintain its humanity in circumstances that threaten their every value—even their very existence.

See on Goodreads

Do you have anything you’d add to this list? Let me know!

5 literary fiction reads for AAPI heritage month

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. I’m going to be doing a mini-series on books I’ve loved by AAPI authors in different genres, and coming up first are my favourite lit fic reads – to be enjoyed any time of the year!

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

Read if you like: short, lyrical novels about growing up and discovering your sexuality, navigating the immigrant experience, the trauma of war, the power of storytelling and survival, and the occasional inscrutable metaphor.

My review

See on Goodreads

Brown Girls by Daphne Palasi Andreades

Read if you like: books set in New York that celebrate girlhood in its many forms, the trope of being a ‘good immigrant daughter’, stylistically bold writing, and something you can read in half an afternoon.

My review

See on Goodreads

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

Read if you like: having your heart torn into a thousand pieces.

See on Goodreads

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

Read if you like: slow burn novels about family dynamics, the unease of unbelonging, quiet and sad prose, and the ripple effects of trauma.

My review

See on Goodreads

All the Lovers in the Night by Mieko Kawakami

I haven’t yet started this, so this is from Goodreads: All the Lovers in the Night is acute and insightful, entertaining and engaging; it will make readers laugh, and it will make them cry, but it will also remind them, as only the best books do, that sometimes the pain is worth it.

See on Goodreads

Do you have anything you’d add to this list? Let me know!

I’ll be continuing this miniseries with a post spotlighting dystopian fiction by AAPI authors later this month.

One-Word Reviews for the Last 10 Books I Read

This is this week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic. My reviews may be many things but they aren’t brief, so this might be a challenge…

True Biz by Sara Nović

In a word: Revelatory.

Full review

The Other Passenger by Louise Candlish

In a word: Twisty.

Full review

Burntcoat by Sarah Hall

In a word: Feverish.

Full review

Fight Night by MIriam Toews

In a word: Raucous.

Full review

How High We Go In The Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

In a word: Devastating.

Full review

The Hop by Diana Clarke

In a word: Refreshing.

Full review

Reputation by Sarah Vaughan

In a word: Gripping.

Full review

Girl A by Abigail Dean

In a word: Transfixing.

Full review

Intimacies by Katie Kitamura

In a word: Incisive.

Full review

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

In a word: Tense.

Full review

Reacting to One-Star Reviews of Books I Love

I can’t remember where I first saw it (if you’re the creator, let me know!) but I love the idea of this book tag. Disclaimer that everyone is entitled to their own bookish thoughts and feelings and just because they’re wrong about these books, doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. 😉

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo

Okay, most of the scathing reviews of GWO took umbrage with the lack of punctuation. Which I get – I do! When I recommend this book to people, I always warn them about this particular style quirk. I know that it’s a personal preference thing (which I personally liked, once I got used to it).

But how can this reviewer call the characters uninteresting? We literally have socialist anarchist artists living in squats in London in the 80s, which may be many things, but it certainly isn’t boring. That’s just one example amidst a huge cast of characters that span genders, sexualities, backgrounds and time frames.

Here’s my glowing review of Girl, Woman, Other

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

I confess I did laugh out loud at: ‘If chapter 14 is an example of how Brits flirt, I can’t believe their whole race isn’t already extinct.’ Then I went back and read chapter 14, and laughed again to see Rochester’s line ‘does my forehead not please you?’

I think this reviewer needs a bit of a history lesson, though. This is stuffy and staid Victorian times, and this chapter 14 dialogue is about as risqué as you’re going to get.

“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will, which I now exert to leave you.”

– favourite line from Jane Eyre

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

Did I read the same book as this reviewer? I am left scratching my head, wondering if I somehow missed a fifty shades esque romp couched in the language of a multi-generational family epic of love and loss in 20th century Korea.

The reviewer actually makes a fair point about getting attached to characters you then don’t see again, as the narrative jumps forward to the next generation. I don’t disagree that that was mildly dissatisfying at points. BUT – that is the only part of this review that is sensical to me.

