The SRD Editor's Pick: Top Books Read in 2023
Welcome back for the second year of the SRD Editor’s pick of top books read this year! (Check out the 2022 list here.)
As a refresher, I love tracking my audiobook listens and physical book reading via Goodreads (let’s connect!), and I typically get my materials from the county library using the Libby by Overdrive app. I love it! And the audiobook experience is perfect for me.
So in 2023, I borrowed 151 audiobooks from my library. My total reading tracked on Goodreads is 154 books – which is more than double my goal of 75!
Don’t ask me to pick a single favorite – I just can’t!
But I did narrow it down to a shortlist.
Like last year, I posted my preliminary, casual reviews of these books on Facebook to my personal circle. Below, you’ll find that original, informal and sometimes knee-jerk reaction review, but in this blog for my comprehensive editor’s list of top books read in 2023, I’ve included a bit more of my thoughts in the extended review.
In the Libby app, I also tag books to keep track of the genres and main themes/types of books I read, out of curiosity. You’ll find that info below as well.
Warning: Spoilers ahead!
These book reviews may contain some details that could affect your reading of the book. But, I tried not to give away too much.
This page contains affiliate links. SRD Editing Services may receive a commission if you purchase a product through one of our affiliate links. Thank you!
The Salt Grows Heavy
By: Cassandra Khaw
OMG. What an intense and beautiful but insanely gory and graphic and literary excellence of a horror love story fever dream. I don’t even know. By far, the best true horror in my spooky October readings.
The writing in this is superb. Descriptions and word choice that will soak through your skin and bite you with their beauty while the content of what’s being said will melt your brain. I can’t even with this writer.
The mermaid. She was abducted. And her children have teeth. She burns down the kingdom and escapes into the woods with a fearless nonbinary plague doctor who (spoiler) turns out to be analogous to Frankenstein’s monster. They stumble across a society of unaging children in the woods who are under control of three “saints.” (Not sus at all…) Chaos and destruction ensue.
It’s graphic, can’t-look-away horror not quite like anything else I’ve ever read. I keep trying to picture how you’d make it into a movie and i don’t think you could. I think it’d have to be anime. It’s so violent and extreme i don’t know how you’d show a live action representation.
CW for all the physical, visceral horror things and cult-type abuse with children. (No SA).
Extended Review
In October, my reads are exclusively horror/thriller themed, and looking back from the end of the year, it’s easy to see why this made its way onto my editor’s pick top books list. The language flowed over me like syrup, and many months later, I remain stuck in the unique, fascinating, gruesome world.
Although I didn’t delve into it too much in my original review, the themes of motherhood and identity weave through every paragraph of this revenge tale. While the mermaid character explores her intense storyline, the plague doctor’s path explores deep LGBTQ+ meanings. Placing both of their narratives (the mermaid and the doctor) in spotlights that circle each other keeps the trance woven as the carnage piles up around them.
Tagged: adventure, fantasy, women’s lit, romance, LGBTQ+, mom lit, short story
Good Inside: The Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be
By: Dr. Becky Kennedy
OMG. I loved this so much. This might be my new favorite recommendation for parenting books, like for real y’all. So good. For both mothers and fathers. For kids of any age. For struggles of any kind.
The basic premise is: you are good inside. Your kid is good inside. Either of you might be a good person having a hard time/struggling through a tough situation.
It’s overwhelmingly positive, with easily understood advice that anyone can begin implementing immediately, and not just in parenting relationships but in others as well. It has personal stories and large-scale stats and ties together both micro and macro.
It’s hard not to ramble about how much i love this book and why. In the span of a few hours, it helped me tie together my personal experience with scientific best practices. It helped explain and dissolve some of my confusion.
I want a print copy. So i can highlight things and put stickie notes in it and reference it as needed.
Extended Review
While I don’t specifically choose the books on my editor’s pick top books of the year list because of their genre, if I had to narrow down and choose only one nonfiction book this year, this would be it. Perfect for parents of children of all ages. My main takeaway, months later, that I’ve been able to implement and see results in my own life is the idea that everyone is good inside, they might be going through a hard time. Including you.
