January 14, 2023 · 10:35 am
There are lots of new books due in 2023 which I’m looking forward to reading and my list continues to expand by the day. All publication dates where known apply to the United Kingdom only.
There are some promising looking debut novels out in January including Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey loosely based on the author’s experience of getting divorced in her late 20s and We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman about female friendship. Death of a Bookseller by Alice Slater is one of the most intriguing crime fiction debut titles and will be published in April.
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld is out in April and is about a sketch show comedy writer and her relationship with an A-list celebrity. Also landing in April is The Memory of Animals by Claire Fuller which is about a woman who takes part in a vaccine trial with unexpected results. Speak to Me by Paula Cocozza is described as “a love triangle between a wife, her husband, and his mobile phone” and is the author’s second novel due in June. Cocozza is the author of one of the most original debuts I have come across in recent years How To Be Human so I have high hopes for her new book.
In non-fiction, the award for eye-catching title of 2023 must surely go to Why Is This Lying Bastard Lying To Me? by Rob Burley which is a quote attributed to former Newsnight journalist Jeremy Paxman. Due in May, the book will examine Burley’s 25-year career in British political television and what the future holds for interviewing in an era of fake news. Fighting For Life by Isabel Hardman is a history of the National Health Service and will be published in June in time for the NHS’s 75th anniversary. Hardman’s book Why We Get The Wrong Politicians is one of the best books I’ve read about modern British politics and I hope her new book will be just as accessible.
A Thread of Violence by Mark O’Connell (author of To Be a Machine and Notes From an Apocalypse) is a true crime book about the Malcolm Macarthur case and will be published in June. In April, Bad Women by Hallie Rubenhold re-examines the murder of Belle Elmore by her husband Dr Crippen in 1910.
There isn’t much news about autumn releases yet which tend to focus on established authors who are likely to sell well ahead of Christmas. However, it has been confirmed that The Fraud by Zadie Smith is due in September and will be her long-awaited foray into historical fiction set in 1870s north west London which was first announced in 2017. Out in August, A Bird in Winter by Louise Doughty is said to be a spy thriller about a woman who flees to Norway.
Which 2023 books are you looking forward to reading?
