The best books of 2023

This list is part of the best books of 2023.

Join 1,707 readers and share your 3 favorite reads of the year.

My favorite read in 2023

Book cover of Babel

Alex Gough Why did I love this book?

Babel is an incredible work of imagination and scholarship.

Rebecca Kuang is an American with Chinese heritage and an academic linguist who has studied at Oxford and Cambridge. She brings all her background and education to bear in the remarkable book about an alternative version of the British Empire set in the 1830s.

It follows four young language scholars in their training in Oxford as they learn how to create magic out of silver and near equivalent words in two languages, the slight difference in meaning generating the power. Kuang describes these definitions in the text and in footnotes, and it is stunning how much intelligence and effort has gone into this.

The text has a strong theme of anti-colonialism running through it and is a sharp riposte to supporters of the Empire, bringing the attitudes of those who ruled the European powers into clear relief. But more importantly, this is a thrilling fantasy novel that will keep you turning the pages. 

By R. F. Kuang,

Why should I read it?

19 authors picked Babel as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE #2 SUNDAY TIMES AND #1 NYT BESTSELLER

'One for Philip Pullman fans'
THE TIMES

'An ingenious fantasy about empire'
GUARDIAN

'Fans of THE SECRET HISTORY, this one is an automatic buy'
GLAMOUR

'Ambitious, sweeping and epic'
EVENING STANDARD

Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.

Oxford, 1836.

The city of dreaming spires.

It is the centre of all knowledge and progress in the world.

And at its centre is Babel, the Royal Institute of Translation. The tower from which all the power of the Empire flows.

Orphaned in Canton and brought to England by…


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My 2nd favorite read in 2023

Book cover of The Woman in White

Alex Gough Why did I love this book?

Although dated in style, it is a fascinating and intriguing read, a page-turning mystery with plot twists, multiple points of view, and unreliable narrators. I listened to this old classic with narration by the late great Ian Holm (Bilbo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings trilogy). 

The characters are the high point, however, just staying on the right side of caricature and making the reader truly invested in the outcome. 

By Wilkie Collins,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked The Woman in White as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

HarperCollins is proud to present its range of best-loved, essential classics.

'The woman who first gives life, light, and form to our shadowy conceptions of beauty, fills a void in our spiritual nature that has remained unknown to us till she appeared.'

One of the earliest works of 'detective' fiction with a narrative woven together from multiple characters, Wilkie Collins partly based his infamous novel on a real-life eighteenth century case of abduction and wrongful imprisonment. In 1859, the story caused a sensation with its readers, hooking their attention with the ghostly first scene where the mysterious 'Woman in White'…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023

Book cover of Elric of Melniboné

Alex Gough Why did I love this book?

I’ve been aware of the Elric books for many years, but it has taken me a long time to get around to reading about the eternal champion. It was worth the wait.

It is fascinating to see how these stories have had such far-reaching influence, from roleplaying games to video games to fantasy authors. Elric is a great anti-hero, and though you always root for him, you often feel like you shouldn’t!

By Michael Moorcock,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Elric of Melniboné as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award winner Michael Moorcock comes the first book in his famous Elric of Melniboné series, brought to vivid new life with stunning illustrations.

In one of the most well-known and well-loved fantasy epics of the 20th century, Elric is the brooding, albino emperor of the dying Kingdom of Melnibone. With Melnibone’s years of grandeur and decadence long since passed, Elric’s amoral cousin Yrkoon sets his eyes on the throne. Elric, realizing he is his country’s best hope, must face his nefarious cousin in an epic battle for the right to rule.

Elric of Melnibone is…


Don‘t forget about my book 😀

Caesar’s Soldier

By Alex Gough,

Book cover of Caesar’s Soldier

What is my book about?

Who was the man who would become Caesar's lieutenant, Brutus' rival, Cleopatra's lover, and Octavian's enemy?

When his stepfather is executed for his involvement in the Catilinarian conspiracy, Mark Antony and his family are disgraced. His adolescence is marked by scandal and mischief, his love affairs are fleeting, and yet, his ambition is vast.

Antony's path to prosperity leads him to an education in Athens, a campaign for a seat in the Senate, and a position of military command. Undeterred by his baptism of fire on the battlefields of Judaea and Egypt, he climbs the ranks to become the right-hand man of Rome's most famous general, Julius Caesar.

Book cover of Babel
Book cover of The Woman in White
Book cover of Elric of Melniboné

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