Best Books

The Best Books of 2023 – Audiobooks (A Year-End List Aggregation)

“What are the best Audiobooks books released in 2023?” We looked at 124 of the top Audiobooks books, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!

The top 15 books, all appearing on 2 or more “Best Audiobooks” book lists, are ranked below by how many times they appear. The remaining 100+ titles, as well as the sources we used, are in alphabetical order on the bottom of the page.

Our other Best Of 2023 Articles:

Previous Years: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015

Happy Scrolling!



Top 15 Best Audiobooks Books From 2023



15.) All the Sinners Bleed written by S. A. Cosby and Read by Adam Lazarre-White

Lists It Appears On:

  • AudioFile
  • Shepherd

Titus Crown is the first Black sheriff in the history of Charon County, Virginia. In recent decades, quiet Charon has had only two murders. But after years of working as an FBI agent, Titus knows better than anyone that while his hometown might seem …



14.) Birnam Wood written by Eleanor Catton and Read by Saskia Maarleveld

Lists It Appears On:

  • AudioFile
  • Shepherd

A landslide has closed the Korowai Pass on New Zealand’s South Island, cutting off the town of Thorndike and leaving a sizable farm abandoned. The disaster presents an opportunity for Birnam Wood, an undeclared, unregulated, sometimes-criminal, somet…



13.) Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries written by Heather Fawcett and Read by Ell Potter and Michael Dodds

Lists It Appears On:

  • Shepherd
  • Slate

Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world’s first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good…



12.) For Lamb written by Lesa Cline-Ransome and Read by Tyla Collier, Kevin R. Free, Rebecca Lee, Jaime Lincoln Smith, Dion Graham, Angel Pean

Lists It Appears On:

  • AudioFile
  • Barnes & Noble

Lamb’s family strives to better their lives in Jackson, Mississippi, in the late 1930s. Lamb’s mother is a hard-working, creative seamstress who cannot reveal she’s a lesbian. Lamb’s brother has a brilliant mind and has even earned a college scholars…



11.) Holly written by Stephen King and Read by Justine Lupe, Stephen King [Note]

Lists It Appears On:

  • AudioFile
  • Shepherd

Stephen King’s Holly marks the triumphant return of beloved King character Holly Gibney. Audiences have witnessed Holly’s gradual transformation from a shy (but also brave and ethical) recluse in Mr. Mercedes to Bill Hodges’s partner in Finders Keepe…



10.) King: A Life written by Jonathan Eig and Read by Dion Graham

Lists It Appears On:

  • AudioFile
  • Barnes & Noble

Vividly written and exhaustively researched, Jonathan Eig’s King: A Life is the first major biography in decades of the civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr.—and the first to include recently declassified FBI files. In this revelatory new portrait…



9.) None of This Is True written by Lisa Jewell and Read by Kristin Atherton

Lists It Appears On:

  • Barnes & Noble
  • Shepherd

Celebrating her forty-fifth birthday at her local pub, popular podcaster Alix Summer crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie, it turns out, is also celebrating her forty-fifth birthday. They are, in fact, birthday twins….



8.) Pageboy: A Memoir written by Elliot Page and Read by Elliot Page

Lists It Appears On:

  • Barnes & Noble
  • Shepherd

With Juno’s massive success, Elliot became one of the world’s most beloved actors. His dreams were coming true, but the pressure to perform suffocated him. He was forced to play the part of the glossy young starlet, a role that made his skin crawl, o…



7.) Spare written by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex and Read by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex

Lists It Appears On:

  • Barnes & Noble
  • Shepherd

Before losing his mother, twelve-year-old Prince Harry was known as the carefree one, the happy-go-lucky Spare to the more serious Heir. Grief changed everything. He struggled at school, struggled with anger, with loneliness—and, because he blamed th…



6.) The Last Devil to Die written by Richard Osman and Read by Fiona Shaw

Lists It Appears On:

  • Shepherd
  • Shepherd

The gang’s search leads them into the antiques business, where the tricks of the trade are as old as the objects themselves. As they encounter drug dealers, art forgers, and online fraudsters—as well as heartache close to home—Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, …



5.) The Secret Hours written by Mick Herron and Read by Gerard Doyle

Lists It Appears On:

  • AudioFile
  • Slate

Two years ago, a hostile Prime Minister launched the Monochrome inquiry, investigating “historical over-reaching” by the British Secret Service “to investigate historical over-reaching.” Monochrome’s mission was to ferret out any hint of misconduct b…



4.) The Wager written by David Grann and Read by Dion Graham

Lists It Appears On:

  • AudioFile
  • Shepherd

On January 28, 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, barely alive, and they had an extraordinary tale to tell. They were survivors of His Majesty’s Ship the Wa…



3.) Yellowface written by R. F. Kuang and Read by Helen Laser

Lists It Appears On:

  • AudioFile
  • Shepherd

Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars. But Athena’s a literary darling. June Hayward is literally nobody. Who wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks….



