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Notable Novels of Fall 2023, recommended by Cal Flyn

©Nancy Macdonald

Outside it's autumnal and the nights are drawing in. All the better for admiring the bright lights of publishing's starriest season, when the shiniest baubles are released in time for the Christmas rush. Five Books deputy editor Cal Flyn rounds up the most notable new novels of Fall 2023, including eagerly-awaited books from Zadie Smith and Jesmyn Ward, plus the buzziest new releases in literary fiction and novels-in-translation

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Notable Novels of Fall 2023, recommended by Cal Flyn

The Best Books for Teens of 2023 (so far), recommended by Our Children's Editor

Philosopher and cognitive scientist Daniel Dennett recommends the books that most influenced him “I wanted to know how the mind works”

Notable Memoirs of 2023, recommended by Cal Flyn “I was…very excited to learn about a new book from the French Nobel Prize-winner Annie Ernaux.”

Historical fiction set around the world, recommended by British novelist Jane Johnson “We all read fiction because it’s a fantastic way to escape from our heads”

The best books on Napoleon, recommended by British historian Andrew Roberts “Napoleon was a dictator politically in that he dictated the laws of France and what happened. But I don’t think he has anything in common with the 20th-century dictators”

The best noir crime thrillers, recommended by Canadian author and activist, Cory Doctorow “The foundational building block of noir is that you have a protagonist who’s an unlicensed cop.”

Philosopher Massimo Pigliucci recommends the best books on Stoicism “One of the most rewarding things that has happened to me since I started writing about it is the constant flow of testimonies to the fact that it really helps people”

The best sci-fi of 2023: the Arthur C. Clarke Award The prize’s director, Tom Hunter, talks us through the six books that made the shortlist

British military historian Sir Antony Beevor on the best books on World War II “Goebbels was a diabolical genius. He saw that hatred was not enough and you had to combine hatred with fear if you were going to get the maximum killing potential out of your followers”

The best books on Artificial Intelligence recommended by ChatGPT Normally on Five Books we interview leading academics or novelists about the best books in their field. This week, we turned to ChatGPT for recommendations.

The best critical thinking books, recommended by British philosopher Nigel Warburton “Pessimists tend not to notice changes for the better”

The Best Speculative Fiction About Gods and Godlike Beings, recommended by novelist Karen Lord “I’m fascinated by the ways people perceive their place in the universe—and that of things that are beyond and greater than them.”

The Best Counterfactual Novels, recommended by American novelist Catherine Lacey “The slippery nature of facts is very much a theme for our era”

The best Indian novels, recommended by novelist Radhika Jha “I love to read not to learn about other cultures, but to feel what it means to be human”

The best audiobooks of 2023 (so far), recommended by Michele Cobb, publisher of AudioFile magazine “If you asked me for my favorites of 2023, these are the ones that immediately come to mind”

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About

Philosopher and cognitive scientist Daniel Dennett recommends the books that most influenced him
“I wanted to know how the mind works”

Notable Memoirs of 2023, recommended by Cal Flyn
“I was…very excited to learn about a new book from the French Nobel Prize-winner Annie Ernaux.”

Historical fiction set around the world, recommended by British novelist Jane Johnson
“We all read fiction because it’s a fantastic way to escape from our heads”

The best books on Napoleon, recommended by British historian Andrew Roberts
“Napoleon was a dictator politically in that he dictated the laws of France and what happened. But I don’t think he has anything in common with the 20th-century dictators”

The best noir crime thrillers, recommended by Canadian author and activist, Cory Doctorow
“The foundational building block of noir is that you have a protagonist who’s an unlicensed cop.”

Philosopher Massimo Pigliucci recommends the best books on Stoicism
“One of the most rewarding things that has happened to me since I started writing about it is the constant flow of testimonies to the fact that it really helps people”

The best sci-fi of 2023: the Arthur C. Clarke Award
The prize’s director, Tom Hunter, talks us through the six books that made the shortlist

British military historian Sir Antony Beevor on the best books on World War II
“Goebbels was a diabolical genius. He saw that hatred was not enough and you had to combine hatred with fear if you were going to get the maximum killing potential out of your followers”

The best books on Artificial Intelligence recommended by ChatGPT
Normally on Five Books we interview leading academics or novelists about the best books in their field. This week, we turned to ChatGPT for recommendations.

The best critical thinking books, recommended by British philosopher Nigel Warburton
“Pessimists tend not to notice changes for the better”

The Best Speculative Fiction About Gods and Godlike Beings, recommended by novelist Karen Lord
“I’m fascinated by the ways people perceive their place in the universe—and that of things that are beyond and greater than them.”

The Best Counterfactual Novels, recommended by American novelist Catherine Lacey
“The slippery nature of facts is very much a theme for our era”

The best Indian novels, recommended by novelist Radhika Jha
“I love to read not to learn about other cultures, but to feel what it means to be human”

**The best audiobooks of 2023 (so far), recommended by Michele Cobb, publisher of AudioFile magazine**
“If you asked me for my favorites of 2023, these are the ones that immediately come to mind”

Books like...
Twilight

Books like...
Bridgerton

Books like...
Heartstopper

Books like...
Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us

Books like...
Dune

Books like...
The Thursday Murder Club

SCORE: The fundamentals of building a financially successful business
by Amol Maheshwari & Shweta Jhajharia

Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine
by Mike Michalowicz

The Finance Book: Understand the numbers even if you're not a finance professional
by Stuart Warner & Si Hussain

The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness
by Morgan Housel

What They Don't Teach You About Money: Seven Habits to Unlock Financial Independence
by Claer Barrett

The Metamorphosis
by Franz Kafka

The Picture of Dorian Gray
by Oscar Wilde

The Stranger
by Albert Camus

The Bell Jar
by Sylvia Plath

The Death of Ivan Ilyich
by Leo Tolstoy