Presenting the 2023 Commonly-Agreed-by-the-People-Who-Publish-Best-of-2023-Book-Lists-Before-December-31 top 55 books.
(This is my annual community service to book-bloggers – a list of the books that appear most frequently on the 49 lists that I listed on Best Books of 2023 – A List of Lists – enjoy!).
Books that made six lists –
Big Swiss by Jen Beagin
The Rediscovery of America by Ned Blackhawk
The Art Thief by Michael Finkel
Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane
August Blue by Deborah Levy
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
Vengeance Is Mine by Marie Ndiaye
Same Bed Different Dreams by Ed Park
The Best Minds by Jonathan Rosen
Ordinary Notes by Christina Sharpe
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
Master Slave Husband Wife by Ilyon Woo
Books that made seven lists –
Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry
Tremor by Teju Cole
Day by Michael Cunningham
Monsters by Claire Dederer
Wifedom by Anna Funder
This Other Eden by Paul Harding
Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson
Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor
Doppelganger by Naomi Klein
Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
The Maniac by Benjamín Labatut
I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home by Lorrie Moore
The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue
Fire Weather by John Vaillant
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Books that made eight lists –
Poverty by America by Matthew Desmond
Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead
Books that made nine lists –
All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby
Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez
My Name is Barbra by Barbra Streisand
Books that made ten lists –
The Wren, the Wren by Anne Enright
I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai
North Woods by Daniel Mason
How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair
Blackouts by Justin Torres
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
Books that made 11 lists –
King: A Life by Jonathan Eig
The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff
Lone Women by Victor LaValle
Absolution by Alice McDermott
Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang
Books that made 12 or 13 lists –
The Guest by Emma Cline
The Wager by David Grann
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
Hello Beautiful by Anna Napolitano
Books that made 15 lists –
Biography of X by Catherine Lacey
Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward
The book that made 17, 18, 19 lists –
Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
The Fraud by Zadie Smith
Yellowface by R. F. Kuang
The book that made 20 lists –
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
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I’ve read six (Beagin, Sittenfeld, Funder, Jackson, Patchett and Kuang); DNF one (Smith); have another three in the TBR stack (Murray, O’Donoghue and Enright) and I am busting to read another four (Levy, Cunningham, Klein and McDermott). Will I read the ‘winner’? I’m not sure… probably not! (It doesn’t appeal to me at all).
Do you agree with the critics – will any of these titles make your ‘Best of 2023’ list?
I’m sorry, I’m going to sound like a Christmas Grinch, but considering the variety of sources you used, it’s depressing to see how few Australian books made it…
I absolutely agree with you Lisa. Same every year – dominated by US authors with a smattering of big UK names and the occasional Australian ‘bestseller’).
It’s understandable with international sites, but disheartening for the Australian book community when our own people pay so little attention to Australian books, and don’t take the opportunity to spruik their fellow authors, especially in a year like this one when there have been so many outstanding books.
Oh well…
Interesting. Birnam Wood was in my Top 5 and I plan to read Biography of X over Christmas. Chain Gang All Stars had been on my radar, but I hadn’t realised it was so well received.
Firstly, I am not convinced that the publishing world is interested in “best” books. Many are hyped, but few are (necessarily) worth it!
Secondly, Australian books. I am Scottish but read a few Australian book blogs and am constantly amazed at the diversity and quality of Australian writers…..BUT…..they are not pushed, hyped, widely known here, for, I am sure a variety of reasons, but one of which is that they come out here a year after they do in Australia. I can’t help feeling that has a dampening effect somehow.
Also, they don’t seem to have the profile here that other writers do. They fly under the radar. Quite rightly other groups have been highlighted in recent years, black writers, female black writers, translated fiction is on the rise, women in translation, etc etc Australian fiction as a thing….no, not so much.
I created a similar list to this one and wanted to include Australian titles and all the sites I visited were behind paywalls so they weren’t really represented on my list. Sigh. Check out my list. Link is in my comment below.
I created a similar list to this one but was not able to access most Australian sources. They were behind paywalls. Sigh. Check out my list. Link is in the comments below.
I created a similar list this year. Top 20 novels of the year. My results didn’t include nonfiction titles but our top 12 matched up, though not in the same order even though I was dealing with a smaller sample. Check out my list here Thanks for doing this. I look forward to it every year.
Of your top 12, I’ve read 5. Of those I liked The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store the best.
I don’t have any reading plans with regards to contemporary US fiction, though the library will probably buy both Patchett and Catton, and I may even listen to them, though it’s not likely. Am inclined though to give your #1 a try – Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
I’ve read an entire two on the list (both Irish) but not surprising given I don’t read contemporary American literature. I haven’t even heard of most of these books 🤷🏻♀️ but strangely don’t feel like I am missing out.
I am always amazed by you doing this!
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