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The best books of 2023

This list is part of the best books of 2023.

We've asked 1,633 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 A Strangeness in My Mind

David Allen Why did I love this book?

My favorite books are ones that make me feel like I’ve lived a whole other life. A Strangeness in my Mind does all that and more.

It transports me to another country, into another person’s life whose experience is so distant from my own yet still feels familiar. I got to know the city the main character lives in, its history, and what those around him really think but would never tell him.

It uses a mockumentary-style narrative but doesn’t lean too hard into it.

By Orhan Pamuk, Ekin Oklap (translator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Strangeness in My Mind as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A mesmerizing love story with a cast of beguiling characters, from the Nobel prizewinning author Orhan Pamuk

** PRE-ORDER NIGHTS OF PLAGUE, THE NEW NOVEL FROM ORHAN PAMUK **

Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature

'A magnificent novel.' Wall Street Journal
'Powerful and moving.' TLS 'Books of the Year'
'Prepare to fall in love' Mail on Sunday
'As head-exploding as War and Peace, and more comforting' Elif Batuman

As a child, Mevlut always felt like he was missing out. When he moves to Istanbul - 'the centre of the world' - he is immediately enthralled. He wanders through its…


My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of The Network State: How To Start a New Country

David Allen Why did I love this book?

This book gave me hundreds of story ideas and probably boosted my IQ by at least 3 points.

Social media and Blockchain clasp hands together to create a third leviathan alongside God and the State: Network. Balaji dragged me through a buffet of interesting ideas that shape my world and its future, including the idea that countries may be much easier to start than what I first thought.

Very dangerous. Awesome. Read it.

By Balaji Srinivasan,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

“Balaji has the highest rate of output per minute of good new ideas of anybody I’ve ever met, and The Network State may be his best.” — Marc Andreessen, cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz

"We've started new currencies. Now The Network State shows us how to start new cities and new countries." — Vitalik Buterin, cofounder of Ethereum

"Balaji is a visionary, and one of the most original thinkers of our time. Many have had the experience of hearing him say something, thinking it was crazy, and then a year or two later realizing 'Balaji was right.' I think Balaji will…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Red Rising

David Allen Why did I love this book?

I need a fun adventure once and a while to distract from the heavy subject matter I usually read. Red Rising is a fight-the-system, battle-royale sci-fi set on a terraformed Mars.

The civilization is fierce and mercilessly stratified into castes based on job roles. These job roles are color-based and affect all people in the solar system down to a genetic level, with cyberpunk-level modifications. Red has been stamped on too long, and it’s time for them to rise.

When they did, I felt like I did as well. If I had all of the money, I would produce it into a 3-season show for either HBO or Sci-Fi.

By Pierce Brown,

Why should I read it?

15 authors picked Red Rising as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, BUZZFEED, GOODREADS AND SHELF AWARENESS

Pierce Brown's heart-pounding debut is the first book in a spectacular series that combines the drama of Game of Thrones with the epic scope of Star Wars.

**********

'Pierce Brown's empire-crushing debut is a sprawling vision . . . Ender, Katniss, and now Darrow' - Scott Sigler, New York Times bestselling author of Pandemic

'[A] top-notch debut novel . . . Red Rising ascends above a crowded dystopian field' - USA Today

**********

Darrow is a Helldiver. A pioneer…


Plus, check out my book…

Pool of Echoes

By David G. Allen,

Book cover of Pool of Echoes

What is my book about?

It is a Christian Psychological suspense novel featuring mental hospitals, a schizophrenic main character, and corporate espionage.

Jordan Mitchfield is heir to a media empire worth billions. He also sees and hears things that aren’t there. Then someone close puts him in an insane asylum against his will. When it looks like there is no way out but to take his own life, he is stopped. Someone opens his cell door and throws him into a dangerous time-travel adventure through his memories. As he goes deeper into the Pool of Echoes, he is forced to confront everything he has ever known, reconstruct his own mental health, and play a role in something much larger than himself.