2023 Wrap Up! Stats, Charts, Best & Worst Books! 📊📚🧐

How many books did I read in 2023? What were my favourites? What about books I didn't enjoy? Let's do a deep dive! Click 'Show More' for details. xx

---

MY BOOKS:

--

Things mentioned:

The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham
The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter
Some Rain Must Fall by Michel Faber
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Nettleblack by Nat Reeve
More Fiya ed. by Kayo Chingonyi
Beautiful Star by Yukio Mishima
Bad Dolls by Rachel Harrison
Seven Empty Houses by Samanta Schweblin
Glass Town by Isabel Greenberg
Playing Games by Huma Qureshi*
Mistletoe Malice by Kathleen Farrell*
Robbergirls by Kaddy Benyon
Freakslaw by Jane Flett
The Squirrel and the Lost Treasure by Coralie Bickford Smith
The Homesick Fox by David Greaves
Joy to the World: Christmas Around the Globe by Kate DePalmer and Sophie Fatus
Little Glow by Katie Sahota

Questions
See my pinned comment for the list of questions, if you'd like to answer yourselves :) (I ran out of word count, here!)

--

WHO I AM

Hello, I'm Jen Campbell. I'm an award-winning poet and bestselling author of twelve books, spanning short stories, poetry, picture books, and nonfiction.

My books for adults include The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night, The Girl Aquarium, The Bookshop Book, and The Sunday Times bestselling Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops series. My picture book trilogy Franklin and Luna, and my middle-grade book The Sister Who Ate Her Brothers, are published by Thames & Hudson. I've won both an Eric Gregory Award and the Jane Martin Poetry Prize, and my books have been translated into twenty languages.

I've worked in the publishing industry for over fifteen years, initially as a bookseller, and now as a freelance editor, content creator and disability advocate. I review books online, in print and on the radio. I run a Youtube channel where I talk about books, the history of fairy tales, and the representation of disability and disfigurement. I also offer online writing workshops and editorial services, give talks at schools, publishing companies, universities and book festivals on a variety of topics, and I run a book club for TOAST clothing.

—

Where to find me:

This video contains no sponsored content. Any books marked with * were kindly sent to me for review.

#Booktube #ReadingGoals

[jenvcampbell]

Thanks for being here! If you'd like to answer the questions at the end of this video, too, you can copy the text below and paste it into a comment :) xx

Questions:
1. Any stats/goals from 2023 that you'd like to share?
2. Favourite cover?
3. Any books you regret not getting to?
4. Did you get into any subgenres in 2023?
5. How did your reading ebb and flow throughout the year?
6. Favourite graphic novel?
7. Favourite poetry collection?
8. What book made you cry, in a good way?
9. What was your most surprising book (good or bad)?
10. How many new-to-you authors did you read in 2023?
11. Did you reread anything? What reread was your favourite?
12. A book you thought could have been longer and one you thought could have been shorter?
13. What was your favourite book by a disabled/chronically ill author that you read in 2023?
14. What were some of your favourite publishers in 2023?
15. Which book had the best ending?
16. What did you learn about yourself as a reader?
17. What were your favourite audiobooks of 2023?
18. What is the book you most vividly associate with a period of your life in 2023?
19. What books are you hoping to find something similar to in 2024?
20. What is a book you wish more people had on their radar?
21. Which books just missed out on your ‘top books of the year’ list? Ie, honourable mentions.

xx

[libraryburrow]

Thank you for another great video. I know it’s an oldie, but a goodie. Heading into winter now in Auckland and have added many more books to my ‘To Read’ list on Storygraph as a result.

[sandeesandwich]

Gonna put my recommendation in for the 1995 Persuasion with Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds. It's not only my favorite Austen adaptation of all her novels, it's also one of my favorite movies full stop. Two bits of trivia about this film: The actors did not wear stage makeup in this movie -- which they weren't always thrilled about! The producers wanted the look to be a accurate to the period as possible -- so this version is not as glam as other treatments. Trivia 2: There are some changes to the plot towards the end, but those changes come directly from Austen's original version of the story! Which is just kind of cool. (Plus you can read those differences in annotated versions of the book.)

Happy New Year, Jen -- hope 2024 is wonderful for you!

[karenmiddlebrook]

I intentionally set my goal a little lower to not pressure myself but then end up getting competitive (against myself 😊) as the year closes. Goal was 50, I read 90. Many reads firmly in the 3 stars. The last devil to die my top read of the year. Wandering Souls another 5 star. My lowest rating was 2 stars, for The last heir to Blackwood Library which had every cliche going. Happy "find" of the year, thanks to you, was Celia Dale. I'm compelled to read anything compared to Muriel Spark 😂 my favourite audio started in December so won't be finished until 2024 is Demon Copperhead, which I didn't expect to be humorous.

[keiichifuruya]

Thank you for another year of reading. Your videos with thoughtful insights always give me comfort ❤ wishing you the best 2024

[MargheritaReads]

I started watching your videos in january 2023 and I have enjoyed many books that you recommended, expecially japanese books. Thank you for this reading year 😊

[rosarodriguez]

Excellent video, Jen. One of my favourite books of 2023 is Elena Knows, so thank You for recommending it to us. And by the way, I adore your vlogs. I hope you are feeling well and healthy. Lots of love! ❤❤

[jennykate]

Thats so interesting what you are saying about reading Jane Auston. I found Pride and Predjudice so easy to read because I had already seen adaptations but Emma was a struggle. I then loved the film and now feel on a reread I'll probably enjoy it a lot more.
I watched the most recent Persuasion adaptation and it is bad but the Mary actress is so perfect, the character was done so well.

