Wan Phing Lim

Here’s a list of books I read in 2023, a total of 30 books in all. My top five good reads of the year are highlighted in bold, of which 3 out of 5 are short story collections.

This year, they’re a good mix of novels, short stories, poetry, fiction, non-fiction, children’s and Christian self-help. Two on the list are also re-reads (Agatha Christie and J.K. Rowling). I’m also proud to report that one third of the below books are written by local Malaysian writers.

However, it does seem like my favourite genres are still in the mystery, psychological horror and literary categories. Looking forward to discovering more new stories and new authors in 2024!

1. The Animal-Lover’s Book of Beastly Murder by Patricia Highsmith (Jan)
2. Gertak Sanggul by Hafiz Hamzah (Jan)
3. The Canterville Ghost, The Happy Prince and Other Stories by Oscar Wilde (Jan)
4. What is not yours is not yours by Helen Oyeyemi (Jan)
5. I’d Die For You and Other Lost Stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald (Jan)
6. The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoevsky (Jan)
7. Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie (Feb)
8. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling (Mar)
9. Not After Midnight by Daphne du Maurier (Apr)
10. House of Koi by Lilian Li (May)
11. The Art of Spiritual Writing by Vinita Hampton Wright (May)
12. Dracula by Bram Stoker (May)
13. The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida by Clarissa Goenawan (June)
14. Zero K by Don Delillo (July)
15. Mist-Bound: How to Glue Back Grandpa by Daryl Kho (Aug)
16. Free Love and Other Stories by Ali Smith (Aug)
17. The Elemental and Other Stories by R. Chetwynd-Hayes (Aug)
18. Lake Malibu and Other Stories by Su-May Tan (Sept)
19. 100 Selected Poems by e.e. cummings (Oct)
20. Koleksi Puisi Masturbasi by Benz Ali (Oct)
21. The Muse and Other Stories by Chua Kok Yee (Oct)
22. Midnight Monologues by Charissa Ong T. Y. (Oct)
23. Licking Honey Off A Thorn by Susan Lenzkes (Nov)
24. Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro (Nov)
25. Dark Corners by Ruth Rendell (Nov)
26. Bone Weight and Other Stories by Shih-Li Kow (Nov)
27. A Chance Encounter at Sungai Chiling and Other Stories edited by Edwin Malachi Vethamani and Sharon Bakar (Dec)
28. Together Alive: Rediscovering Community Living in God’s Family by Lam Kuo Yung (Dec)
29. Learning from Amos: Understanding What God Requires of Us Today by Hia Lin Choo (Dec)
30. In Quietness and Confidence: The Making of a Man of God by David Roper (Dec)