Author Former professor Lovecraft aficionado
The best books of 2023

This list is part of the best books of 2023.

We've asked 1,608 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 An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us

Barbara Cottrell Why did I love this book?

I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be another species. How would you experience the world if you were a dog, a cat, or even a squid? Ed Yong considers these questions in this information packed, easy to read science book.

I found myself getting lost in the world of unusual animals. My favorite? The bay scallop who has dozens of bright blue eyes lining its shell. Yong’s description of the way it might “see” was fascinating.

Fans of Mary Roach will enjoy this exploration of the animal world. I devoured the book whole, footnotes and all!

By Ed Yong,

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked An Immense World as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Wonderful, mind-broadening... a journey to alternative realities as extraordinary as any you'll find in science fiction' The Times, Book of the Week

'Magnificent' Guardian

Enter a new dimension - the world as it is truly perceived by other animals.

The Earth teems with sights and textures, sounds and vibrations, smells and tastes, electric and magnetic fields. But every animal is enclosed within its own unique sensory bubble, perceiving only a tiny sliver of an immense world. This book welcomes us into previously unfathomable dimensions - the world as it is truly perceived by other animals.

We encounter beetles that are…


My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of The Fisherman

Barbara Cottrell Why did I love this book?

Grief makes people do strange things. When Abe loses his wife to cancer, he turns to fishing for comfort.

He is joined by an acquaintance at work whose family died in a car crash. What begins as a casual expedition turns into something darker when the men meet a local at a diner, who tells them an amazing story about Dutchman’s Creek. What follows is a chilling story within a story that haunted me long after I finished the book.

The Fisherman is an intimate tale that asks a critical question. How far are you willing to go to get back the ones you lost? Think Pet Cemetery meets A River Runs Through It and you’re close to capturing the spirit of this book.

By John Langan,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Fisherman as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In upstate New York, in the woods around Woodstock, Dutchman's Creek flows out of the Ashokan Reservoir. Steep-banked, fast-moving, it offers the promise of fine fishing, and of something more, a possibility too fantastic to be true. When Abe and Dan, two widowers who have found solace in each other's company and a shared passion for fishing, hear rumors of the Creek, and what might be found there, the remedy to both their losses, they dismiss it as just another fish story. Soon, though, the men find themselves drawn into a tale as deep and old as the Reservoir. It's…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of The Ghost That Ate Us: The Tragic True Story of the Burger City Poltergeist

Barbara Cottrell Why did I love this book?

When most people think of haunted houses, they usually picture an aging building on the edge of town. But what if the place that’s haunted is a busy fast food joint? That’s the premise of Daniel Kraus’s The Ghost That Ate Us.

The employees of Burger City near Jonny, Iowa begin to experience strange events. At first, the incidents are harmless, but they slowly become more menacing, until an event happens that makes the national news. A journalist comes in after the fact, to interview the surviving workers and try to figure out what ‘really’ happened.

The book is scattered with pictures, a la Ransom Riggs’ Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series. The result is an intriguing blend of horror, faux true crime, and biting social commentary.

By Daniel Kraus,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Ghost That Ate Us as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

You remember the brutal crime, don't you?


Maybe you read about it on Twitter. Maybe a friend sent you a news clip. Maybe you saw it on an episode of Spectral Journeys that night you were flipping through channels, unable to sleep. On June 1, 2017, six people were killed at a Burger City franchise off I-80 near Jonny, Iowa. It was the bizarre and gruesome conclusion to nine months of alleged paranormal activity at the fast-food joint-events popularly known as "the Burger City Poltergeist."


The story inspired Facebook memes, Twitter hashtags, Buzzfeed listicles, Saturday Night Live sketches, and more.…


Plus, check out my book…

Darkness Below

By Barbara Cottrell,

Book cover of Darkness Below

What is my book about?

Nightmares. Disappearances. Suicide.

The fall semester is always a challenging time at Miskatonic University. All Ellen Logan wants to do is pass her classes while holding down a bad job at a New Age bookstore.

But when a former roommate jumps to her death from the university clocktower and another friend vanishes, leaving her with a mysterious book, she embarks on her own investigation. With the help of renowned professor Andrew Carter, she uncovers evidence of a murderous cult, a terrifying creature, and a ghost who knows far too much about her. To survive, Ellen and Carter must descend into the Darkness Below to stop the forces that threaten to tear their world apart.