[tirarosaurioreads]

Wonderful video as usual :) 2023 was the year I discovered this channel and you are by far my favorite booktuber. THank you for everything you do.

[jillybeanh]

Huge thank you for all your videos last year.
I'm a big persuasion fan (favourite Austin novel) I haven't seen all of the adaptations but I loved the itv one with Sally Hawkins and Rupert Penry Jones and Anthony Head. The camera quality is irksome now (when on a hd screen) but I still love it.

[mradcaqbdb]

I paused the video to order Strangers. Sounds excellent and I’m really looking forward to the film as I adore Andrew Scott. Great video! xx

[YourTrueShelf]

I also find Storygraph so much better, plus the app is so much more user friendly, the Goodreads app is v annoying.
I liked Glass town a lot, really unusual.
Omg the film of all us strangers had me in bits! The book sounds pretty similar apart from as you said, a queer relationship in London. I wasn't prepared for the level of heartbreak - my friend and I couldn't stop crying!
Must buy some Coralie Bickford Smith books for my kids. Your little one will have a fab library waiting for them! X

[booksgurrsandpurrs]

I absolutely adored the Garlic duology.

[linamekawatches]

When you clarified not adult adult books, it made me laugh because my job title is adult librarian and I always feel like I have to clarify that even though, unfortunately, it says adult librarian on my business cards. I know it means *not children's librarian*, but it still makes me giggle and gives me pause every time I look at it LOL.

[Diaryofabooklover]

- I read 117 books;
- 49 audiobooks, 55 hard copies and 13 ebooks;
- 34.727 pages, including audiobooks;
- An average of 295 pages per book and 94 pages a day;
- Longest was War and Peace (1.440), the shortest a graphic novel about Utrecht (32);
- 50 men, 63 women and 4 non-binary or multiple authors;
- 36 poc and 79 Caucasian;
- 70 fiction - 47 nonfiction;
- I read 27% in translation (books which have been initially written in any other language than Romanian or English)
- Read mostly in English (89), but also read in Romanian (23), Spanish (2) and Dutch (3)
- I mostly read books translated from Spanish (6) and Russian (5);
- I read from all continents but mostly from the US and UK (54% of total), which is the opposite of my goal at the beginning of this year. But I’ve been reading about native Americans this year, so it’s ok;
- I read from 34 countries, out of which 15 are new. So now I’ve read from 74 countries in total, including Palestine;
- I read 105 authors, out of which 88 were new to me;
- Most read this year were: Joy Harjo (3), Tolstoi (3), RF Kuang (3), Mary Brave Bird/Crow Dog (2), Yalom (2), Rebreanu (2), Allende (2), Jean Menzies (2), Saramago (2);
- Average age is 45 years and they been on my shelf for an average of 434 days 🫣;
- My only reread is Pride and Prejudice, which I’m happy it proved itself timeless;
- I read a book that’s been on my bookshelf since 2007. I got it as a present at the end of my secondary school cycle. Travels with my aunt by Graham Greene;
- My average rating was 3, 75, out of which 23 5* and 8 DNFs.

Now to answer other questions:
- My favourite was the Pride and prejudice Masterpiece Library Edition;
- I didn’t get into any subgenres but a particular topic: native Americans. My heart;
- I had a month in which I only read audiobooks (February) and a month in which I didn’t read at all (March) due to having seen The English and ending up in the most massive emotional hangover. For the rest all went smoothly;
- Favourite graphic novel - the book about Utrecht; favourite poetry collection - yours, and I’m not kidding. It broke me;
- I’ve reminded myself I don’t like excessively long novels, twee stories, brutality for the sake of gore and misery porn, and that i’d rather have fantasy than soap operas (in the Eighth life not one child is conceived… normally). I find it more far fetched than an ork opening a coffee shop;
- My most surprising read was Marina Abramovich’s Walk through walls. It’s been a complete surprise and definitely the best memoir I’ve read in a long time. Plus it was my first meeting with Stephen King, and I was surprised how catchy his writing is;
- There are a couple of books I haven’t seen mentioned around that much, mostly non fiction, like Kapka Kassabova’s Border, Wangaari Maathai’s Unbowed or Benjamin Labatut’s When we cease to understand the world, despite it being nominated to some prizes.

[inkylabyrinth]

My two favorite covers of the year were also two books I didn't really like either, how funny. (Mine were Strega & The Four Humors.) Thank you for helping me inflate my TBR!

[jodiesimone]

Happy New Year, Jen! I read Elena Knows by Claudia Piniero based on your recommendation and thought it was brilliant. (I then read a few more of her novels which I also enjoyed). Also, based on your review, I picked up Untold Night and Day by Bae Suah. The experience was like diving into waves on an incoming tide. Quietly seductive AND a bit overwhelming at the same time. (Loved it, though knew I wasn't getting it all.) The novel's strange, dream-like world is inviting me back for 'round two.' Thank you for all the good content you share!

[jackiesliterarycorner]

TBR's don't seem to work for me either, because it's pressure on me to read the books, and I don't want to read them anymore. Plus, I always want to add more books and that's too overwhelming.

[originaltwyla]

I recently watched Persuasion with Sally Hawkins and enjoyed it!

[ellakae]

I read the midwhich cuckoos for the first time this year and it ended up being one of my favourites! Excited to read more from the author