New year, new reading list! If you're looking for book club recommendations, check out our definitive list of the most anticipated book club picks for 2023. These books, all scheduled for release in 2023 are sure to thrill your club and get the discussion rolling. You’ll see some familiar names along with fresh and exciting debuts. Be sure to bookmark this page and check back again as we add additional titles releasing later in the year.
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Our picks for the best book club books of 2023
Moonrise Over New Jessup by Jamila Minnicks
Release date: January 10, 2023
Winner of the 2021 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, a thought-provoking and enchanting debut about a Black woman doing whatever it takes to protect all she loves at the beginning of the civil rights movement in Alabama. For fans of The Vanishing Half and The Prophets , this novel is both a celebration of Black joy and a timely examination of the opposing viewpoints that attended desegregation in America.
Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor
Release date: January 10, 2023
Deftly shifting through time and perspective in contemporary India, Age of Vice is an epic, action-packed story propelled by the seductive wealth, startling corruption, and bloodthirsty violence of the Wadia family — loved by some, loathed by others, feared by all.
The Keeper of Stories by Sally Page
Release date: January 24, 2023
Janice is a collector of stories. She can’t recall what started her collection, but somehow, as she cleaned their houses, her clients began telling her their stories. When Janice starts cleaning for shrewd, elderly Mrs. B, she finally meets someone who wants to hear her story. But Janice is clear: she is the keeper of stories, she doesn’t have a story to tell. At least, not one she can share. A charming, uplifting debut novel, full of humor and depth.
Maame by Jessica George
Release date: January 31, 2023
Smart, funny, and deeply affecting, Jessica George's Maame deals with the themes of our time with humor and poignancy: from familial duty and racism, to female pleasure, the complexity of love, and the life-saving power of friendship. Most important, it explores what it feels like to be torn between two homes and cultures―and it celebrates finally being able to find where you belong.
Code Name Sapphire by Pam Jenoff
Release date: February 7, 2023
A woman must rescue her cousin's family from a train bound for Auschwitz in this riveting tale of bravery and resistance, from the bestselling author of The Lost Girls of Paris. “A heart-wrenching exploration of the decisions women must make when their loyalties are put to the test in the most unimaginable of circumstances.” –Sarah Penner, author of The Lost Apothecary
Victory City by Salman Rushdie
Release date: February 7, 2023
The epic tale of a woman who breathes a fantastical empire into existence, only to be consumed by it over the centuries—from the transcendent imagination of Booker Prize-winning, internationally bestselling author Salman Rushdie. “A major accomplishment by one of our greatest living writers . . . It does not resemble any other novel I could name.”—Michael Cunningham, author of The Hours
Weyward by Emilia Hart
Release date: March 7, 2023
In 2019, Kate flees London and her abusive partner for Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers. In 1619, Altha knows it will take all of her powers to maintain her freedom as she awaits trial for witchcraft. In 1942, Violet longs to escape societal convention and her family's grand, crumbling estate. Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart's Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world.
Go as a River by Shelley Read
Release date: March 7, 2023
A riveting and deeply moving debut—a love story in the spirit of Where the Crawdads Sing—that is both a stunning exploration of the natural world and an unforgettable coming-of-age novel. “Shelley Read's lyrical voice is a force of nature, and when she lends it to a woman leading a hardscrabble life in rural Colorado, the result is tragic, uplifting – and completely unforgettable.” —Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry
The Perfumist of Paris by Alka Joshi
Release date: March 28, 2023
From the author of Reese's Book Club Pick The Henna Artist, the final chapter in Alka Joshi’s New York Times bestselling Jaipur trilogy takes readers to 1970s Paris, where Radha’s budding career as a perfumer must compete with the demands of her family and the secrets of her past.
Amazing Grace Adams by Fran Littlewood
Release date: May 2, 2023
Bernadette, Eleanor Oliphant, Rosie, Ove . . . meet Amazing Grace Adams, the funny, touching, unforgettable story of an invisible everywoman pushed to the brink—who finally pushes back. “Hugely enjoyable. Compelling, funny and poignant. I devoured it.” —Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl On The Train
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
Release date: May 2, 2023
From the New York Times-bestselling author of Cutting for Stone comes a stunning epic of love, faith, and medicine set in Kerala, South India following three generations of a family seeking the answers to a strange secret. Through this story of land and family, spanning the years 1900 to 1977, you will witness unthinkable changes, joy and triumph as well as hardship and loss, and the constant pull of faith and love.
Yellowface by R. F. Kuang
Release date: May 16, 2023
Yellowface marks the literary debut from the bestselling fantasy author of Babel and the Poppy War series. Kuang puts issues such as cultural appropriation and the lack of diversity in publishing under fire in this satirical novel about a white woman who becomes a bestselling author after publishing the stolen manuscript of her late friend and rising Asian American writer.
Women We Buried, Women We Burned by Rachel Louise Snyder
Release date: May 23, 2023
With the “propulsive force of a novel,” according to Nomandland author Jessica Bruder, Women We Buried, Women We Burned details Snyder's journey from teenage runaway to award-winning reporter on the global epidemic of violence against women, offering a piercing account of family struggle, female survival, and the passionate drive to bear witness. Perfect for fans of Educated and The Glass Castle.
Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea by Rita Chang-Eppig
Release date: June 6, 2023
Rita Chang-Eppig's rip-roaring Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea is a debut novel about a legendary Chinese pirate queen, inspired by a real historical figure. Outlawed author Anna North hails protagonist Shek Yeung as “a pirate queen, a mother, a ruthless killer, a loyal friend, and an unforgettable heroine whose journey will keep readers hooked from beginning to end.”
Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo
Release date: August 1, 2023
From National Book Award–winning author Elizabeth Acevedo comes her first novel for adults, the story of one Dominican-American family told through the voices of its women as they await a gathering that will forever change their lives. “Full of raw emotional power. It is at once intimate and epic, one of the most resonant representations of a family and world like my own that I've ever read.” — Naima Coster, author of What’s Mine and Yours
These book picks are a combination of titles chosen by the Bookclubs editorial staff, and the top titles recommended for book clubs by our publishing sponsors, including Algonquin, Bloomsbury, Grove Press, Henry Holt, Macmillan, MIRA, Park Row, and Speigal and Grau. If you buy books through links on this page, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
Looking for more book club book recs? Check out our lists of the most popular book club books
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