Nicole's 50 Book Challenge 2023

I don’t know the first year I decided to do the 50 book challenge. I have always considered myself a reader, a bookish person, but I never actually quantified it. I didn’t count how many books I read in a week, in a month, probably because it was never consistent or it didn’t matter to me. But somewhere along the line of crafting my identity, I decided I needed to meet this arbitrary number. And I never did. Well, that may not be exactly true. I started tracking which books I read in January. Somewhere around February or March, I would lose the list I wrote down, or forget to add the books to my Goodreads tally. Then I would get to the end of the year and not have any idea of how many books I read.

I read 45 books in 2023. So close! The number goes up to 48 if you count the books that I started and read more than half of but never finished. But even so, this year I will take it as a victory.

The fact that I even stuck with it, writing the books I read in the pinned note on my phone, is why it still feels pretty good. This year, maybe I will remember AND make it to 50. But more than the arbitrary number, this year was successful because I can look back at this year and think about how I read, what I read, and take it as the insight in my reading life that it is. So here is my year in review.

Book of the Year

The book I enjoyed reading the most this year came in as one of the last books I read. The lyricism of the writing, the poignant portrayal of the characters, and the vivid landscape make it memorable in and of itself. The book that takes this spot is A Word for Love by Emily Robbins. Going off the title alone, it sounds like a romance book, and in a lot of ways it is about love. The narrator and protagonist, Bea, is a student of Arabic, and is staying with a family in Syria. The reason she chose this country is not for their esteemed program, for she is stuck inside her host family’s house for most of the novel, but because of a story she longs to read. The “Astonishing Text,” a classic love story in many middle eastern countries of Layla and Qays. Bea wants to read the text itself, she is not satisfied just hearing it, because it is a love story so great that it is rumored to make whoever picks it up weep. The romance in A Word for Love follows a similar shape to the one told in the “Astonishing Text,” but instead of being the love interest of this story, Bea is a witness. The way this is told with so much care and delicate detail is what makes it so compelling. One feels like they are gaining access to a deep truth through this book, about love and the bonds of family in the face of challenging times. As an American not knowing a lot about Syrian culture or politics, it was also a window into the life of the characters. The backdrop of the political unrest and brutality of the regime only serves to heighten the story and elevate it to the levels of tragedy and poetics of the revered "Astonishing Text" itself.

Serial Rereads

There are certain seasonal books I often reread, and this year I continued the tradition with two of them. One was the graphic novel Pumpkinheads written by Rainbow Rowell and illustrated by Faith Erin Hicks, which is like a warm autumnal hug. It is about two friends working their final day at a pumpkin patch before all the changes that college will bring for them the next year.

The next, a YA novel with fun, games, and two people searching for connection set during the Christmas season in New York. Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn has been in my seasonal rotation for the past few years, and now I follow it up by watching the equally adorable series on Netflix.

 I also reread Heartstopper by Alice Oseman for the 3rd time, but we will be talking about Oseman in another category!

Books for Work (aka Middle Grade books)

Don’t tell my students, but I didn’t finish all of the books I had them read for book club.

Remember when you had to read a book for school and even though you probably would have enjoyed it you put it off, like the obligation made you not want to read it? That’s what I experienced… as a teacher.

To my detriment, I let students pick between 5 books and had them read and check in with each other. They were student lead groups, so I didn’t really need to add much, but still I felt like a bad teacher. Also they could have been making stuff up for all I knew. I shouldn’t have expected myself to read 4 books, realistically on top of all of my other work responsibilities. I thought, it will be fine, I have already read Bridge to Terabithia, The Secret Garden, and The Westing Game, I’ll be fine! I love those books, I will read them again… or maybe not. And then there was Hatchet, which I have not read, and that statement still stands. I’m not one for survival stories, okay?

My favorite, which was incidentally my favorite when I was assigned it in 6th grade, was The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. Even knowing what happens in the end, I enjoyed watching the clues surface and see the story unfold. The way that Raskin has such a big cast of characters but makes each so particular and interesting is what drives the story. It jumps around between the pairs of heirs working together to solve the mysterious death of Sam Westing, and inherit his fortune. I don’t read or watch a lot of mysteries like this, so you may be able to come up with a better comparison, but the pace and underlying humorous tone reminds me a bit of the movie Knives Out, its theme of the corrupting powers of money, but it manages to keep a lighter tone throughout the story (this is a kid’s book after all).

A book that was new to me this year but I also enjoyed, was The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages. My class is too young to see Oppenheimer, but with that movie coming out and bringing the Manhattan project back into the collective consciousness, my students were eager to get their hands on a story about Los Alamos. I really appreciated that this book talked a lot about what it was like to be a science minded girl during this time. Dewey, one of the protagonists, is seen as weird and an outcast because of her ‘boyish’ interests. However, when Dewey must stay with her dad while he helps build ‘the gadget’ she suddenly finds herself surrounded by these amazing scientific minds and finds a role model and motherly figure in the chemist Terry Gordon. I think it is so important to show girls strong women in the STEM field, and I love that this book points out that women have long been scientists, even if they aren't always respected or acknowledged!

