The best books of 2023

This list is part of the best books of 2023.

Join 1,708 readers and share your 3 favorite reads of the year.

My favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica's Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night

Katie Daysh I this book because...

I am an avid reader of maritime and polar history non-fiction, and this is one of my favourites in that genre. It follows the frightening, dramatic and sometimes violent story of the Belgica as she over-winters in the dark Antarctic night.

Julian Sancton tells the events in such a gripping and exciting way; it really feels like a thriller novel. The individual crewmen are brought to life alongside the hostile, brutal land of Antarctica which still, at this point in history, was relatively unknown.

The book brilliantly encapsulates how very much humans are at the mercy of the elements, but also how we can have ingenuity in the face of survival.

By Julian Sancton,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Madhouse at the End of the Earth as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The “exquisitely researched and deeply engrossing” (The New York Times) true survival story of an early polar expedition that went terribly awry—with the ship frozen in ice and the crew trapped inside for the entire sunless, Antarctic winter

“The energy of the narrative never flags. . . . Sancton has produced a thriller.”—The Wall Street Journal

In August 1897, the young Belgian commandant Adrien de Gerlache set sail for a three-year expedition aboard the good ship Belgica with dreams of glory. His destination was the uncharted end of the earth: the icy continent of Antarctica.…


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My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Shackleton

Katie Daysh I this book because...

History is full of incredible tales; it is why I love writing and reading about it. I was so inspired by the recent re-discovery of Shackleton’s ship, the Endurance, in 2022.

I loved the image of her beneath the Antarctic ice, ‘Endurance’ emblazoned across her stern. This book captures the drive and the power of the human spirit under hardship. Shackleton and his men’s open boat journey across the worst seas in the world is an amazing story, one that seems almost unreal.

Ranulph Fiennes’s experience in such extreme environments really gives an additional, sensitive layer to the narrative. Fiennes’s Captain Scott is another incredible book, this time of a gruelling journey that ended in tragedy rather than survival.

By Ranulph Fiennes,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Discover the story Ernest Shackleton's legendary Antarctic expedition and loss of the Endurance, told by the world's greatest living explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes - one of the only men to understand his experience first-hand . . .

'For anyone with a passion for polar exploration, this is a must read' NEW YORK TIMES

'THE definitive book on Shackleton and no one could have done it better . . . An authentic account by one of the few men who truly knows what it's like to challenge Antarctica' LORRAINE KELLY

To write about Hell, it helps if you have been there.…


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My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Icebound In The Arctic: The Mystery of Captain Francis Crozier and the Franklin Expedition

Katie Daysh I this book because...

It seems my 2023 was full of non-fiction polar exploration books! I love them for the same reason I love science-fiction and space exploration books: the unknown, the isolation, and the endurance required.

This book tackles the mystery of the Franklin expedition, lost in the Arctic during the nineteenth century. It focused on the figure of Francis Crozier, somewhat of an underdog: a talented officer who did not receive the same accolades as other polar heroes due to his background but who tried to lead the survival of the doomed Erebus and Terror crews.

The book was touching, poignant, gripping, and very human, and its use of maps to illustrate the labyrinth of the Canadian Arctic ice was an additional, striking element.

By Michael Smith,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Captain Francis Crozier was a major figure in 19th century Arctic and Antarctic exploration who led the doomed Franklin Expedition's battle to survive against the odds. It is a compelling story which refuses to be laid to rest and recent discovery of his lost ships above the Arctic Circle gives it a new urgency.

The ships may hold vital clues to how two navy vessels and 129 men disappeared 170 years ago and why Crozier, in command after Franklin's early death, left the only written clue to the biggest disaster in Polar history.

Drawn from historic records and modern revelations,…


Don‘t forget about my book 😀

Leeward

By Katie Daysh,

Book cover of Leeward

What is my book about?

1800. Captain Hiram Nightingale is a veteran of the wars that have raged across Europe and the Americas for the past decades, but a grand victory at the Battle of the Nile comes at a devastating cost.

Plagued by wounds, both physical and mental, he attempts to recover by accepting command of HMS Scylla. His task is to hunt down the mutinous ship, Ulysses, and bring the crew to justice. However, it soon becomes clear that Ulysses is just one danger in an immense web.

On this journey, Nightingale must confront his own demons and long-repressed feelings stirred by his handsome, popular lieutenant, Arthur Courtney. For it seems, during his dangerous adventure, his greatest enemy might be himself.

My book recommendation list