December is here, which means it is time to start the Top 10s of 2023! Each year I compile a list of my favorite reads of the year in different categories based on genre and target audience. The books can be written in any year, I've just read them in the past 12 months. I read a lot (just look at my GoodReads widget below on the right for my current reading count for the year) so for a book to make one of these lists, it has to be pretty impressive...at least to me. đ I kinda, sorta have arranged the lists with my favorites in each division on top, and descending in how much I loved them. But for several of these lists I'd be hard-pressed to pick a favorite, and it is really just a giant tie. I do want to give a shoutout to one book in the lists today, The Watchmaker's Daughter by Larry Loftis. Normally, asking me to pick an absolute favorite read of the year would be a cruel kind of torture, but this year I can easily say that this biography of Corrie ten Boom was hands down the best book I read this year. In the interest of space, I'm not including any summaries here, but you can click on any title to see my full summary & review for that book and any content notes/trigger warnings. Sometimes books appeal to multiple target audiences and could honestly be put in multiple lists. I tried to go with the age of reader I think it best appeals to or the category I felt best fit. A little note on terminology here, Lower Grade means books primarily aimed at PreK-3rd, Middle Grade means books aimed at 3rd-8th grade readers, Young Adult means books aimed at teens, and Adult means books aimed at adult readers. For some of these lists I had to set limiters to help me narrow down the selection, those appear in parentheses after the division heading. I hope these lists help inspire your TBR lists and/or your gift ideas for loved ones.
Here's the schedule for this year's Top 10s:
Dec 1: Nonfiction Books (all levels + graphic novels)
Dec 8: Top 10s in Contemporary & Historical Fiction (all levels + graphic novels), Leveled Readers (any genre), and Asian Books (any genre)
Dec 15: Top 10s in Scifi/Fantasy Fiction, Lower Grade Fiction (any genre), Lower Grade Fiction Graphic Novels (any genre), YA & Adult Fiction Graphic Novels (any genre)
Dec 21: Guest Post: Mrs. Nat’s Top 10s
Top 10 Adult Nonfiction Books
(includes poetry, biographies, & graphic novels)
The Watchmaker’s Daughter: the True Story of World War II Heroine Corrie ten Boom by Larry Loftis
In the Waves: My Quest to Solve the Mystery of a Civil War Submarine by Rachel Lance
Our Man in Tokyo: an American Ambassador and the Countdown to Pearl Harbor by Steve Kemper
True Raiders: The Untold Story of the 1909 Expedition to Find the Legendary Ark of the Covenant by Brad Ricca
The Earl and the Pharaoh: from the Real Downton Abbey to the Discovery of Tutankhamun by the Countess of Carnarvon
The Elephants of Thula Thula (Elephant Whisperer, #3) by Françoise Malby-Anthony with Kate Sidley
The Confidence Men: How Two Prisoners of War Engineered the Most Remarkable Escape in History by Margalit Fox
The Answer Is…: Reflections on My Life by Alex Trebek
Cats in Spring Rain: a Celebration of Feline Charm in Japanese Art and Haiku translated and curated by Aya Kusch
Unnatural Causes: the Life and Many Deaths of Britain's Top Forensic Pathologist by Richard Shepherd
Top 10 Christian Nonfiction Books
(any age, limited to 1 per series, excludes Christian biographical picture books)
Miracles Today: the Supernatural Work of God in the Modern World by Craig S. Keener
Unearthing the Bible: 101 Archaeological Discoveries That Bring the Bible to Life by Titus Kennedy
The God Who Stays: Life Looks Different with Him by Your Side by Matthew West with Matt Litton, foreword by Lysa TerKeurst
At Home in Exile: Finding Jesus among My Ancestors and Refugee Neighbors by Russell Jeung, foreword by Gene Luen Yang
The Awesome Super Fantastic Forever Party: a True Story about Heaven, Jesus, and the Best Invitation of All (Tales That Tell the Truth) by Joni Eareckson Tada, ill. by Catalina Echeverri
The Christmas Surprise (Little Me, Big God) by Steph Williams
The Creator in You by Jordan Raynor, ill. by Jonathan David
The Gift of Being Yourself: the Sacred Call to Self-Discovery expanded edition (The Spiritual Journey) by David G. Benner, foreword by M. Basil Pennington
Perfectly Suited: the Armor of God for the Anxious Mind by J.D. Peabody
The Holy Ghost: a Spirited Comic by John Hendrix, foreword by Patrick McDonnell
Top 10 Lower Grade Nonfiction Books
(includes poetry, excludes biographies & Christian nonfiction)
The Lights and Types of Ship at Night by Dave Eggers, ill. by Annie Dills
Blue: a History of the Color as Deep as the Sea and as Wide as the Sky by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond, ill. by Daniel Minter
Flowers are Pretty…Weird! By Rosemary Mosco, ill. by Jacob Souva
Pizza!: a Slice of History by Greg Pizzoli
Little Kids First Big Book of Sports (National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book) by James Buckley Jr.
