Vox’s Best Books of 2023

One of my favorite things to do is to browse the various end of year lists. And today, we will be looking at Vox’s best books of 2023. Keep reading to see which books they picked as their favorite of the year!

Vox has a great team when it comes to reviewing books. I always find myself checking their website and lists out. The person in charge of curating their lists is senior correspondent Constance Grady. She has been covering books for Vox since 2016.

As I browse through the list, I can’t help but notice titles that I haven’t come across before. As expected, there were a few titles that I knew I would see such as The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride and The Fraud by Zadie Smith. And outside of Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, these books were mostly new to me.

It is going to take us years to go through all of the amazing books released in 2023. And lists like these are why I love going through every end of year list I come across. Novels such as How I Won a Nobel Prize by Julius Taranto and This Is Salvaged: Stories by Vauhini Vara feel like must reads. You can see the full list below!

Vox’s Best Books of 2023

• Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
• Loved and Missed by Susie Boyt
• The Last Language by Jennifer duBois
• The Marriage Question: George Eliot’s Double Life by Clare Carlisle
• The Upstairs Delicatessen: On Eating, Reading, Reading About Eating, and Eating While Reading by Dwight Garner
• Menewood by Nicola Griffith
• The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff
• The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
• The End of Drum-Time by Hanna Pylväinen
• The Fraud by Zadie Smith
• How I Won a Nobel Prize by Julius Taranto
• Idlewild by James Frankie Thomas
• This Is Salvaged: Stories by Vauhini Vara

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

A novel that I saw get a lot of buzz in 2023 was Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. It is a novel about a prison that has commercialized fighting and make prisoners fight to the death for glory and perks. This was a novel that I gave a try and I couldn’t get fully into it. It felt like there were a lot of interesting aspects of this world that weren’t pursued in my opinion.

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store

When you need a fee-good book about community, James McBride is who you should turn to. His latest novel The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store tells the story of a Jewish couple that hide a young black boy from social services and try protect him from being a victim of the system. Find our for yourself why this novel mad many end of year lists and was one of former President Barack Obama’s favorite books of 2023.

Chain-Gang All-Stars

A novel that I saw get a lot of buzz in 2023 was Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. It is a novel about a prison that has commercialized fighting and make prisoners fight to the death for glory and perks. This was a novel that I gave a try and I couldn’t get fully into it. It felt like there were a lot of interesting aspects of this world that weren’t pursued in my opinion.

The Fraud

If you are looking for an amazing historical novel, then The Fraud by Zadie Smith should be your next read. The novel tells the story of Mrs. Eliza Touchet and her cousin Andrew Bogle who has to testify in a court case that has huge implications.

The novel is based on true historical events and if you are like me, then you’ll look that up after finishing the book. Smith is a brilliant author and shines in this novel as she travels to the past to tell this story.

Conclusion

These are Vox’s best books of 2023 and this is a solid list. Many of these books are on my to-read list and I can’t wait to read all of them. What did you think Vox’s picks? What other books should have made the list? Let us know in the comments below!

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook