Okay, here they are – my highest rated books of 2023. A wee bit late maybe but I don’t do this until after the fat lady sings on 12/31/__ so I can make sure I’ve got everything.
I rate the books I read on two different scales. The scale is for the “non-literary” books and includes contemporary general fiction in mystery, thriller, legal crime, sci-fi and sometimes historical sub-genres. These ratings go from A-F with A++ being best. These are generally plot-based novels where realism and tension-building are vital although they’re rarely “formulaic.” With many there’s also a good deal of character development so these are frequently used in series.
My second way of rating books is on a scale of 1-10 (10 being highest). That’s used for all reading material, except the genre fiction listed above. This would include literary fiction (with themes and non-standard structure etc), general and creative nonfiction, history, science, philosophy, economics, memoirs, travelogues, true crime, etc.
A few books get both ratings like literary mysteries, for instance The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco or The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins – some sci-fi books, too – Ursula LeGuinn’s novels.
So … on with it… (links are to my posts within this blog)
FICTION
(rating1-10) ]
A New Name: Septology VI – VII
by Jon FosseTranslated from Norwegian by Damion Searls
2019 / 208 pages
Read by Kyle Snyder 7h 17m
Rating 10 / literary fiction
Book 3 of the Septology Series
(Both read and listened)
https://mybecky.blog/2023/04/22/a-new-name-septology-vi-vii-by-jon-fosse/
Whale
by Cheon Myeong-kwan
translator Chi-Yong Kim
2023 /
read by Cindy Kay 11h 34m
Rating; 9.5 / Korean lit fiction
https://mybecky.blog/2023/11/27/whale-by-cheon-myeong-kwan/
Time Shelter By Georgi Godspodnov
Translator; Angela Rodee (Bulgaria)
2022 / 304 pp
Read by Jeff Harding: 10h 19m
Rating: 9.5/ literary fiction –
(Both read and listened)
https://mybecky.blog/2023/11/08/time-shelter-by-georgi-godspodnov/
The War of the Poor
by Eric Vuillard
2021 / 75 pages (!)
Kindle version
Rating: 9.25 / historical fiction
Mark Polizzotti (Translator)
https://mybecky.blog/2023/01/08/the-war-of-the-poor-by-eric-vuillard/
This Other Eden
by Paul Harding
Jan 2023 (202 pages)
Read by Edoardo Ballerini 6h 8m
Rating: 9.5 /historical fiction
https://mybecky.blog/2023/10/25/this-other-eden-by-paul-harding/
(both read and listened)
The Maniac
by Benjamin Labatut
September, 2023 – 368 pp
Read by Gergo Danka, Eva Magyar, 8h 51m
Rating – 9.5 / 21st Century fiction
(both read and listened)
https://mybecky.blog/2023/10/16/the-maniac-by-benjamin-labatut/
Treacle Walker
By Alan Garner
2023 / 152 pages
read by Robert Powell 1h 48m
Rating – 9.5 (to read again)
Booker Prize short list
(both read and listened)
https://mybecky.blog/2023/06/20/treacle-walker-by-alec-garner/
The Dictionary of Lost Words
by Pip Williams
2021/
Read by Pippa Bennett-Warner 11h 11m
Rating: 9.0 / great historical fiction
https://mybecky.blog/2023/05/02/the-dictionary-of-lost-words-by-pip-williams/
Demon Copperhead
by Barbare Kingsolver
2022 (896 pages)
Reaed by Charlie Thurston 21h 3m
Rating: 9.5 / contemporary fiction
https://mybecky.blog/2023/02/22/demon-copperhead-by-barbare-kingsolver/
Utopia
By Sir Thomas More
1516
Read by James Adams 4h 10m
Classic – fictionalized philosophy
Rating: 9.5 / Classic! (fiction/ideas/)
(Both read and listened – re-reading now.)
