I always write an annual post with my favorite books from the past year. Sometimes I even get it done before the year ends. This is not one of those times, but better late than never. As always, these are books I read in 2023, not necessarily ones that were published during the year.

Non-fiction

The Individualists, Matt Zwolinski and John Tomasi — This is now the first book I’d recommend to anyone seeking to understand libertarianism. While it’s not primarily about elucidating Matt and John’s own views, they also hint at a positive vision of what libertarianism could become. Read my review here.

Bottoms Up and the Devil Laughs, Kerry Howley — You don’t need me to tell you about this one. Just read it!

The Real Work, Adam Gopnik — It’s rare to see magic treated as seriously as other arts, so I was excited to see it featured in this exploration of skills mastery by Adam Gopnik. Well, it turns out that learning how to urinate in public restrooms gets its own chapter too, so read into that what you will. Very enjoyable, review hopefully forthcoming.

Don’t Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You, Lucinda Williams — Memoir from one of the greats of American songwriting, reviewed here.

Amplified, Paul Atkinson — Informative design history of how the Telecaster, Les Paul, and Stratocaster have shaped the electric guitar for 70 years, with forays into their predecessors and modern departures from the form. I bought my first electric (a Strat) in 2023 and this clarified a lot for me.

The Northern Silence, Andrew Mellor — I read this while on a suitably stark and wintry trip to Finland. Niche, recommended if a book on Nordic culture and its uniquely devoted support for classical music appeals to you.

Invitation to a Banquet, Fuchsia Dunlop — No one has influenced my everyday cooking more than Dunlop, whose cookbooks I adore. No recipes here, but a wonderful exploration of Chinese cuisine.

The Heartbeat of the Wild, David Quammen — David’s recent writing has understandably been focused on COVID, so it’s a pleasure to look back on his nature writing, collected here in essays from National Geographic.

Scaling People, Claire Hughes Johnson — I cringe at the idea of reading most management books, but this one from Stripe Press is an exception.

Fiction

Whenever I travel to a new country, I pick up novels from there to read while I’m visiting. In 2023 that included Finland and Estonia, which introduced me to two of my favorite novels last year: Troll: A Love Story by Johanna Sinisalo (aptly described as “Finnish weird,” cleverly weaving Nordic myth into a naturalistic, modern Tampere) and The Man Who Spoke Snakish by Andrus Kivirahk (Estonian fantasy with seductive talking bears and loads of violence, set in the magical pre-Christian forests as modernity encroaches).

Other assorted contemporary novel recs: Cult Classic by Sloane Crosley, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, The Candy House by Jennifer Egan (a follow-up to A Visit from the Goon Squad), and White Teeth by Zadie Smith (my first by the author, long overdue).

Obligatory self-promotion

I should also mention my own book that came out in 2023. The New Prohibition: The Dangerous Politics of Tobacco Control collects some of my recent essays on how we’re stumbling into a new era of nicotine and tobacco prohibition and the problems that creates. Unfortunately, it appears likely to remain relevant in the year to come too.