It’s possible to change your communication style. It’s possible to use compassion and empathy to approach your children to change their behaviors. It’s possible to help kids grow into the people you know they can be. It’s not only possible–it’s your job as a parent. And I think this book will, for me, personally help me get there.
Now, I did just receive a copy of this book as a holiday gift. (Hooray!) I may revisit and post a more extended review next year, after I’ve had a chance to re-read and learn more from it.
Tagged: psychology, 21st cent. lit., mom lit., funny, self-help, dad lit
Moon Witch, Spider King
By: Marlon James
This may be one of the most incredible things I’ve ever read. I’m still processing it. Black History month book 4.
It’s epic high fantasy adventure with an all-Black cast, brought to you by a Jamaican author, so the voices are truly unique and authentic.
Picture Game of Thrones in its level of backstory and intricate politics and character storylines. But instead of dragons, we have other magic in the world in direct connection with the gods. Mainly shape shifters that can turn from human to big cats (lions and jaguars) but many other magics as well.
Our MC — we start following her at age 11 and by the end she is 177. She is cursed. A witch with powers she cannot fully control and a destiny she strongly resents once she discovers it. Then when she embraces it, all hell breaks loose and the gods should tremble.
It’s vulgar. Like, John Waters and Cardi B lyrics level raunchy. And violent. Like Tarentino-level violent. And its completely unlike anything I’ve ever read. It’s the Odyssey. And Gulliver’s Travels. And Gladiator. And Beloved. And Blade. With a Jamaican-ish female MC.
Apparently it’s the second in a series. I didn’t read the first (but i added it to my list) and the third is pending release. If you like intricate, epic high fantasy with fantastic world building and strong Black female lead characters, then take the plunge.
Extended Review
So I’m no stranger to paranormal romance, and this takes the cake. Not the type of book I typically enjoy, I am a bit surprised this ended up on my editor’s pick of top books for 2023, but looking back over the competition this year, it still stands above many of the other books I listened to and read.
I said this before, but it bears repeating, this book is not a YA fantasy. It’s smutty and raw and graphic with both violence and pretty extreme sex. It gets in-the-jungle levels of dirty. And another about a powerful magical woman who is out for revenge, even if it destroys her in the process. There are plenty of angry powerful women out there, but if B. Kiddo from Kill Bill was the Witch Doctor character from the Diablo video game, you might have something close to this MC. Truly one of a kind.
Tagged: adventure, fantasy, 21st cent. lit., women’s lit, romance, political, mom lit
Remarkably Bright Creatures
By: Shelby van Pelt
OMG. So i just told you how i love stories from animal perspectives? One of our three MCs here is a Giant Pacific Octopus named Marcellus. And i love him.
Overall, the story is heartwarming, bringing together three disparate characters with an intergenerational mystery. It’s got elements of romance, some light action, some family friendly humor. Really just delightful.
And then there’s Marcellus, the real star of the show.
I also loved that this audiobook included an interview with the author, giving us some behind the scenes insight and fun writerly discussion. So if you read/listen to this and love it, i recommend the bonus interview as well.
Extended Review
Of all the books on the editor’s pick top books list, this is definitely the most wholesome. At some point this year, I started to realize what “upmarket fiction” means, and this book is one of the ones that I would put on that list. (I might not be right, but the genre is a concept I’m still trying to wrap my head around, and the best explanations I’ve seen for it are very much “I know it when I see it” type explanations…so I feel like this counts.)
I love books with animals as first-person POV narrators, and for me, Marcellus steals the show. However, I also enjoy that the other two MCs whose perspectives we (readers) get to enjoy are of vastly different ages, backgrounds, and points of view. And I appreciate that the main MC (as it were) is an older woman. Many of the MCs I enjoyed following along with this year were in their forties or older, and I’m finding it very refreshing to get away from YA more often than not. You can still go on adventures and learn lessons and enjoy life (and even fall in or find love) without being young and innocent. I’ve been here for it all year, for sure.
