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 Babel

Patrick Dean Why did I love this book?

Babel combines 19th-century British history, an academic setting, and several fascinating premises—including endowing silver with magical properties—into a potent mix.

Kuang’s novel concerns a fictional Oxford college dedicated to translation (inevitably nicknamed Babel) and four brilliant young students in a Harry Potter-esque plot line that turns serious, then violent, as they reach a greater understanding of the project of which they are a part.

I was riveted and wanted to read more about the place, the time, and the characters.

By R. F. Kuang,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

THE #2 SUNDAY TIMES AND #1 NYT BESTSELLER

'One for Philip Pullman fans'
THE TIMES

'An ingenious fantasy about empire'
GUARDIAN

'Fans of THE SECRET HISTORY, this one is an automatic buy'
GLAMOUR

'Ambitious, sweeping and epic'
EVENING STANDARD

Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.

Oxford, 1836.

The city of dreaming spires.

It is the centre of all knowledge and progress in the world.

And at its centre is Babel, the Royal Institute of Translation. The tower from which all the power of the Empire flows.

Orphaned in Canton and brought to England by…


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My 2nd favorite read in 2023

Book cover of Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon

Patrick Dean Why did I love this book?

Combine vivid descriptions of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River with the enthralling story of two under-recognized women botanists who went there in the 1930s—how can you go wrong?

People back then thought women would be unable to survive the rapids of the Colorado, much less do groundbreaking science in the canyon. Sevigny’s protagonists, however, did both, with historic results.

Brave the Wild River is adventure, biography, and natural history in a compelling mix.

By Melissa L. Sevigny,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Brave the Wild River as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In the summer of 1938, botanists Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter set off down the Colorado River, accompanied by an ambitious expedition leader and three amateur boatmen. With its churning rapids, sheer cliffs and boat-shattering boulders, the Colorado River was famed as the most dangerous river in the world. But for Clover and Jotter, it held a tantalising appeal: no one had surveyed the Grand Canyon's plants, and they were determined to be the first.

Through the vibrant letters and diaries of the two women, science journalist Melissa L. Sevigny traces their forty-three-day journey, during which they ran rapids, chased…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023

Book cover of The Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean

Patrick Dean Why did I love this book?

Susan Casey + the ocean = unbeatable combo. This time, she explores the history of the deepest, darkest depths and our changing perceptions of just what’s down there…or not.

Casey also layers in her account of her own plunges into the darkness, accompanying an eccentric millionaire in his deep-sea vessel. Danger, suspense, and awe—it’s all here in Casey’s thrilling narrative.

By Susan Casey,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked The Underworld as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From bestselling author Susan Casey, an awe-inspiring portrait of the mysterious world beneath the waves, and the men and women who seek to uncover its secrets

“An irresistible mix of splendid scholarship, heart-stopping adventure writing, and vivid, visceral prose." —Sy Montgomery, New York Times best-selling author of The Soul of an Octopus

For all of human history, the deep ocean has been a source of wonder and terror, an unknown realm that evoked a singular, compelling question: What’s down there? Unable to answer this for centuries, people believed the deep was a sinister realm of…


Don‘t forget about my book 😀

Nature's Messenger: Mark Catesby and His Adventures in a New World

By Patrick Dean,

Book cover of Nature's Messenger: Mark Catesby and His Adventures in a New World

What is my book about?

In 1722, Mark Catesby stepped ashore in Charles Town in the Carolina colony. Over the next four years, this young naturalist made history as he explored deep into America's natural wonders, collecting and drawing plants and animals that had never been seen in the Old World.

Nine years later, Catesby produced his magnificent and groundbreaking book, The Natural History of Carolina, the first-ever illustrated account of American flora and fauna.

In Nature's Messenger, acclaimed writer Patrick Dean follows Catesby from his youth as a landed gentleman in rural England to his early work as a naturalist and his adventurous travels.

Book cover of Babel
Book cover of Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon
Book cover of The Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean

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