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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.

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

My favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Mirabile

Catherine Lundoff Why did I love this book?

Mirabile is a collection of linked short stories about a group of humans who have traveled to a distant planet and established a colony there.

They’ve brought seeds and plants from Earth designed to mutate and adapt to on-the-ground conditions… but some of them mutate a lot! Annie “Jason” Masmajean is a middle-aged “Jason,” a scientist who hunts harmful mutations, and her story is beautifully told.

She’s a terrific, funny protagonist, navigating her world with her growing chosen family and the communities around them. It’s unique in that it’s a book about solving problems, not about conquering a new world.

The writing is terrific, and the characters are very memorable. It is highly recommended!

By Janet Kagan,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

On the distant planet of Mirabile, a settlement of human colonists from Earth is jeopardized by genetic mutants of Earth plants and animals, and it is up to ecological troubleshooter Mama Jason to destroy the menacing mutants. Reprint.


My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Song in a Weary Throat: Memoir of an American Pilgrimage

Catherine Lundoff Why did I love this book?

This is Dr. Pauli Murray’s autobiography, and what a portrait of an amazing life it is!

Murray was involved in the early years of the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S., was a founding member of the National Organization for Women, was a friend of Eleanor Roosevelt as well as being a groundbreaking lawyer, a poet, and finally, the first Black person to be ordained as an Episcopal priest.

Murray’s work analyzing laws versus customs that enforced Jim Crow in the South was used to fight segregation as well as subsequent boosts to the rights of women and LGBTQ people. The book is full of both triumph and suffering, depicted in brilliant prose, and it makes you want to celebrate and explore Murray’s legacy.

By Pauli Murray,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Song in a Weary Throat as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

First published posthumously in 1987, Pauli Murray's Song in a Weary Throat was critically lauded, winning the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award and the Lillian Smith Book Award among other distinctions. Yet Murray's name and extraordinary influence receded from view in the intervening years; now they are once again entering the public discourse. At last, with the republication of this "beautifully crafted" memoir, Song in a Weary Throat takes its rightful place among the great civil rights autobiographies of the twentieth century.

In a voice that is energetic, wry, and direct, Murray tells of a childhood dramatically altered by the…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Little Nothing

Catherine Lundoff Why did I love this book?

Little Nothing is a terrific, atmospheric novella about two young women finding unique ways to resist and protect their communities.

Set in Florida at the start of the Civil War, Bess and Jonnie are a lesbian couple who use knotwork magic and the power of the local waterhorses, known as “limerunners,” to push back against a Confederacy trying to take over their home.

Holloway has a unique voice, and this is a read you won’t forget in a hurry.

Plus, check out my book…

Silver Moon: A Wolves of Wolf's Point Novel

By Catherine Lundoff,

Book cover of Silver Moon: A Wolves of Wolf's Point Novel

What is my book about?

Becca Thornton, divorced, middle-aged, and trying to embrace a quiet life, discovers that there are still plenty of surprises to be had when her menopause kicks in with bonus lycanthropy. And she's not the only one.

The seemingly peaceful and dull town of Wolf's Point has its own all-female werewolf pack, and Becca has just become its newest member. But it's not all protecting Wolf's Point, midnight meetings at the Women's Club, and monthly runs through the woods. There are werewolf hunters in town, and now they've got Becca and the Wolf's Point Pack in their sights.