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 The Book of Delights: Essays

Monna Wong Why did I love this book?

Sometimes you read a book that creates a seismic shift in how you view the world—The Book of Delights is that book.

Ross Gay shines light on wonderful little things in a poetic, deep, and introspective way that doesn't sidestep the fact that life is hard and ugly sometimes. Since reading this book, I’ve found myself noticing delightful things on a daily basis—a much-needed grounding practice when you’re feeling devastated by the state of the world.

By Ross Gay,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Book of Delights as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
As Heard on NPR's This American Life
'The delights he extols here (music, laughter, generosity, poetry, lots of nature) are bulwarks against casual cruelties . . . contagious in their joy' New York Times

The winner of the NBCC Award for Poetry offers up a spirited collection of short lyric essays, written daily over a tumultuous year, reminding us of the purpose and pleasure of praising, extolling, and celebrating ordinary wonders.

Among Gay's funny, poetic, philosophical delights: a friend's unabashed use of air quotes, cradling a tomato seedling aboard an aeroplane, the silent nod of…


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My 2nd favorite read in 2023

Book cover of Nightcrawling

Monna Wong Why did I love this book?

I went to a family camp this summer and met a fellow camper reading this book while floating on the river (shout out to Mara!). When she finished it, she gave it to me.

I read it in two days—bringing it to meals, the river, to the lounge chairs by the basketball court. Let’s be clear—Nightcrawling isn’t a light, relaxing, river read… but it tells a powerful and heartbreaking story and I couldn’t put it down. 

By Leila Mottley,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • AN OPRAH BOOK CLUB PICK • BOOKER PRIZE LONGLIST • A dazzling novel about a young Black woman who walks the streets of Oakland and stumbles headlong into the failure of its justice system. This debut of a blazingly original voice “bursts at the seams of every page and swallows you whole” (Tommy Orange, author of There There).

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, TIME, GOODREADS

Kiara and her brother, Marcus, are scraping by in an East Oakland apartment complex optimistically called…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023

Book cover of How High We Go in the Dark

Monna Wong Why did I love this book?

I love a book (anything, really) that expands my ideas of what’s possible. Even when it comes in the form of dystopian science fiction about the aftermath of a pandemic and climate crisis that makes me feel a little desolate.

How High We Go in the Dark is both bleak and whimsical, beautiful and horrifying, expansive and intimate. I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

By Sequoia Nagamatsu,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked How High We Go in the Dark as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE 2022 FINALIST FOR THE BARNES & NOBLE DISCOVER PRIZE 2022 FINALIST FOR THE URSULA LE GUIN PRIZE FOR FICTION 2022 WATERSTONES AND ESQUIRE BEST BOOKS OF 2022 'Haunting and luminous ... An astonishing debut' - Alan Moore, creator of Watchmen and V for Vendetta 'A powerfully moving and thought provoking read. At times sublime, strange and deeply human' Adrian Tchaikovsky, bestselling author of the Children of Time series Siberia, 2031. After a virus, unearthed from melting permafrost, unleashes a deadly plague upon humanity, those left alive are forced to adapt to a new…


Don‘t forget about my book 😀

Management In a Changing World: How to Manage for Equity, Sustainability, and Results

By Monna Wong, Jakada Imani, Bex Ahuja

Book cover of Management In a Changing World: How to Manage for Equity, Sustainability, and Results

What is my book about?

Management in a Changing World is the book for every manager or leader working toward social change. If you ever struggle to navigate the power and responsibility that comes with being a manager, this book is for you—whether you’re new or seasoned, or manage one person or a whole team.                

We cover The Management Center’s tried-and-true tools and advice but with new approaches, strategies, and stories for effective management. The book is packed with tools and techniques to help managers in nonprofits and educational organizations do things like build relationships, delegate work, set roles and goals, make decisions, share feedback, and build healthy team cultures. 

Book cover of The Book of Delights: Essays
Book cover of Nightcrawling
Book cover of How High We Go in the Dark

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