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 Yellowface

Livi Michael Why did I love this book?

All the usual clichés apply – I couldn’t put it down, it was immersive/propulsive/compulsive and did actually keep me up late…It has all the characteristics of a great thriller but, (special bonus) no serial killers!

Apart from this, it is actually a very intelligent, darkly satirical take on the publishing industry. And it made me laugh out loud…

By R. F. Kuang,

Why should I read it?

29 authors picked Yellowface as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The No. 1 Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller from literary sensation R.F. Kuang

*A Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick*

'Propulsive' SUNDAY TIMES

'Razor-sharp' TIME

'A wild ride' STYLIST

'Darkly comic' GQ

'A riot' PANDORA SYKES

'Hard to put down, harder to forget' STEPHEN KING

Athena Liu is a literary darling and June Hayward is literally nobody.

White lies
When Athena dies in a freak accident, June steals her unpublished manuscript and publishes it as her own under the ambiguous name Juniper Song.

Dark humour
But as evidence threatens June's stolen success, she will discover exactly how far she…


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My 2nd favorite read in 2023

Book cover of This Paradise: Stories

Livi Michael Why did I love this book?

Firstly, it inspired me to try writing short stories again, just by showcasing the range and versatility of the form, and by demonstrating how short fiction, in the hands of a virtuoso writer like Ruby Cowling, can say more than a novel.

These short stories are experimental in the best sense, by which I mean the varied forms enhance the content and themes. These are in turn, tragic, funny, uplifting, and poignant, reflecting the multi-faceted world we live in. Also, the small press, Boiler House has done a wonderful job of production. This collection is a joy to read!

By Ruby Cowling,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A family prepares for Assessment. Two brothers haggle over the legacy of their parents. A computer game designer aches with curious longings. Amidst it all, sisters, heroines, rebels, lunar moths and a not insignificant number of rabbits play out their lives under the strange grips of technology, governments, corporations and the capricious planets on which we all, in our different ways, just about manage to live. This Paradise is a rare and beautiful collection of stories about people fleeing towards places or times or situations they hope might be better trying to outrun their nature, to deny the undeniable. Written…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023

Book cover of Small Things Like These

Livi Michael Why did I love this book?

Claire Keegan is another virtuoso short story writer, but in this case it is her Booker-shortlisted novel that I’m recommending, because I loved it so much.

It has much in common with her short stories, in that it is actually a novella, but it contains a whole world of historical pain and, although I hesitate to use this word, a spiritual range from the depths of evil to transcendent good. My guess is that this will be one of the classic books to be read in centuries to come.

I have to say that this is not my 3rd favourite book, even though it comes last on my list – I love them all (and at least one other that I left off very regretfully) equally!

By Claire Keegan,

Why should I read it?

19 authors picked Small Things Like These as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize

"A hypnotic and electrifying Irish tale that transcends country, transcends time." —Lily King, New York Times bestselling author of Writers & Lovers

Small Things Like These is award-winning author Claire Keegan's landmark new novel, a tale of one man's courage and a remarkable portrait of love and family

It is 1985 in a small Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man faces into his busiest season. Early one morning, while delivering an order to the local convent, Bill makes a discovery which forces him…


Don‘t forget about my book 😀

Reservoir

By Livi Michael,

Book cover of Reservoir

What is my book about?

At the International Conference Centre in Geneva, Hannah Rossier, formerly Annie Price, comes face to face with Neville Weir, someone from her childhood whom she never expected, or wanted, to meet again.

As Neville's reasons for attending the conference become clear, the dark waters of Hannah's past start to rise. Hannah has reinvented herself successfully, moving from a small northern town in England to Lucerne, Switzerland, with her husband, Thibaut.

Nobody, not even Hannah, knows the full truth about herself. Her 'memories' consist of glimpses of the place where she played in childhood, known simply as 'The Wild'. Over the three days of the conference she has to decide whether she can avoid Neville, or whether she should submit to an encounter with him and with her past.