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 Big Little Lies

Margo Sorenson Why did I love this book?

I seriously could not put this book down for the three days it took me to read it.

It’s a breathless page-turner, and the levels and layers of characterization, twists and turns of the plot, and suspense were so intriguing. I couldn’t wait to find out what secrets from the past the characters were hiding that led them to their present dilemmas.

It was inspirational and cautionary at the same time and made me think, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.” The book was a tribute to ultimate goodness and reason and an affirmation of our common bonds that bind us together as humans.

By Liane Moriarty,

Why should I read it?

16 authors picked Big Little Lies as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

*Published as BIG LITTLE LIES in Australia and the United States*

Liane Moriarty, million copy selling author of The Husband's Secret brings us another addictive story of secrets and scandal.

Jane hasn't lived anywhere longer than six months since her son was born five years ago. She keeps moving in an attempt to escape her past. Now the idyllic seaside town of Pirriwee has pulled her to its shores and Jane finally feels like she belongs. She has friends in the feisty Madeline and the incredibly beautiful Celeste - two women with seemingly perfect lives . . . and their…


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My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Ordinary Grace

Margo Sorenson Why did I love this book?

This is a gentle, tender, yet gripping story of a family, its faith, and their reckoning with a murder in their small Minnesota town.

It is a mystery whose solution is completely unexpected and, yet, well prepared for, a tribute to a deft and accomplished writerIt was amazing how everything got resolved in a way I couldn’t imagine—so well done.

I also loved the fact that it was set in a small town in Minnesota, a place that means a great deal to me, and Krueger does it justice; the gentle way of life disrupted by a murder will haunt readers, as it does me. Krueger does an amazing job of bringing the varied characters to life—there is not a false note among them.

I never wanted this book to end!

By William Kent Krueger,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Ordinary Grace as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
WINNER OF THE 2014 EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL
WINNER OF THE 2014 DILYS AWARD
A SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL BEST BOOK OF 2013

From New York Times bestselling author William Kent Krueger, a brilliant new novel about a young man, a small town, and murder in the summer of 1961.

"That was it. That was all of it. A grace so ordinary there was no reason at all to remember it. Yet I have never across the forty years since it was spoken forgotten a single word."

New Bremen, Minnesota, 1961. The Twins were playing their…


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My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of The Giver of Stars

Margo Sorenson Why did I love this book?

For an avid reader and writer, what’s not to like about a book about traveling librarians?

I loved the resilient, resourceful, and courageous characters and how they solved their problems with grace and ingenuity, not to mention outright bravery. Based on true events during the Depression in Appalachia, the story brings to life the proud, hardscrabble mountain dwellers and their children with sympathy and understanding.

The traveling librarians, who are the main characters, saved their lives in so many ways, battling ignorance and provincialism.

This was truly an inspiring book.

By Jojo Moyes,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked The Giver of Stars as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | A REESE WITHERSPOON X HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB PICK

"A great narrative about personal strength and really captures how books bring communities together." -Reese Witherspoon

From the author of The Last Letter from Your Lover, now a major motion picture on Netflix, a breathtaking story of five extraordinary women and their remarkable journey through the mountains of Kentucky and beyond in Depression-era America


Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve, hoping to escape her stifling life in England. But small-town Kentucky quickly proves equally claustrophobic, especially living alongside her overbearing father-in-law. So when…


Don‘t forget about my book 😀

Secrets in Translation

By Margo Sorenson,

Book cover of Secrets in Translation

What is my book about?

In this celebration of Italian life and culture, seventeen-year-old Alessandra returns for the summer to Italy, where she grew up.

Pressured by her parents into babysitting a rebellious twelve-year-old—ruining holiday plans with newfound American friends—Alessandra resigns herself to a tedious summer in Positano.

Her babysitting gig, however, turns out to be anything but boring! Not only does Alessandra fall for the handsome son of the Bertolucci family, renowned for their limoncello production, but when a body mysteriously turns up on the beach, the influence of organized crime in Positano becomes frighteningly real. As Alessandra is drawn further into an elaborate conspiracy, she must risk everything to protect herself, her family, and those that she loves, and in the process, she finds herself—and her Italian heart.