Top 10 Books I’ve Read So Far This Year (Fiction + Non-Fiction)
Keep reading this post to learn:
⋒ My Top 10 books I have read so far in 2023
⋒ A resource that I have on my website that you can use to find your next read
I feel like in another life I’d be a booktuber – aka someone who makes videos about what they read for YouTube. That’s basically all I watch when I watch YouTube because I just love hearing people talk about books. Who knows, maybe when I have more margin in my life, I’ll add “booktuber” to my resumé, lol.
So this can fill that desire – instead of being a booktuber, I’ll just have to settle for being a book-blogger/bookcaster (if you would rather listen to this full episode on the podcast, I will link it here — that’s where I share why I like each book!)
I’ve been an avid reader since I was in elementary school and in my mid-20s I stopped reading fiction because hustle culture had convinced me it was a waste of time, but I started to get back into reading fiction again in my 30s and it’s one of my favorite ways to rest and have a self-care moment.
I track everything that I read on the app GoodReads – which if you’ve never heard of it, it’s kinda like a social media app for books. I don’t write my reviews on there but I do track every book that I read and give it a 1-5 star rating. It’s a free app and I like to see what other people are reading so if you wanna check out my GoodReads account, you can find it here so us bookworms can unite!
Speaking of bookworms, did you know that on my website, there is a page called Hustle Sanely Library? It’s where I keep track of all the non-fiction books that I love by category: Business Development, Personal Development, and Spiritual Development.
Okay, back to my top 10 books so far this year: these aren’t in rank order because that was just too hard – maybe I’ll do another episode at the end of the year where I share my top 10 books from the year and I actually rank them in order – we’ll see!
I did put them in order by the dates that I read them! So the first book I’m gonna share is the first one of the 10 I read this year and so on.
BOOK 1:
Title: Part of Your World
Author: Abby Jimenez
Genre: Romance
Pages: 400
Summary: After a wild bet, gourmet grilled-cheese sandwich, and cuddle with a baby goat, Alexis Montgomery has had her world turned upside down. The cause: Daniel Grant, a ridiculously hot carpenter who’s ten years younger than her and as casual as they come—the complete opposite of sophisticated city-girl Alexis. And yet their chemistry is undeniable.
While her ultra-wealthy parents want her to carry on the family legacy of world-renowned surgeons, Alexis doesn’t need glory or fame. She’s fine with being a “mere” ER doctor. And every minute she spends with Daniel and the tight-knit town where he lives, she’s discovering just what’s really important. Yet letting their relationship become anything more than a short-term fling would mean turning her back on her family and giving up the opportunity to help thousands of people.
Bringing Daniel into her world is impossible, and yet she can’t just give up the joy she’s found with him either. With so many differences between them, how can Alexis possibly choose between her world and his?
Star rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
BOOK 2:
Title: Every Last WorD
Author: Tamara Ireland Stone
Genre: YA, contemporary
Pages: 358
Summary: Samantha McAllister looks just like the rest of the popular girls in her junior class. But hidden beneath the straightened hair and expertly applied makeup is a secret that her friends would never understand: Sam has Purely-Obsessional OCD and is consumed by a stream of dark thoughts and worries that she can't turn off.
Second-guessing every move, thought, and word makes daily life a struggle, and it doesn't help that her lifelong friends will turn toxic at the first sign of a wrong outfit, wrong lunch, or wrong crush. Yet Sam knows she'd be truly crazy to leave the protection of the most popular girls in school. So when Sam meets Caroline, she has to keep her new friend with a refreshing sense of humor and no style a secret, right up there with Sam's weekly visits to her psychiatrist.
Caroline introduces Sam to Poet's Corner, a hidden room and a tight-knit group of misfits who have been ignored by the school at large. Sam is drawn to them immediately, especially a guitar-playing guy with a talent for verse, and starts to discover a whole new side of herself. Slowly, she begins to feel more "normal" than she ever has as part of the popular crowd . . . until she finds a new reason to question her sanity and all she holds dear.
Star rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
BOOK 3:
Title: Life’s Too Short
Author: Abby Jimenez
Genre: Romance
Pages: 384
Summary: A brilliant and touching romantic comedy about two polar opposites, one adorable dog, and living each day to its fullest.
