Imani’s 2023 Favorites: Reading Edition

I love to read.

I have so many childhood memories from going to Borders bookstore and spending hours browsing the different sections, reading book summaries, and starting a new book (yes while I was still at the store — don’t judge me).

So it’s really no surprise to me that reading is one of my favorite forms of self-care. When you think about it, reading applies to many different self-care categories, like mental, emotional, and even practical self-care. You could read to learn a new topic (mental self-care), a break from society (emotional health), and to build connections and community with others, especially if you are reading as part of a book club (social self-care). In fact, that’s why I created the series “Escape With Imani” because I love escaping the stress and anxiety of life through reading. Check out one of my Escape With Imani posts here!

Now I have to be honest with you: I definitely didn’t read as many books this year as I typically do (because honestly, life was “life-ing” this year), but I did read some books that I absolutely fell in love with.

Here are my favorite books from 2023!

ACOTAR Series by Sarah J. Maas

I owe my co-worker for introducing me to this series.

Trust me, I was definitely skeptical at first because I am not normally a fantasy reader. If I’m being honest, when I heard “fantasy” I used to automatically think about Tinkerbell. In other words, fantasy seemed almost YA (young adult in book talk) to me! So starting this series was definitely a hard sale. But I gave it a shot and I’m glad I did.

WHEW! I devoured A Court of Thrones and Roses and all of the other books in the series (5 total). I loved each book so much and fell in love with the world-building and the characters.

If you’re new to the ACTOAR world, the series follows Feyre Archeron (pronounced Fay-ruh) and her sisters Nesta and Elain as Feyre navigates faerie powers, politics, and more in Prythian (faerie lands). There’s something for everyone in this series…politics, faerie powers, fantasy, battles, enemies to lovers, lots of spice, and more.

I’m glad I gave it a chance. This series is a nice introduction into fantasy without it being “corny” or childish. So if you’re looking for a new book series to start, I would recommend ACOTAR especially if you’re looking for multiple books and you love a little romance and action.

I would NOT recommend ACOTAR if you don’t like longer books. (I would have to push back a little bit and encourage you to try the audiobooks though. I enjoyed most of the audiobook narrators, except for ACOSF.) I also wouldn’t recommend ACOTAR if you don’t like reading fantasy novels.

If you haven’t tried ACOTAR yet, grab the first book here and let me know what you think!

You Make a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi (they/them)

Back in the day, I struggled to read books with main characters that were “unlikeable.” As I grew older and matured a bit (and honestly got into mess myself lol), I found a new appreciation for nuanced, messy characters.

The main character in You Make a Fool of Death With Your Beauty is wild as heck but I loved her. This story follows Feyi as she navigates life and relationships after loss. I won’t say much more than that so I don’t ruin the book. But Feyi is one of my favorite characters that makes some questionable decisions. Don’t we all, though? I realized a few things with this book (1) going through drama and mess in your life will give you a new appreciation for characters, whether in shows or books, that go through mess themselves, and (2) I love when an author writes a character so well that you can love them through their mess.

Give this book a try if you are looking for your next read by a diverse author and want to read about a budding romance/story. If you’re not in the space to read about a person dealing with loss, then save this book for another time!

Tomb Sweeping by Alexandra Chang

I haven’t read a collection of short stories in a VERY long time. So when Book of the Month featured Tomb Sweeping as a December 2023 option, I was pleasantly surprised. This suggestion came at the right time because I was looking for something new!

Harper Collins Publishing summarizes Tomb Sweeping as “a playful and deeply affective short story collection about the histories, technologies, and generational divides that shape our relationships.” I couldn’t agree more. Each story in this book captivated me in a different way. Throughout this book, I found myself laughing, rooting for the main character, tearing up, shaking my head in awe, and more. Some of my favorite stories from the book include “To Get Rich is Glorious,” a story about a housewife that explores the forbidden world of gambling, and “Klara,” a story about two young people navigating their relationship during and post-college.

I would definitely give this book a try if you are open to short stories and want to explore topics like technology and relationships.

I thought long and hard about a reason to NOT read this book. I find short stories appealing because if you don’t like one story, you can easily DNF the story without DNF-ing the entire book. But if I had to choose something, I would say that you shouldn’y read this book if you prefer to be “all in” or if you aren’t in the mood for stories with commentary on society.

What are you reading?

Overall, even though I didn’t reach my reading goal this year, I read books and short stories that made me laugh, cry, grasp, and forget to breathe as I read a spicy scene 😉 I have so many good books queued on my “to be read” list so I’m excited to get started in 2024!

What are you currently reading? Add your book and the author below!