Every new year, for the last 3 years, I set the same resolution; to finish at least 24 books during the year. As I am still working on my reading list for 2023, I thought I would craft a post featuring five books that I’m really excited to jump into and also write why I’m excited about these books.

The majority of the books on my reading lists are works of fiction. My preferred genres of fiction are Murder/Mystery, Mystery Thrillers, Espionage Thrillers, and Science Fiction—though I tend to not enjoy overly-unrealistic sci-fi).

I’m excited to share these picks with you, so without further ado…

The links in this post are affiliate links. If you buy any of these books from the links in this blog, I may receive a small commission from Amazon. It doesn’t cost you anything extra; however, the commissions help support this site.

Everybody Writes 2nd Edition (Completely Revised and Expanded) by Ann Handley
Available in: Hardcover | Kindle | Audiobook is forthcoming.

The first edition of “Everybody Writes” has long been heralded as required reading for content marketing. It was recommended to me by another expert practitioner of content marketing, my friend Mike Alton, who also introduced me to Ann. The first edition has been on my list of books to read before I started writing a list. Ashamedly, I never got around to reading it… mostly because the book is quoted and referenced frequently. Ann’s lessons in writing have a tendency to escape the confines of her book’s covers.

Once she announced that a new edition would be published, I was one of the first to order it and it arrived on my doorstep on the date of it’s release. I know enough about the book to say this: if you write anything; blogs, long social media posts, or stories of any length, and want to write better, then you should get this book and read it with me.

Want another opinion on the book? Read Mark Schaefer’s “10 Unmissable lessons from Ann Handley’s new ‘Everybody Writes’ book.”

Failure Mode: Expeditionary Force, Book 15 by Craig Alanson
Available in: Audible audiobook (December 6, 2022 release)

The long-awaited series finale in the Expeditionary Force saga that began with “Columbus Day." This series has been one of my favorites for the last few years. When I discovered the audiobook “Columbus Day,” Craig Alanson had already released four or five more books in this series. I had just finished listening to “Ready Player One” on Audible, following a very long stretch of spy and action thrillers, and Audible suggested the audiobook to me. Long story, short, the next four books I listened to were the remaining published audiobook recordings in the series. I was hooked on Joe Bishop, Skippy, the snarky, absent-minded, beer can-shaped, alien A.I., and the rest of the “Merry Band of Pirates.” As far as sci-fi goes, it isn’t obnoxiously unrealistic and Alanson is quite skilled at telling a fun story, full of humor and suspense.

That being said, somewhere around the middle of the series, I realized that the books appeared to follow a formula; the safety of the human race is in jeopardy—often a result of an unintended consequence of the previous book’s heroics—and Joe must come up with a solution to a cataclysmic event which has no solution. This also usually requires Joe and Skippy to keep a secret (or lie) to their friends and the crew. Joe dreams up a “monkey-brained” solution which requires Skippy to do something “awesome” and outside of his design. The human race is saved and the crew reluctantly forgive Joe and the Beer Can. All is well until the tease for the next book.

I’ve kept up with the series because, despite the obvious writing formula, I’ve really enjoyed the storytelling, as well as R.C. Bray’s narration, and one thing Alanson has done so well is write compelling relationships and banter. I’ve looked forward to the end of this series and I hope I love how it ends as much as I have enjoyed the journey to get to the end.

The Fifth to Die (A 4MK Thriller) by J. D. Barker
Available in: Hardcover | Audible audiobook

I thoroughly enjoyed Barker’s first 4MK Thriller, “The Fourth Monkey.” So much so, that both “The Fifth to Die” and “The Sixth Wicked Child” are both in my 2023 reading list. The opening act in the 4MK Trilogy was masterfully written. I was quickly invested in the characters and the plot was riveting. I’m curious to see how Barker’s second book in the series deals with what was a big plot event in the first.

The ramifications of the epilogue of “The Fourth Monkey” also play a big part of the plot of “The Fifth to Die,” according to the book’s summary and I’m looking forward to find out where that goes. (the summary contains a substantial spoiler to “The Fourth Monkey,” so I don’t recommend reading it until you finish the first book).

Cold Fear: A Thriller (The Finn Thrillers) by Brandon Webb and John David Mann
Available in: Hardcover | Audible audiobook

I finished “Steel Fear,” the first offering of “The Finn Thrillers,” on a recommendation by a friend of mine who served in the U.S. Navy with one of the authors. While the premise was interesting to me, and I knew I would be familiar with much of the military routine in the book as I am a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard (the premier seagoing service of the United States of America), I left this book in my library for about six months. Despite picking the book up upon receiving the recommendation, I just wasn’t in the mood for a military thriller.

Steel Fear was worth the wait. I was surprised by how good the plot was. The characters were well developed and felt familiar to people whom I served with at one point or another. I loved the reveal and I even caught a foreshadowing of the reveal.

Webb and Mann’s second Finn Thriller, “Cold Fear” is well-reviewed on Amazon and Goodreads, so I expect a solid experience. I anticipate this book will be one of the first books I dive into in January.

Mycroft and Sherlock by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse
Available in: Paperback | Audible audiobook

As if being one of the most prolific basketball players in the history of the game wasn’t enough, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is also an exceptional storyteller and co-author of a trio of books starring Mycroft Holmes, the older brother of Sherlock.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is one of my literary heroes and quite possibly my all-time favorite author. The character of Sherlock Holmes was such an influential aspect of my later childhood years. Though it has been a while since, I have read every Sherlock Holmes story—multiple times.

I generally haven’t appreciated much of the Holmes fan-fiction in the past and I realized why, while listening to the audiobook of “Mycroft Holmes;” the other books of Sherlock Holmes fan-fiction don’t read like a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle novel. “Mycroft Holmes,” the first book in a trio by Abdul-Jabbar and Waterhouse, left me feeling reminiscent of those nights in my childhood bed, past my bedtime, flashlight in hand, and reading “The Hound of the Baskervilles.”

I’m probably going to finish the two “Mycroft and Sherlock” books by Abdul-Jabbar and Waterhouse.

Which leads me to a bonus book I’m excited to read in 2023…

Mycroft and Sherlock, the Empty Birdcage by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse
Available in: Paperback | Hardcover | Audible audiobook

What do you think of this sample of my 2023 reading list? Are there some books that are on your 2023 reading list that I should include in my own? Let me know in the comments section, under this post.

If you have other friends that are bookworms also, I’d love it if you would share this list with them. You can easily do so by clicking one of the social share icons, below.