Favorites of 2023!

Goodbye, 2023!

It's time to bring my reading year to a close, and what a year it's been.

The biggest surprise was the decreased number of books I covered. Not that it's really surprising. With a new job and more visiting to do with my kids (one more in college), time got tight. Super tight. Still, I did my best to stay on track, which worked most of the time. Others...well, not so much. Here's a quick run-down of the statistics (and it is quick, since I've never been a huge statistics guru). 

Total reviews (not incl. spotlight posts, interviews, Mommy & Daddy Day reads): 308 

That's a drastic drop from 340+ last year. 

Here's the breakdown in age groups: 

Young Adult: 65

Middle Grade/ Chapter Book: 115

Picture Book: 124

Graphic Novels: 28

When looking at 2022, it's clear that the decrease slammed into the young adult group. (Ouch.) Well, I know what I'm going to aim to improve next year.

Breaking it down into the top five genres (I ignore picture books): 

Fantasy: 46

Science Fiction: 27

Mystery/Thriller: 28

Nonfiction: 17

Contemporary: 48

The rest fell into 'other' genres. 

The lines between the five main genres aren't actually crystal clear. So many reads carry aspects of several genres. I simply took the one I found most prominent and slid the book into that category...although others might have a different opinion of where they truly belong. 

I noticed that contemporary got the upper-hand this year. Mystery went up as did science fiction. There seems to be a more serious atmosphere, in general, to the reads I've been getting. I do wish there was a bit more imagination, adventure and fun with less attention on 'teaching'. But that could just be me. Humor as a genre only held importance in the graphic novel section...which I was sad to see. I also noticed that picture books seem to be extremely centered on messaging, this last year. So, I'm going to be on the prowl to find more entertaining tales . Plus, the lack of boy main characters is weighing down on me. So, I'm going to try to up my game on that end, too. If I can change all of that up a little? We'll see!

Now, it's off to...

 

FAVORITES OF 2023!!!

After looking through the reviews, which hit Bookworm for Kids during the last 365 days, I do have some favorites (as every year). Obviously, not everyone will agree with me...and they might think I'm totally off my rocker (probably am)...which is totally fine. My opinion shifts with the day and mood, too, which doesn't make things much easier. If you feel that I've missed a title, which really stuck out to you during this last year (one that I reviewed on here), please feel free to mention it in the comments below! 

PICTURE BOOKS

As the most visited category of reads on Bookworm for Kids (by far!), you'd think it'd be very easy to point out the best. But it's not. There are just too many to choose from. I did manage to find my favorites, though. 

Super sweet!

Definitely my favorite
 with monsters and heart!

Funny and adorable!

MIDDLE GRADE

This year started off with a bang for this age category. The first months held so many amazing reads that I felt like I was placing too many into my favorite list. But then, summer hit and it slowed down. These last months have been...well...don't get me wrong, there are many enjoyable reads...but that special spark to shove them into the best category has been missing. I'm betting it's just me. Even readers have ups and downs with mood swings. Plenty of them. But here are three which really stuck out to me.

Heart-warming with history
and surprises

Mystery and tension to enjoy

Fun, haunting paranormal

YOUNG ADULT

This turned into an extremely tough category to draw 'winners' from. Whatever reading-slumpy-thing I was feeling really hit the young adult direction.  It could also be due to the fewer books I read in this category...less to choose from. So, we're going to have to change that in 2024 and pack more of these in because I do enjoy a good YA.

Hit the theme so well

Tough topics and very well-written

Hits the upper-end of the age group,
but such a grabbing read!

And that's it! How did you reading year go? Notice any trends? What were your favorites?

The most exciting thing about this post is that it isn't really an end, but launches off a new year of reads to come! (I'll be peeking at some of those tomorrow)

Happy New Year!