As we reach the middle point of the year, book-centered organizations will be releasing their picks for the best books of the first half of the year. Today, we will be looking at Barnes and Noble’s best books of 2023 so far. Keep reading to find out which books made the list!
With so many new releases, it is hard to get a grasp on what books are good and worth reading. That is why lists such as these helps navigate new releases. And Barnes and Noble did not hold back. With dozens of picks, you’ll recognize some names while also come across novels that may have slipped your notice. You can see the full list below!
Barnes and Noble’s Best Books of 2023 So Far
- Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
- The Last Animal: A Novel by Ramona Ausubel
- This Other Eden: A Novel by Paul Harding
- Walking with Sam: A Father, a Son, and Five Hundred Miles Across Spain by Andrew McCarthy
- Built to Move: The Ten Essential Habits to Help You Move Freely and Live Fully by Kelly Starrett
- American Ramble: A Walk of Memory and Renewal by Neil King
- Big Swiss by Jen Beagin
- Really Good, Actually: A Novel by Monica Heisey
- The Rachel Incident: A novel by Caroline O’Donoghue
- The Story of Art Without Men by Katy Hessel
- Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma by Claire Dederer
- Unlikeable Female Characters: The Women Pop Culture Wants You to Hate by Anna Bogutskaya
- Romantic Comedy: A Novel by Curtis Sittenfeld
- This Bird Has Flown: A Novel by Susanna Hoffs
- The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann
- The Ship Beneath the Ice: The Discovery of Shackleton’s Endurance by Mensun Bound
- Samuel Pepys and the Strange Wrecking of the Gloucester: The Shipwreck that Shocked Restoration Britain by Nigel Pickford
- Happy Place by Emily Henry
- Spare by Prince Harry
- Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
- The Mythmakers by Keziah Weir
- Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of “Latino” by Héctor Tobar
- Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond
- The God of Endings: A Novel by Jacqueline Holland
- Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs
- Scoundrel: The True Story of the Murderer Who Charmed His Way to Fame and Freedom by Sarah Weinman
- The Guest by Emma Cline
- Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley
- Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina
- Scorched Grace: A Sister Holiday Mystery by Margot Douaihy
- Dirty Laundry: A Novel by Disha Bose
- Kala: A Novel by Colin Walsh
- The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin
- Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most by Miroslav Volf
- Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock by Jenny Odell
- She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran
- Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury
- Still Life by Doan Ly
- Basquiat x Warhol: Paintings 4 Hands by Edition Gallimard
- 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 Earth Transformed: An Untold History by Peter Frankopan
- The Climate Book: The Facts and the Solutions by Greta Thunberg
- The Devil’s Element: Phosphorus and a World Out of Balance by Dan Egan
- The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
- Homecoming: A Novel by Kate Morton
- A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon
- Sea Change by Gina Chung
- Many Things Under a Rock: The Mysteries of Octopuses by David Scheel
- Julia and the Shark by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
- Big Tree by Brian Selznick
- Greenwild: The World Behind the Door by Pari Thomson
- The Sun and the Star: A Nico di Angelo Adventure by Rick Riordan
- Skandar and the Phantom Rider by A.F. Steadman
- Once There Was by Kiyash Monsef
- Be the Bus: The Lost & Profound Wisdom of The Pigeon by Mo Willems
- How Dinosaurs Went Extinct: A Safety Guide by Ame Dyckman
- Harold the Iceberg Melts Down by Lisa Wyzlic
- 8 Rules of Love: How to Find It, Keep It, and Let It Go by Jay Shetty
- You Will Find Your People: How to Make Meaningful Friendships as an Adult by Lane Moore
- Nell Plants a Tree by Anne Wynter
- The City Tree by Shira Boss
- A Year of Good News by Martin Smatana
- The One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate
- Gustav Is Missing!: A Tale of Friendship and Bravery by Andrea Zuill
- We Are Going to Be Pals! by Mark Teague
- The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw
