My 2023 Booklist

I've been an avid reader all my life, but the early 2010s, for a number of reasons, severely kneecapped my prolific consistency. My reading habits have experienced numerous stops and starts since then, but I made it a point this year, with extra inspiration from my wife, to get as close to my previous reading levels as possible. I kept a book on my bedside table all year and transformed my stupid smart phone into my...bathroom book...thanks to the Libby app. I tell you what, when you're on the can for 20 minutes, it's a lot more fulfilling to read a couple chapters of a good book than it is to doomscroll. I also bounced back and forth between lighter and heavier fare throughout the year, trying to create the most satisfying reading experience I could--and I succeeded! Here's a list of everything I read, with commentary for select titles.

2023
The Hunter’s Blades: The Two Swords — R.A. Salvatore (I finally finished this trilogy that I started reading back in 2020, just because I had some nostalgia for seeing the book covers in the early 2000s. It was pretty fun!)
Master -- Writing and Art by Peter Dydo (Gotta be one of the most underrated graphic novels I've ever read! Incredible painted artwork at the service of a timeless story about corruption due to absolute power)
Star Wars: Darth Bane: Path of Destruction -- Drew Karpyshyn (After finally, definitively giving up on Disney Star Wars (Disney Star Wars isn't Star Wars), I rededicated myself to the original Star Wars Pre-Disney Expanded Universe this year, realizing there is such a rich, rewarding world there, I may never experience it all. I began with the incredible Darth Bane Trilogy, which I read throughout the year, and completed. Also, I should note, I only buy original copies of EU books--not the new ones rebranded by Disney with the blasphemous LEGENDS moniker.)
The Nazis and the Occult -- Dusty Sklar (Disturbingly apt. Don't believe your eyes and ears, only what the party says is true...)
The Gathering (The Dreadful Death: Book Two) -- Ezekiel Kincaid
Broken (Star Wars: Legacy, Vol. 1) -- Written by: John Ostrander; Art by Jan Duursema (Since I'm hanging out in the Star Wars Expanded Universe, I decided to go back and read through this awesome comic series, as there were a lot of issues I missed back when it was being released.)
House of Leaves -- Mark Z. Danielewski (This was the "cool" book to read back in 2000, so I didn't read it, but after recently receiving it as a gift, I finally took the plunge and LOVED it! Great experimental novel with real heart and rich themes.)
Jurassic Park -- Michael Crichton (3rd reading)
Vampiress Carmilla #15 -- Warrant Publishing (Various Writers/Artists) (I discovered this and its sister comic magazine, Shudder, on a trip to Lafayette over the summer, and I love both. These are compilations of throwback, old school style, black-and-white horror comic shorts that are so much fun, with incredible artwork on the covers.)
Shudder Magazine #12 -- Warrant Publishing (Various Writers/Artists)
Thus Spoke Zarathustra -- Friedrich Nietzsche (I loathe nihilism to such a high degree, and I loathe this book, which I hate-read. I read it in tandem with The Nazis and the Occult, which was a more horrific one-two punch than any two horror novels could be. People have thrown around the term "Nazi" like Mardi Gras beads the last decade, but they have no clue what they are talking about. These two books show exactly how something like the Nazis can come to be, in the 20th Century...and in the 21st.)
Star Wars: Darth Bane: Rule of Two -- Drew Karpyshyn
Vampiress Carmilla #16 -- Warrant Publishing (Various Writers/Artists)

Shards (Star Wars: Legacy, Vol. 2) -- (Various Writers/Artists)
The Passenger -- Cormac McCarthy (McCarthy (R.I.P.) has always been very hit or miss for me, but I promised one of my best friends I'd read McCarthy's final two published works with him this year. Both felt like no editor wanted to give the Physics-obsessed, "hey kids look how cool I still am" McCarthy any notes here, and both of these books should have been noted to death.)
Shudder Magazine #13 -- Warrant Publishing (Various Writers/Artists)
Isom #2 -- Written by: Eric July; Art by: Cliff Richards

Stella Maris -- Cormac McCarthy
The Mourning (The Dreadful Death Book 3) -- Ezekiel Kincaid
Alien -- Alan Dean Foster
Alien: The Illustrated Story -- Written by: Archie Goodwin; Art by: Walter Simonson
Cujo -- Stephen King (I think Donna Trenton is one of King's best female protagonists. The bleakness of the ending surprised me. Overall, I had a good time with it.)
Vampiress Carmilla #16 -- Warrant Publishing (Various Writers/Artists)
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis #1 -- Written by: William Messner-Loebs; Art by: Dan Barry (The new and hopefully last Indiana Jones movie, also courtesy of Disney, was so catastrophically bad, I figured I'd get into the old Indiana Jones Expanded Universe too, though the Indy in these comics is a bit more of a cad than I remember him being in the PC game these are based upon.)
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis #2 -- Writing and Art by Dan Barry
Claws of the Dragon (Star Wars: Legacy Vol. 3) -- Written by John Ostrander; Art by Jan Duursema
Under the Volcano -- Malcolm Lowry (I also rededicated myself to completing the Modern Library Top 100 novels of the 20th Century. This one, clocking in all the way at #11, is a devastating reflection on alcoholism, set in a rural southern Mexican town in the late 1930s. Under the Volcano takes place over one day, and is written in a highly impressionistic style, and overall, I really enjoyed it, though I wouldn't quite place it among my favorites. Also, the last chapter is emotionally BRUTAL.)

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis #3 -- Writing and Art by Dan Barry
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis #4 -- Writing and Art by Dan Barry
Star Wars: Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil -- Drew Karpyshyn (What an ending to this trilogy. All three books are great. Karpyshyn absolutely knocked these out of the park. "No source material" though, right Kathleen Kennedy?)
Vampiress Carmilla #17 -- Warrant Publishing (Various Writers/Artists)

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I'm hoping to stay as consistent in 2024! Reading is great! You should do it too! Happy New Year!!!