Library Shares Local Best Books of 2023

In 2023 Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library readers favored fiction with mystery and thrillers topping checkouts. While checkouts closely followed national trends, library staff and the library’s Facebook friends highlighted many other reads.

“There is no one way to pick the best books of the year,” said Readers’ Librarian Miranda Ericsson. “Everyone has an opinion and each list is a little different. 2023 titles top the checkout numbers, but readers also continued to work on to-be-read lists from previous years. It's interesting to see the difference in print and ebook fiction checkouts. These two top 10 lists only have one book in common.”

The 2023 book by mystery author C.J. Box, who visited the library last year, is in our top 10 print and ebook checkouts. This year's visiting author Craig Johnson's newest book is in the top 10 ebook checkouts.

The following are the top 10 fiction print books checked out and published in 2023:

1. "Storm Watch" by C.J. Box

2. "Unnatural History" by Jonathan Kellerman

3. "Simply Lies" by David Baldacci

4. "The House of Wolves" by James Patterson

5. "Dark Angel" by John Sandford

6. "Without a Trace" by Danielle Steel

7. "I Will Find You" by Harlan Coben

8. "The 23rd Midnight" by James Patterson

9. "Worthy Opponents" by Danielle Steel

10. "3 Days to Live" by James Patterson

The following are the top 10 fiction ebooks checked out and published in 2023:

1. "Simply Lies" by David Baldacci

2. "Happy Place" by Emily Henry

3. "The Longmire Defense" by Craig Johnson

4. "Fourth Wing" by Rebecca Yarros

5. "I Will Find You" by Harlan Coben

6. "The Five-Star Weekend" by Elin Hilderbrand

7. "Identity" by Nora Roberts

8. "The House in the Pines" by Ana Reyes

9. "Storm Watch" by C.J. Box

10. "Hang the Moon" by Jeanette Walls

These lists reflect national bestseller trends, with books written by well-known authors and series that keep readers hooked. Books that have a big demand are often available as 14-Day Bestseller Express checkouts. These books move faster because they cannot be renewed or put on hold and they only check out for two weeks.

The following are the top 10 nonfiction print books checked out and published 2023:

1. "Spare" by Prince Harry, Duke of Susex

2. "The Wager" by David Grann

3. "Walk the Blue Line" by James Patterson

4. "A Fever in the Heartland" by Timothy Egan

5. "The Good Life" by Robert J. Waldinger

6. "The Nazi Conspiracy" by Brad Meltzer

7. "All My Knotted-up Life" by Beth Moore

8. "Abandoned Topeka" by Emily Cowen

9. "Never Give Up" by Tom Brokaw

10. "Master Slave Husband Wife" by Ilyon Woo

The following are 10 of the library staff's many favorite books (fiction and nonfiction) published in 2023:

• "The Bee Sting" by Paul Murray

• "I Have Some Questions for You" by Rebecca Makkai 

• "Lucky Red" by Claudia Cravens

• "Remarkable Bright Creatures" by Shelby Van Pelt

• "Tom Lake" by Ann Patchett

• "The House Is on Fire" by Rachel Beanland

• "The Teachers" by Alexandra Robbins

• "Tupac Shakur" by Staci Robinson

• "Plague-busters" by Lindsey Fitzharris

• "Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant" by Curtis Chin

Find more local best of 2023 booklists including young adult (YA), middle grade and picture books in the library's web article. Another way to see what people in the community are reading is to follow the weekly “What are you reading?” conversation on the library’s Facebook page. These comments show that many readers are catching up on what was hot the year before.

The library catalog, book blogs and podcast provide reading recommendations all year long. The blogs Lost in the Stacks, Fiction Five and What YA’ Reading provide reading suggestions on a variety of genres. The library’s podcast, The Bookmark, provides stellar staff picks in weekly 30-minute episodes with Miranda Ericsson, Chris Blocker and Autumn Friedli.