The Best Books to Read in 2023

At The New York Times Book Review, we write over thousands of books each year. Many of them are good. Some are even great. But we know that sometimes you just want to know, “What should I read that’s good or great For me?”

Well, here we go – a running list of some of the best, most interesting and most discussed books of the year. Check back next month to see what we’ve added.

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Birnam Wood, by Eleanor Catton

A collective of activist gardeners and a billionaire preparing for the end of the world cross paths on land they want for different purposes in this action-packed novel from a Booker Prize-winning author. The billionaire decides to support the collective and cites common interests, but some of the activists suspect ulterior motives.

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I want a sprawling, gnarly piece of horror in translation

Our share of the night, from Mariana Enriquez. Translated by Megan McDowell.

Translated from Spanish by Megan McDowell, this dazzling, epic tale is an enchanting concoction of mysteries and myths, peopled by mediums who can summon “the darkness” for a secret society of wealthy occultists attempting to restore consciousness after death to preserve.

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I want fascinating historical fiction

This other Eden by Paul Harding

Harding’s latest novel was inspired by the true story of a devastating 1912 eviction in Maine that displaced an entire mixed-race fishing community. Harding turns this story into a lyrical tale of the fictional Apple Island on the brink of destruction.

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Every Man A King, by Walter Mosley

In the second novel in Mosley’s King Oliver series, a black private investigator in New York investigates whether the government framed a prominent white supremacist. The plot gets more complicated the more he digs, with prison contractors, alt-right militias, and Russian oil traders all at play.

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I want a lush, fantastical story from one of our greatest living writers

Victory City, by Salman Rushdie

Rushdie’s new novel tells the long life of Pampa Kampana, who created an empire from magical seeds in 14th-century India. Their world is one of peace, where men and women are equal and all faiths are welcome, but the story Rushdie tells is about a state forever falling short of its ideals.

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I want a comedy of mistakes

The Chinese Groove by Kathryn Ma

Ma’s latest novel is a comedic take on immigration attempts and follows a Chinese man who is woefully unprepared for his move to America but prevails thanks to his belief that there is always generosity and solidarity among his countrymen.

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I want a decade-long family saga

Hello beautiful, by Ann Napolitano

In her radiant and brilliantly crafted fourth novel, Napolitano gives a new twist to a classic tale of four sisters and the man who joins their family. Take Little Women, transpose it to modern day Chicago, add more intrigue, lots of basketball and another boy next door, and you have the scaffolding of this thoroughly original story.

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nonfiction

I want hot literary gossip!

Bottoms Up and the Devil Laughs: A Journey Through the Deep State, by Kerry Howley

The characters in this darkly funny book include fabulists, fortune tellers, fighters and whistleblowers. Like many of us, they’ve made their mark on the digital ether by making a call, texting a friend, or searching for something online. Howley writes about the national security state and those involved in it – Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning and Reality Winner all feature in Howley’s compelling account.

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I want an insightful exploration of inequality

Poverty, of America, by Matthew Desmond

The central claim of this manifesto from the Princeton sociologist (who received a 2016 Pulitzer Prize for his book Evicted on exploitation in Milwaukee’s poorest housing market) is that poverty in the United States is not just the product of broader economic changes, but also by decisions and actions of happier Americans.

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