Jules’s Year in Books

What did you read this year?

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2023

39,991

pages read

126

books read

Jules The Literary Lifestyle®

Shortest Book

pages

Longest Book

964

pages

Average book length in 2023

317

pages

Most Shelved

3,478,642

people also shelved

Least Shelved

118

people also shelved

Jules’s average rating for 2023

3.7

Highest Rated on Goodreads

4.72 average

Jules’s first review of the year

really liked it

Top Takeaways from my full review: https://www.julesbuono.com/review-spa...

First, I’d like to note that as an American I can never begin to fully understand the monarchy. I also never served in the military, lost a parent as a child, or experienced fame. These are all substantial life events that I don’t feel qualified to fully critique as a reader, or even as a human discussing pop culture.

That being said, my top takeaway is that Spare is, first Top Takeaways from my full review: https://www.julesbuono.com/review-spa...

First, I’d like to note that as an American I can never begin to fully understand the monarchy. I also never served in the military, lost a parent as a child, or experienced fame. These are all substantial life events that I don’t feel qualified to fully critique as a reader, or even as a human discussing pop culture.

That being said, my top takeaway is that Spare is, first and foremost, a story of trauma, grief that went untreated for many years, and familial dysfunction that continues to this day.

For me, grief felt like the most constant theme, and Princess Diana’s life and death felt like a thread woven through each story told in the memoir. Beyond that, it’s a story of how fame affects childhood trauma and grief, and even beyond that, it’s a story of how royalty affects fame, childhood trauma, and grief.

One of the most shocking things I learned in Spare was Prince Harry’s belief that his mother was still alive after her death and would return to him. It was an absolutely heartbreaking view of childhood grief and the lack of proper support he needed to cope with her death. I can’t imagine anyone reading this book and NOT coming away with a deeper understanding of the impact that losing a parent has on a person.

And although I’ve heard a lot about Prince Harry’s relationship and marriage to Meghan Markle, there were a few additional stories about her that will stick with me, including more details about their first date than I’d heard before, and the loving reaction she had towards him after the birth of their daughter. The reader also hears about the fight they had that caused him to seek therapy.

Indeed, the final major takeaway I had from Spare, is how therapy ultimately forever changed Harry’s relationships with grief, his family, his royal role, and his wife. It seems a family reconciliation is not out of the question, but Prince Harry seems firm on his view of his experiences and how much he’s worked to cope with them and evolve, and that his family should do the same if there is ever to be a reunion of one of the world’s most notorious families.

Full review: https://www.julesbuono.com/review-spa...
Book club questions: https://www.julesbuono.com/book-club-... ...more

JULES’S 2023 BOOKS

it was amazing

The Audrey Hepburn Estate by Brenda Janowitz

it was amazing

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai

Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

it was amazing

Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano

Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead by Elle Cosimano

Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun by Elle Cosimano

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

it was amazing

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

it was amazing

The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley

it was amazing

Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan

Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan

it was amazing

it was amazing

The Five-Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand

The Summer of Songbirds by Kristy Woodson Harvey

The Christmas Orphans Club by Becca Freeman

it was amazing

Instructions for a Heatwave by Maggie O'Farrell

really liked it

Bright Lights, Big Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

Three Holidays and a Wedding by Uzma Jalaluddin

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

really liked it

The Simplicity of Cider by Amy E. Reichert

Jules’s last review of the year

really liked it

Full review: https://www.julesbuono.com/iron-flame/

PROS

First, let’s talk about the pros of Iron Flame. While I was immersed in Fourth Wing, I was possibly even more immersed in Iron Flame — I think because I am already so bonded to the fantasy world and the characters. At times, I felt so immersed that I was actually tired from just reading about the action-packed adventures!

Part of what made Fourth Wing such a sensation was its surprising plot t ...more

2023 READING
CHALLENGE

Jules | The Literary Lifestyle® read 126 out of 100 books.

126%

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