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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.

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My favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of The Next Girl

Carla Louise Robinson Why did I love this book?

I loved The Next Girl because I resonated with the main character, Billie, so much.

All of Pip Drysdale’s books are fast-paced, making her novels difficult to put down at the best of times, but reading Billie’s inner monologue and understanding her motivations, all I could think is, "Oh, gosh, I would probably do this, and this would be how I die."

I could understand her determination to protect another woman from danger; and in a sense, it helped me heal a little from my own past. 

Not only did I identify with Billie, but I was so obsessed with this book that I finished it in a day – I even read it while having a long bath! Some books just can’t be put down, and this is one of them.

By Pip Drysdale,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Next Girl as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

For fans of The Perfect Girlfriend, The Flight Attendant, and Promising Young Woman, a compulsively readable suspense novel about a woman who will stop at nothing to expose the dark secrets of a powerful man—with shocking results.

A bad day at work. A drunken night. A rogue Instagram follow. That’s all it takes to ruin a life...but whose life will be ruined?

When Billie wakes up in a strange guy’s bed, her first thought is: What happened last night? She can’t even remember meeting him. And how the hell did she get to Coney Island?

Then reality bites and the…


My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of How Many More Women?: Exposing how the law silences women

Carla Louise Robinson Why did I love this book?

I was devastated, heartbroken, furious, livid, and filled with both despair and hope while reading this book. While I’ve been failed by the police for not taking what happened to me seriously and refusing to file a report, I thought maybe the problem was me, maybe I wasn’t believable.

I discovered that there were millions of women who weren’t “believable” and had more evidence than I ever did was both cathartic and infuriating. It filled me with hope, however, that there were two barristers, Robinson and Yoshida, who were working to change that.

It was also incredibly insightful (terrifying) learning how many threats Johnny Depp and his team sent to UN Women, studio executives, and anyone who associated with Amber Heard in any way.

By Jennifer Robinson, Keina Yoshida,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked How Many More Women? as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

HOW MANY MORE WOMEN
have to be raped or abused before we act?
need to accuse him before we believe her?
will be failed by the criminal justice system?
need to say something before we do something?
will be sued for defamation for speaking out?
will be contracted to silence?

From two internationally acclaimed lawyers comes a masterful and urgent exploration of the legal response to the MeToo movement in Australia and around the world.

We are in a crucial moment: women are breaking through the cultural reticence to speak out about gender-based violence. But as they have grown empowered…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of The Red Tree

Carla Louise Robinson Why did I love this book?

I’ll be honest: The Red Tree is a book I’ve read countless times. It’s one of my favorite books. It might seem on the surface like a children’s book, as it has very few words and amazing illustrations, but it’s not.

It’s a book that seems like it’s about depression – a place “where darkness overcomes you” and the “world is a deaf machine” – but it’s not. It’s a book about hope. It’s about how hope is always there in the darkest of places, even when you think there is no hope left.

The illustrations are quintessential, as Shaun Tan draws in a tiny piece of hope you have to find on every page before you reach the end and realize hope was always there – you just didn’t see it earlier. 

By Shaun Tan,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Awakening one day to a dark and somber mood, a little girl faces a day where everything goes very badly, and seeks hope amid her sadness.


Plus, check out my book…

You Know You Want It: Caitlin drank. And flirted. And kissed him. And went back to his place. What did she expect? Popcorn and pillowfights?

By Carla Louise Robinson, Carla Robinson,

Book cover of You Know You Want It: Caitlin drank. And flirted. And kissed him. And went back to his place. What did she expect? Popcorn and pillowfights?

What is my book about?

After meeting a handsome stranger, Caitlin's seemingly perfect teenage life turns upside down after a vicious sexual assault.

As Caitlin struggles with her before and after, she's confronted with one ugly reality: You can't hide from trauma.

You Know You Want It delves not only into the destructive consequences sexual assault leaves on the victims but also examines the harsh reality of rape culture and victim-blaming almost all survivors are subjected to.

My book recommendation list