Now that I have you thinking I was a total slacker in 2023, it’s really not as bad as my title suggests. I did read some of my book list last year. And now is the time when I lay out all my excuses for why I didn’t come anywhere close to reading my list of 30 titles. *cracks knuckles*

First, let’s tackle the elephant in the room, which is that I always veer off the path to read books that weren’t on my original list. There was a time when these books were the ones I read to my kids. Car rides were a favorite time to introduce them to series such as Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl, and A Series of Unfortunate Events. The series that did me in was The Lord of the Rings. Reading elvish aloud is a different animal. That was two years ago. Now I have a kid who can drive himself, so we’re not always riding together. Plus, times have changed. When the four of us are riding somewhere together now, we’re more likely to be singing along with our extensive YouTube playlist. And that’s okay.

My side novels, as I like to think of them, have shifted to books that I read to keep up with my students. Because I teach kids with learning disabilities, it’s important to know firsthand exactly what happened in the books they read; when their comprehension takes a dive, I can help correct their misunderstandings. And I’ve really enjoyed some of these unplanned reading treasures. Although they pull me away from my list, they’re well worth it. Five of the seven unplanned books I read in 2023 fit this category.

One excuse down. Here’s another: In 2023, I struggled. Sometimes the struggle was because some of my books were just meh (I will not be returning to the Ship Breaker series). Sometimes the struggle was due to the length of the books and a lack of time. In July, our lives were turned upside down by an unexpected (but necessary) move in a horrible housing market. While I now believe that we ended up right where we were supposed to be, there was a lot of stress involved, a lot of sleepless nights (spent worrying, not reading), and up until a couple days before Christmas, we were still unpacking. The house projects promise to keep us busy for years to come. Oh, and before the move, we got chickens, so I can blame a lot of time evaporation on them, too.

Okay, that ended up being a whole list of excuses. I’m keeping on keeping on, but it’s slow. I’ve been reading my current book since late November, and sometimes I only manage five pages in a day. When your book has 700+ pages, it feels interminable. I could have devoted more time to reading this past week and squeezed in one last title, but instead, I chose to play games with my family, and I don’t regret it. After all, the books will always be waiting for me. (And, boy, do I have piles of books.)

Excuses delivered. Now it’s time to dive into the books. In 2023, my goal was to read 30 novels, and a few of them were doozies. (I did say it was ambitious right up front—the proof is here.) When it came right down to it, I only finished 22 books in 2023 (all but one were novels—the non-fiction title I read for work can be found on my Goodreads page). Only 14 of the books I read came from the original list of 30. Here they are, in the order in which I read them (* indicates where I deviated from my original list):

1. Siege and Storm (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy #2) by Leigh Bardugo
2. Ruin and Rising (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy #3) by Leigh Bardugo
3. Carry Me Home by Janet Fox
4. A Duet for Home by Karina Yan Glaser*
5. Superstar by Mandy Davis*
6. Stuck by Jennifer Swender*
7. Written in My Own Heart’s Blood (Outlander #8) by Diana Gabaldon
8. Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone (Outlander #9) by Diana Gabaldon
9. Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon
10. The Silkworm (Cormoran Strike #2) by Robert Galbraith
11. Career of Evil (Cormoran Strike #3) by Robert Galbraith
12. Lethal White (Cormoran Strike #4) by Robert Galbraith
13. Troubled Blood (Cormoran Strike #5) by Robert Galbraith
14. The Ink Black Heart (Cormoran Strike #6) by Robert Galbraith
15. The Rook (The Rook Files #1) by Daniel O’Malley*
16. Ship Breaker (Ship Breaker #1) by Paolo Bacigalupi
17. The Drowned Cities (Ship Breaker #2) by Paolo Bacigalupi
18. The BFG by Roald Dahl*
19. Horns by Joe Hill
20. The Running Grave (Cormoran Strike #7) by Robert Galbraith*
21. Masterpiece by Elise Broach*

Of the titles I read, some favorites include everything by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling), Superstar (a fantastic middle grade book about an autistic boy), and Instructions for Dancing (very different for Nicola Yoon but probably my favorite of her books).

In 2024, I will prioritize the 16 books that I wasn’t able to read in 2023, and I’ve added a few more because it’s me, and that’s what I do. Here’s the list (alpha by author):

1. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
2. Red Rising (Red Rising Saga #1) by Pierce Brown
3. Golden Son (Red Rising Saga #2) by Pierce Brown
4. Morning Star (Red Rising Saga #3) by Pierce Brown
5. Iron Gold (Red Rising Saga #4) by Pierce Brown
6. Dark Age (Red Rising Saga #5) by Pierce Brown
7. Light Bringer (Red Rising Saga #6) by Pierce Brown
8. A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot #1) by Becky Chambers
9. A Discovery of Witches (All Souls Trilogy #1) by Deborah Harkness
10. Shadow of Night (All Souls Trilogy #2) by Deborah Harkness
11. The Book of Life (All Souls Trilogy #3) by Deborah Harkness
12. Sisterhood of Dune (Schools of Dune #1) by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
13. Mentats of Dune (Schools of Dune #2) by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
14. Navigators of Dune (Schools of Dune #3) by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
15. The One by John Marrs
16. Stiletto (The Rook Files #2) by Daniel O’Malley
17. Blitz (The Rook Files #3) by Daniel O’Malley
18. Fractal Noise (Fractalverse #2) by Christopher Paolini
19. Murtagh (The Inheritance Cycle #5) by Christopher Paolini
20. Wild River by Rodman Philbrick
21. The Red Pyramid (The Kane Chronicles #1) by Rick Riordan
22. The Throne of Fire (The Kane Chronicles #2) by Rick Riordan
23. The Serpent’s Shadow (The Kane Chronicles #3) by Rick Riordan
24. Solimar: The Sword of Monarchs by Pam Munoz Ryan
25. A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat

This year’s list isn’t nearly as daunting as last year’s, so maybe I’ll finally reach my goal. If not, I’m still going to enjoy the journey. As a writing professor told me decades ago (sigh), the important thing is to always have an answer when someone asks what I’m reading, and that I can do.