I don’t know about anyone else, but I had a lot of trouble with concentration in 2023. This took me away from reading a lot. There was just so much going on in the world, both the world around me and the one that surrounds me, that I got lost in my own thoughts. The books that would pull me out of myself were the ones on this list.

Normally, my Best Books list is a lot of fiction and perhaps one non-fiction book. What struck me the most about this year’s list is that there’s a lot more non-fiction here. I think reading and connecting directly with the stories of others really helped me to heal this year.

The normal rules apply here: the books on this list had to be published within the year 2023, they could be any genre by any person. Last year, I put any book that tickled my fancy on the list, but this year, I kept it to the ones that shone a light into the dark.

Without further ado, and in no particular order, here is my list of the Best Books of 2023!

Spare by Prince Harry

I know that I’m not the only one to have read this book. When Spare was released, it was the fastest selling memoir ever published. I am not that much of a royalist, but I can’t deny that I am incredibly fascinated by the lives of the royals. Being Canadian, they have been at the forefront of our country for such a long time. I’m not sure what I was expecting with Spare, but I listened to it on audiobook, and it was an incredible and heartfelt read. It gave me and understanding of the man that Harry is and the life he has led, and I was riveted by his journey. I’m so glad I read this book and the next time I read it; I will feel like I’m greeting an old friend.

Big Tree by Bryan Selznick

Selznick is a wizard, at least I’m pretty sure that he is. He can create worlds from his imagination and bring them to life with his words and his incredible art. He always takes me on an adventure, and I’m left changed by what I’ve read and seen with his books. Big Tree is no different. At first, I wondered how he could tell a story with a seed and her brother sycamore seed as they travel through the twists and turns of nature and all that it is before they find a place that they can learn to grow. It’s a big, epic tale that made me see nature and the world around me in a different way. What surprised me was that I actually got emotionally attached to the little seed and her brother. At the end of the tale, Selznick actually tells you all of the natural and scientific facts that the novel was based on, which only added to my fascination. Only an artist like Bryan Selznick could have created something like Big Tree and I see the world in a different way now.

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

I had preordered this book. I’ve always been a huge fan of Britney Spears. Her music has been a part of my world for so long and I know that she is a pop princess and a pop culture icon. I’ve always been curious about what happened to her and how it affected her music. Her life ever since the conservatorship sounded like it simply couldn’t be possible. I wanted to know what happened in her own words. I love the fact that the book doesn’t just focus on the details of how her life was controlled and then taken back. I loved learning how she grew up and followed her on her life’s journey as she discovered her voice, lost it and reclaimed it again. Even though her life has become something that is now misunderstood, I find that I understand her a little bit better now. I was impressed by how she chose to tell her story and The Woman in Me was just SO good. It went beyond a tell all memoir and instead was a book about a woman with a heart full of courage.

Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space by Cait Gordon

First off, I just want to say that representation matters. In a tale that could only have been written by the incomparable Cait Gorden, we are invited inside the S.S. SpoonZ to observe Iris and her Crew as they encounter a world where its inhabitants have no concept of disability. So much else happens in this book, but I want to focus on that She has written a world where disability isn’t seen as uncommon or different, it’s just the way things are. More than that, they have no idea what it is to be disabled. When they encounter the world where no one seems to be disabled, Iris and her Crew remark on how these beings don’t have the help they need from mobility devices and they wonder how they get anything done. Iris and the crew have no idea what it is to be limited by their disabilities. The fact that such a book exists makes my heart happy. It’s a wonderful romp of a space opera that makes people like myself who live with a physical disability and a chronic illness feel seen, heard and loved. I can’t ask for anything more than that.

The Cards You’re Dealt by Theresa Reed

I am a firm believer that sometimes, a book arrives when you need it the most. Theresa Reed is a kickass Tarot reader, but she is also a gifted writer and deck creator. In her latest book, Theresa looks at using Tarot for the difficult moments, the times when we don’t know which way to turn, or we need to know how to deal with a situation or find a path. She leads us through different spreads, covering the hard topics like grief, loss, depression and the hard stuff that life throws our way. When this book arrived, I was going through a flare up with my multiple sclerosis and the world that I knew was going through so many changes. I had to get used to doing things in a different way and I didn’t know how long the flare up would last. The spreads, words and guidance that I received in The Cards You’re Dealt felt like a hand was guiding me through my grief and the uncertainty that I found myself in. I am so grateful that Theresa Reed wrote a book like this and that it found me when I needed it most.