Most Read Authors

My wife will tell you about how I go through phases. Once I get hooked on something, I will read and learn everything I possibly can on it. This is not just books. It can be anything: a color, a tv show, a movie, a hobby. This case, it was a person.

In first place, an author and illustrator who’s entire published works I read this year, is Alice Oseman.

I read Heartstopper for the first time in 2022, the beginning of said phase. I hunted around for the physical copies of the book after reading the web comics, but this was around the time that the show was coming out, so they were nowhere to be found.

After much patience and lots of web searching, I was able to put together a completed set of Volumes 1 through 4 of Heartstopper. After getting those, my mom got me the box set of the rest of her work for Christmas (much to the dismay of my wife, who was beginning to get tired of the growing piles of books overtaking our apartment).

The reason I love Heartstopper so much is that it is such a great example of queer joy. Both the graphic novels and the show on Netflix hold a special place in my heart. I feel like a lot of the time when people don’t think LGBT stories are appropriate for children, is because the only dimension of gay relationships they consider is about sex. Why are these people so obsessed with gay sex? I’m not sure. But for some reason that is the only thing they think about. And sex is not appropriate for children, so they say, gay content is not for children. Well, as a reader of this website, I am sure you already know this, but for those people with the above opinion: gay relationships are not just about sex. Many of us fall in love and want hand holding and cuddling and close friendship with our significant other, like in any other relationship. And that is beautiful! And if you are okay with implying that your five year old has a crush on someone in their kindergarten class, then teenagers can watch a show where two boys go to school, deal with friend drama, develop crushes, and fall in love. And more than that, the characters deal with topics so many teens face: identity, friendship, and struggles with mental health. It is so wholesome and sweet and wonderful; I will continue to defend it with my dying breath.

The next one was a tie… depending on how you look at it. I read 4 books by Naomi Novac and TJ Klune. Though, I read Under the Whispering Door twice, so does that mean I read 5 books by TJ Klue and therefore he is in 2nd place? I will let you decide!

The Scholomance Series by Naomi Novac made me fall harder for a series than I have for a long time. Whenever someone mentions a magical school, the first thing you think about is Harry Potter. Yet, the way that Novac is able to take that concept and make a story that is all its own is truly masterful. This series certainly is darker, with monsters hiding in every dark hallway and drain pipe, the students of the Scholomance art trying to get through their teen years alive. The first book of the series is definitely my favorite, I definitely think that Novac had so much she wanted to say, the social commentary in this book is very interesting, but it also made for a very dense book 3. These books were not only immensely entertaining, but the social commentary, interesting character relationships, and unique world made me continue thinking about them long after I finished the series.

Remember how I was talking about queer joy before? I feel like if that were a display table at a local bookstore, TJ Klune’s The House on the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door would be front and center. His books are not always as straightforwardly happy as Heartstopper, especially with the heaviness of grief that Under the Whispering Door grapples with, but the sweetness that the stories are told, and the hopeful buoyancy you get after reading them, make them feel like a warm hug. One of my favorite books I have read this year was definitely The House on the Cerulean Sea. As an educator, this story resonated deeply with me. Case worker Linus Baker has to go to a magical orphanage to make sure it is being run up to standards. Quickly, he realizes the children are more than magical beings many fear. The reader falls in love with the island, the children and their caretaker Arthur, just as Linus does.

And the honorable mention, with 2 books, is Emily Henry. I have not always been the most avid reader of romance. (Although I definitely went through a bit of a witchy romance phase around October after reading Mysteries of Thorn Manor by Margaret Rogerson.) When my friend Emma, who has never recommended a book I haven’t liked, told me to read People We Meet on Vacation, I didn’t read it for another couple of years (sorry Emma). What I like about this book and Book Lovers is that Henry doesn’t like to start the story when the characters meet, but rather, what happens if the characters already have a long standing relationship, what if they are never in a good place to date? Or they tried dating and it didn’t work? I think the way she crafts her characters and the spaces between them, is what makes them feel so truthful.

Wrap Up

This year was a great year for reading. I found so many books that I know will stay with me for a long time. This year was also an abundant year for library reads and audiobooks. I started using the Libby app, and to say that it has revolutionized my reading life would be an understatement. I am going to track my books the same way this year, having a pinned note in my phone, but this year I am going to try to be better with writing down the author, and how I read the book (audiobook, kindle, or physical book) so I can learn more about my reading habits in that way as well. I am really proud of my progress and I am so excited for the books I will get to read in 2024.

Happy (belated) New Year! Happy Reading!

Have you tried the 50 book challenge (or another numbered challenge?) How did it go? I'd love to hear about it in the comments! Or, feel free to write your own response!