The Fifteenth Annual Westies - review of the year 2023

And so 2023 draws to a close. It's been another up-and-down year for me (Dude left for university in September and I can report that not only is empty-nest syndrome an actual thing, it's also bloody horrible), but it's been creatively satisfying and I've read a lot.

Which means that it's now time to indulge in the annual blog custom and remember the good books of 2023.

Once again, it's been a great reading year for me (one more book than last year, as it happens), with a nice mix of brand new novels, a lot of books that have languished on my TBR pile for too long, some good second-hand finds (which jumped straight to the top of the pile) along with some welcome re-reads.

My target for the year was to read twelve biographies and I achieved it - some of them were good, a couple were dire, but some were absolutely brilliant (Sam Neill and Geena Davis, I'm looking at you).

As always, the top 20 places were hard fought and, I think, show a nice variety in genre and tone.

So, without further ado, I present the Fifteenth Annual Westies Award - “My Best Fiction Reads Of The Year” - and the top 20 looks like this:

1: Double Indemnity, by James M Cain

2: A Love Letter Christmas, by Sue Moorcroft

3: C Is For Corpse, by Sue Grafton

4: Looking For Rachel Wallace, by Robert B Parker

5: It's My Life, by Robert Leeson

6: When You Comin' Back, Range Rider?, by Charles Heath

7: D Is For Deadbeat, by Sue Grafton

8: Point Blank, by Richard Stark

9: The Deep, by Peter Benchley

10: Carnosaur, by Harry Adam Knight

11: Are You Awake?, by Claire McGowan

12: The Night Shift, by Alex Finlay

13: The Burning Girls, by C J Tudor

14: The IT Girl, by Ruth Ware

15: Nightfall, by John Farris

16: Faithless, by John L Williams

17: The Ideal Couple, by Anna Willett

18: Gila!, by Les Simons

19: The Guilty Couple, by C L Taylor

20: Video Night, by Adam Cesare

The Top 10 in non-fiction are:

1: INXS: Story To Story, by Anthony Bozza & INXS

2: Did I Ever Tell You This?, by Sam Neill

3: Dying Of Politeness, by Geena Davis

4 All About Me!, by Mel Brooks

5: We Could Be Heroes, by Paul Burston

6: The Making Of Raiders Of The Lost Ark, by Derek Taylor

7: Blondie, by Fred Shruers

8: England's Dreaming, by John Savage

9: Chasing The Light, by Oliver Stone

10: The Director Should Have Shot You, by Alan Dean Foster

Stats wise, I've read 89 books - 40 fiction, 28 non-fiction, 14 comics/nostalgia/kids and 7 Three Investigator mysteries.

Of the 82 books, the breakdown is thus:

12 biography
10 horror
16 film-related
4 drama (includes romance)
27 crime/mystery
4 sci-fi
0 nostalgia
9 humour

All of my reviews are posted up at Goodreads here

In case you’re interested, the previous awards are linked to from here:

2021

2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009