PEOPLE Picks the Top 10 Books of 2023 — from Prince Harry's “Spare” to Barbra Streisand's Memoir

See PEOPLE's picks for the best books of the year

From novels to nonfiction to bombshell celebrity memoirs, it was quite the year for good reads.

Here are PEOPLE's picks for the 10 best books of 2023.

'Birnam Wood' by Eleanor Catton

New Zealand eco-activists who poach land to grow vegetables collide and collude with the rich and ruthless in this fast-paced, savagely smart literary thriller. Today's environmentalism is the focus. but the wickedly funny truths about humanity are timeless.

'The Bee Sting' by Paul Murray

As prosperous Dickie Barnes's car dealership in small-town Ireland falters, his wife and children deal with the fallout — while grappling with old secrets, their isolation from one another, and our warming world. Astute, operatic, downright brilliant.

'The Best Minds' by Jonathan Rosen

A diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia didn't stop the author's boyhood best friend from shining at Yale Law School. Then, gripped by delusions, he murdered his pregnant girlfriend. A harrowing exploration of mental illness and its heartbreaking toll.

'Master Slave Husband Wife' by Ilyon Woo

An enslaved couple's extraordinary escape from the pre-Civil War South propels them to fame — and into risky careers as antislavery authors and lecturers. A deeply reported historical account with the pacing of a thriller.

'Happiness Falls' by Angie Kim

Mia's younger brother Eugene has a genetic disorder that makes him unable to speak — but he's the only one who knows how their father disappeared. An obsessive missing-person mystery built on profound philosophical questions.

'My Name Is Barbra' by Barbra Streisand

The star delivers the dish, from her Brooklyn youth to fame, love and what she ate along the way (egg rolls! coffee ice cream!). Try the audio version: it's like a phone call — with songs! — from your best chatty friend.

'Lives of the Wives' by Carmela Ciuraru

Literary lions may excel at demystifying the human heart — but judging from this juicy, revealing look at the marriages of some imperious greats (including Roald Dahl and Kingsley Amis), it's best not to get too close.

'The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store' by James McBride

A skeleton unearthed in Pottstown, Pa., in 1972 is the entry point for McBride's compelling look at the town's struggling Black and Jewish immigrant community in the 1920s and '30s — and the mysteries long buried there.

'I Have Some Questions for You' by Rebecca Makkai

Makkai's delicious prep school murder mystery keeps you gripped and guessing while raising thoughtful questions about #MeToo, the podcasting boom and our modern obsession with true crime.

'Spare' by Prince Harry

You needn't be team Meghan-and-Harry to inhale the wayward prince's fascinating, well-written (props to coauthor J.R. Moehringer) and profoundly sad memoir about the crippling effects of a royal upbringing.

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