https://mybecky.blog/2024/01/01/utopia-by-sir-thomas-more/
NON-FICTION (Ratings 1-10)
Silent Spring
by: Rachel Carson
1962/ 150 pgs Kindle)
Read by Kaiulani Lee – 10 hrs and 36 mins
Rating – 10: classic environmental science
(Both read and listened)
https://mybecky.blog/2023/04/14/silent-spring-by-rachel-carson/
Fatal Discord: Erasmus, Luther
and the Fight for the Western Mind
by Michael Massing
2018 – 992 pages
Read by Tom Parks, 34h 52m
Rating: 10 / the history and developing ideas of Christianity
(both read and listened)
https://mybecky.blog/2023/06/15/fatal-discord-by-michael-massing/
Indigenous Continent: The Epic Contest for North America
by Pekka Hamalainen
2020 /586 pages hardcover
Read by Kaipo Schwab 18h 44m
Rating; 10 / world history
(both read and listened)
https://mybecky.blog/2023/04/06/indigenous-continent-by-pekka-hamalainen/
Power, Sex, Suicide:
Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life
By Nick Lane
2005 – 524 pages
Read by Nigel Patterson – 15h 54m
Rating: 9.8: life science
(Both read and listened)
https://mybecky.blog/2023/05/28/power-sex-suicide-nick-lane/
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
By David Grann; April, 2023
Read by Dion Graham / David Grann
Rating 9.25 / literary history – suspense
(Both read and listened)
https://mybecky.blog/2023/09/22/the-wager-by-david-gann/
Cuba: An American History
by Ada Ferrer
2022 /566 pages
read by Alma Cuervo 23h 13m
rating 9.5 / history Americas
(read and listened)
https://mybecky.blog/2023/09/05/cuba-by-ada-ferrer/
Humanly Possible:
Seven Hundred Years of Humanist Freethinking,
Inquiry and Hope
by Sarah Bakewell
Rating 9.5 – philosophy
2023 / 454 pages
(both read and listened)
https://mybecky.blog/2023/08/26/humanly-possible-by-sarah-bakewell/
Fire Weather: A True Story From a Hotter World
by John Vaillant
2023 /
Read by Alan Carlson 14h 18m
Rating: 9 / science-environment-climate change
https://mybecky.blog/2023/07/20/fire-weather-by-john-vaillant-fire-weather/
(both read and listened)
Come Back In September: A Literary Education
On West Sixty-Seventh Street, Manhattan
By Darryl Pinckney: 2022
Rating: 9.5 / memoir
https://mybecky.blog/2023/03/26/come-back-in-september-by-david-pinckney/
Read in Kindle format only
CRIME FICTION
(Ratings A-F)
All the Sinners Bleed
by S.A. Cosby
2023
Read by Adam Lazarre-White 13h 5m
Rating: A+ /crime thriller
https://mybecky.blog/2023/06/15/all-the-sinners-bleed/
The Running Grave
by Robert Galbraith
2023
Read by Robert Glenister – 34 hours 14m
Rating; A+ / thriller
(# 7 in the Cormoran Strike series)
https://mybecky.blog/2023/10/21/the-running-grave-by-robert-galbraith/
Birnam Wood
by Eleanor Catton
2023
Read by Saskia Maarleveld 12h 47m
Rating: A+ /mystery-thriller
A Better Man
by Louise Penny
2018 /
Read by Robert Bathurst
Rating: A+ / mystery-crime-thriller
(#15 Three Pines/Gamache series)
https://mybecky.blog/2023/07/02/a-better-man-by-louise-penny/
City of Dreams
By Don Winslow
2023
Read by Ari Fliakos 8h 8m
Rating A+ / crime-thriller
(#2 in City on Fire trilogy)
https://mybecky.blog/2023/04/19/city-of-dreams-by-don-winslow/
The Last Party
By Clare Mackintosh
2022 – (432 pp)
Read by Chloe Davies:
A+ / procedural crime
D.C, Morgan series
https://mybecky.blog/2023/12/31/the-last-party-by-claire-mackintosh/
TRUE CRIME (1-10)
Helter Skelter: The True Story of The Manson Murders
By Vincent Bugliosi
1974 – 598 pages
Read by Scott Brick (2011) 26h 29m
Rating – 9.5 / Classic true crime – memoir
(Both read and listened)
https://mybecky.blog/2023/05/23/helter-skelter-by-vincent-burliest/
Bitter Blood: A True Story
of Southern Family Pride, Madness and Murder
1988
by Jerry Bledsoe
Read by Kevin Stillwell, 20h 8m
Rating; 9 / True Crime – semi- classic
https://mybecky.blog/2023/05/11/bitter-blood-by-jerry-bledsoe/
American Predator:
The Hunt for the Most Meticulous
Serial Killer of the 21st century
By Maureen Callhian
2019 (299 pages)
Rating: 9.5 / True Crime
https://mybecky.blog/2023/01/08/american-predator-by-maureen-callahan/
Becky's Books - 
Great list Bekah. Like you, I wait until the end of the year, but I do it on 31 December so I know what I’ve read even if we not reviewed.
Some of your translated fiction ”bests” particularly appeal to me. And weirdly, so also does Helter skelter. I’ll be reading Demon Copperhead this month.
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Oh good for you, Sue! I don’t think Demon is Kingsolver’s best. but it’s definitely up there just behind Poisonwood… and others. I never wanted to read Helter Skelter because I had the idea that it was hype, but it stuck around! Became a classic! I really enjoy good True Crime! I caved and found it to be an excellent read! Thank you!
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I think Poisonwood Bible is my favourite, but I haven’t read much since that. I did read some of her very early ones.
I don’t read a lot of true crime but well written ones do interest me.
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We have some great books in common. As you know, my Best Books are all Australian, but some of these would have made it into a list if I did one for international authors.
I read the whole of Septology (phew!) and The War of the Poor, yes a much more manageable 75 pages. Also The Dictionary of Lost Words, and most recently, as you know, Utopia. I tried Time Shelter but did not get on with it and the same goes for Demon Copperhead.
Plus, something stirred in the back of my mind when I saw Treacle Walker. I hadn’t read it, I’d used it to try out using Chat GPT to write reviews!
(That post about trialling Chat GPT is the only use ever of AI on my blog, and it’s going to stay that way.)
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We must all split our lists of “Bests” differently. I have to split the non-fiction and the crime books for the Bests. I even rate the crime books differently. A lot of the general fiction are Booker winners – this year was a very good year. for reading them!
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