A List of “Best Books of 2023” Lists
Book lovers, prepare to find a wealth of book recommendations via this list (with links) of lots of “Best Books of 2023” lists from a variety of sources. The lists come from libraries, news organizations, blogs, bookish companies, nonprofits, podcasts, Substack newsletters, and BookTube videos.
This is a long list of lists, so you may want to scroll through the entire post quickly first before deciding which of the “best of” lists you want to spend your time perusing.
You also may want to get out a notebook or open whichever app you use to keep track of your To Be Read (TBR) list and prepare to find some wonderful reading recommendations.
The lists that are listed below are largely ones that focus on books that were published in 2023 (although books published in earlier years do creep into some of the lists here and there). There are many great “Best Books Read in 2023” lists that are not included in this post.
BookTube video lists are interspersed between sections.
If you are a Bookishly Delightful subscriber reading this post in an email, click on the option at the bottom of the email that allows you to download the entire message, as this list of lists is too long to fit in a standard-sized email. Alternatively, you can read this post on the website or within the Substack app.
The “Bookishly Delightful’s Best Books of 2023” list (which was significantly enhanced thanks to recommendations from the below lists) can be found in an earlier post.
Now on to the list of lists …
“Best Books of 2023” lists by bookish companies
Amazon: “Best Books of 2023”
Audible: “The Best of 2023”
Barnes and Noble:
Goodreads: “Goodreads Choice Awards 2023”
Indigo: “Top 100 Best Books of the Year”
Libro.fm: “Libro.fm’s Top 10 Audiobooks of 2023”
NetGalley’s We Are Bookish:
Penguin Random House: “The Must-Read Books of 2023”
Powell’s Books:
Rakuten Kobo: “The best books of 2023”
Waterstones:
“Best Books of 2023” lists by libraries, nonprofits, and schools
If you don’t see your own local library listed in this section, you may be able to find your library’s list (if it has one) on your library’s website. And some libraries put “Best Books of the Year” lists on their home pages in the Libby app.
Bank Street College of Education: “The Best Children’s Books of the Year 2023 Edition”
Capital Area District Library: “Best Books of 2023”
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh: “Best Books for Babies 2023”
Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature: “CSMCL Best Books of 2023”
Chicago Public Library: “CPL Best of the Best Books 2023”
Evanston Public Library:
Hamilton East Public Library: “BEST BOOKS OF 2023”
King County Library System: “Best Books of 2023”
Mid-Continent Public Library: “MCPL’s Best Books of 2023”
National Science Teaching Association: “Best STEM Books K–12:
New York Public Library: “Best Books” for 2023
San Diego County Library: “Top Books of 2023”
San Francisco Public Library: “Best Books of 2023 So Far”
Santa Clara County Library District: “The Best Books of 2023”
Washington Centreville Public Library: “Most Popular Books of 2023”
“Best Books of 2023” lists by news organizations and blogs
Most of the following lists are available to everyone. However, some of them are only available to paid publication subscribers or to people who sign in on those websites. If you aren’t a subscriber and don’t want to become one, or if you don’t want to provide those organizations with your private information, just skip those lists and move on.
American Indians in Children’s Literature: “AICL's Year In Review for 2023”
Audiofile: “AudioFile's Best Audiobooks of 2023”
Booklist:
BookPage:
Book Riot:
Brightly:
BuzzFeed: “15 Romance Novels That Bewitched Me, Body And Soul This Year”
CBC:
Country Living: “The Books Our Editors Loved Most in 2023”
Crime Reads:
Dezeen: “Dezeen's top 10 architecture and design books of 2023”
Electric Lit: “Electric Lit’s Best Short Story Collections of 2023”
ELLE: “ELLE Editors Share the New Books They Loved Best In 2023”
Esquire: “The 20 Best Books of 2023”
Fast Company: “The best design books of 2023”
Five Books:
“Notable Psychology and Self-Help Books of 2023, recommended by Cal Flyn”
“The Best Art Books of 2023, recommended by Francesca Ramsay”
“The Best China Books of 2023, recommended by Jeffrey Wasserstrom”
“The Best Crime Novels of 2023, recommended by Sophie Roell”
“The Best Novels of 2023: The Booker Prize Shortlist, recommended by Cal Flyn”
“The Best Philosophy Books of 2023, recommended by Nigel Warburton”
“The Best Romance Books of 2023, recommended by Katherine D. Morgan”
“The Best Science Books of 2023: The Royal Society Book Prize, recommended by Rebecca Henry”
“The Best Spy Thrillers of 2023, recommended by Shane Whaley”
Flood Magazine: “The Best Music Books of 2023”
Food & Wine:
Forbes:
Game Rant: “Best Selling Manga Of 2023, Ranked”
GamesRadar+: “The top 10 manga of 2023”
Geographical: “The best books of 2023”
Glamour: “The Best Books of 2023, According to Glamour Staff”
Greater Good Magazine:
Harper’s Bazaar: “The 45 Best New Books of 2023 You Won’t Put Down”
Irish Star: “Ireland's best children's books of 2023 - including award-winning, inspirational tales”
Kirkus Reviews:
Library Journal:
Literary Hub:
