Best Books of 2023

   

 When you read as much as I do, it's especially hard to narrow down favourites. For context, I read more than 400 books in 2023 and I gave 156 of those 5 stars on Goodreads. Out of those, I chose 36 favourites. Nineteen are by Canadian authors, 12 are in audiobook format, 5 are in comics format, 8 are in translation, 27 are by women or nonbinary authors, at least 8 of them are by queer authors and 7 are by Indigenous authors. All of which reflects the kinds of books I prefer to focus on.

    Another thing that I noticed is that the books I read in tandem with other people tend to be the ones that left a lasting impression. Seven of my favourites were buddy reads.

    I've placed these 36 books in categories below. And while I was doing that, I managed to narrow these down a top ten, which I will list at the very end of this post.

Top 6 Nonfiction:

6 - Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma by Claire Dederer (audiobook)
5 - Ultra Processed People: The Science Behind Food that Isn't Food by Chris Van Tulleken (audiobook)
4 - My Fourth Time, We Drowned: Seeking Refuge on the World's Deadliest Migration Route by Sally Hayden (audiobook)
3 - Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World by John Vaillant (audiobook)
2 - Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, a White Town and the Road to Reconciliation by Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Douglas Sanderson
1 - No Friend but the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison by Behrouz Boochani, translated by Omid Tofighian (audiobook)

Best Memoirs:

Thick Skin: Field Notes from a Sister in the Brotherhood by Hilary Peach
Namwayut - We Are All One: A Pathway to Reconciliation by Chief Robert Joseph (audiobook)

Best Graphic Memoirs:

Sunshine by Jarrett Krosoczka
The Talk by Darrin Bell

Best Re-reads:

Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
Monkey Beach by Eden Robinson

Best Play:

Angels in America by Tony Kushner (full cast audiobook)

Best Poetry:

Knife on Snow by Alice Major

Best Novella:

Foster by Claire Keegan (audiobook)

Best YA:

Those Pink Mountain Nights by Jen Ferguson (audiobook)

Best Picture Book:

Wolf Suit by Sid Sharp

Best Children's Chapter Book:

The Runaways by Ulf Stark, translated by Julia Marshall

Best Graphic Novel for Kids:

Frizzy by Claribel Ortega and Rose Bousamra

Best Graphic Novel for Adults:

The Waiting by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim, translated by Janet Hong

Best Novels in Translation:

Permafrost by Eva Baltasar, translated by Julia Sanches
Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree, translated by Daisy Rockwell

Best Mid-20th-Century Modern Classics in Translation:

The Tin Flute by Gabrielle Roy, translated by Alan Brown
Alberta Alone by Cora Sandel, translated by Elizabeth Rokkan
(with an honorable mention: Krane's Cafe by Cora Sandel, translated by Elizabeth Rokkan)

Best Historical Fiction:

Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff (audiobook)
Held by Anne Michaels (audiobook)
The Lost Century by Larissa Lai

Best Novels by Indigenous Authors:

A Grandmother Begins the Story by Michelle Porter (audiobook)
And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott (audiobook)

Best Canadian Novels:

We Meant Well by Erum Shazia Hasan
Your Driver Is Waiting by Priya Guns

Top Five I Loved Because of Their Innovative Style:

5 - Denison Avenue by Christina Wong and D Innes
4 - A Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein
3 - With or Without Angels by Douglas Bruton
2 - Osebol: Voices from a Swedish Village by Marit Kapla, translated by Peter Graves
1 - Mercy Gene by JD Derbyshire

And now [drum roll] my top ten favourites of 2023:

10 - Mercy Gene by JD Derbyshire
9  - Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, a White Town and the Road to Reconciliation by Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Douglas Sanderson
8  - And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott (audiobook)
7  - Wolf Suit by Sid Sharp
6  - We Meant Well by Erum Shazia Hasan
5  - The Talk by Darrin Bell
4  - Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree, translated by Daisy Rockwell
3  - Alberta Alone by Cora Sandel, translated by Elizabeth Rokkan
2  - Your Driver Is Waiting by Priya Guns
1  - No Friend but the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison by Behrouz Boochani, translated by Omid Tofighian (audiobook)