Let’s Play Soccer! by Ben Lerwill, ill. by Marina Ruiz
Noodles, Please! (A to Z Foods of the World) by Cheryl Yau Chepusova ; illustrations by Rebecca Hollingsworth
A Seed Grows by Antoinette Portis
Just Like Me by Vanessa Brantley-Newton
Polar Bear by Candice Fleming, ill. by Eric Rohman
Top 10 Lower Grade Biographies/Autobiographies/Memoirs
(primarily picture book biographies, limited to 1 per series, includes Christian biographical picture books)
Mr. McCloskey’s Marvelous Mallards: the Making of Make Way for Ducklings by Emma Bland Smith, ill. by Becca Stadlander
On the Corner of Chocolate Avenue: How Milton Hershey Brought Milk Chocolate to America by Tziporah Cohen, ill. by Steven Salerno
Helen Roseveare: the Doctor Who Kept Going No Matter What (Do Great Things for God) by Laura Caputo-Wickham, ill. by Cecilia Messina
Instructions Not Included: How a Team of Women Coded the Future by Tami Lewis Brown and Debbie Loren Dunn, ill. by Chelsea Beck
Yes We Will: Asian Americans Who Shaped This Country by Kelly Yang, ill. by Nabi H. Ali, Fahmida Azim, Marcos Chen, Sally Deng, Shreya Gupta, Julia Kuo, Julie Kwon, Nhung LĂȘ, Kitkat Pecson, Dow Phumiruk, Sujean Rim, Dan Santat, Yuko Shimizu, Yuewei Shi, Yao Xiao
The Tower of Life: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt Her Town in Stories and Photographs by Chana Stiefel, ill. by Susan Gal
Listen: How Evelyn Glennie, a Deaf Girl, Changed Percussion by Shannon Stocker, ill. by Devon Holzwarth
J.R.R. Tolkien (Little People, Big Dreams) by Maria Isabel SĂĄnchez Vegara, ill. by Aaron Cushley
Exquisite: the Poetry and Life of Gwendolyn Brooks by Suzanne Slade, ill. by Cozbi A. Cabrera
Just a Girl: a True Story of WWII by Lia Levi, ill. by Jess Mason, translated by Sylvia Notini
Top 10 Middle Grade Nonfiction Books
(includes biographies, graphic novels, & poetry)
The Genius under the Table: Growing up Behind the Iron Curtain by Eugene Yelchin
Elephants by Nic Bishop
The Great Wall through Time: a 2,700-year Journey along the World’s Greatest Wall ill. by Du Fei
Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement by Angela Joy, ill. by Janelle Washington
Operation Pangolin: Saving the World’s Only Scaled Mammal by Suzi Eszterhas
Ultimate Food Atlas by Nancy F. Castaldo
The Universe in You: a Microscopic Journey by Jason Chin
Poems Aloud: an Anthology of Poems to Read Out Loud by Joseph Coelho, ill. by Daniel Gray-Barnett
Irena: Life after the Ghetto (Irena, #3) by Jean-David Morvan & Séverine Tréfouël, ill. by David Evrard, translated by Dan Christensen
Cultured Donuts: Take a Bite out of Art History by Chloe Tyler
Top 10 YA Nonfiction Books
(includes biographies & graphic novels, limited to 1 per author)
Seen and Unseen: what Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams's Photographs Reveal about the Japanese American Incarceration by Elizabeth Partridge, ill. by Lauren Tamaki
Unbreakable: the Spies Who Cracked the Nazis’ Secret Code by Rebecca E.F. Barone
The Woman Who Split the Atom: the Life of Lise Meitner by Marissa Moss
Crash from Outer Space: Unraveling the Mystery of Flying Saucers, Alien Beings, and Roswell by Candice Fleming
In Limbo by Deb JJ Lee
The Wolves and Moose of Isle Royale: Restoring an Island Ecosystem by Nancy F. Castaldo, photos by Morgan Heim
The Whydah: a Pirate Ship Feared, Wrecked, and Found by Martin W. Sandler
Hidden Systems: Water, Electricity, the Internet, and the Secrets behind the Systems We Use Every Day by Dan Nott
A Curious Collection of Wild Companions: an Illustrated Encyclopedia of Inseparable Species by Sami Bayly
A Man Called Horse: John Horse and the Black Seminole Underground Railroad by Glennette Tilley Turner
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