The 10 Best Books I Read in 2023 and some Honorable Mentions 

“Fine Balance” broke me! And “Timeshelter” ❤❤❤ The first Bulgarian book ever nominated and it did win the International Booker!!! The author is from my home town ❣️

Great list! I have a few of them on my shelves - always good motivation to get to them when someone sings their praises☺️ My top 3: ** The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff (nothing happens but EVERYTHING happens - so incredible and it sticks with me) ** The Ex-Wife by Ursula Parrot (if you love Great Gatsby, this is even better. 1920s NYC. This author invented the term "ex-wife." Such a great romp!) ** The Wall by Marlene Haushofer (similar vibes to Vaster Wilds because of the survival theme but more about philosophical ideas; what does it mean to be a woman, a wife, a mother when you're the only human around?)

I'm currently reading Howl's Moving Castle, and I am absolutely loving it. For my top three books of the year for 2023 I would have to say The End and Other Beginnings (Veronica Roth), We Are All the Same in the Dark (Julia Heaberlin), and Circe (Madeline Miller).

Wow what a great list! Plenty of variety ❤

I'm super interested in In Ascension! I've never heard of Elsewhere. Loved your list!

Great list I will be checking out elsewhere and in my dreams!

Top 3: . The Case Against Satan by Ray Russell . Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata . Persuasion by Jane Austen Although I loved: . Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti . Shirley Jackson! I read all six novels. Favorites in order: Castle, Hangsaman, Sundial . Discovering Claire Keegan. Especially Foster.

Loved your video and recommendations❤❤❤ The Tsar of love and techno by Anthony marra was one of my favorites and I can’t possibly recommend this book enough to people… and I really think you would actually enjoy it a lot

Love the video!!✨️ My top 3 books for 2023 are Honeybees and Distant Thunder Stories of Your life and others Babel

My top 3 reads for 2023 were Hello Beautiful, Study for Obedience and The Bee Sting. I am curious to check out some of your favorites - thanks for an enjoyable video! An honorable mention for me is Notes On An Execution. And I LOVE Bird by Bird - that is one worth keeping and re-reading every so often 💙

Im excited to see you getting interested in fantasy again! We have remarkably similar taste, so I feel semi-qualified to give some more recommendations (7 of the books in your all time favorite video were also books I consider favorites or loved, and the rest were books I haven’t read lol) 1. Piranesi - if you take nothing else from this list, this is the book you should read, and I think it’s best experienced knowing as little as possible. What I’ll say is that it takes place in an infinite house and is told through the journal entries if a character who is trying to log the rooms and statues in the house. 2. The Broken Earth Trilogy - semi-literary series that deals with systematic oppression through a group of people who can manipulate the earth by basically redirecting its heat and energy. Takes place in a world where every few hundred years a “fifth season” occurs which is basically some kind of monumental natural disaster that kills a bunch of people. Also, naturally, deals with environmental issues. 3. Spinning Silver - recent read for me. Extremely beautiful, atmospheric, wintery, standalone, Rupelstiltskin retelling. Very unique writing style that uses the kind of detached tone of a fairy tale while also being in first person and managing to really connect to the characters. Also deals with antisemitism and the kinds of power that women can gain when they’re seen essentially as pawns for marriage negotiations. Bonus: the three I mentioned above are more on the literary side of fantasy, but if you want more pure, just well-plotted fantasy with really cool magic, Mistborn is a good place to start. The first book is framed like an elaborate heist which got me very hooked into the series.

Great list! I really want to read In Ascension. Not sure why I didn’t get to it in 2023. Black Butterflies was an honorable mention for me as well. Same for The Bandit Queens. I had such a fantastic reading year it was difficult making my 10 best of list. Anyway. My top 10 of 2023 (no particular order except the top 2): In Memoriam by Alice Winn Tom Lake by Ann Pachett I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver North Woods by Daniel Mason Trespasses by Louise Kennedy The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng Zorrie by Laird Hunt Devotion by Hannah Kent The Unseen by Roy Jacobsen

Love the list and the variety! I read a fine balance when I was 17 or 18 and I remember there was a bit about burning villages and I woke up in the night so scared. I'd love to re-read it now. I can't get Elsewhere in the UK! My top 3 was bridge of clay by Markus Zusak, a place for us by fatima farheen mirza and yerba buena by Nina lacour. .

I couldn't rank my top ten this year. I read a lot of good books but I struggled to pick stand outs for a top ten.

I made a list of 24 books I wanted to read in 2024. However , reading all the favourites videos has pushed that list to 47. My best books of 2023 The New Life by Tom Crewe The Unseen World by Liz Moore The Road to Dalton by Shannon Bowing The Bee Sting by Paul Murray The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur All The Little Bird Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd Barlow All That’s Left Unsaid by Tracey Chein Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride We Are Called To Rise by Laura McBride The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright Prophets Song by Paul Lynch ( audio advised) Crow Lake by Mary Lawson Kala by Colin Walsh March by Geraldine Brooks The Blackwater Lightship by Colm Toibin Number one was Deluge by Stephen Markley 🍀👋☘️🇮🇪📕☕️📖📚🤗💐