Author Pagan Tree-hugger Poet Geek Bibliophile
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.

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My favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of A Rival Most Vial

Rebecca Buchanan Why did I love this book?

A Rival Most Vial transported me to another world.

I lost myself in the civilization created by Ashwick. Yes, this is a world of magic where a flick of a wand can create impossible wonders. But it is also a world of love, friendship, betrayal, and forgiveness. It is both strange and oh-so-familiar.

I fell in love with the characters and rooted for them all the way to their happy ending.

My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Writing Metrical Poetry: Contemporary Lessons for Mastering Traditional Forms

Rebecca Buchanan Why did I love this book?

Of all of the poetry how-to manuals that I have read over the years, Writing Metrical Poetry proved the most insightful and practically useful.

I came late to my love of poetry, and writing it proved more difficult than writing prose. Traditional forms, such as sonnets, were especially intimidating. The exercises started at the most basic forms and grew gradually more complex, allowing me to practice at my own pace. I find myself going back to it again and again.

By William Baer,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Writing Metrical Poetry as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Write poetry in the great metrical tradition of Dante, Shakespeare, Dickinson, Frost, and the poets of the current Formalist revival

&break;&break;In this contemporary guide, you'll learn how to write metrical poetry in all the major forms, from blank verse and quatrains to sonnets and villanelles. Each chapter provides step-by-step instruction that's accessible and easy to understand for even the most beginning poet.

&break;&break;This book includes unique features difficult to find anywhere else:

&break; Essential but non-intimidating instruction on meter and rhyme&break; Focused assignments detailing how to make your first attempt at a specific form&break; Illuminating discussions on pop culture, figures…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of The Gunderson Case Files: Volume One

Rebecca Buchanan Why did I love this book?

The Gunderson Case Files is a wild ride. Ward definitely took a “kitchen sink and everything” approach; there are kaiju, ancient sorceresses, spies, and aliens. Basically, every pulp 1950s movie trope is all thrown together. And I loved that.

This is not a world I would want to live in — no kaiju for me, thank you — but I had a lot of fun visiting. And I really hope to visit again.

By Blaze Ward,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Gunderson Case Files as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Gunderson, P.I.

A tough man in a tough town. He likes Ike, but not many other folks.

Los Angeles hides some weird and menacing things in her shadows. If you have the need, and can pay his daily rate plus expenses, maybe you can hire the man, for whatever strange things need handling, from hunters of forgotten gods to aliens that walk the streets in disguise.

The money from strangers spends just as well as yours, and Gunderson can be on the case. Not everything that goes bump in the night is dangerous. At least, not as dangerous as Gunderson.…


Plus, check out my book…

Geek Witch and the Treacherous Tome of Deadly Danger

By Rebecca Buchanan,

Book cover of Geek Witch and the Treacherous Tome of Deadly Danger

What is my book about?

Ermentrude Wainwright is the Geek Witch, owner and proprietor of the best game and comic shop in town. 

When a cursed - and very illegal - game guide falls into her hands, Ermentrude finds herself the target of a federal investigation... and a very determined thief. Can Ermentrude keep the cursed game guide safe and stop the thief before it's too late? Or will another city fall to its malefic magic?

Geek Witch and the Treacherous Tome of Deadly Danger is a 14,000-word novelette. It is a humorous urban fantasy starring a middle-aged protagonist, geeks who play with enchanted dice, and a jar of magical blackberry jam.