2.) Chain-Gang All-Stars written by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah and Read by Shayna Small, Aaron Goodson, Michael Crouch, and Lee Osorio

Lists It Appears On:

  • AudioFile
  • Powell’s
  • Shepherd

Loretta Thurwar and Hamara “Hurricane Staxxx” Stacker are the stars of the Chain-Gang All-Stars, the cornerstone of CAPE, or Criminal Action Penal Entertainment, a highly popular, highly controversial profit-raising program in America’s increasingly …



1.) Tom Lake written by Ann Patchett and Read by Meryl Streep

Lists It Appears On:

  • AudioFile
  • Barnes & Noble
  • Powell’s
  • Shepherd

In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family’s orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance year…




The 100+ Additional Best Audiobooks Books Released In 2023



16) 10 THINGS THAT NEVER HAPPENED – Alexis Hall List: (AudioFile)

17) A Girl Called Samson – Amy Harmon List: (Shepherd)

18) A Haunting on the Hill – Elizabeth Hand List: (Slate)

19) A RAKE OF HIS OWN – A.J. Lancaster List: (AudioFile)

20) A Shadow in Moscow – Katherine Reay List: (Shepherd)

21) Age of Vice – Deepti Kapoor List: (Slate)

22) ALISON BECHDEL’S DYKES TO WATCH OUT FOR – Alison Bechdel List: (AudioFile)

23) All the Beauty in the World – Patrick Bringley List: (Shepherd)

24) And Your Enemies Closer – Rob Parker List: (Shepherd)

25) ANDER & SANTI WERE HERE – Jonny Garza Villa List: (AudioFile)

26) Battle Song – Ian Ross List: (Shepherd)

27) Bookshops & Bonedust – Travis Baldree List: (Powell’s)

28) Collected Fictions – Jorge Luis Borges List: (Slate)

29) Crook Manifesto – Colson Whitehead List: (Slate)

30) Day – Michael Cunningham List: (Powell’s)

31) DEAD MAN’S POSE – Susan Rogers List: (AudioFile)

32) Delicate Condition – Danielle Valentine List: (Shepherd)

33) Dempsey – Jeffrey Wilson List: (Shepherd)

34) DIFFER WE MUST – Steve Inskeep List: (AudioFile)

35) Dykes to Watch Out For – Alison Bechdel List: (Slate)

36) Eat to Beat Your Diet – William W Li List: (Shepherd)

37) ELF DOG AND OWL HEAD – M.T. Anderson List: (AudioFile)

38) Elon Musk – Walter Isaacson List: (Shepherd)

39) EVEN IF THE SKY IS FALLING – Taj McCoy [Ed.] List: (AudioFile)

40) EXODUS: THE SHANGHAI JEWS – Kate McAll List: (AudioFile)

41) Fire Weather – John Vaillant List: (Shepherd)

42) Fourth Wing – Rebecca Yarros List: (Shepherd)

43) Freaks, Gleeks, and Dawson’s Creek – Thea Glassman List: (Shepherd)

44) FREE RADICALS – Lila Riesen List: (AudioFile)

45) FULL MOON OVER FREEDOM – Angelina M. Lopez List: (AudioFile)

46) God Talks – Ed Rush List: (Shepherd)

47) GODKILLER – Hannah Kaner List: (AudioFile)

48) Happiness Falls – Angie Kim List: (Shepherd)

49) HOW TO SAY BABYLON – Safiya Sinclair List: (AudioFile)

50) I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU – Rebecca Makkai List: (AudioFile)

51) I Will Find You – Harlan Coben List: (Shepherd)

52) If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come – Jen St Jude List: (Shepherd)

53) IN THE LIVES OF PUPPETS – TJ Klune List: (AudioFile)

54) It. Goes. So. Fast. – Mary Louise Kelly List: (Shepherd)

55) Learned by Heart – Emma Donoghue List: (Shepherd)

56) Legacy – Michael Pietrack List: (Shepherd)

57) Leslie F*cking Jones – Leslie Jones List: (Barnes & Noble)

58) Lone Women – Victor LaValle List: (Slate)

59) LOVE, THEORETICALLY – Ali Hazelwood List: (AudioFile)

60) Maeve Fly – CJ Leede List: (Shepherd)

61) MAKING IT SO – Patrick Stewart List: (AudioFile)

62) MISBELIEF – Dan Ariely List: (AudioFile)

63) Monsters – Claire Dederer List: (Shepherd)

64) My Name Is Barbra – Barbra Streisand List: (Barnes & Noble)

65) NIC BLAKE AND THE REMARKABLES: THE MANIFESTOR PROPHECY – Angie Thomas List: (AudioFile)

66) Old God’s Time – Sebastian Barry List: (Shepherd)

67) Only God Works – Kevin White List: (Shepherd)

68) Only The Beautiful – Susan Meissner List: (Shepherd)

69) ONLY THIS BEAUTIFUL MOMENT – Abdi Nazemian List: (AudioFile)

70) Our Hospital – Samuel Shem List: (Shepherd)

71) Outlive – Peter Attia List: (Shepherd)

72) POVERTY, BY AMERICA – Matthew Desmond List: (AudioFile)

73) Quietly Hostile – Samantha Irby List: (Powell’s)

74) REMEMBER US – Jacqueline Woodson List: (AudioFile)

75) ROGUE JUSTICE – Stacey Abrams List: (AudioFile)

76) ROLE PLAYING – Cathy Yardley List: (AudioFile)

77) Romney: A Reckoning – McKay Coppins List: (Powell’s)

78) SANDOR KATZ AND THE TINY WILD – Jacqueline Briggs Martin List: (AudioFile)

79) Shy – Mary Rodgers and Jesse Green List: (Powell’s)

80) SILVER NITRATE – Silvia Moreno-Garcia List: (AudioFile)

81) Someone Else’s Shoes – Jojo Moyes List: (Shepherd)

82) STUNTBOY, IN-BETWEEN TIME – Jason Reynolds List: (AudioFile)

83) SUNSHINE – Jarrett J. Krosoczka List: (AudioFile)

84) Swamp Story – Dave Barry List: (Shepherd)

85) TABULA RASA – John McPhee List: (AudioFile)

86) THE ART THIEF – Michael Finkel List: (AudioFile)

87) The Bandit Queens – Parini Shroff List: (Shepherd)

88) The Celebrants – Steven Rowley List: (Shepherd)

89) The Covenant of Water – Abraham Verghese List: (Shepherd)

90) The Deluge – Stephen Markley List: (Shepherd)

91) The Fraud – Zadie Smith List: (Shepherd)

92) THE GRIMOIRE OF GRAVE FATES – Hanna Alkaf List: (AudioFile)

93) The Happy Couple – Naoise Dolan List: (Powell’s)

94) THE HEAVEN & EARTH GROCERY STORE – James McBride List: (AudioFile)

95) The January 6th Report – List: (Slate)

96) The Lamplighters – J Gabriel Gates List: (Shepherd)

97) The Last Tale of the Flower Bride – Roshani Chokshi List: (Shepherd)

98) THE LATE AMERICANS – Brandon Taylor List: (AudioFile)

99) The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece – Tom Hanks List: (Shepherd)

100) The Russo-Ukrainian War – Serhii Plokhy List: (Shepherd)

101) THE SCAVENGER DOOR – Suzanne Palmer List: (AudioFile)

102) The Secret Book of Flora Lea – Patti Callahan Henry List: (Shepherd)

103) THE SKULL – Jon Klassen List: (AudioFile)

104) The Spectacular – Fiona Davis List: (Shepherd)

105) The Story of Art Without Men – Katy Hessel List: (Shepherd)

106) The Vulnerables – Sigrid Nunez List: (Powell’s)

107) THE WATER OUTLAWS – S.L. Huang List: (AudioFile)

108) The Wicked In Me – Suzanne Wright List: (Shepherd)

109) The Will of the Many – James Islington List: (Shepherd)

110) The Wishing Game – Meg Shaffer List: (Shepherd)

111) The Woman in Me – Britney Spears List: (Powell’s)

112) THIRD EYE – Felicia Day List: (AudioFile)

113) To Anyone Who Ever Asks: The Life, Music, and Mystery of Connie Converse – Howard Fishman List: (Slate)

114) TRANSLATION STATE – Ann Leckie List: (AudioFile)

115) Tress of the Emerald Sea – Brandon Sanderson List: (Shepherd)

116) VERA WONG’S UNSOLICITED ADVICE FOR MURDERERS – Jesse Q. Sutanto List: (AudioFile)

117) WARRIOR GIRL UNEARTHED – Angeline Boulley List: (AudioFile)

118) WASTELAND – Oliver Franklin-Wallis List: (AudioFile)

119) Weyward: A Novel – Emilia Hart List: (Barnes & Noble)

120) WHILE YOU WERE OUT – Meg Kissinger List: (AudioFile)

121) WHY FATHERS CRY AT NIGHT – Kwame Alexander List: (AudioFile)

122) Wifedom – Anna Funder List: (Shepherd)

123) Wild and Precious: A Celebration of Mary Oliver – Mary Oliver List: (Barnes & Noble)

124) Your Brain on Art – Susan Magsamen List: (Shepherd)



5 Best Audiobooks Book Sources/Lists



Source Article
AudioFile AudioFile’s Best Audiobooks of 2023
Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble’s Best Audiobooks of 2023
Powell’s Best Books of 2023: Audiobooks
Shepherd The 100 best audiobooks books of 2023
Slate The 10 Best Audiobooks of 2023
A.M. Anderson

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