Each year, I often find myself (whether intentionally or not) circling around some different themes or particular sub-genres in my fiction and nonfiction reading. My fiction choices this year have had me re-reading several fantasy series in preparation for some anticipated sequels, which you might spot in the list below. My nonfiction books have largely been focused on business management (everyone’s most exciting reading topic), digital technologies, and hermeneutics (how to study the Bible).

I had an easier time choosing my top five nonfiction books this year than my fiction choices. There were a lot of options for that list that made it hard to separate the top ten from the top fifteen. But after making some hard calls, of the ninety books I read this past year, here were my top ten. (Titles are linked to my Goodreads reviews.)

2023 was a happy year for me as I ended it out with 90 books read–which is the most I’ve ever accomplished since college. (That one college year where I somehow managed to read 150+ books is probably going to keep the gold for a long time!) 

Most years I find myself reading an eclectic blend of fiction, while gravitating to a theme in many of the nonfiction books I read. This year with my nonfiction reads, I continued the journey I began last year of contemplating suffering. But I actually had a fiction theme too, as I worked my way through a number of dark academia novels as research for the novel I currently have out on submission. While only one of those made this list, there would be several others in the #11-20 spots. But without any further ado, here are my 10 favorite books I read for the first time this past year (book titles linked to my longer Goodreads reviews).

Curious Tides by Pascelle Lascelle

This was a very fun read–and the most vibey of any of my dark academia reads this year. An absolutely delightful romp with a splendid sense of atmosphere that also featured a protagonist who genuinely learned from her mistakes.

This year was a squeaker for me in my ability to reach my Goodreads goal by the years’ end. But I managed to squeeze by with one book to spare in hitting my goal of hitting 75 books. I’ll blame my September move from small town North Carolina to river town Pennsylvania for why things came down to the wire this year.

I find myself re-reading books more often as the years go on, so the list of new titles I read each year is slowly shrinking. But there were some deeply moving and resonant new works I read this year. So here are my 10 favorite books I read for the first time this past year (book titles linked to my longer Goodreads reviews).

10. The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk

This was a rather eye-opening look at the very physical ways that trauma can affect people—and what true healing really looks like. Both as a writer and as someone who wants to know how to best help others who may struggle with trauma in my own life, I found this book quite helpful.