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Bookish Lists

My Twelve Favorite Reads of 2023

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Happy Tuesday y’all! And Happy New Year! Am I the only one shocked and surprised that 2024 is here already? As this is the first Top Ten Tuesday of the year, Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl is asking us to share our favorite books of 2023. This year I’m doing something different, and listing my favorite reads of each month. So instead of my ten favorite reads, you’re getting my twelve favorite reads of 2023.

The cover images of My Twelve Favorite Reads of 2023.

In my monthly wrap-ups I listed my favorite read for that month, and that made writing this post that much easier. Why? Because I read over 100 books and a lot of them were really good.

All titles are linked to Goodreads.

Now let’s look at my twelve favorite reads of 2023!

January’s Favorite Read: Maame by Jessica George

  • Genre: Contemporary Fiction
  • Release Date: January 2023
  • My Rating: 5-stars
  • What’s It About: A 20-something woman is trying to find her place in the world, and especially her immigrant family.

February’s Favorite Read: Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

  • Genre: Historical Fiction
  • Release Date: April 2022
  • My Rating: 5-stars
  • What’s It About: A 20-something woman trying to help correct a wrong committed by the government to young women of color.

March’s Favorite Read: VenCo by Cherie Dimaline

  • Genre: Fantasy, Magical Realism
  • Release Date: February 2023
  • My Rating: 5-stars
  • What’s It About: A 20-something woman trying to care for her grandmother finds herself on a journey of self-discovery.

April’s Favorite Read: The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley

  • Genre: Contemporary Fiction
  • Release Date: March 2023
  • My Rating: 4.5-stars
  • What’s It About: Two women in different places in their lives on the road to figuring things out.

May’s Favorite Read: Permanent Astonishment by Tomson Highway

  • Genre: Memoir
  • Release Date: September 2021
  • My Rating: 5-stars
  • What’s It About: The author shares stories of their upbringing in Northern Canada.
  • Note: Highly recommend the audiobook as there are multiple languages used throughout. These include English, Cree, French, and Latin.

June’s Favorite Read: Laughing with the Trickster by Tomson Highway

  • Genre: Nonfiction, Essays
  • Release Date: September 2022
  • My Rating: 5-stars
  • What’s It About: A look at birth, death, and everything in between.

July’s Favorite Read: The Door-to-Door Bookstore by Carsten Henn

  • Genre: Fiction, Translated
  • Release Date: January 2020 (English August 2023)
  • My Rating: 5-stars
  • What’s It About: A man delivering books, companionship, and hope to a small group of townspeople.

August’s Favorite Read: The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield

  • Genre: Historical Fiction, Sci-Fi, Spy, Thriller
  • Release Date: October 2021
  • My Rating: 5-stars
  • What’s It About: Astronauts going to the dark side of the moon, one doesn’t have the purest of intentions.

September’s Favorite Read: Reykjavik: A Crime Story by Ragnar Jonasson & Katrin Jakobsdottir

  • Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Translated
  • Release Date: September 2023
  • My Rating: 5-stars
  • What’s It About: As the 30th anniversary of Lara’s disappearance approaches, Valur Robertsson investigates and may find more than he bargained for.

October’s Favorite Read: Truth Telling by Michelle Good

  • Genre: Essays
  • Release Date: May 2023
  • My Rating: 5-stars
  • What’s It About: A look at the relationship between the government and the Indigenous people of Canada.

November’s Favorite Read: Three Holidays and a Wedding by Uzma Jalaluddin & Marissa Stapley

  • Genre: Romance, Holiday Read
  • Release Date: October 2023
  • My Rating: 5-stars
  • What’s It About: Snowed in a small town town during the holiday season, two women learn more about themselves.

December’s Favorite Read: On the Plus Side by Jenny L. Howe

  • Genre: Romance, Contemporary
  • Release Date: December 2023
  • My Rating: 4.5-stars
  • What’s It About: A plus-sized woman who has spent her life trying to melt into the background finds herself in the spotlight.

There you have it, my twelve favorite reads of 2023. Have you read any of these? What were some of your favorite reads of 2023?

The cover images of My Twelve Favorite Reads of 2023.

Are you looking for some more books to read? Check out my other bookish lists, book reviews, and monthly reading wrap-ups.

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40 thoughts on “My Twelve Favorite Reads of 2023”

    1. Nicole, it makes me so happy to know you’ve read books I’ve recommended, and enjoyed them. I hope you enjoy Laughing With the Trickster when you get around to reading it.

  9. I loved Tanner and Louise, as well. It’s going on my Part 2 of my 2023 favorites up tomorrow. Great list and thanks for visiting my TTT!

  13. I’m always afraid I’ll read two favs of the year in one month and then the one I don’t choose will be better than one in another month but it never gets the spotlight. Does that make sense? Maybe I’m overthinking it! I read and led Hadfield ‘s memoir, so I’m curious about his fiction!

  14. Some awesome picks here! Thanks so much for dropping by my post!

  15. Is the Hadfield worth reading? It sounds intriguing and the Door to Door Bookseller sounds great!

    Have a wonderful 2024.

    1. I enjoyed The Apollo Murders, and the sequel The Defector. They are historical fiction with sci-fi and spy elements.

  16. What a great idea to do it by month! I haven’t read any of your top 12, but several are on my TBR or wish list already. VenCo is definitely one of them. I’m also really curious about The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise. I hope you read many more wonderful books this year!

  20. Love how you chose a book a month. I still need to read Take My Hand. I’m sure it is just as amazing as her other books. Three Holidays and A Wedding looks cute. Thanks for sharing.

  24. I love how you broke this down by month! I have Permanent Astonishment and Maame on my TBR, so I’m thrilled to see that they were hits with you! (Also high fives to reading Canadian!) I haven’t heard of the Door-to-Door Bookstore before, but this is one that jumped out at me from your list and I’ll definitely be checking out. Happy new year and happy reading!

    1. I’ve been trying to read (and share) more Canadian, especially as I live in Canada.

  26. Cool way of organizing your list. I liked Take My Hand quite a lot, too. I need to remind myself if I read in ’22 or ’23.

    Happy New Year.

  27. Ahh, good way of splitting it up! I wonder what I’d pick if I’d chosen this way. 🤔 Looks like some great ones here!

  28. Great list, and happy new year! I love the first three on your list – Maame, Take My Hand, and VenCo! I also read other books by Michelle Good and Ragnar Jonasson and really found them to be amazing, so it looks like i’m just going to have to check out some more of the books on your list.

  30. I read about Three Holidays and a Wedding back when it released, and I think it sounded really fun to me! But it wasn’t one of the seasonal novels I picked up. I guess there is always this next year though! 🙂 Thanks so much for visiting my website/list on this week. I appreciate this.

  31. Love that you listed your favorite per month! The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise is on my TBR, so glad to see you loved it!

  32. So glad to see someone else giving VenCo some love! I am also really curious about Tanner & Louise, so I am thrilled to hear that you loved it. Also, Apollo Murders sounds quite interesting too, thanks for putting it on my radar!

    1. If you read and enjoy Apollo Murders, you should check out the sequel The Defector as well.

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