The 25 best books of 2023
The 25 highest-ranked books first published in 2023 in our ranking of 2,816, scored on how much readers love them, their prize, best-list and bestseller record, and current buzz. We rank 84 books of 2023 in all. How we rank
- 1
Fourth Wing93.8Must-Read ScoreFourth Wing
Violet Sorrengail was meant for the quiet life of a scribe, until her mother, the commanding general, orders her into Basgiath War College to train as a dragon rider.
Why it made the listGoodreads Choice (romantasy) winner (2025, for Onyx Storm)#1 New York Times bestseller (14 weeks at #1)One of the ten best-selling books of 2023, 2024 and 2025 (Publishers Weekly) - 2
King: A Life90.2Must-Read ScoreKing: A Life
The first major biography of Martin Luther King Jr.
Why it made the listPulitzer Prize (Biography) winner (2024)NBCC Award (Biography) finalist (2023)Goodreads Choice (history biography) finalist (2023) - 3
Fire Weather: A True Story From a Hotter World85.9Must-Read ScoreFire Weather: A True Story From a Hotter World
In May 2016, a wildfire swept into Fort McMurray, the heart of Canada's oil industry, and in a single afternoon drove 88,000 people from their homes while melting cars and leveling neighborhoods.
Why it made the listBaillie Gifford Prize winner (2023)Pulitzer Prize (General Nonfiction) finalist (2024)National Book Award (Nonfiction) finalist (2023) - 4
A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy84.4Must-Read ScoreA Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy
In 2012, a school bus carrying Palestinian kindergartners on a field trip near Jerusalem collided with a truck and caught fire.
Why it made the listPulitzer Prize (General Nonfiction) winner (2024) - 5
Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity83.8Must-Read ScoreOutlive: The Science and Art of Longevity
Peter Attia, a physician, argues that medicine waits too long to treat the diseases that kill most people: heart disease, cancer, dementia and metabolic illness.
Why it made the list#1 New York Times bestseller (6 weeks at #1)142 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2023Goodreads Choice (nonfiction) finalist (2023) - 6
The Frozen River83.3Must-Read ScoreThe Frozen River
Maine, 1789.
Why it made the list31 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2024Goodreads Choice (historical fiction) finalist (2024) - 7
How to Say Babylon: A Memoir81.8Must-Read ScoreHow to Say Babylon: A Memoir
Safiya Sinclair grew up in Jamaica as the eldest daughter of a reggae musician who became a strict Rastafarian.
Why it made the listNBCC Award (Memoir) winner (2023)Goodreads Choice (memoir autobiography) finalist (2023) - 8
The Will of the Many81.8Must-Read ScoreThe Will of the Many
In the Catenan Republic, a society modeled on ancient Rome, everyone is expected to cede their Will, part of their life energy, to those above them in a vast pyramid, powering the elite.
Why it made the listGoodreads Choice (fantasy) finalist (2023)Goodreads Choice (fantasy) finalist (2025, for The Strength of the Few) - 9
The Housemaid's Secret81.5Must-Read ScoreThe Housemaid's Secret
"Don't go in the guest bedroom," Douglas Garrick warns as he shows Millie around his luxurious penthouse.
Why it made the listGoodreads Choice (mystery thriller) winner (2023)82 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2024 - 10
The Covenant of Water80.9Must-Read ScoreThe Covenant of Water
In 1900, in Kerala, in southern India, a twelve-year-old girl is married to a forty-year-old widower she has never met.
Why it made the list48 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2023Goodreads Choice (historical fiction) finalist (2023) - 11
Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning80.7Must-Read ScoreOath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning
Liz Cheney was the third-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives when Donald Trump and his allies tried to overturn the 2020 election.
Why it made the list#1 New York Times bestseller (3 weeks at #1)17 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2023Goodreads Choice (memoir autobiography) finalist (2024) - 12
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder80.6Must-Read ScoreThe Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
In 1740, HMS Wager, a British warship, set out with a squadron on a secret mission against Spain.
Why it made the listGoodreads Choice (history biography) winner (2023)#1 New York Times bestseller (7 weeks at #1)91 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2023 - 13
Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives80.4Must-Read ScoreCobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives
Almost every smartphone, laptop and electric car battery contains cobalt, and most of the world's cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Why it made the listPulitzer Prize (General Nonfiction) finalist (2024)Goodreads Choice (nonfiction) finalist (2023) - 14
The Last Devil to Die80.3Must-Read ScoreThe Last Devil to Die
It's rarely a quiet day for the Thursday Murder Club.
Why it made the list#1 New York Times bestseller (1 week at #1)Goodreads Choice (mystery thriller) finalist (2023) - 15
Elon Musk80.0Must-Read ScoreElon Musk
Walter Isaacson shadowed Elon Musk for two years, sitting in on meetings and interviewing his family, friends and enemies.
Why it made the list#1 New York Times bestseller (1 week at #1)59 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2023Goodreads Choice (history biography) finalist (2023) - 16
Funny Story79.0Must-Read ScoreFunny Story
Daphne, a children's librarian, moved to her fiancé Peter's lakeside hometown in Michigan to start their life together.
Why it made the listGoodreads Choice (romance) winner (2024)#1 New York Times bestseller (1 week at #1)28 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2024 - 17
Divine Rivals79.0Must-Read ScoreDivine Rivals
After centuries of sleep, the gods are at war again.
Why it made the list104 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2023 - 18
Poverty, by America78.5Must-Read ScorePoverty, by America
The United States is the richest country on earth and has more poverty than any other advanced democracy.
Why it made the listGoodreads Choice (nonfiction) winner (2023)#1 New York Times bestseller (1 week at #1)29 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2023 - 19
The Running Grave78.5Must-Read ScoreThe Running Grave
Private detective Cormoran Strike is hired by a worried father whose son, Will, has joined the Universal Humanitarian Church, a seemingly peaceful religious group in the Norfolk countryside.
Why it made the list#1 New York Times bestseller (1 week at #1) - 2078.4Must-Read Score
Brotherless Night - 21
Tress of the Emerald Sea77.6Must-Read ScoreTress of the Emerald Sea
Tress lives a quiet life on a rocky island in an ocean made of deadly green spores, collecting cups that sailors bring her.
Why it made the listGoodreads Choice (fantasy) finalist (2023) - 22
The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi77.3Must-Read ScoreThe Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi
Amina al-Sirafi was once a notorious pirate captain of the Indian Ocean.
Why it made the listHugo Award finalist (2024)Goodreads Choice (fantasy) finalist (2023) - 23
Theo of Golden76.9Must-Read ScoreTheo of Golden
One spring morning, a stranger named Theo arrives in the small Southern city of Golden.
Why it made the list#1 New York Times bestseller (16 weeks at #1)46 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2025 - 2476.7Must-Read Score
The Director - 25
The River We Remember76.5Must-Read ScoreThe River We Remember
On Memorial Day 1958, in the small Minnesota town of Jewel, the body of Jimmy Quinn, the richest and most disliked man in the county, is found in the river, shot.
Why it made the listEdgar Award finalist (2024)Goodreads Choice (mystery thriller) finalist (2023)
