Barnes & Noble Announces The Best Books of 2023 (So Far)

Barnes & Noble announces their selections for The Best Books of the Year (So Far). The list is a stunning collection of books selected by the B&N bookselling team, representing the very best works published across various categories since January of 2023.

As readers know well, narrowing down to a few choice titles can feel insurmountable when so many fantastic new books are published every week. This year, the booksellers of Barnes & Noble tackled the task first by compiling three-title shortlists across lots of categories ... and they liked the results so much that they have kept them. They now announce over 50 of the best shortlists, an original and hopefully inspiring way of looking at the best new books of 2023 — so far.

“It is always a thrilling challenge to curate our Best Books list. This year has been an exceptional one for new publishing, with an embarrassment of riches across all genres,” said Jackie De Leo, Chief Merchandising Officer, Barnes & Noble. “By introducing a whole new collection of categories to this year’s list, our booksellers have been able to highlight magnificent books for every type of reader.”

The list ranges across more than 50 categories, each consisting of just three books that Barnes & Noble booksellers consider to be exceptional. The categories range from the traditional The Best Literary Fiction, to the decidedly unexpected The Best Legendary Reimaginings and The Best Unconventional Detectives. Spanning household names to debut authors, picture books to memoirs, the Best Books of 2023 (So Far) captures the brilliance of publishing in the first half of this memorable year.

Connecting readers with their next favorite book is core to the very fabric of Barnes & Noble. The Best Books of 2023 joins the bookseller’s immensely successful promotions of new books, including already this year their Discover Debut Authors program and the Children’s & YA Book of the Year awards.

“Our booksellers had a grand time creating these lists,” said Shannon DeVito, Senior Director of Books, Barnes & Noble. “While at first glance some groupings may seem hyper-specific, this perfectly captures the dynamic nature of current reading trends. These are brilliant books presented in oftentimes unexpected and surprising ways to delight bookworms everywhere.”

Some of the Barnes & Noble Best Books of 2023 (So Far) Include:

The Best Hot Messes:

Really Good, Actually: A Novel by Monica Heisey

Big Swiss by Jen Beagin

The Rachel Incident: A Novel by Caroline O’Donoghue

The Best Books Starring Octopi:

Many Things Under a Rock: The Mysteries of Octopuses by David Scheel, Laurel “Yoyo” Scheel (Illustrator)

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty, S. A. Chakraborty

Sea Change by Gina Chung

The Best Books to Turn Back Time:

Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia MD

Young Forever: The Secrets to Living Your Longest, Healthiest Life by Mark Hyman MD

12 Weeks to a Sharper You: A Guided Program by Sanjay Gupta MD

The Best Books That Put the “Fun” in Dysfunctional:

Pineapple Street: A Novel by Jenny Jackson

Late Bloomers: A Novel by Deepa Varadarajan

Community Board: A Novel by Tara Conklin

The Best Humor Essays That Hit Way Too Close to Home:

Quietly Hostile: Essays by Samantha Irby

Not Funny: Essays on Life, Comedy, Culture, Et Cetera by Jena Friedman

Is It Hot in Here (Or Am I Suffering for All Eternity for the Sins I Committed on Earth)? by Zach Zimmerman

The Best Novels to Read While Patiently Waiting for the Next Thursday Murder Club Novel from Richard Osman:

The Twyford Code: A Novel by Janice Hallett

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone: A Novel by Benjamin Stevenson

Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide by Rupert Holmes

Customers can find all of these books at their local Barnes & Noble and on bn.com. They can also join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter, using the hashtag #BNBestBooksSoFar.

###

Barnes & Noble, Inc. is the largest retail bookseller in the United States. The Company has approximately 600 bookstores across the United States, as well as its online bookstore at BN.com, the Nook Digital business which offers both e-books and an audio book subscriptions service, the SparkNotes educational service, stationery and gift retailer Paper Source, and the publisher Union Square & Co. General information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be found on the Company’s website at www.bn.com.