When Vanessa Price quit her job to pursue her dream of traveling the globe, she wasn't expecting to gain millions of YouTube followers who shared her joy of seizing every moment. For her, living each day to its fullest isn't just a motto. Her mother and sister never saw the age of 30, and Vanessa doesn't want to take anything for granted.
But after her half-sister suddenly leaves Vanessa in custody of her infant daughter, life goes from "daily adventure" to "next-level bad" (now with bonus baby vomit in hair). The last person Vanessa expects to show up offering help is the hot lawyer next door, Adrian Copeland. After all, she barely knows him. No one warned her that he was the Secret Baby Tamer or that she'd be spending a whole lot of time with him and his geriatric Chihuahua.
Now she's feeling things she's vowed not to feel. Because the only thing worse than falling for Adrian is finding a little hope for a future she may never see.
Star rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
BOOK 4:
Title: Real Self-Care: A Transformative Program for Redefining Wellness
Author: Pooja Lakshmin
Genre: Non-fiction
Pages: 231
Summary: You may have noticed that it's nearly impossible to go even a couple days without coming across the term self-care. A word that encompasses any number of lifestyle choices and products--from juice cleanses to yoga workshops to luxury bamboo sheets--self-care has exploded in our collective consciousness as a panacea for practically all of women's problems.
Dr. Pooja Lakshmin finds this cultural embrace of self-care incomplete at best and manipulative at worst. Self-care dogma says that to fix your troubles is as simple as buying a new day planner or signing up for a meditation class. But the game is rigged. The self-care fixes that our culture prescribes keep us looking outward--comparing ourselves with others or striving for a certain type of perfection. Real self-care, in contrast, is not as simple as a fancy spa retreat or a journaling app; it's an internal process that involves hard work and making difficult decisions.
Real Self-Care shows readers the difference between the two, lifting the veil on faux self-care and reconceptualizing our understanding of what a real practice of caring for yourself could--and should--look like. Using case studies, clinical research, and compassion, Lakshmin provides actionable strategies for real and sustainable change and solace, helping readers set boundaries and move past guilt, treat themselves with compassion, get closer to themselves, and assert their power.
Star rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
BOOK 5:
Title: Once Upon a Broken Heart and The Ballad of Never After
Author: Stephanie Garber
Genre: YA Fantasy
Pages: OUBH: 416 BNA: 403
Summary: For as long as she can remember, Evangeline Fox has believed in true love and happy endings... until she learns that the love of her life will marry another.
Desperate to stop the wedding and to heal her wounded heart, Evangeline strikes a deal with the charismatic but wicked Prince of Hearts. In exchange for his help, he asks for three kisses, to be given at the time and place of his choosing.
But after Evangeline’s first promised kiss, she learns that bargaining with an immortal is a dangerous game—and that the Prince of Hearts wants far more from her than she’d pledged. He has plans for Evangeline, plans that will either end in the greatest happily ever after or the most exquisite tragedy…
After Jacks, the Prince of Hearts, betrays her, Evangeline Fox swears she'll never trust him again. Now that she’s discovered her own magic, Evangeline believes she can use it to restore the chance at happily ever after that Jacks stole away.
But when a new terrifying curse is revealed, Evangeline finds herself entering into a tenuous partnership with the Prince of Hearts again. Only this time, the rules have changed. Jacks isn’t the only force Evangeline needs to be wary of. In fact, he might be the only one she can trust, despite her desire to despise him.
Instead of a love spell wreaking havoc on Evangeline’s life, a murderous spell has been cast. To break it, Evangeline and Jacks will have to do battle with old friends, new foes, and a magic that plays with heads and hearts. Evangeline has always trusted her heart, but this time she’s not sure she can...
Star rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 for both
BOOK 6:
Title: Why Am I Like This? How to Break Cycles, Heal from Trauma, and Restore Your Faith
Author: Kobe Campbell
Genre: Non-Fiction
Pages: 189
Summary: Why does our past pain continue to affect our present? Though many of us can point to patterns of brokenness in our lives, we don’t know why they're there. No matter how hard we work, we can’t seem to outrun the very things that break our hearts. That's because our everyday setbacks are rooted in our unaddressed wounds. In Why Am I Like This? seminary-trained, licensed trauma therapist Kobe Campbell helps us understand why it’s so hard to break these patterns as she offers us a deeper understanding of how our past shapes our present. With tender wisdom, rare vulnerability, and profound honesty, Kobe reminds each reader that they’re not alone, empowering them to step into healing with evidence-based, faith-filled coping skills and resources. In Why Am I Like This?, you will: Kobe marries theological insight with therapeutic principles to give readers the tools and insights needed to begin their journey of restoration.
