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The best books of 2023

This list is part of the best books of 2023.

We've asked 1,627 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 Diaspora

Benjamin Todd Why did I love this book?

One of the most mind-expanding books I've ever read – taking place on a greater-than-cosmic scale, exploring the possibilities for life as software.

If you want to understand how weird the future could be, I’ve found Greg Egan’s work to be the best, and this is my favourite of his books. Just be warned, it’s heavy going–so also consider Permutation City or Quarantine as starting points.

By Greg Egan,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A quantum Brave New World from the boldest and most wildly speculative writer of his generation. "Greg Egan is perhaps the most important SF writer in the world."-Science Fiction Weekly "One of the very best "-Locus. "Science fiction with an emphasis on science."-New York Times Book Review

Since the Introdus in the twenty-first century, humanity has reconfigured itself drastically. Most chose immortality, joining the polises to become conscious software. Others opted for gleisners: disposable, renewable robotic bodies that remain in contact with the physical world of force and friction. Many of these have left the solar system forever in fusion-drive…


My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Accelerando

Benjamin Todd Why did I love this book?

A story of life during the singularity. This is a wacky book that took me some chapters to get into, but in the end it was fun and like nothing else I've read. 

This book is my main competitor to Greg Egan for expanding your sense of how strange the future could be.

By Charles Stross,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

His most ambitious novel to date, ACCELERANDO is a multi-generational saga following a brilliant clan of 21st-century posthumans. The year is some time between 2010 and 2015. The recession has ended, but populations are ageing and the rate of tech change is accelerating dizzyingly. Manfred makes his living from spreading ideas around, putting people in touch with one another and leaving a spray of technologies in his wake. He lives at the cutting edge of intelligence amplification technology, but even Manfred can take on too much. And when his pet robot cat picks up some interesting information from the SETI…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity

Benjamin Todd Why did I love this book?

A great, practical, and appropriately skeptical summary about what’s known about increasing your health and longevity–drawing on a combination of research and clinical experience.

My one critique is that I’d like to see more on what helps the most per hour, rather than how to maximise your health overall. But overall it’s one of the best books on health I’ve read.

By Peter Attia, Bill Gifford,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

This is the ultimate manual for longevity.

For all its successes, mainstream medicine has failed to make much progress against the diseases of ageing that kill most people: heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and type 2 diabetes. Too often, it intervenes with treatments too late, prolonging lifespan at the expense of quality of life. Dr Peter Attia, the world's top longevity expert, believes we must replace this outdated framework with a personalised, proactive strategy for longevity.

This isn't 'biohacking,' it's science: a well-founded strategic approach to extending lifespan while improving our physical, cognitive and emotional health, making each decade better…


Plus, check out my book…

80,000 Hours: Find a Fulfilling Career That Does Good

By Benjamin Todd,

Book cover of 80,000 Hours: Find a Fulfilling Career That Does Good

What is my book about?

Based on years of research alongside academics at Oxford, this book aims to help you find a career you enjoy, you're good at, and that tackles the world's most pressing problems. 

It's full of practical knowledge and tools to help you plan a career that's fulfilling and does good, including: what makes for a dream job, why "follow your passion" can be misleading, how to set yourself up for success at every stage of your career, how to compare global problems in terms of their scale and urgency, and when to challenge the conventional wisdom to achieve a greater impact.