Top 10 Books I Meant to Read in 2023 but Didn’t Get To | TTT

Posted on by Lauren

Hello, everyone! I’ve officially broken my book-buying ban for the first time this year — and I’m not too mad about it. This fact partially ties into this post because the first book on this list relies on my having lacked a physical copy of it. Which I now have! I bought two others–Bunny by Mona Awad and House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland–the first, I’ve read digitally and wanted a physical copy of and the second is one I’ve been wanting to read for a while now! Let us see how long I wait till breaking again…

All of the books on this list are ones I started in 2023, and didn’t end up finishing but didn’t mark as “DNF” because I still have every intention of reading them in the future!

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

1. All’s Well by Mona Awad

In my Mid-January Update, I mentioned finally marking this book as the feared “half reading” as opposed to currently reading (which means the chances of me finishing the book rapidly dwindles). However, I decided to go ahead and buy the physical copy as opposed to sticking to my Kindle copy because I needed a change of format to help me out. So I hope to finish this one in 2024!

2. The Trial and Death of Socrates by Plato

This thrift store find was based solely on my desire to present as a well-read individual. When I started reading it, I was surprised how easily I got through what I did. However, I must’ve gotten distracted by another book because I haven’t ended up finishing it just yet.

3. The Trauma of Birth by Otto Rank

I’ve accumulated several books on psychological and sociological theory in the hopes that I’ll finally one day prioritize nonfiction books. Like the many others, I’ve started this one but have yet to finish it. I did get it in part as some research for a story I wanted to write so when I get motivated for that again, I imagine I’ll pick this back up.

4. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

As so often goes in terms of my reading, the story itself has little to no bearing on my setting a book aside and/or getting sidetracked by another one. My attention span needs a little improving, I think. I do hope to finish this one sometime, be it down the line or sooner!

5. The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

I had this on my “next up” a few autumns ago but was surprised to see it was not only in the YA section of my local library but also seemed like a middle grade read — which I don’t mind (I love YA and middle grade dearly) but was expecting something else at the time. I did get it on my Kindle and started it last fall but I got so busy and had to set it aside.

6. It by Stephen King

I did get over a hundred pages into this book but that’s hardly anything considering the length of this behemoth. I did calculations and put a plan in place for me to read it over a month or two but I fell behind early on and didn’t end up getting back on track. However, I thought what I read was fantastic, and I fully intend on finishing it.

7. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Like the last two books on this list, The Night Circus was a book I started reading because of the autumnal season at hand a few months back. And, much like the others, I had put too much on my plate and couldn’t find the time or energy to get through this one (although I’d like to at some point).

8. The Boy with the Cuckoo Clock Heart by Mathias Malzieu

This is the last book on this list that I attempted during the fall season and didn’t finish. Again, it was little fault of the book that I got sidetracked (although there were some things in it that had me like, “…?”), and would still like to finish it.

9. Together We Rot by Skyla Arndt

Together We Rot is the only book on this list that I actually haven’t started reading yet. I had just finished Before the Devil Knows You’re Here by Autumn Krause (my top read of 2023!), and was looking to continue on in the YA horror/fantasy vibes. I thought I was going to dive right into it but I made the shrewd decision to prioritize my current reads at the time.

10. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (Hunger Games, #0) by Suzanne Collins

Admittedly, I was a little skeptical and uninterested in reading The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes when it first came out due to mixed reviews and such. However, with The Hunger Games renaissance (with the TBoSaS movie and personally having rewatched the first five over Thanksgiving) and my desire to revisit Collins’ writings and insights with more mature eyes, I got a copy and meant to read it before the year was out. That’s been pushed into this year but I’d still like to get to it soon!

Have you read any of the books on this list? Did you like them? Why, or why not? What books did you mean to read/finish last year that you didn’t get to? I’d love to hear your thoughts below!

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Published by Lauren

Hi! I’m Lauren (she/her, 22), and I like to read and write; I’m still trying to figure out the rest.

11 thoughts on “Top 10 Books I Meant to Read in 2023 but Didn’t Get To | TTT”

  1. The only book on your list I’ve read is The Night Circus and I’d definitely recommend finding the time to finish that. My problem would be remembering what had happened so far – I’d probably end up reading it from the beginning again!

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  4. I loved the Book of Lost Things! I think there is a sequel to it now as well which came out within the last year. I felt that The Ballad of Songbird and Snakes was a different writing style to the previous trilogy as the fanbase has obviously grown up a bit, it centred more on the character arcs rather than the action but I still enjoyed it and think that I benefitted reading it before seeing the movie. Have fun with your reads! 🙂

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    1. I’ll definitely have to finish The Book of Lost Things! I liked the little bit I read so I’m hopeful. And I have yet to see the TBoSaS movie, so there’s still time to read the book first which I’m happy about (that’s always the goal, haha). Again, high hopes. 🙂 Happy reading!

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