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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 Lessons in Chemistry

Kathleen Kaska Why did I love this book?

I loved this book! Lessons in Chemistry is set in the 1950s and features a young, determined woman trying to make it in a man's world. This wonderful novel will capture you on page one.

Protagonist Elizabeth Zott is a chemist, and single mother turned TV personality who considers life practical, sensible, and scientific. As a female scientist, she struggles against prejudices.

The book is funny and heartbreaking. It's a reminder that women have come a long way in the last half-century, but we may wonder if we've come far enough for those of us who have been around since that time. I highly recommend this book!

By Bonnie Garmus,

Why should I read it?

60 authors picked Lessons in Chemistry as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK • Meet Elizabeth Zott: a “formidable, unapologetic and inspiring” (PARADE) scientist in 1960s California whose career takes a detour when she becomes the unlikely star of a beloved TV cooking show in this novel that is “irresistible, satisfying and full of fuel. It reminds you that change takes time and always requires heat” (The New York Times Book Review).

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, Oprah Daily, Newsweek, GoodReads

"A unique heroine ... you'll find yourself wishing she wasn’t fictional." —Seattle Times…


My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Stag Party: A Blanco Country Mystery

Kathleen Kaska Why did I love this book?

I write what I love to read; my favorite genre is humorous mysteries. Ben Rehder’s Blanco County mystery series are lighthearted, laugh-out-loud reads.

In Stag Party, Rehder’s protagonists, game warden John Marlin and county sheriff Bobby Garza, investigate the murder of a feisty 102-year-old inventor/rancher whose new discovery has others in Blanco County scrambling for a piece of the pie.

Billy Don Craddock and buddy Red O’Brien, the county’s blundering but loveable rednecks, are here again to muck up the investigation and add their own twists to the plot. Add the reality TV family, the Endicotts, and you’ve got another Duck Dynasty adventure complete with Texas-style eccentric characters. 

By Ben Rehder,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

When the 102-year-old inventor of an amazing new hunting product is murdered, the clues point toward the Endicotts, a controversial reality-show family. Did one of the members do something desperate to claim the invention as their own and boost their waning popularity? Blanco County game warden John Marlin intends to find out, if he can prevent his best friend from having a deadly run-in with the prime suspect. Stag Party is the eighth novel in Ben Rehder’s hilarious Blanco County mystery series.


My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of The Hill We Climb

Kathleen Kaska Why did I love this book?

A moving poem never fails to lift my spirits. Amanda Gorman, the National Youth Poet Laureate in 2017, writes poetry that touches my heart and strengthens my conviction to make this world a better place.

She writes about overcoming struggles, forging ahead during difficult times, looking past our prejudices, and respectfully accepting one another.

I grew up in a small Texas town where folks treated one another kindly. It wasn’t until I moved away to attend college to pursue a science degree that I experienced discrimination. My professor announced that women had no place in the world of geology. Regretfully, I dropped the class and switched majors.

This incredible young woman whose profound outlook on life can teach us all something good.

By Amanda Gorman,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The instant #1 New York Times bestseller and #1 USA Today bestseller

Amanda Gorman’s electrifying and historic poem “The Hill We Climb,” read at President Joe Biden’s inauguration, is now available as a collectible gift edition.

“Stunning.” —CNN
“Dynamic.” —NPR
“Deeply rousing and uplifting.” —Vogue
 
 
On January 20, 2021, Amanda Gorman became the sixth and youngest poet to deliver a poetry reading at a presidential inauguration. Taking the stage after the 46th president of the United States, Joe Biden, Gorman captivated the nation and brought hope to viewers around the globe with her call for unity and healing. Her poem…


Plus, check out my book…

Murder at the Arlington

By Kathleen Kaska,

Book cover of Murder at the Arlington

What is my book about?

I had good intentions. I always do.

My boyfriend/partner, Ralph Dixon, and I eloped with the plan to tie the knot in New Orleans. Instead, Dixon’s sitting in jail for a double murder. I’m sitting in a Louisiana swamp, spying on the Ku Klux Klan with Rip Thigbee, a ghost detective. My bubble-headed cousin Ruth is interrogating the hotel’s chef. My twelve-year-old charge, Lydia LaBeau, dressed as a voodoo queen, is entertaining the locals at Pat O’Brien’s. These are some of the people I hang out with. They’re all slightly unhinged and extremely odd.

I’m Sydney Lockhart. I solve murders. Most of which I’m the primary suspect. So, mix yourself a Hurricane and join me in the Big Easy for another historic hotel murder case.”