Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Didn’t Get to in 2023
Good evening readers! Posts like today’s Top Ten Tuesday are a great way to remind myself what some of my reading priorities were last year. In today’s post, I feature the books I intended to read over the course of 2023, but didn’t get to. It’s very likely I’ll try to prioritise them this year as a result!
I just about managed to scrape a list of 10 together. If I didn’t get to a specific book on a monthly TBR, I was pretty good at rolling it forward and picking it up in the following month(s) instead. There are some exceptions to that rule, though, and those are the feature of today’s Top Ten Tuesday.
Let’s see what those books were:
In Every Mirror She’s Black
This book was last on my February TBR and slipped the net for being rolled over into March. I’d bought my copy of the book on a whim in the 2022 post-Christmas sales. I’d chosen February to read it as February is when Black History month is celebrated.
I’m not intending to theme this February’s reading around Black History month. However, I’m always interested to read from a diverse range of authors and so I will be making an effort to do this throughout the year rather than in just one specific month.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
I purchased a copy of The Hunchback of Notre Dame after going to watch a local production. This book is a tome, and whilst I had hoped to pick it up last year, I never got to it. It’s the sort of book I think you have to be in the mood for as well. Personally, I find that classics are books you need to have a certain amount of drive to pick up. The narratives don’t flow as well as modern day language; picking them up is a more deliberate action.
I did really enjoy this story, however, so I’m excited to get to The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It is just one book by Victor Hugo that I have on my reading list; the other is chunky as well!
To Shape A Dragon’s Breath
The next two books in today’s Top Ten Tuesday ended up on my TBR as a result of book clubs.
For a few months last year, I was reading along with an online book club. I discovered some amazing books through that, but in the end I stopped. As much as I was enjoying the books I was picking up, there was rarely any overlap with my existing reading list. Picking these up was taking away from the mountain of my own books I already have to read.
That said, I do like the sound of To Shape a Dragon’s Breath so I’ve left it on my TBR. This coincided was a busy month and so I didn’t get to start it, and the book club had moved on. As a result, there wasn’t any demand to go and read it quickly. Consequently, it temporarily fell off the list. I’ll be sweeping it up onto the list again, that’s for sure.
The Last Thing to Burn
The Last Thing to Burn is also a book I intended to read for a book club, but didn’t get to. Somebody in a local bookish Facebook group had posted an intention to start a book club and I was interested. However, it quickly spiralled into a large social group planning a meal out. In my opinion, the idea of the book club itself all but fell by the wayside. I had hoped to join to be able to have a good quality conversation with a few like-minded individuals, but it wasn’t meant to be.
As with To Shape A Dragon’s Breath, whilst the idea of a book club is great, reading books that other people ‘set’ take away from my time to read the books that I want to read for myself. By the end of last year, I wasn’t taking part in or reading books towards any book club at all and I’m happy with that. They are a good way to get out of your reading comfort zone, but I’m pretty good at pushing myself for now. I’ll never say never, but I have no plans to join anything any time soon.
Incendium
I hoped to read Incedium in November, as the book is loosely based around, or sounds similar to, the real life gunpowder plot. However, due to other reading obligations and carryovers from October, it didn’t happen.
I specifically wanted to read this book around bonfire night. Rather than land myself in the position of going into December trying to wrap up November’s books, I decided to let this one go with the intention of picking it up at the beginning of November this year instead! It’s a good job I published this Top Ten Tuesday as a reminder!
The Black Coats
The Black Coats is my TBR jar pick from December. With the seasonal period, I ended up reading less than usual. As a result, I didn’t get this book before the end of the year.
However, I will be picking it up very soon. I have rolled The Black Coats onto my January TBR… although I’ll have to get a move on so I’m not rolling it on again into February! There’s still just over a week left of the month, so it’s manageable.
Firefight
Firefight is another book I intended to read in December but didn’t get to because of timing. There is a lot to do in December. From catching up with friends and family before the big day to actually doing the preparation for said big day… it’s amazing how much time that takes.
Plus, I had already met my official reading goal of the year and so the pressure was off. I think this contributed as well.
Whilst I won’t be reading Firefight in January, I am looking to pick this up next month instead.
A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, A Dance with Dragons
The last three books on this Top Ten Tuesday list all tie together. At the beginning of 2023, I set out my intention to re-read George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. I did read the first couple of books in 2023.
A Storm of Swords is a little bit of a stretch on this list, because it’s more of a book I didn’t get to finish as opposed to get to at all. I ended up putting that book on hold in order to pick up other reading priorities and I never got back to it. Consequently, I never progressed from that point onwards either, meaning that A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons also went unread.
I would like to continue my re-read of the series, however. So, I intend to chip away at these books, either in print or audio, throughout 2024.
So, those are the books that make it to today’s Top Ten Tuesday feature.
Have you read any of the books on this list? Are there any books on this list that you haven’t got to yet but can’t wait to pick up?
As always, I would love to hear from you!
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