Jen's Top Ten Books of 2023

I’m excited to bring you my list of my top ten favorite books of 2023.  Making top ten book lists is a tradition of mine dating all the way back to 1999!  In the early years, I just e-mailed my list to a small group of friends and family - then added more and more recipients over the years, then started posting to Facebook, then on this blog, and then a few years ago I started a bookstagram account and started posting my list on there too!  So clearly more and more people have seen my list as the years went on.

And it’s not just the audience that has increased - so has the amount of books I read a year.  Back in 1999, I read just 53 books, which means my top 10 represented almost 20% of books I read that year.  In 2023, I read a record 244 books, which means my top ten represents less than 5% of the books I read this year!  No wonder this list was so hard to narrow down!  I had only one book this year which I gave 5 stars to, so that was an automatic selection for this list.  But I also had 18 books which I awarded 4.5 stars.  So to choose between those, it was a combination of how the books affected me, how much they have stayed with me, and how much I have recommended them to other people, and a little dash of gut feeling.  And it was really hard to narrow down!

As a reminder, these are books I read in a particular year, not necessarily books which were published that year - though nine of these were in fact published in 2023. 

Without further ado, my ten most favorite of the year, listed in alphabetical order by author’s last name:

No Two Persons - Erica Bauermeister
The Ferryman - Justin Cronin
Shark Heart - Emily Habeck
Exiles - Jane Harper
The Quiet Tenant - Clemence Michallon
Homecoming - Kate Morton 
We All Want Impossible Things - Catherine Newman
Charm City Rocks - Matthew Norman 
Tom Lake - Ann Patchett 
Romantic Comedy - Curtis Sittenfeld

Read on for a little more about each book:

Most Anticipated Books of 2024

My anticipated books of 2024 list is already so long - more than 100 books already!  Can’t fit them all, so I narrowed it down to the ones I’m MOST super-excited for, all by authors I’ve read and loved before, many of whom have made appearances on my top ten books of the year lists in the past. (I also always go with the rule that they have to have a set release date and a cover to be included.)

I'm happy to share them here, so you can go ahead and pre-order/get on the library waitlist/request from Netgalley.  I am lucky enough to have ARCs of some of them (though less than I’d like 😂), but I haven’t read any yet since I’m holding all my 2024 books until 2024. (And I’m super sad about some I was already denied for on Netgalley. 😭) So the below summaries are not reviews, but are based on publisher blurbs and other reviewers’ early reviews.  I once again tried to limit it to 25 books but just couldn’t figure out the last two to cut, so instead it’s a list of 27.

You may have noticed, but I’ve been kind of neglecting this blog of late - but never fear, I have way more bookish content out there - I’m just focusing on my bookstagram page these days.  (An instagram page focused solely on books, for those unfamiliar with the term.)  So if you want to see more from me, follow me there at: https://www.instagram.com/electric_bookaloo/, where I post book reviews, monthly anticipated book posts with even more books, monthly reading wrap ups, and more.

Anticipated Books of June

I thought there were a lot of books that came out in May, but June is even more insane!  So many I’m excited for that I’m actually suffering from decision paralysis trying to decide what to read first and haven’t read any of them yet, even among the ones for which I have early copies.  And I already have library holds on the rest!  My most anticipated list is long this month, but I have at least as many I didn’t include.  Send help! 😂

Here they are by US pub date:

Anticipated Books of May 2023

There are an absolutely ridiculous amount of books coming out in May - I guess to kick off summer reading season?  I’ve already read some of my most anticipated that I was lucky enough to get an early copy of, but there are so many more to go!  Here are the ones I’m most excited about - if I’ve already read them, my rating is indicated next to them along with my review.  And in addition to the books listed below, there are at least a dozen more I’m looking forward to reading as well!

Here they are by US pub date:

Anticipated Books of April 2023

I’m way behind on reading all the books that came out in March that I wanted to get to, but we’re nearing the end of the month which means I’m also looking ahead to the books coming out in April that I’m most excited for.  April is an absolutely ridiculously stacked month - when I made my list of my most anticipated books of 2023 in December, 8 of the 26 books I included were April books!  I already read advanced copies of three of these; you’ll see my ratings and reviews for them below.  Others I either wasn’t lucky enough to get an ARC, or have them but haven’t gotten to them yet.  If there's no star rating next to it, that means I haven't read it yet and am basing my description on the book's synopsis.

Here they are by US publication date:

Anticipated Books of March 2023

It’s the end of the month so time to look ahead to my most anticipated books publishing in March. And I have so many advanced copies for March (way more than the ones listed below) that I’ve actually gotten a head start and read a few of these!  You can see my ratings and excerpts from my review for those three below; for the others I'll just provide a brief description from the publisher's blurb. Some of these are by authors I’ve read and loved; some I’ve seen major bookstagram hype; others just sound intriguing to me. 

Anticipated Books of February 2023

The approaching end of the month means it’s time for me to look ahead to my most anticipated books publishing in February of 2023.  I’m kind of relieved it’s a short list, I have so many ARCs for March and the following few months so maybe I can get ahead a bit.  I have early copies of a few of these but haven’t gotten to them yet.  Others I’ll have to wait for the publication date to get from the library.

Here they are by US publication date, with descriptions summarized from the publishers’ blurbs: