Best poetry books of 2023
Fresh takes on ancient Greece, Shakespeare and true crime are among this year’s standout collections
Best crime and thrillers of 2023
A splendidly tricksy locked-room mystery, a fortune teller in Georgian high society and Indian mobsters make this year’s list
Wonka review – Timothée Chalamet’s Chocolate Factory prequel is a superbly sweet treat
Timothée Chalamet leads a beguiling cast in a backstory that rinses away all sourness from Roald Dahl’s embittered chocolatier
Five of the best romance books of 2023
A bittersweet tale of young love, hotly awaited American fantasy, Jilly Cooper’s latest romp and more
Best graphic novels of 2023
Hip-hop history, real-world wishes and the forgotten watercolourist in Turner’s shadow are among the subjects of this year’s finest comics
The best politics books of 2023
Rory Stewart’s bridge-burning memoir; the rise and demise of Liz Truss; and what Trump’s aide saw at the White House
Eileen review – Anne Hathaway is magnetic in uneven neo-noir thriller
Director William Oldroyd follows Lady Macbeth with the tale of a woman dazzled by a glamorous colleague in small-town Massachusetts
Alison Flood’s best crime novels and thrillers of 2023
Seasonal scares starring Stephen King’s detective Holly Gibney, plus Terry Hayes’s follow-up to I Am Pilgrim and Catriona Ward’s terrifying Daggerman
Rachel Cooke’s best graphic novels of 2023
From a beautiful 20th anniversary edition of Craig Thompson’s classic to Camille Jourdy’s gorgeously illustrated Juliette, here are the best of this year’s releases
Kate Kellaway’s best poetry books of 2023
Here’s to a thrilling new voice, a spellbinding Scottish soap opera, an evergreen force of nature and a modern John Clare
The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory review: Trump and his evangelical believers
Tim Alberta is a fine guide to the world of conservative US Christians, their dispiriting march to the right, and its ugly cost
The Annual Banquet of the Gravediggers’ Guild by Mathias Énard review – life, love, language
From a bedbug squashed by Napoleon to a priest who comes back as a wild boar, this riotous French tale of resurrection is a tribute to ‘translators everywhere, at all times’
Time Come by Linton Kwesi Johnson audiobook review – effortless prose from the radical poet
Johnson narrates his collection of essays about racial injustice, the Black British experience, and reggae as a potent force
The Notebook by Roland Allen review – notes on living
From plans for flying machines to philosophy – the remarkable joy of jotting things down
Topographia Hibernica by Blindboy Boatclub review – craic of doom
Pathos and comedy combine in an energetic collection of tales from one half of the Rubberbandits