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The best books of 2023

This list is part of the best books of 2023.

We've asked 1,624 authors and super readers for their 3 favorite reads of the year.

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

My favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Olga Dies Dreaming

R. A. Sinn Why did I love this book?

I loved this book because it evoked the New York City I grew up in during the 1980s and 1990s. I was an outer-borough kid, raised in Queens, then Brooklyn.

Gonzalez does a brilliant job capturing the toll that a life dedicated to political radicalism can take on a person’s kids. The sister and brother at the heart of her story experience hurt and make mistakes, but they also have each other to rely on in the most critical ways. I enjoyed that theme.

By Xochitl Gonzalez,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Olga Dies Dreaming as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK · WINNER OF THE BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY PRIZE • INTERNATIONAL LATINO BOOK AWARD FINALIST

A blazing talent debuts with the tale of a status-driven wedding planner grappling with her social ambitions, absent mother, and Puerto Rican roots—all in the wake of Hurricane Maria

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Kirkus, Washington Post, TIME, NPR, Vogue, Esquire, Book Riot, Goodreads, EW, Reader's Digest, and more!

"Don’t underestimate this new novelist. She’s jump-starting the year with a smart romantic comedy that lures us in with laughter and keeps…


My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of An Honest Living

R. A. Sinn Why did I love this book?

An Honest Living is another great New York novel that made me nostalgic for the city where I used to live. I loved how Murphy used mystery conventions to upend the genre altogether.

The book might strike some as deeply unsatisfying. Still, I loved how it didn’t satisfy expectations, and (without revealing too much) I loved the story’s message about the meaningfulness — or unmeaningfulness — of life’s tragedies.

By Dwyer Murphy,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked An Honest Living as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Brooklyn, mid-2000s. After leaving behind the comforts of a prestigious law firm, a restless attorney attempts to make ends meet by picking up odd jobs from a colourful assortment of clients. When the mysterious Anna Reddick turns up at his apartment with ten thousand dollars in cash and asks him to track down her missing husband, he trusts it will be an easy case. That is until the real Anna Reddick shows up - a magnetic but unpredictable literary prodigy - and he finds himself out of his depth and drawn into a series of deceptions involving Joseph Conrad novels,…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

R. A. Sinn Why did I love this book?

I loved Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow first and foremost because it's a profound meditation on creative collaboration and its unblinking emotional exploration of how coauthorship is strengthened and challenged when your collaborator is also your family. 

It's also a loving critique of the technology industry and a fascinating examination of how the human urge to tell stories is reinvented through the power of networked computing.

By Gabrielle Zevin,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

* AMAZON'S #1 BOOK OF 2022 *

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow takes us on a dazzling imaginative quest, examining identity, creativity and our need to connect.

This is not a romance, but it is about love.

'I just love this book and I hope you love it too' JOHN GREEN, TikTok

Sam and Sadie meet in a hospital in 1987. Sadie is visiting her sister, Sam is recovering from a car crash. The days and months are long there, but playing together brings joy, escape, fierce competition -- and a special friendship. Then all too soon that time is…


Plus, check out my book…

A Second Chance for Yesterday

By R. A. Sinn,

Book cover of A Second Chance for Yesterday

What is my book about?

A Second Chance for Yesterday is a time-twisting story of family, redemption, and queer love created by historian and futurist sibling authors Rachel Hope Cleves and Aram Sinnreich.

Nev Bourne is a hotshot programmer for the latest tech invention: SavePoint, the brain implant that rewinds the seconds of our most embarrassing moments. When she begins the test run for SavePoint 2.0, she wakes up the next day only to discover that she's falling backward in time.

As things spiral out of control, a long-lost friend reappears in her life, claiming they know how to save her. A friendship born of fear becomes a bond of deepest trust and possibly love. With time running out and SavePoint users at stake, Nev must learn what it will take to set things right.