Here’s my annual list of my ten favorite books read for the first time in the year. As always, this is merely the best books I read this year for the first time and not necessarily books published in 2023. For previous years see 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006. You may also want to check out My Favorite Books of All Time or see Every Book I’ve Ever Read cataloged in Library Thing. Books published in 2023 are in bold.
- Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden
- In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick
- Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
- Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
- Charity and Sylvia by Rachel Hope Cleves
- The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson
- The Enigma Game by Elizabeth Wein
- All the Beauty in the World by Patrick Bringley
- The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
- Love by Roddy Doyle
Complete List of Books Read in 2023
The books are rated on a scale from 1 to 5 stars with links to summary reviews. (A) is for audiobook.
Here’s a thumbnail of what the ratings mean:
- 5 stars – all-time classic (I’m very stingy with these)
- 4 stars – a particularly interesting, well-written, or important book
- 3 stars – a good book from start to finish
- 2 stars – not a good book on the whole but has some good parts
- 1 star or less – basically a bad book with no redeeming values
January
- The Number Ones by Tom Breihan – ***1/2
- Land of Love and Drowning by Tiphani Yanique – **1/2
- How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn (A) – ***
- Black Water Sister by Zen Cho (A) – ****
- Death Is Hard Work by Khaled Khalifa (A) – ***
- Cosmos by Carl Sagan – ****
February
- Star Wars: The High Republic: Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule (A) – ***1/2
- Star Wars: The High Republic: The Rising Storm by Cavan Scott (A) – ***
- She Would be King by Wayetu Moore – ***
March
- Star Wars: The High Republic: The Fallen Star by Claudia Gray (A) – ***1/2
- Always Look on the Bright Side of Life by Eric Idle (A) – **1/2
- It’s OK to be Angry About Capitalism by Bernie Sanders and John Nichols (A) – ***1/2
April
- Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil Degrasse Tyson (A) – ***
- Boom! by Mark Haddon (A) – ***
- Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason (A) – ***
May
- Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury (A) – ****
- Breadfruit by by Célestine Vaite – ***1/2
- Terry Pratchett: The BBC Radio Drama Collection by Terry Pratchett (A) – ***1/2
- Heir to the Jedi by Kevin Hearne – ***
- The Discworld Graphic Novels: The Colour of Magic & The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett – ****
- Cat Sense by John Bradshaw – ***1/2
June
- The Reactionary Mind by Corey Robin (A) – ***1/2
- They Want to Kill Americans: The Militias, Terrorists, and Deranged Ideology of the Trump Insurgency by Malcolm Nance (A) – ***
- The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill (A) – ***
- Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden (A) – ****
- Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (A) – ****
July
- New England Tiki by Kevin Quigley – ***1/2
- Bet On It by Jodie Slaughter (A) – ***1/2
- Intimations: Six Essays by Zadie Smith (A) – ****
- The Lioness of Boston by Emily Franklin – ***1/2
- In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick – ****
- Chlorine by Jade Song (A) – ***
August
- The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher by E.M. Anderson – ***
- Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe – ****
- Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff (A) – ****
- Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (A) – ****
- Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse (A) – **1/2
- Charity and Sylvia by Rachel Hope Cleves – ****
September
- The King’s Best Highway: The Lost History of the Boston Post Road, the Route That Made America by Eric Jaffe – ****
- For All Time by Shanna Miles (A) – ***
- Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond (A) – ***
- A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan (A) – ***
- Fuzz by Mary Roach – **1/2
- The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson – ****
- Days Without End by Sebastian Barry (A) – ***1/2
October
- The Grandest Stage by Tyler Kepner – ***
- Little Weirds by Jenny Slate (A) – **1/2
Urban Exodus: Why the Jews Left Boston and the Catholics Stayed by Gerald Gamm- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving – ****
- The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite – ***1/2
- The Enigma Game by Elizabeth Wein – ****
- Stateless by Elizabeth Wein (A) – ***1/2
- Making it So by Patrick Stewart (A) – ****
November
- Human Errors by Nathan H. Lents – ***
- Star Trek: Year Five: Odyssey’s End Book 1 by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Brandon Easton, Jody Houser – ***1/2
- All the Beauty in the World by Patrick Bringley (A) – ****
- The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett (A) – ****
- The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in A Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente – ****
- Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (A) – ****
- The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green (A) – ****
- Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher (A) – ***1/2
- Love by Roddy Doyle (A) – ****1/2
December
- Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever by Matt Singer (A) – ***1/2
- Matrix by Lauren Groff (A) – ***
- Black Lives, Native Lands, White Worlds : A History of Slavery in New England by Jared Hardestry – ****
- Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (A) – ***
- The Magic Maker by Susan Cooper – ****
- The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis (A) – ***1/2
Panorama of the Mountains 