3 Book Recommendations from Books I Read in 2023

‘Better late than never’ is the philosophy I am adopting towards this blogpost. Was it meant to go up by February rather than December? Yes, but we don’t guilt-trip around here so I digress. (It feels really good to be writing again after such a long hiatus).

In 2023 I had set a reading goal of 15 books, of which I ended up reading 16. Not bad considering I was still in grad school and spent three months away on fieldwork in another country. More importantly, I feel overall pleased with the books I read in 2023 and don’t think I disliked any of them, save for one or two. But alas, I am meant to narrow them down to three and so below are the ones that stood out the most:

1) Dracul by Dacre Stoker and J.D. Barker. Yes, that is Stoker as in Bram Stoker’s great-grand nephew. As Dracula is one of my favorite novels, I was incredibly excited to read what is meant to be a prequel novel detailing the time before Stoker was to encounter Count Dracula. A major part of the book recounts the retelling of events in Bram Stoker’s childhood, and most significantly, of his nanny, Ellen Crone. If you’re a fan of Gothic Horror, Supernatural Horror, or just plain suspense and horror, definitely consider reading this novel.

2) The Last Witch of Scotland by Philip Paris. We have a book on vampires above so it made sense to have witches too, right? I picked this book up in St. Andrews, Scotland last summer partly because the book takes place in Scotland and I wanted a useful souvenir gift; great decision on behalf of past-me. Inspired by the true story of the last person to be executed for witchcraft in Scotland, the book follows Aila and her mother Janet as they rebuild their life after a deadly fire at the start of the novel. The pair find themselves ostracized in their new community; but after befriending a traveling group of entertainers, the two learn to smile again. Still, the consequences of being two independent women in early 1700’s Scotland threatens the livelihood of these two. And yes, I did cry in the end.

3) The Woman in Me by Britney Spears. Quite a depart from the previous two genres, right? I have been a Britney fan since …Baby One More Time was released in 1999 and have always been rooting for her. This book was touching to read because Britney has a way of describing events in the tone of the person she was at the age that things occurred, which I feel is hard to do when decades have passed since the event. That just shows how much these things have impacted her–and continue to, from what I read in the book. I don’t think you have to be a big Britney fan to enjoy this book, and even if you have a general interest in what happened to make Britney “act out” a few years back, this book should clear that up.

And there we have it! As there is still one hour left here before midnight, I will say Merry Christmas, if you celebrate, or happy holiday season if you don’t. I have missed this blog and will make sure to incorporate updating more into my resolutions, which are starting today (who needs to wait for new years?). I’ll definitely see you guys again once more before the year ends!

Until then,

P.S. Should you wish to be friends on GoodReads to keep track of what I’m reading, here is a link to my profile: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/90425334-ami
Let’s be friends!