Though I wasn’t a bookworm from the fourth grade to my sophomore year, I fell back in love with reading as a junior in high school. Over a decade of reading has taken place since that year, and during that time, my reading tastes have changed dramatically in some ways, and stayed the same in others. 2023’s reading journey was no exception, and it ended up being one of the most surprising years for me in terms of which books I gravitated to. Here’s how my reading tastes changed over 2023, and how I think I’ll have a better reading year in 2024 because of it.

Change 1: I’m Now More Picky About Content and Language in the Books I Read

As a Christian, I’ve always tried to choose books that are on the cleaner side, but over the years, I’ve also made the choice to read popular, secular books. Over the past few years, since I read mainly on my Kindle and enjoy scoping out Kindle deals, I’ve given in and have purchased dozens of popular, secular reads. And, unfortunately, many of those are filled with foul language, innuendos, and spice.

While I haven’t ran into many with spice scenes from those picks (thank God!), some of the ones I’ve read did have tons of language and other content that made me both uncomfortable and disappointed. I purchased these books for the promises of riveting stories, and while I did end up enjoying a few despite the content, I found myself often thinking after finishing the books that they would have been so much better if they had been clean.

So, as a personal choice, in 2023, I scoped out some Christian BookTube channels and began adding more clean and Christian books to my Kindle based off their recommendations. Over the past few months, I’ve also been culling my to-read list on Goodreads (of books I haven’t purchased) by doing more thorough research on those books to see if they include lots of language or other questionable content. I don’t mind reading negative content if it’s used for a redemptive character arc but when the negative stuff is glorified rather than depicted as wrong in the sight of God, I have a problem with it. Therefore, while some popular, secular books are on my TBR for 2024, after this year, my future yearly TBRs will include more books that align with my content convictions.

I also feel convicted to read more Christian fiction, of all genres, and am stoked to try out the recommendations I’ve collected over the past year. The ones I tried last year were some of my favorite books of 2023, so I have extremely high expectations for this reading year. ❤

Change 2: I Now Enjoy RomComs and Fantasy More

Perhaps the most shocking changes I’ve experienced over the past year of reading is that, after declaring I’m not much of a romcom or fantasy reader on Authoring Arrowheads several times, I’m enjoying more of both now.

Last year, I read my first books by authors like Melissa Ferguson, Nicole Deese, Emma St. Clair, and Haley Zaragoza, and their books convinced me that I do, in fact, enjoy romcoms, and that there are enjoyable, clean romcoms out there that aren’t totally focused on the couple’s physical appearance. I can’t wait to read more by these authors, and try several new authors this year.

Thanks to Brigid Kemmerer, believe it or not, a fantasy trilogy (Cursebreakers) has made its way into my favorite series of all-time, and it’s made me want to try other fantasy books that I’ve heard are on the cleaner side such as Powerless and Divine Rivals. I also highly enjoyed Keepers of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger, and can’t wait to read more of that series, as well as try the Harry Potter series for the first time, since reviews say they are similar.

Change 3: Is My Mystery/Thriller Era Over?

I went into 2023 craving to read a ton of mysteries and thrillers, but came out of the year mildly disappointed. Though a few I read stood out to me, some were underwhelming or, like I said before, included content that took away from the story for me.

I still have several mysteries and thrillers on my 2024 yearly TBR, including the addition of clean and Christian ones, so I’m hoping my mystery/thriller slump of 2023 was just temporary. I still crave the genre, so hopefully I’ll discover some that are better fits for me this year.

Talk to Me, Arrowheads!

Did your reading tastes change in any way over the past year? If they did, in what ways did they change?

Aim high, stay strong, and always hit your mark.

-Allyson 😀