Tagged: fantasy, 21st cent. lit., women’s lit., mom lit., mystery
We Over Me: The Counterintuitive Approach to Getting Everything You Want out of Your Relationship
By Khadeen and Devale Ellis
4.5 stars. I really enjoyed everything about this book. I came to it knowing nothing about this couple and walked away feeling like i not only knew them but i knew myself better.
So as someone who wasn’t familiar with either of their individual journeys or their combined journey as a couple, i appreciated the first half of the book giving me that insight and showing me how they built up their trust, support, and communication over the years to achieve a healthy, balanced, and happy relationship now. The first half of the book was very insightful.
The second half felt like it switched into a more focused directive of giving advice, which was welcomed. As a successful celebrity (who wouldn’t call themselves that) couple in their 40s, they offer solid advice on how to make a relationship work for 20+ years and how to raise 4 boys. (lawdamercy)
Overall i really liked what they each (and combined) had to say. I like how they told their story and i think they offer very valuable advice about teamwork, marriage, and parenting. Not to mention business and work-life balance.
One of the key things that struck me is that you have to be in love with marriage, the idea of it, the committment of it, to make it work. There will be good days and bad days and longer periods when you have to recommit yourself. The “happily ever after” is up to the individuals, and it’s ongoing work.
Extended Review
This year, a lot of the self-help I enjoyed focused on either parenting strategies and skills, or relationship improvement. There are many places you can go to get relationship advice, and one of the best pieces of advice I’ve heard over the years is “Never take advice from someone you wouldn’t trade places with.” Well, there’s a lot to admire about the Ellis’s relationship, to me, and I think I’d be willing to trade places with Khadeen, so I wanted to see what I could learn from them.
After enjoying what they had to say in this book and how they put their perspectives together to explain their joint philosophy and approach to life, I tried listening to a couple episodes of their podcast. Now, I’m not much of a podcast person anyway, and I generally don’t like podcasts that are unstructured conversations between small groups of people, so ultimately I found that their podcast was not for me. I liked the structure and approach to the material in the organized presentation of their book, but if you like the book and you generally like spontaneous conversation-style podcasts, you should check that out as well.
Tagged: psychology, 21st cent. lit., women’s lit., romance, sports, mom lit., self-help, dad lit, memoir
Honorable Mention
By Kelly Barnhill
Tagged: adventure, fantasy, women’s lit., romance, LGBTQ+, mom lit., historical lit., YA
4.5 stars. Loved this historical fiction fantasy. Strong LGBTQ romance(s). True metaphorical coming of age tale. Deep themes of mothering.
What would happen if, in 1955, over half a million women suddenly, miraculously, without explanation or specific warning, turned into dragons? Real life, scaly, flying dragons.
So many things could happen. And do.
This story was both solidly crafted and surprising. Refreshing in its unique details yet familiar in many of its tropes. It’s lovely. A unique beauty. A pearl among emeralds.
The Candy House
By Jennifer Egan
Tagged: adventure, 21st cent. lit., women’s lit., LGBTQ+, sci-fi
Exquisite. Brilliant. This is a deep sci-fi masterpiece that I can’t recommend enough.
When i was in grad school, I read “A Visit from the Goon Squad” from Egan, and it turns out that this book is not only in the same universe, but also contains some of the same characters, giving us insight, foresight, and hindsight on all their lives. I’m going to have to re-read Goon Squad to more fully see all the connections (it’s been 10+ years), but I’d be very willing to do it.
We have neurodivergent characters. LGBTQ+ characters. Interracial relationships. All my favorites from the “woke” world of today.
What if you could upload your consciousness into the cloud? What if you could also access others’ memories in the cloud to re-experience events from other points of view that lived through them? What would the tech geniuses who created this reality look like? How would espionage function? How would this impact everyday people?
Egan probes into all these questions and more in a strangely real but slightly dystopian depiction of the current and upcoming world. We jump through character perspectives and various timelines in vignettes that glimpse into one another and ultimately, reveal an overall truth in the big picture.