- Lone Women: A Novel by Victor LaValle
- All Hallows: A Novel by Christopher Golden
- A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher
- Don’t Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones
- Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova
- Burn the Negative by Josh Winning
- Dead Eleven: A Novel by Jimmy Juliano
- Mister Magic: A Novel by Kiersten White
- The Best Nostalgic Trauma Reads
- The Trees Grew Because I Bled There: Collected Stories by Eric LaRocca
- The Beast You Are: Stories by Paul Tremblay
- Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird by Agustina Bazterrica
- Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide by Rupert Holmes
- Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone: A Novel by Benjamin Stevenson
- The Twyford Code: A Novel by Janice Hallett
- Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune
- Once More with Feeling: A Novel by Elissa Sussman
- The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
- Above Ground by Clint Smith
- Why Fathers Cry at Night: A Memoir in Love Poems, Letters, Recipes, and Remembrances by Kwame Alexander
- The Book of (More) Delights by Ross Gay
- Is It Hot in Here (Or Am I Suffering for All Eternity for the Sins I Committed on Earth)? by Zach Zimmerman
- Not Funny: Essays on Life, Comedy, Culture, Et Cetera by Jena Friedman
- Quietly Hostile: Essays by Samantha Irby
- Silver in the Bone by Alexandra Bracken
- The Shadow of Perseus: A Novel by Claire Heywood
- Lies We Sing to the Sea by Sarah Underwood
- A Shadow Crown by Melissa Blair
- The Shadow Cabinet: A Novel by Juno Dawson
- That Cheese Plate Wants to Party: Festive Boards, Spreads, and Recipes with the Cheese By Numbers Method by Marissa Mullen
- Trejo’s Cantina: Cocktails, Snacks & Amazing Non-Alcoholic Drinks from the Heart of Hollywood by Danny Trejo
- Saved by the Bellini: & Other 90s-Inspired Cocktails by John deBary
- The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
- The Daughters of Madurai by Rajasree Variyar
- Sweet Enough: A Dessert Cookbook by Alison Roman
- More Than Cake: 100 Baking Recipes Built for Pleasure and Community by Natasha Pickowicz
- Mayumu: Filipino American Desserts Remixed by Abi Balingit
- The Language of Trees: A Rewilding of Literature and Landscape by Katie Holten
- Wolfish: Wolf, Self, and the Stories We Tell About Fear by Erica Berry
- What an Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds by Jennifer Ackerman
- Pineapple Street: A Novel by Jenny Jackson
- Community Board: A Novel by Tara Conklin
- Late Bloomers: A Novel by Deepa Varadarajan
- A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy Egan
- King: A Life by Jonathan Eig
- The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History by Ned Blackhawk
- Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club: A Novel by J. Ryan Stradal
- The Sweet Spot: A Novel by Amy Poeppel
- The Half Moon: A Novel by Mary Beth Keane
- Chain Gang All Stars: A Novel by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
- I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai
- Yellowface by R. F. Kuang
- Mott Street: A Chinese American Family’s Story of Exclusion and Homecoming by Ava Chin
- Ordinary Notes by Christina Sharpe
- Biography of X: A Novel by Catherine Lacey
- If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio
- In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune
- The First Bright Thing by J. R. Dawson
- Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo
- How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix
- Your Driver Is Waiting: A Novel by Priya Guns
- Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea by Rita Chang-Eppig
- Pageboy: A Memoir by Elliot Page
- So Many Steves: Afternoons with Steve Martin by Steve Martin
- The Best Audiobooks Narrated by a Celebrity
- Wild and Precious: A Celebration of Mary Oliver by Mary Oliver
- Spoken Word: A Cultural History by Joshua Bennett
- The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
- Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli
Conclusion
These are all of Barnes and Noble’s best books of 2023 so far. There are names that I recognize such as Yellowface by R. F. Kuang and Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. But many of these books are new to me and I can’t wait to see how many of them I end up adding to my to-read list!
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