One Sunny Afternoon by Rowan Jetté Knox

I loved Love Live Here, the previous memoir written by the author and couldn’t wait to read One Sunny Afternoon. I wasn’t disappointed. In Love Lives Here, I felt like I lived right alongside Knox as they found their way forwards. It’s no different in One Sunny Afternoon, perhaps even more so, as we are taken through the abuse and harassment that Knox received after they became an advocate for their trans daughter and wife. We are right beside them as they relive what they went through, what they experienced and how they almost took their life. More importantly, I was able to read about how they survived and thrived afterwards, how they grew as a person and tried to find solace and understanding in a world that was no longer the one they had known. Make no mistake, this is not an easy book to read, and I had to put it down a few times as I read my way through it. However, it is a powerful book about one person’s will to live and create the change that they needed to see.

Happy Place by Emily Henry

This book made me so happy, so the title was a really good choice. Harriet and Wyn have broken up, but they have to make it look like they are still together. They still haven’t told their friends and they are about to spend a week long vacation in Maine. Sounds like a simple premise, but told in alternating narrative voices that span time, we learn about Harriet and Wyn and their friends, and the journey that has taken them to this time. We learn about what really happened and what was left unsaid. What I loved about this book is that it didn’t go anywhere I thought it would and constantly surprised me. Wyn and Harriet, and their friends Sabrina and Parth are not cardboard cutouts, they are real people that I got to know. This book had me laughing out loud and I even shed a tear or two. This is a nuanced and expertly written rom com that left me so happy. I also realized that a person’s happy place isn’t necessarily physical, it’s where the heart is happiest or who your with. I ended the book elated.

Stuck with You by ‘Nathan Burgoine

I love everything that Burgoine writes. I know that I will always be given a story with characters that are alive on the page, a story that moves and pulls me along for the ride and writing that makes me stop and appreciate the emotions that wonderful writing can make me feel. Stuck With You is no different. It’s a hi lo reader about Ben who is on the train from Toronto and heading to Ottawa. He is returning home after a stay with his father, so he is in no mood to deal with who he sees on the train: Caleb. Ben has little time for his sarcasm, but there is something deeper there. Over the course of the train ride, Ben learns that affection, even attraction, can happen in the most bizarre of moments. This is a fantastic book that made me laugh out loud, but it also made me feel so many things. I found myself nodding along with Ben or Caleb, having felt the same things that they are going through. Burgoine really touched me with this book and his words. It left me feeling warm and happy and the whole story filled me with so much hope. I heart this book.

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle

An incredible queer horror novel written by an autistic queer novel? Yes please! Many of you probably know Chuck Tingle for his ebooks known as Tinglers, short snappy and sexy books that give are a rollicking good time. I was anxious to read Tingle’s first full length horror novel and this book blew my expectations out of the water. It’s just so damn good. Camp Damascus is a queer conversion camp in Neverton Montana. They can scare the gay out of you. Rose is our queer neurodivergent guide through the horrors that wait. I knew it was a horror novel, but I wasn’t prepared for the moments that made me laugh out loud, only to be followed by something truly frightening. This book hit home on so many levels: it is own voice storytelling about something that is genuinely frightening so many people. The world building is amazing and, though the characters lived off of the page. I am still thinking about this book today; I think the thing that scared me the most was that it was the people you had to be afraid of in this book, not the boogeyman. I fantastic and amazing book I can’t wait to read again.

Crushing It by Jen Desmarais

You know those books that you read and you see yourself in them? More than that, you get totally engrossed in the story and the characters feel like friends that you’ve known for a long time? Tommy and Carter feel like that to me. When Tommy meets Carter at Door Tech March Break camp, sparks fly and what follows is a wonderfully geeky romp featuring puzzles and the undercurrent of something more. This book is a wonderful celebration of what is like to realize who you are and the power of being who you want to be. I rooted for Tommy and Carter along the way and their journey was one I loved. This book filled me with joy, pure and simple and it reminded me that sometimes, the most important thing we can do is be ourselves and be true to who we are, even when the world is telling us it’s not okay. A true gem of a book!

What a glorious year in books! I can’t wait to see what 2024 will bring and what tales I will lose myself in.

Thanks go out to all the authors on this list for giving me a light in the dark and joy when it seemed the darkest. You have my upmost gratitude.