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 Imogen, Obviously

Louise Willingham Why did I love this book?

Reading this book felt like reading a conversation with my friends. Becky Albertalli’s trademark honesty and devotion to love, freedom, and autonomy are beautifully written in this charming novel.

This book's coming-out narrative is acutely relatable, with challenges and fears many of us will recognise from our own lives. I’ve spent a lot of time in queer circles, sharing experiences of coming out or not.

Imogen, Obviously is a promise to all closeted and questioning people that it’s okay: they’re recognised, they’re welcome, and they don’t have to prove themselves.

By Becky Albertalli,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Imogen, Obviously as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

A New York Times and Indie bestseller!

With humor and insight, #1 New York Times bestseller Becky Albertalli explores the nuances of sexuality, identity, and friendship in this timely new novel.

Imogen Scott may be hopelessly heterosexual, but she’s got the World’s Greatest Ally title locked down.

She's never missed a Pride Alliance meeting. She knows more about queer media discourse than her very queer little sister. She even has two queer best friends. There's Gretchen, a fellow high school senior, who helps keep Imogen's biases in check. And then there's Lili—newly out and newly thriving with a cool new…


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My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Ashes To Admin: Tales from the Caseload of a Council Funeral Officer

Louise Willingham Why did I love this book?

This book is a deeply honest and vulnerable account of the funeral industry from the unique viewpoint of a council funeral officer. I read this book before I started working in funeral care and found Evie King’s experiences to be both inspiring and reassuring: the human capacity for caring for strangers is absolutely limitless.

It’s a beautiful and informative book for anyone in the industry or just interested in what goes on!

By Evie King,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

'I've a body out the back for you...'

Imagine having that sentence said to you. And then imagine it actually being pertinent. Welcome to Evie King's world.

What happens if you die without family or money? The answer to this very three-in-the-morning question is that Evie, or someone like her, will step in and arrange your funeral.

Evie is a local council worker charged with carrying out Section 46 funerals under the Public Health Act. Or to put it in less cold, legislative language; funerals for those with nobody around, willing or able to bury or cremate them.

Ashes to…


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My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of What Moves the Dead

Louise Willingham Why did I love this book?

I should have known what was coming with this book, but I didn’t. I was so enraptured by the characters, and so intrigued by the mystery, that I was taken completely by surprise by the ending, and it’s rare that this happens.

This book is a powerful retelling with a small cast full of characters I could relate to: the eccentric fungus expert, the panicking doctor, and the suffering soldier who just wants to help.

And, of course, any book around death immediately captures my interest!

By T. Kingfisher,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked What Moves the Dead as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An instant USA Today & Indie bestseller

From the Nebula and Hugo award-winning author of The Twisted Ones, comes What Moves the Dead, a gripping and atmospheric retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's classic "The Fall of the House of Usher."

When Alex Easton, a retired soldier, receives word that their childhood friend Madeline Usher is dying, they race to the ancestral home of the Ushers in the remote countryside of Ruritania.

What they find there is a nightmare of fungal growths and possessed wildlife, surrounding a dark, pulsing lake. Madeline sleepwalks and speaks in strange voices at night, and her…


Don‘t forget about my book 😀

Not Quite Out

By Louise Willingham,

Book cover of Not Quite Out

What is my book about?

William Anson is done with relationships. He’s busy with university work, he’s not out, not even to his closest friends, and he’s never been good at relationships anyway.

Meeting Daniel, a barely recovered drug addict ready to start living life on his own terms, might just change that. No matter how quickly William falls for Daniel, their friendship is too important to risk ruining over a crush. William is fine with being just friends for the rest of forever.

Well, not quite.