What I read in 2023

On New Years, 2019 a friend of mine posted a list of the books they had read in 2018. I thought it was a great idea so I've been posting such a list myself ever since, first on Facebook, now on my blog. I find it a very useful exercise in self-reflection - though I am sure it is really just another example of my narcissism. 😏

If anyone else makes such lists, I'd love to see them. Feel free to share the lists, or links to your lists, in the comments.😀 You can find my previous years here: 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Looking over this year's list (see below), I had fewer rereads then normal. Lots of fantasy as usual, but not many Tolkien reads. Overall, I read as many works as I usually do. But I didn't have as many focused topic reads this year. I continued reading the Frigate Navy period, of course, and my normal interests - the Corps, Thieves' World, the Lovecraft circle, ect. - all show up but over all it was a fairly mixed year. As usual, the fantasy genre dominated my non-professional reading. As usual, I only listed books I read all the way through, so the massive amount of reading I did for work isn't included. Only the few books I read over to cover. 

# of Rereads: 25 (I've marked rereads below with an *) 

# Military History reads: 8

# of fantasy works: 40
# by or about Tolkien or Inklings: 4

# related to Lovecraft or the Mythos: 5
# of Marine reads: 5 
# Frigate Navy period reads: 9

# Thieves' World & related: 12
# Matter of Britain/France works: 3

# of holiday reads: 8

# historical fiction reads: 7

# World War II reads: 5

# Late Roman/Byzantine reads: 2

What I read in 2023:

 1. For the Common Defense: A Military History of the United States from 1607 to 2012 by Allan R. Millett, Peter Maslowski, William B. Feis*

 2. Sanctuary by Lynn Abbey*

 3. Tarzan Alive: A Definitive Biography of Lord Greystoke by Philip José Farmer

 4. Thieves' World: Turning Points edited by Lynn Abbey*

 5. Infamous Day: Marines At Pearl Harbor 7 December 1941 by Robert J. Cressman and J. Michael Wenger*

 6. First Offensive: The Marine Campaign for Guadalcanal by Henry I. Shaw, Jr.*

 7. Battle Born: Lapis Lazuli by Maximilian Uriarte

 8. Roads by Seabury Quinn

 9. My Father, the Pornographer: A Memoir by Chris Offutt

 10. Daughter of the Bright Moon by Lynn Abbey 

 11.Thieves' World: Enemies of Fortune edited by Lynn Abbey*

 12. Tales of Peril - The Complete Boinger & Zereth Stories of John Eric Holmes by John Eric Holmes, edited by Allan T. Grohne Jr.

 13. Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson*

 14. The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson*

 15. The Law: A Dresden Files Novella by Jim Butcher

 16. A Midsummer Tempest by Poul Anderson

 17. The Fall of Númenor And Other Tales from the Second Age of Middle-Earth by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Brian Sibley 

 18. The Fortune of War by Patrick O'Brian

 19. The Merman's Children by Poul Anderson

 20. The USS Constitution's Finest Fight, 1815: The Journal of Acting Chaplain Assheton Humphreys, US Navy, edited by Tyrone G. Martin

 21. The Sinful Ones by Fritz Leiber*

 22. The Generalship Of Belisarius by Major Anthony Brogna

 23. The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth by J. R. R. Tolkien

 24. The Secret History by Procopius*

 25. Tolkien and The Silmarillion by Clyde S. Kilby

 26. Hunting the Essex: A Journal of the Voyage of HMS Phoebe, 1813-1814 by Midshipman Allen F. Gardiner, edited by John S. Reiske

 27. Unicorn and Dragon by Lynn Abbey

 28. Another Fine Myth by Robert Asprin

 29. Unicorn and Dragon: Conquest by Lynn Abbey

 30. The Prydain Chronicles: The Foundling And Other Tales of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander*

 31. The Prydain Chronicles: The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander*

 32. The Prydain Chronicles: The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander*

 33. The Prydain Chronicles: The Castle of Llyr by Lloyd Alexander*

 34. The Prydain Chronicles: Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander*

 35. The Prydain Chronicles: The High King by Lloyd Alexander*

 36. Witchy Eye By D.J. Butler

 37. Sword of Destiny by Andrzej Sapkowski (Translated by David French)

 38. Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski (Translated by Danusia Stok)

 39. Lovecraft: A Biography by L. Sprague de Camp

 40. The Burr Conspiracy: Uncovering the Story of an Early American Crisis by James E. Lewis Jr.

 41. The Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant: Part 1: The Early Years, West Point, Mexico by Ulysses S. Grant

 42. The Shining Sea: David Porter and the Epic Voyage of the U.S.S. Essex during the War of 1812

by George C. Daughan

 43. Beyond the Dar Al-Harb by Gordon R. Dickson

 44. The Averoigne Chronicles by Clark Ashton Smith

 45. Thieves' World #1: Thieves' World edited by: Robert Lynn Asprin & Lynn Abbey* 

 46. The Cthulhu Casebooks: Sherlock Holmes and the Shadwell Shadows by James Lovegrove

 47. The Cthulhu Casebooks: Sherlock Holmes and the Miskatonic Monstrosities by James Lovegrove

 48. The Cthulhu Casebooks: Sherlock Holmes and the Sussex Sea-Devils by James Lovegrove

 49. Thieves' World #2: Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn edited by Robert Lynn Asprin & Lynn Abbey*

 50. Thieves' World #3: Shadows of Sanctuary edited by Robert Lynn Asprin & Lynn Abbey*

 51. Thieves' World #4: Storm Season edited by Robert Lynn Asprin & Lynn Abbey*

 52. Sword of Honour by Alexander Kent

 53. Second to None by Alexander Kent

 54. Holmes for the Holidays edited by Martin Harry Greenberg, Jon Lellenberg, & Carol-Lynn Waugh 

 55. More Holmes for the Holidays edited by Martin Harry Greenberg 

 55. The Dark Is Rising #2: The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper*

 56. The Corps #1: Semper Fi by: W. E. B. Griffin*

 57. Santa Claus: A Biography by Gerry Bowler

 58. Christmas Customs and Traditions  by Clement A. Miles

 59. Letters from Father Christmas by J. R. R. Tolkien*

 60. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, read by Jim Dale*

 61. The Corps #2: Call to Arms by: W. E. B. Griffin*

All views in this blog are my own and represent the views of no other person, organization, or institution.