Hi Book Friends!
Well, this is it. We’ve reached the final two Book Radar newsletters of 2023. So with that in mind, I’m taking this newsletter to focus on my favorite books of 2023. And for the next one, we’ll look ahead to my most highly anticipated books of 2024. Sound fun? Let’s end this year on a good note. Are you ready?
But first, a quick reminder: The holidays have arrived, and so has our new paperback level at TBR! If you (or a reader you know) are just over-carrying around bulky hardcovers or are looking for a more budget-friendly option, we’ve got you. Check out all the offerings at mybtro.com/gift, and give personalized reading recommendations customized for any and every reader.
Book Deals and Reveals
Here’s the cover of Sanctuary by Valentina Cano Repetto, coming April 2024 from CamCat Books. This one is going to be great for fans of The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas, The Stroke of Winter by Wendy Webb, The House in the Orchard by Elizabeth Brooks, and The Winter Guest by W. C. Ryan.
A new novel from Alexander Chee is coming in 2025: Other People’s Husbands, a novel about a “queer Korean American novelist who returns to his alma mater as a visiting writer,” will be out from Mariner Books.
Alice Feeney has also announced a new novel. The thriller author’s seventh novel, Beautiful Ugly, out from Flatiron Books, is coming soon!
And here’s the cover of upcoming memoir Pretty by KB Brookins. “This book is unlike any other project I’ve attempted,” Brookins told Electric Lit. The cover was designed by Chip Kidd, with artwork by Anita Kunz.
If you’re excited about the new Mr. and Mrs. Smith series, then here’s a rom com novel you should check out in 2024: Jewel Me Twice by Charish Reid. The cover features art from Monika Roe. It’s out in July!
Aria Fiction has revealed the cover of The Big Day by Aliya Ali-Afzal. This “funny, heartwarming novel about a British-Asian mother and daughter who clash over plans for the bride’s Big Day” is out on June 6.
The Book Saves Lives Act has been introduced to US Congress. The Books Save Lives Act would ensure trained librarians in every school and classify book bans as federal civil rights violations.
Romance fans, have you read the best romance novels of 2023? Check out Entertainment Weekly‘s top 10 romance novels of the year to see if there are any you missed.
Book Riot Recommends
Hi, welcome to everyone’s favorite segment of Book Radar called Book Riot Recommends. This is where I’ll talk to you about all the books I’m reading, the books I’m loving, and the books I can’t wait to read and love in the near future. I think you’re going to love them too!
Best Books of 2023
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah — This is the best dystopian fiction I’ve read in some time and one of the most important books to come out in 2023. If you only read one book on this list, make sure it’s this one. I read this book around the 4th of July this year, and considering all of the messed up stuff going on in the world and in our country right now, a pointed attack on American violence and the prison industrial complex was the perfect seasonal read.
Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez — This one wins for best cover of 2023, in my book. At 608 pages, Our Share of Night was quite the time investment, but this dark horror novel/family saga was so worth it. I will never be able to get these characters out of my head.
What Kind of Mother by Clay McLeod Chapman — Clay McLeod Chapman’s horror fiction is always wildly inventive, with imagery that will give you nightmares. There’s something beguiling and terrifying about water and the things that live within. It’s something that has always scared me, and this book really taps into those fears.
Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward — Catriona Ward is another all-time favorite of mine. Ward specializes in psychological horror that will leave your brain in knots, and Looking Glass Sound is her mind-bendiest novel yet. In fact, I’m still unraveling what really happened in this twisty novel, but I loved every word of it.
Reggie and Delilah’s Year of Falling by Elise Bryant — And now for something entirely different. Sometimes the most healing read for the soul is a sweet, heartwarming contemporary YA rom-com. It’s one of my favorite genres, and Elise Bryant’s Reggie and Delilah’s Year of Falling was the best I read all year. Reggie and Delilah are such fun characters, and I loved that their love story was about so much more than falling for each other. It was about learning to fall for yourself.
What I Loved Watching in 2023
Yes, I read a lot in 2023, but I also watched a lot of movies and TV. Here are some of my favorite things I watched in 2023.
The Last of Us — Have you heard of a lil HBO show called The Last of Us, starring the Internet’s boyfriend Pedro Pascal? No? Crawl out from under that rock and watch it now. I cried watching pretty much every episode. No big deal.
May December — Someone give Charles Melton the Oscar right now! We don’t have to wait for the awards ceremonies. I loved this movie, and it’s now streaming on Netflix!
Heartstopper — I can’t get enough Heartstopper. Season 2 was wonderful. I just picked up my copy of Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper: Volume 5. And… season 3 just wrapped! Will Heartstopper also be one of my favorite things of 2024? Probably.
Priscilla — Sofia Coppola’s adaptation of Priscilla Presley’s memoir Elvis and Me was visually stunning from start to finish. And again, A+ acting. It’s now available to rent, but I’m probably going to have to buy this one.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse — Everyone saw this, right? RIGHT?
And Here’s A Cat Picture!
You know it’s winter because Remy has decided the dryer is a fun place to sleep. Dangerous, but fun. And is life worth living if you’re not living on the edge? (Disclaimer: yes, yes it is worth living.)
Alright, friends! That’s it for looking back on 2023. It’s all looking forward from here on out. What were your favorite things of 2023? Let me know!