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The best books of 2023

This list is part of the best books of 2023.

We've asked 1,633 authors and super readers for their 3 favorite reads of the year.

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

My favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Tom Lake

Mary Cay Ricci Why did I love this book?

This is one I really could not put dow; way too many late nights reading! It was so different from all of the other books that I read this past year.

Lara tells her three adult daughters (who return home during the pandemic) a story from her youth about the summer she spent at Tom Lake. Her girls are particularly interested because she was acting in a play that summer with a fellow actor who became quite famous.

Not all of the characters from her youth are particularly likable characters- but they are very interesting characters. Eventually, the memories she shares reveal why she is who she is in the present day. 

This book caused me to reflect on my own past and better understand how the small, seemingly unimportant things actually set the stage for who I am today.

By Ann Patchett,

Why should I read it?

15 authors picked Tom Lake as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER * THE NO. 1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A REESE WITHERSPOON AND BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB PICK 'A new Ann Patchett novel is always cause for celebration ... and Tom Lake is one of her best' i 'This comforting summer read has it all ... Young love, sibling rivalry and deep mother-daughter relationships' REESE WITHERSPOON 'Filled with the moments I live for in a story' BONNIE GARMUS, author of Lessons in Chemistry 'One of the most beloved authors of her generation' SUNDAY TIMES ----------------------------- This is a story about Peter Duke who went on…


My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of The Lonely Hearts Book Club

Mary Cay Ricci Why did I love this book?

I can confidently say that I felt that I really knew these characters, I could hear them, see them, and have empathy for them- these characters were developed beautifully. 

The story is about a group of five very different, quirky people who come together for a book club in the home of an elderly curmudgeon. The one thing they all have in common, whether they realize it or not, is that they are all lonely.

The books that this “found family” read help them understand each other a little better. It is an uplifting book with a wonderful mix of compassion, humor, and lively banter among the characters.

By Lucy Gilmore,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Lonely Hearts Book Club as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A young librarian and an old curmudgeon forge the unlikeliest of friendships in this charming uplit novel about one misfit book club and the lives it changed along the way.

Because books have a way of bringing even the loneliest of souls together...

Sloane Parker lives a small, contained life as a librarian in her small, contained town. She never thinks of herself as lonely...but still she looks forward to that time every day when old curmudgeon Arthur McLachlan comes to browse the shelves and cheerfully insult her. Their sparring is such a highlight of Sloane's day that when Arthur…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of The Lost Bookshop

Mary Cay Ricci Why did I love this book?

True confession:  I am a sucker for any book that has the word “Bookshop” in the title. (Yep, I know it’s a personal issue). This may sound confusing, but it’s not: there are two timelines and three characters narrating their story: Oppaline (1921), Martha (present-day), and Henry (present-day). Both Oppaline and Martha have faced major challenges in their lives.

It is a magical book about a Bookshop that once stood on a street in Dublin that seemed to have vanished. 

The book is engaging, enchanting, and at times sad. I continued to think about this book long after I was done and plan on reading it again! 

One of my favorite lines in the book is, “The thing about books is that they help you to imagine a life bigger and better than you could ever dream of.”

By Evie Woods,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Lost Bookshop as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Echo of Old Books meets The Lost Apothecary in this evocative and charming novel full of mystery and secrets.

'The thing about books,' she said 'is that they help you to imagine a life bigger and better than you could ever dream of.'

On a quiet street in Dublin, a lost bookshop is waiting to be found...

For too long, Opaline, Martha and Henry have been the side characters in their own lives.

But when a vanishing bookshop casts its spell, these three unsuspecting strangers will discover that their own stories are every bit as extraordinary as the ones…


Plus, check out my book…

Mindsets for Parents: Strategies to Encourage Growth Mindsets in Kids

By Mary Cay Ricci, Margaret Lee,

Book cover of Mindsets for Parents: Strategies to Encourage Growth Mindsets in Kids

What is my book about?

This second edition of Mindsets for Parents is designed to provide a roadmap for developing a growth mindset in the home environment.

This book’s conversational style and real-world examples make the topic approachable and engaging. It includes tools for informally assessing the mindsets of both parent and child, easy-to-understand updated brain research, brand-new examples and prompts for self-reflection, as well as suggested strategies and resources for use with children of any age.

Also included in this are book club questions designed to get parent groups thinking and collaborating in order to make the most of these strategies.