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 Among the Missing: Stories

Tara Gilboy Why did I love this book?

Dan Chaon is one of my favorite short story writers of all time. Every time I read his work, it makes me want to be a better writer. Each story in this collection reads quickly, so it’s great for squeezing some reading time in throughout your day.

It left me feeling like I got to take a peek into the lives of the people I pass each day on the street: his characters are authentic, a combination of good and bad, with all their quirks and insecurities. The book is full of emotion and yet extremely funny all at the same time.

I went back and read many of the stories several times.

By Dan Chaon,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Among the Missing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this haunting, bracing new collection, Dan Chaon shares stories of men, women, and children who live far outside the American Dream, while wondering which decision, which path, or which accident brought them to this place. Chaon mines the psychological landscape of his characters to dazzling effect. Each story radiates with sharp humor, mystery, wonder, and startling compassion. Among the Missing lingers in the mind through its subtle grace and power of language.


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My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

Tara Gilboy Why did I love this book?

This is one of my favorite books on writing, and I re-read it this summer when I needed some inspiration to give me the kick in the pants I needed to finish a project I was working on. 

I feel like Lamott writes down all the things the rest of us are too afraid to say. She addresses things like self-doubt, procrastination, fear, and jealousy with such honesty and humor that it had me laughing out loud.

On top of this, she gives such wonderful advice on writing (giving yourself permission to write crummy first drafts is my favorite) that always inspires me to get my butt in the chair and pick up my pen.

By Anne Lamott,

Why should I read it?

18 authors picked Bird by Bird as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An essential volume for generations of writers young and old. The twenty-fifth anniversary edition of this modern classic will continue to spark creative minds for years to come. Anne Lamott is "a warm, generous, and hilarious guide through the writer’s world and its treacherous swamps" (Los Angeles Times). 

“Superb writing advice…. Hilarious, helpful, and provocative.” —The New York Times Book Review

For a quarter century, more than a million readers—scribes and scribblers of all ages and abilities—have been inspired by Anne Lamott’s hilarious, big-hearted, homespun advice. Advice that begins with the simple words of wisdom…


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My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Camp Scare

Tara Gilboy Why did I love this book?

I loved this middle-grade novel because it reminded me of all the scary stories I binge-read as a kid growing up in the 80s and 90s. There’s a summer camp with a dark secret, mean girls, and a possible ghost.

This book is very fun and left me feeling so nostalgic. I also related a lot to the protagonist, who, as a young girl, tries so hard to make friends but has such trouble with it. 

This book inspired me to start working on a ghost story of my own!

By Delilah S. Dawson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Camp Scare as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 10, 11, 12, and 13.

What is this book about?

An eerie, twisty ghost story about twelve-year-old Parker, who only wanted a summer of fun and new friendship, and the nightmare she finds instead.

Don't forget your flashlight. . . .

Parker Nelson can’t wait for summer camp. She’ll have fun and make amazing memories, far away from the bullies who made seventh grade unbearable.

But then something terrible happens: The mean girl who made life a living nightmare is in Parker’s cabin. Soon all the other girls turn on Parker, too—no one wants to be her friend. Except Jenny.

Jenny’s the only one who is willing to listen. The…


Don‘t forget about my book 😀

Unwritten

By Tara Gilboy,

Book cover of Unwritten

What is my book about?

Twelve-year-old Gracie Freeman is living a normal life, but she is haunted by the fact that she is actually a character from a story, an unpublished fairy tale she's never read.

When she was a baby, her parents learned that she was supposed to die in the story, and with the help of a magic book, they took her out of the story and into the outside world, where she could be safe. But Gracie longs to know what the story says about her.

Despite her mother's warnings, Gracie seeks out the story's author, setting in motion a chain of events that draw herself, her mother, and other former storybook characters back into the forgotten tale.