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:

Jen's Top Books of 2022

I’m excited to bring you my list of my top ten favorite books of 2022.  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 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.  Well, this year I read an astounding 217 books, which means my top ten represents less than 5% of the books I read this year!  No wonder this list was so darn hard to narrow down!  I had three books this year which I gave 5 stars to, so those were automatic selections for this list.  But I also had 20 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 just like last year, choosing the final book was the most painful part!

As a reminder, these are books I read in a particular year, not necessarily books which were published that year - though most of these were in fact published in 2022. 

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

When Women Were Dragons - Kelly Barnhill
The Light Pirate - Lily Brooks- Dalton
Lessons in Chemistry - Bonnie Garmus
A Little Hope - Ethan Joella
Notes on an Execution - Danya Kukafka
The Matchmaker’s Gift - Lynda Cohen Loigman
Count the Ways - Joyce Maynard
Nora Goes Off Script - Annabel Monaghan
This Time Tomorrow - Emma Straub
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow - Gabrielle Zevin

Read on for a little more about each book:

Anticipated Books of January 2023

A few weeks ago, I brought you my most anticipated books of 2023, and now I’m back to my monthly anticipated book posts where I can tell you about even more books I’m excited for.  So today I’m sharing my most anticipated books of January 2023.  And even this isn't the full list of books coming out in January that I'm likely to read at some point, just the ones I'm most looking forward to reading. Although I have early copies of some of them, I haven’t started reading 2023 books yet, so I have my work cut out for me - but in an exciting way! 

Here they are by US pub date - note that some of these are out already in the UK and/or Australia:

Anticipated Books of 2023

Somehow it's almost the end of the year, which means it's time for me to reveal my most anticipated books of 2023!  I’ve always enjoyed looking to see what books are going to be published in the near future.  Indeed, for me, tracking upcoming books is kind of its own hobby, separate from reading.  

For the last few years, in addition to my anticipated books of the year posts, I’ve been doing monthly anticipated book posts which allow me to feature even more books.  But putting together my most anticipated books of the year in addition to my anticipated books each month is still something I will always keep doing.  This list is limited to just the TOP books I’m most super-excited about - the ones I will be making it a priority to read.  It was so hard to narrow it down that these are all books by authors who I’ve already read and loved, though there are definitely some great sounding debuts coming next year too!  To narrow it down, I also only included a book if it had a set release date and a cover. 

My longer list has at least three times as many books as I am discussing here, but for this post, I limited myself to 25 books.  Well, I tried to limit it to 25, but I ended up with 26 anyway.  😂 But anyway, keep an eye out for my monthly posts about anticipated books to see even more books I’m looking forward to, whether they’re ones that just don’t fit here, or ones I hear about later.  And if you are looking for even more bookish content from me, check out my instagram account where I post book-related stuff almost every single day from reviews to anticipated books to other book features.

Now without further ado, here are the 2023 releases that I’m most looking forward to, so you can go ahead and request from Netgalley/get on the library waitlist/pre-order them if you so desire!  I am lucky enough to have ARCs of a few of these, but I decided not to read any of my 2023 advanced copies of books until 2023, so I haven’t read any yet!  So all my descriptions are just based on their publisher blurbs or what I’ve heard from early reviewers.

So, here they are, listed in order of their current US publication date, which is listed in parentheses after the title and author of each book:

Anticipated Books of December 2022

The end of the month really snuck up on me!  So, it's time to look ahead to the books publishing in December that I’m most excited for.  I’m happy it’s a short list so I can also use December to catch up on books I missed this year and backlist books I meant to get to. And stay tuned for my list of my most anticipated books of 2023, coming soon!

I haven’t read any of these yet, but looking forward to checking them out.

Anticipated Books of November 2022

As the end of the month approaches, it's time to look ahead to the books publishing in November that I’m most excited for.  So if you too like to look ahead with me, it’s time to get your library holds and pre-orders ready! I haven’t read any of these yet, but I'm looking forward to checking them out.

Anticipated Books of October 2022

 The end of the month is almost upon us, so it’s time to reveal my most anticipated books publishing in October 2022. I’m sure you will immediately notice that this is the shortest list I’ve ever put together.  😂 Well, there are plenty of other books coming out in October, but what can I say, none of them have grabbed me enough to make it onto my list.  I’m kind of relieved to have a shorter list though, my backlog is already so long!

I haven’t read any of these yet despite the brevity of the list, but looking forward to checking them out.

Anticipated Books of September 2022

August is almost over, so it’s time for my look at my most anticipated books of September!  Get those library holds and pre-orders ready! I haven’t read any of these yet but am looking forward to checking them out.

Anticipated Books of August 2022

Looking for yet more books to add to your TBR?  Well it’s time to place those pre-orders and library holds, because here I am with my monthly look at the books I’m most looking forward to coming out in the next month - this time, August!  

Anticipated Books of July 2022

Sorry I’m so late with my anticipated reads for July - June has been such a busy month!  But it’s not too late - there’s still time to make your library holds and pre-orders for July!  Here are my anticipated books of July, in order by US publication date:

5 Star Review: When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

Last year I only had one five star book all year, so I'm pretty happy that I have already discovered by third 5 star book of the year - When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill.  I don’t know if I can find the words to describe how much I loved this book!  It’s set in the 1950s and 60s in a world just like our own - except that some women have been spontaneously transforming into dragons.  No one talks about it and the government tries to cover it up, but our protagonist, Alex, first saw it happen when she was just 4 years old.  The book is told as the older Alex reminiscing about her childhood and how it was affected by the dragonning, interspersed with bits of news articles and scholarly writing about it. 

Anticipated Books of June 2022

Time to get those library holds and pre-orders in as I’m here with a look at my most anticipated books of June 2022!  I have a lot of these from Netgalley, but I’ve been so distracted by the exciting releases of May and book club books that I haven’t gotten to any of them yet!  Hopefully I will read them soon.

5 Star Review: This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub

Happy to share my latest 5 star book with you - This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub.  I loved this book so much!

Anticipated Books of May 2022

Absolutely ridiculous how many awesome sounding books are coming out in May 2022!  I’ve already read a few and have ARCs of some of the others that I’ll try to get to soon; but for way too many of the books below I was denied by Netgalley and have to wait on the library.  I'm also excited so many rom coms are coming out - I haven't done as much light reading lately, and it's just what I need to kick off summer reading season!