It’s that time of year again where I start reflecting on the past year’s reading endeavours and determine which among them were my favourites. As always, this isn’t about books that came out in 2023, just the ones that I enjoyed the most among all the books that I finished, listed in no particular order.

Surprisingly, I found this list a little more difficult to put together than normal, as somehow I didn’t really have the pool of books to pull from that I thought I did. Though I made a great effort to get a lot more comics read, I didn’t actually read much more novels than last year, and unfortunately I think there were a few more middling books than is usual for me. In any case, let’s get to this year’s list.

Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett

Though there was some humming and hawing over what would be included here, this book was an immediately obvious addition. It’s not uncommon for Discworld books to be included on these lists, but this book really was a significant cut above the rest. While still jam-packed with Pratchett’s trademark humour, parodying a lot of old Hammer horror movie tropes in this case, it was also one of the more emotional reads in this series for me, with one of its most iconic characters brought to her most vulnerable while trying to combat sincerely formidable adversaries. It’s a book in the series overall that I cannot recommend enough, except for the fact that its best read at least after all the other “Witches” books.

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone

I’d been looking forward to read this book for a while, and it really didn’t disappoint. It tells the story of two rival agents on opposing sides of a war waged across time and space by two factions looking to control causality who end up in correspondence with one another via letters left behind on the battlefield. At first being concerned with taunting and mutual respect between rivals, it grows into something far more personal than loyalty to their respective causes. The epistolary format made it really easy to connect emotionally with the characters, making this sapphic love story all the more impactful, and I really enjoyed the vague yet tangible ways that worlds of the distant past and future were represented.

The Haar by David Sodergren

This was definitely my favourite Halloween read this year, and it was also one of two that I actually managed to read through in one sitting. I used this book to see if I’d enjoy this author’s work, and needless to say I’ll be seeing more of them in my future. Telling the story of an old woman refusing to leave her home for the sake of land development and the strange relationship she forms with a sea monster, this book was surprisingly sentimental and poignant while also being suitably deranged, violent, and potentially a little more sinister than how things seem to play out on the surface.

Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughn & Cliff Chiang

Now, technically this is talking about a series, not a singular book. I read five out of the six volumes of this limited series this year, having read the first back in 2022. However, unlike other comics where each volume has a fairly self-contained story, this was really one big story split into volumes that would otherwise be perfectly cohesive as a single, large volume. Coincidentally another story of time travel involving warring factions, only with bystander main characters who get swept up in it all, it’s a fantastic science fiction coming-of-age story about friendship and self-discovery. This has become a new favourite series that I definitely want to reread in the near future.

The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett

This was actually a surprise last-minute addition, as I had a hard time making up my mind. However, I realized that the only reason I wasn’t including this book was because there is a Discworld book here already, which isn’t really a good reason to exclude it. This book started off slow for me, but it ramped up into a great story of political intrigue and social upheaval, as City Watch commander turned diplomat Sam Vimes must navigate the lawless rules of a country ruled by dwarfs, werewolves, and vampires who follow their own bespoke lore. The ways that Pratchett builds upon dwarf culture, particularly in regards to gender, were especially interesting too.

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I hope you enjoyed this year’s list. Let’s all look forward to another year of great books. If you’ve got any favourites of your own from the year, let me know in the comments. Thank you for reading!