Like the fable of 5 blind men who touch different parts of an elephant and describe the beast based on their limited knowledge (“It’s like a tree trunk!” “It’s like a snake!”), this novel collaborates in all its various parts to form an image of a massive, new beast — the pink elephant in the room, as it were, whose heart is technology and its effects on our daily existence.
It isn’t until the end when you can step back from the individual puzzle pieces to see the mosaic as a whole. And the image may be unlike what you expected and reveal some truth that you normally only glimpse in sections. In the end, it may be a self-portrait, warts and all.
By Jen Granneman and Andre Solo
Tagged: psychology, 21st century lit., women’s lit., mom lit., science, self-help, dad lit.
Ever been told you’re “too sensitive”?… What does that even mean? What’s a “normal” level of sensitive and what is “too much”?
Sensitivity, like so many things in life, may be a spectrum. Individuals are more or less sensitive than each other in a variety of ways and that sensitivity can adjust over time and according to context.
You might be highly sensitive to tactile sensations or pain. You might be sensitive to other people’s emotions and needs. You might be sensitive to changes in the environment or a situation. You may be sensitive in myriad other ways.
You’re not “too sensitive” and you don’t need to “toughen up” or feel guilty that you’re affected by things in the world. You don’t need to buy into the “toughness myth” that so frequently tells you that being sensitive in any capacity is wrong. If you’re an emotionally sensitive person in particular, you may need to learn to harness the power of your sensitivity. You may even need to be told that is an option. This book will give you all that and more.
Not only do the authors understand and give examples of what it’s like to be sensitive — whatever that means to you and for you — but there’s a loving and compassionate presentation of new information, namely, how can you love forward and embrace success in today’s world by using the powers that your sensitivity affords you.
Demon Copperhead
By Barbara Kingsolver
Tagged: adventure, 21st cent. lit., romance, true crime, sports, LGBTQ+, memoir, dad lit., YA
Destined to become a true literary classic. Modeled after “David Copperfield” and hitting every classical structural point, this novel really is a masterpiece. The author uses metaphor and simile like they should be used, giving characters unique voices and a sense of place through language choice and colloquial expression. An exemplary piece of writing.
Little Daemon’s mom brought him into her under educated and addiction-filled world and he never really stood a chance. In the poorest county in the US, where unemployment from closed-down coal mines hovers around 50%, there isn’t much to do, or anywhere to go, or anything to be.
Yet Daemon, a foster kid who works his way through all the colorful characters that appear in that system, is surviving okay. His life twists and turns down a trail of hillbilly self-discovery, poverty, addiction, and redemption that anyone living anywhere in the US in the 1990s and early 2000s should find somewhat familiar. Frightening and sad, touching and tender at times, but somewhat familiar.
By Moniquill Blackgoose
Tagged: adventure, fantasy, romance, LGBTQ+, YA, sci-fi
4.5 stars. I think might be one of my favorite YA adventures this year. Destined to be a new classic.
A mix of some of your favorite tropes and some things I’ve never quite seen before. Mild spoilers ahead
Like Harry Potter or Wednesday, we begin with an outcast in a prep school for elite teenagers. What makes these kids elite?… They’re dragon riders.
So our MC is from a remote indigeneous population and she is 100% a fish out of water but also bold, brave, true, and steadfast. She is anti-colonial and there to fully represent her people and her traditional way of life at one of the sacred institutions of the metropole. She is a groundbreaking phenomenon and a gamechanger. A chosen one and not really all that reluctant about it.
She also turns out to be bi and polyamorous, and one of the relationships she involves herself in is interracial and inter-class, which she completely disregards in importance. Just busting through all the boundaries.
Of course, it’s the first in a series, and i will 100% look forward to the next one. And the eventual TV or movie series. Because I’m telling you, this is going to have a ripple effect.
Goal: 100+ More Books in 2024
So that’s it! Thank you for taking the time to look at my editor’s picks, top books of 2023 list. For 2024, I’m setting my goal at 100 titles, but I’m sure I’ll go over that. If you have a specific book you think I’d love and should add to my TBR for 2024, leave a comment and let me know! Or let’s connect on Goodreads and recommend to each other. Looking forward to it!