Star rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
BOOK 7:
Title: Yours Truly
Author: Abby Jimenez
Genre: Romance
Pages: 387
Summary: Dr. Briana Ortiz’s life is seriously flatlining. Her divorce is just about finalized, her brother’s running out of time to find a kidney donor, and that promotion she wants? Oh, that’s probably going to the new man-doctor who’s already registering eighty-friggin’-seven on Briana’s “pain in my ass” scale. But just when all systems are set to hate, Dr. Jacob Maddox completely flips the game . . . by sending Briana a letter.
And it’s a really good letter. Like the kind that proves that Jacob isn’t actually Satan. Worse, he might be this fantastically funny and subversively likeable guy who’s terrible at first impressions. Because suddenly he and Bri are exchanging letters, sharing lunch dates in her “sob closet,” and discussing the merits of freakishly tiny horses. But when Jacob decides to give Briana the best gift imaginable—a kidney for her brother—she wonders just how she can resist this quietly sexy new doctor . . . especially when he calls in a favor she can’t refuse.
Star rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
BOOK 8:
Title: Raising Good Humans
Author: Hunter Clarke-Fields
Genre: Non-Fiction
Pages: 162
Summary: A kinder, more compassionate world starts with kind and compassionate kids. In Raising Good Humans, you’ll find powerful and practical strategies to break free from “reactive parenting” habits and raise kind, cooperative, and confident kids.
Whether you’re running late for school, trying to get your child to eat their vegetables, or dealing with an epic meltdown in the checkout line at a grocery store—being a parent is hard work! And, as parents, many of us react in times of stress without thinking—often by yelling. But what if, instead of always reacting on autopilot, you could respond thoughtfully in those moments, keep your cool, and get from A to B on time and in one piece?
With this book, you’ll find powerful mindfulness skills for calming your own stress response when difficult emotions arise. You’ll also discover strategies for cultivating respectful communication, effective conflict resolution, and reflective listening. In the process, you’ll learn to examine your own unhelpful patterns and ingrained reactions that reflect the generational habits shaped by your parents, so you can break the cycle and respond to your children in more skillful ways.
When children experience a parent reacting with kindness and patience, they learn to act with kindness as well—thereby altering generational patterns for a kinder, more compassionate future. With this essential guide, you’ll see how changing your own “autopilot reactions” can create a lasting positive impact, not just for your kids, but for generations to come.
Star rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
BOOK 9
Title: When In Rome
Author: Sarah Adams
Genre: Romance
Pages: 320
Summary: Amelia Rose, known as Rae Rose to her adoring fans, is burned-out from years of maintaining her "princess of pop" image. Inspired by her favorite Audrey Hepburn film, Roman Holiday, she drives off in the middle of the night for a break in Rome . . . Rome, Kentucky, that is.
When Noah Walker finds Amelia on his front lawn in her broken-down car, he makes it clear he doesn't have the time or patience for celebrity problems. He's too busy running the pie shop his grandmother left him and reminding his nosy but lovable neighbors to mind their own damn business. Despite his better judgment, he lets her stay in his guest room--but only until her car is fixed--then she's on her own.
Then Noah starts to see a different side of Rae Rose--she's Amelia: kindhearted and goofy, yet lonely from years in the public eye. He can't help but get close to her. Soon she'll have to return to her glamorous life on tour, but until then, Noah will show Amelia all the charming small-town experiences she's been missing, and she'll help him open his heart to more.
Amelia can't resist falling for the cozy town and her grumpy tour guide, but even Audrey had to leave Rome eventually.
Star rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
BOOK 10:
Title: Fourth Wing
Author: Rebecca Yarros
Genre: FANTASY ROMANCE
Pages: 528
Summary: Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.
But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.
With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.
She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.
Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom's protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.
Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die
Star rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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If you didn’t know already, everyone on the waitlist will get early access to shop the entire collection on September 19th, 2023! 🥳
Click here, or the button below, to join the waitlist and make sure you get your hands on our newest paper planning products!
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