The best books of 2023

This list is part of the best books of 2023.

Join 1,707 readers and share your 3 favorite reads of the year.

My favorite read in 2023

Book cover of Sexual Personae: Art & Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson

Jane Stork Why did I love this book?

Of all the books I have ever read, this book made me think the most.

It is a magnificently written tome following the history of erotic art, originating from the ancient earth-bound religions, through the Egyptian, Greek and Roman sky religions, and through the various artistic expressions found in the music, paintings, sculpture, literature, and poetry of our Christian epoch.

Camille Paglia is a formidable scholar and a fearless critic of our day and age, calling into question so many of our most dearly held beliefs, both old and new. I am known in my family as a fast reader, but this book so enthralled me I read every page slowly, almost saying each word out loud to myself. It is a splendid, shocking, fascinating read, brimming with wit and wisdom.

By Camille Paglia,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The fiery, provocative, and unparalleled work of feminist art criticism that launched the exceptional career of one of our most important public intellectuals—"a remarkable book, at once outrageous and compelling, fanatical and brilliant.... One must be awed by [Paglia's] vast energy, erudition and wit" (The Washington Post).

Is Emily Dickinson “the female Sade”? Is Donatello’s David a bit of pedophile pornography? What is the secret kinship between Byron and Elvis Presley, between Medusa and Madonna? How do liberals and feminists—as well as conservatives—fatally misread human nature? This audacious and omnivorously learned work of guerrilla scholarship offers nothing less than a…


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My 2nd favorite read in 2023

Book cover of Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype

Jane Stork Why did I love this book?

I first read Women Who Run With The Wolves 30 years ago and loved it.

Clarissa Pinkola Estés is a born storyteller, having grown up in an extended family where story-telling was a beloved daily tradition practiced by old and young alike. As a young adult, Clarissa became a Jungian analyst. For her doctorate, she travelled the world, seeking out tribal peoples and communities where the traditional stories were still told. These stories were to become the core of her doctoral thesis and this book.

Rereading this book after 30 years elicited palpable excitement in me. I recognized so many of the stages in a woman’s journey through life that these ancient stories describe and that Clarissa decodes as only a storyteller can. Beautiful, magical, affirming.

By Clarissa Pinkola Estés,

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked Women Who Run with the Wolves as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

First published three years before the print edition of Women Who Run With the Wolves made publishing history, this original audio edition quickly became an underground bestseller. For its insights into the inner life of women, it established Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes as one of the most important voices of our time in the fields of Jungian psychology, myth, and women's mysteries.

Drawing from her work as a psychoanalyst and cantadora ("keeper of the old stories"), Dr. Estes uses myths and folktales to illustrate how societies systematically strip away the feminine spirit. Through an exploration into the nature of the…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023

Book cover of The Master and Margarita

Jane Stork Why did I love this book?

Bulgakov wrote this book in the Soviet Union under Stalin. Mystery, magic, satanic forces, and heavenly interventions, this book is a love story where anything can and does happen. It is a spellbinding read.

I found it funny and frightening, philosophical and fantastic. I couldn’t put it down!

By Mikhail Bulgakov, Richard Pevear (translator), Larissa Volokhonsky (translator)

Why should I read it?

18 authors picked The Master and Margarita as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Bulgakov is one of the greatest Russian writers, perhaps the greatest' Independent

Written in secret during the darkest days of Stalin's reign, The Master and Margarita became an overnight literary phenomenon when it was finally published it, signalling artistic freedom for Russians everywhere. Bulgakov's carnivalesque satire of Soviet life describes how the Devil, trailing fire and chaos in his wake, weaves himself out of the shadows and into Moscow one Spring afternoon. Brimming with magic and incident, it is full of imaginary, historical, terrifying and wonderful characters, from witches, poets and Biblical tyrants to the beautiful, courageous Margarita, who will…


Don‘t forget about my book 😀

Breaking the Spell: My Life as a Rajneeshee and the Long Journey Back to Freedom

By Jane Stork,

Book cover of Breaking the Spell: My Life as a Rajneeshee and the Long Journey Back to Freedom

What is my book about?

What started out as a journey seeking spiritual enlightenment descended into darkness as Jane sacrificed her marriage and children and, eventually – through a monstrous act of attempted murder – her freedom.

Utterly compelling and deeply moving, Jane’s incredible true story is a profound meditation on the nature of self-determination and the human spirit’s capacity for redemption.