Los Angeles Times:
Marie Claire: “The 15 Best Books of 2023, as Chosen by 'Marie Claire' Editors”
Men’s Journal: “The 25 Best Books of 2023 Are Just Right for Thrill-Seekers and Go-Getters”
Modern Mrs. Darcy:
Mombian:
Mpls.St.Paul Magazine: “Essential Minnesota Books to Read from 2023”
NBC News: “From ‘Blackouts’ to ‘Page Boy,’ the best LGBTQ books of 2023”
NPR:
Oprah Daily: “The Best Books of 2023”
Ozaku: “Okazu Top Yuri Series of 2023” (Girl Love Japanese manga)
Paste:
People: “PEOPLE Picks the Top 10 Books of 2023 — from Prince Harry's Spare to Barbra Streisand's Memoir”
PBS: “Here’s a dozen books from 2023 you should read, critics say”
Polygon:
Publishers Weekly:
Quill & Quire:
Real Simple: “These Are the 60 Best Books of 2023—According to Real Simple Editors”
Rolling Stone: “The Best Music Books of 2023”
San Antonio Current: “10 notable 2023 books from Texas authors”
Santa Barbara Independent: “The 10 Best Books of 2023, From California Review of Books”
San Francisco Chronicle: “The Chronicle’s favorite fiction and nonfiction books of 2023”
School Library Journal:
“31 Days, 31 Lists: 2023 Easy Books and Early Chapter books”
“31 Days, 31 Books: 2023 Fabulous Photography in Kids Books”
“31 Days, 31 Lists: 2023 Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, and Religious Tales”
“31 Days, 31 Lists: 2023 Nonfiction Books for Older Readers”
“31 Days, 31 Lists: 2023 Transcendent Holiday Picture Books“
Science Friday: “SciFri Picks: 2023 Science Books”
Scientific American: “55 Books Scientific American Recommends in 2023”
Screen Rant:
Slate:
“The 10 Best Books of 2023” by Dan Kois
“The 10 Best Books of 2023” by Laura Miller
Smithsonian Magazine: “THE BEST BOOKS OF 2023”
Stanford Social Innovation Review: “SSIR’s 2023 Social Innovation Reading List”
The Art Newspaper: “The top art books of 2023—chosen by The Art Newspaper’s book team”
The Atlantic: “THE ATLANTIC 10: THE BOOKS THAT MADE US THINK THE MOST THIS YEAR”
The Beat:
The Conversation: “Best books of 2023: our experts share the books that have stayed with them”
The Harvard Crimson: “Top 10 Books of 2023: The Crimson Arts Board presents its favorite books of 2023, from ‘The Shards’ to ‘The Chalice of the Gods.’”
The Globe and Mail: “The Globe 100: The best books of 2023”
The Guardian:
The Horn Book, Inc.: “Fanfare 2023 Annotations” (children’s books)
The Independent:
The New Yorker: “THE BEST BOOKS OF 2023”
The New York Times:
The Orange County Register: “25 must-read books published in 2023 by independent presses”
The Quill to Live: “The Best Of 2023” (science fiction and fantasy)
The Sydney Morning Herald: “Best reads of the year: The books that writers loved in 2023”
The Telegraph:
The Wall Street Journal: “A Year in Reading: Our Favorite Books of 2023”
The Washington Post:
TIME:
TODAY: “42 standout books from 2023, from romances to wrenching historical novels”
Tor.com: “Tor.com Reviewers’ Choice: The Best Books of 2023”
Toronto Star:
Tucson.com: “The 10 best books of 2023 by Southern Arizona authors”
USA Today: “What was the best book you read in 2023? Here are USA TODAY's favorites”
Vanity Fair: “Our 20 Favorite Books of 2023”
Variety:
Vogue: “The Best Books of 2023”
Vox: “The very best books of 2023”
Vulture:
Wired:
World Architecture: “WAC's Top 10 Architecture Books Of 2023”
Yale Climate Connections: “12 climate change books to give friends and family over the holidays”
“Best Books of 2023” lists by podcasts
Links below are to podcast episodes on the Apple Podcast app. If you use a different podcast listening app, just search for the episode names within that app instead of using the below links.
All the Books!:
Audiofile Behind the Mic:
“Adenrele Ojo Interview: Best Mystery & Suspense Audiobooks 2023”
“Daniel Hemmingway Interview: Best Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Audiobooks 2023”
“David Henning Interview: Best SciFi, Fantasy & Horror Audiobooks 2023”
“Dion Graham Interview: Best Biography & Memoir Audiobooks 2023”
“Grover Gardner Interview: Best Nonfiction & History Audiobooks 2023”
“Guy Lockard Interview: Best Children & Family Listening 2023”
First Edition: “The It Books of the Year” via
andFrom the Front Porch:
NPR’s Book of the Day: “Discover your next great read with NPR’s Books We Love”
Pop Culture Happy Hour:
Professional Book Nerds: “PBN’s Best Books of 2023”
Reading Glasses: “Ep 338 - Best Books of 2023!”
Reading Through Life: “117: Best Books of 2023 Superlatives” via
andSarah’s Bookshelves Live:
SFF Yeah!: “The Best of 2023 (and 2022)” via
The Book Review by The New York Times:
The Stacks: “Ep. 298: The Best Books of 2023 with MJ Franklin and Adam Vitcavage”
What Should I Read Next?: “Ep 412: Anne’s Best Books of 2023”
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:“Best Books of 2023” lists by Substack newsletters
While many of the following Substack newsletter posts are free for anyone to access, some have paywalls. If you click on a link below and hit a paywall and aren’t already a paid subscriber to that newsletter and don’t want to become one, just skip that list and move on to another.
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This is my go-to list! Amazingly organized!
Wow! Anytime I think I don't have anything to read, I'm going to come back to this extensive list.