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The best books of 2023

This list is part of the best books of 2023.

We've asked 1,639 authors and super readers for their 3 favorite reads of the year.

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My favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of The Miracle of Water

TP Wood Why did I love this book?

Masaru Emoto’s The Miracle of Water heightened my awareness of how our emotional states influence the most essential element of our physical beings—water.

Emoto shows through photographic evidence how the words we choose and their emotional expression align or disrupt the crystalline structure of water, which comprises over 70% of our bodies. Offering viable alternatives on how to strengthen our individual sense of well-being, Emoto postulates our conscious choices ripple out to advance universal awareness for a healthy planet.

I loved this book for its optimism and how each one of us can make a difference in the quest for global harmony.

By Masaru Emoto,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Miracle of Water as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Dr. Masaru Emoto has photographed thousands of water crystals in his years of water research. But the most beautiful crystals are those formed after the water is exposed to the words "love and gratitude." In this book, Dr. Emoto uses these words as the basis for a discussion on how the vibration and resonance of words can change your life.

This reflective, contemplative book explores water's critical role of transporting vibration information--energy--to the body, and what we can learn from water crystals about resonance. Emoto offers compelling insights on using the lessons of resonance to mend disharmonious relationships, restore health,…


My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Cosmos

TP Wood Why did I love this book?

Carl Sagan’s Cosmos is a timeless and poetic account of our universe and our human dance within it.

Weaving themes of astrophysics and quantum mechanics, Sagan stitches his passion into this inspiring and informative journey of cosmic exploration. Words, not equations, fill the pages of this book, making it completely relatable. Sagan’s deeply personal account reinforces Einstein’s observation that “imagination is more important than knowledge”.

Cosmos reminds us of how small we are and that wonder, respect, and awe are our greatest tools to find ourselves in the grand scheme of things. If there is only one book you ever read on science, let this be it.

By Carl Sagan,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Cosmos as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

* Spacecraft missions to nearby planets
* The Library of ancient Alexandria
* The human brain
* Egyptian hieroglyphics
* The origin of life
* The death of the sun
* The evolution of galaxies
* The origins of matter, suns and worlds

The story of fifteen billion years of cosmic evolution transforming matter and life into consciousness, of how science and civilisation grew up together, and of the forces and individuals who helped shape modern science. A story told with Carl Sagan's remarkable ability to make scientific ideas both comprehensible and exciting.


My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of No Diplomacy: Musings of an Apathetic Soldier

TP Wood Why did I love this book?

What does it mean to be a hero? In No Diplomacy, Andrew Lafleche tells his unvarnished truth.

This book takes us on a tour of ‘The Sandbox’ (Afghanistan) with the Canadian Armed Forces and is as real as it gets. This short and powerful read is just that—a gut-wrenching account seen through the eyes of an infantry soldier. In it, Lafleche depicts the insanity, monotony, and futility of war and how he emerges from a near-death experience as a changed human being.

Take a deep breath before you read this one. Lafleche holds nothing back. 

By Andrew Lafleche,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked No Diplomacy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Everybody writes a hero story. Publicists describe them as gritty. Their authors undoubtedly write in standard form and recycled words: “Nothing could have prepared me for what happened next…”

No Diplomacy bucks this trend.

Unlike anything previously published, No Diplomacy is the antithesis to a superhero story.

It’s one you can’t unread.

Narrated with the cynicism of an infantry soldier and provoked by the ubiquitous question, “Have you ever killed someone?” No Diplomacy delivers an explicit documentation of a soldier’s experience in combat, that once you start, you will not put it down until it’s finished.

Written by a former…


Plus, check out my book…

77° North

By TP Wood,

Book cover of 77° North

What is my book about?

77° North is a pilgrimage of life and transformation. An adventure blending myth and science, where, a young Inuit archaeologist struggles against her shamanic roots, and how she triumphs over grief after losing a beloved uncle and grandmother.

Along the way, she uncovers The Foundlings, a mysterious energy frozen in the ice of a Greenland glacier. This is where she discovers her personal redemption, and the key to understanding humanity’s origin on Earth.

Every life is a story, and 77° North acknowledges the vitality of our individual and collective human journey.