Want a five-star review of Pachinko? Here’s mine…

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

This did elicit a wry chuckle, perhaps ELaIC is pretentious – honestly, that’s never something that’s bothered me very much in and of itself, so I am the right market for this book.

I enjoyed how the scathing takedown of the book in paragraph two actually describes what I loved about the book – the charming wistfulness, the innovative prose, the playing around with traditional form.

Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

I just want to preface this by saying I am no Sally Rooney stan. I enjoyed Normal People, didn’t love Conversations with Friends, so was intrigued by the hype around BWWAY but didn’t go into it with any real expectations.

But I do think it’s fascinating that she invokes such strong emotions in people. There is some real vitriol in the negative reviews for BWWAY. But I picked this one as I don’t actually disagree with it being self-indulgent, essentially plotless, with pretentious characters. I guess this is just a matter of to what to degree you enjoy and/or tolerate such literary tropes.

(P.S. – finishing out of spite is funny, though.)

My review of Sally Rooney’s best novel yet

5 books that exceeded my expectations (& 5 that didn’t…)

My reading fortune comes in waves. Sometimes I feel that everything I pick up that I’d been really looking forward to turns out to be a flop. But then – there are those gems that totally take you by surprise, and end up becoming firm favourites. This post is for the books that I went into without preconceptions or expectations of brilliance and ended up loving, and those that I was so looking forward to but ended up being a disappointment.

5 books that exceeded my expectations

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

I’m wary of judging books by their titles. This is such a good title I wasn’t sure if the book would live up to it – but boy is this a stunning, intense debut about heritage, addiction and love that took me by surprise in the best way possible.

Full review

Thin Girls by Diana Clarke

Finding this was a stroke of luck – I’d never heard of the book or Diana Clarke, but one day I was browsing on Edelweiss and it caught my eye. And I’m so glad it did – this ended up being in my top 10 of 2020.

Full review

The Lying Game by Ruth Ware

It’s no secret that I love a good psychological thriller, and this is Ruth Ware at her best. I wasn’t sure what to expect after enjoying, but being underwhelmed by, her previous two novels – but The Lying Game really hit the spot for me.

Full review

Followers by Megan Angelo

Contrary to what this chick-lit-ified cover would suggest, this is a darkly funny and clever book about the commodificiation of our online selves. A random Netgalley pick that ended up being utterly engrossing.

Full review

Intimacies by Katie Kitamura

I had the excellent fortune of finding this in a Little Free Library in our neighbourhood. The reviews were mixed so I wasn’t sure what to expect – but I owned a shiny, like-new hardback copy so had nothing to lose. I loved the incisive, precise writing style and the insights into the nature of interpretation.

Full review

…and 5 books that left me disappointed

Animal by Lisa Taddeo

I loved Three Women and was psyched when I got an advanced copy of Animal – but after several failed attempts to get into the detached, caustic and pretty depraved narration, I relegated it to the DNF pile.

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

Sad times that this book wasn’t all it could have been, after the utter brilliance of All The Light We Cannot See. I finished it because I didn’t want to do it a disservice by not giving it a proper chance, but whilst it definitely had its merits, it fell short for me.

Full review

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

There’s a mythology around some classics that makes you feel that they’re untouchable. And this is by no means a bad book. It just wasn’t the masterpiece I was expecting.

Full review

Fake Accounts by Lauren Oyler

I want to be clear that I’m not trying to join the pile-on for this book (I actually rated it 3*s, ever-so-slightly higher than the Goodreads average). I loved it at the start, the irreverent voice and sharp social commentary – until it became rambling and incoherent. But I’d still give Lauren Oyler another chance.

Full review

Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell

Having been in a non-fiction slump for a while, I decided to try one of the most revered modern thinkers. The problem I had with this book was that I was unconvinced by his central premise, and many of the anecdotes he includes to support his theory feel shoe-horned in. It was pretty forgettable for me.

Full review

Opinions my own, and I appreciate and respect that many readers may feel differently!

Have you read any of these? What’s been your biggest reading surprise?