Season 6, Episode 22: Our Top Ten Books of 2023

On this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith are sharing their favorite reads of 2023. This year, we have two lists: favorite reading experiences and favorite books. With so many great reading experiences of… not so great books, we had to differentiate. We also had a few overlaps, and some reads that really surprised the other! Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site) .  .  .  .  .  1:46 - Our Yearly Reading Overview 5:41 - The Novel Neighbor 6:52 - Currently Reading Patreon 8:08 - Minotaur Books 8:09 - Tor.com 8:10 - Berkeley 8:25 - William Morrow 9:32 - Flatiron Books 16:04 - @megan.is.reading on Instagram (this link goes directly to the monthly goals post!) 17:02 - Our Favorite Reading Experiences of 2023 18:47 - A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas (Meredith #5) 19:46 - Unhinged by Vera Valentine (Kaytee #4) 21:16 - The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf (Meredith #4) 22:08 - Garlic and the Vampire by Bree Paulson (Kaytee #4) 22:10 - Garlic and the Witch by Bree Paulson 22:53 - Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfried Engelmann 23:33 - Cover Story by Susan Rigetti (Meredith #3) 24:45 - My Storied Year by Katie Proctor (Kaytee #3) 25:41 - The Rook by Daniel O’Malley (Meredith #2) 26:17 - Starter Villain by John Scalzi  27:06 - Waypoints by Sam Heughan (Kaytee #2) 28:10 - Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (Meredith #1) 29:05 - The Introduction of Popcorn in the Pages (Kaytee #1) 29:45 - Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton 29:46 - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 29:47 - Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston 29:48 - A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens 31:00 - Our Top Ten Books of 2023 31:40 - Slewfoot by Brom (Meredith #10) CR Season 6, Episode 16 for Slewfoot setup 32:56 - The Life Council by Laura Tremaine (Kaytee #10) CR Season 5, Episode 47 for The Life Council setup 34:03 - The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese (Meredith #9) CR Season 6, Episode 11 for The Covenant of Water setup 34:27 - Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese 35:39 - To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose (Kaytee #9) CR Season 6, Episode 8 for To Shape a Dragon’s Breath setup 36:21 - Elliot Bay Book Company 36:32 - Starling House by Alix E. Harrow (Merdith #8) CR Season 6, Episode 13 for Starling House setup 36:37 - The Novel Neighbor 36:45 - The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow 37:47 - Tom Lake by Ann Patchett (Kaytee #8) CR Season 6, Episode 17 for Tom Lake setup 38:39 - In Light of All Darkness by Kim Cross (Meredith #7) CR Season 6, Episode 8 for In Light of All Darkness setup 40:14 - Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross (Kaytee #7) CR Season 6, Episode 19 for Divine Rivals setup 40:43 - Fairyloot 41:09 - Search by Michelle Huneven (Meredith #6) CR Season 5, Episode 32 for Search setup 42:39 - The Swifts by Beth Lincoln (Kaytee #6) CR Season 6, Episode 6 for The Swifts setup 42:46 - Capital Book on K 43:47 - North Woods by Daniel Mason (Meredith #5) (This has never been brought as a current read) 46:03 - Congratulations, The Best is Over! By R. Eric Thomas (Kaytee #5) CR Season 6, Episode 12 for Congratulations, The Best is Over! Setup 47:08 - Strange Sally Diamond Liz Nugent (Meredith #4) CR Season 6, Episode 5 for Strange Sally Diamond setup 48:22 - Happy Place by Emily Henry (Kaytee #4) CR Season 5, Episode 44 for Happy Place setup 50:07 - Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes (Meredith #3) CR Season 5, Episode 31 for Stone Blind setup 51:49 - The Adventures of Almina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty (Kaytee #3) CR Season 6, Episode 1 for The Adventures of Almina Al-Sirafi setup 53:08 - Cold People by Tom Rob Smith (Meredith #2) CR Season 6, Episode 20 for Cold People setup 54:50 - Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (Kaytee #2) CR Season 5: Episode 47 for Chain Gang All Stars setup 57:31 - Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati (Meredith #1) CR Season 5, Episode 45 for Clytemnestra setup 1:00:41 - Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson (Kaytee #1) CR Season 5, Episode 31 for Black Cake setup Support Us: Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon Bookish Friends Receive: The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. January’s IPL is brought to you by our anchor store, Fabled Bookshop in Waco, TX. Trope Thursday with Kaytee and Bunmi - a behind the scenes peek into the publishing industry All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the special insights of an independent bookseller The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts Connect With Us: The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Kaytee | Mary | Roxanna Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support!