THE BEST of 2023

 

This is a "best of" list based on the 87 books I read and reviewed in 2023. I do not focus on new books, so there are books on this "best of" ranging from being published in 1939 to being published in December of 2023.

The titles are active links to my reviews.

*** = Best of the best in that category.

HISTORY/MEMOIR/BIOGRAPHY

This was a tough category this year. Every one of these is excellent, but it's almost unfair to compare any book to the Pulitzer Prize winning Maus. Maus practically invented the modern genre of the graphic novel and its iconic images with the Nazis as cats and the Jews as mice are unforgettable. 

***The Complete Maus (graphic novel) by Art Spiegelman

Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation by Anne Frank, Ari Folman, and David Polonsky.

Pathogenesis: A History of the World in Eight Plagues by Jonathan Kennedy.

Che: A Revolutionary Life (graphic novel) by Jon Lee Anderson and Jose Hernandez.

Magna Carta: The Birth of Liberty by Dan Jones.

Ten Caesars: Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine by Barry Strauss.

FICTION

Like the previous category, the winner in this category that stands out in any collection. The Grapes of Wrath won the Pulitzer Prize, The National Book Award and its author won The Nobel Prize. This is a strong category, though. Vonnegut is, well, Vonnegut. He's a name brand author. Not many have sold more than Michael Connelly in the 21st century. Underground Airlines was an unexpected trip into another (unpleasant) world. Nick Petrie shows up 3 times here. I discovered him this year and very much enjoyed his action novels

***The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut

Resurrection Walk by Michael Connelly

The Drifter by Nick Petrie

Tear It Down by Nick Petrie

The Wild One by Nick Petrie

Underground Airlines by Ben H. Winters

YOUNG ADULT

Every book I read in this category I read because it showed up on a banned books list created by Moms for Liberty or Purple for Parents or a similar MAGA group. I purposefully read several books this year from various banned books lists (9 in all) and these four were all excellent - and all great choices to put in school libraries.

***You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

The Girl from the Sea (graphic novel) by Molly Knox Ostertag

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation by Anne Frank, Ari Folman, and David Polonsky.

NON-FICTION (non-history)

This category is amazingly diverse. Sociology, religion, mental health, politics, economics, linguistics, and race. Ultimately, I decided that Of Boys and Men explained actually laid the foundation for the situations discussed in many of the other books. 

***Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do About It by Richard V. Reeves

On Getting Out of Bed: The Burden and Gift of Living by Alan Noble

Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning by Liz Cheney.

Poverty, By America by Matthew Desmond

The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth by Beth Allison Barr. 

The Corruption of Lindsey Graham: A Case Study in the Rise of Authoritarianism by William Saletan

Talking Back, Talking Black: Truths About America's Lingua Franca by John McWhorter

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