Browse our 2023 staff picks and top checkouts for adults, teens, and kids! Find your next great read, a good audiobook for your morning walk, a movie for a lazy winter afternoon, or holiday gift ideas for your favorite readers!
You can follow our staff’s reading recommendations all year long on What We’re Reading, What We’re Reading for Teens, and What We’re Reading Kids or on the library catalog home page.
2023 Top Checkouts
Click on a book cover to go to the catalog to make a request.
Most Checked Out for Adults
Most Checked Out for Teens
Most Checked Out for Kids
2023 Staff Best of Recommendations
Best of Fiction for Adults
Here are a few of our staff members favorite literary and contemporary fiction selections of 2023– featuring complicated family dynamics, love affairs, theft, and more. If you’re looking for genre fiction (like romance, horror, and fantasy) please be sure to check out our other lists!
Best of Nonfiction for Adults
IndyPL Staff members have compiled their favorite nonfiction books of 2023 for those who are eager to learn more about our strange world. These books feature real life sea voyages, the rise of the KKK in Indianapolis, tales of the first women astronauts, a biscuit-specific cookbook and more. Find a new book you’ll love.
Best of Biographies and Memoirs for Adults
Immerse yourself in someone else’s world with one of these Biographies or Memoirs, selected by IndyPL Staff Members. Dive deep into the lives of an astrophysicist, Teddy Roosevelt’s daughter, a queer hijabi woman, an intersex Texan, elite runners, and more.
Best of Romance
Looking to add a touch more romance to your 2023? Check out these swoony recommendations from IndyPL Staff Members, featuring a queer farm commune, drunken emails, and sweet kindergarten teachers.
Best of DVDs for Adults
IndyPL Staff Members have shared their favorite films and TV shows of 2023. While 2023 has jokingly been referred to as “The Year of the Barbie Movie,” our staff members have found dozens of other fabulous watches.
Best of Sci-Fi and Fantasy for Adults
Enjoy our staff members favorite scifi and fantasy reads of 2023. In between dragons and pirates and faeries, you’ll also find tales of grilled cheese and talking cats. We hope you find a new favorite magical read.
Best of Suspense, Mystery, and Horror for Adults
IndyPL Staff members have compiled their favorite suspense, mystery, and horror novels of 2023 for those who prefer a book that will unsettle them. These books feature cults, funeral home models, creepy puppets, true crime podcasts, mermaids, phone scam revenge, and more. Find new books from your favorite authors or add a new favorite author to your shelf.
Best of Fiction and Graphic Novels for Kids & Tweens
We hope you will find something to share with the young readers in your life on this list. You will find early chapter books, fiction novels, and graphic novels that we liked that were published in 2023.
Best Non-Fiction for Kids
Staff across The Library sent in some of their favorite non-fiction titles for kids. The list contains a few folk tales as well.
Best of for Teens
Our IndyPL Staff has selected their favorite teen reads of 2023. From queer love triangles to homecoming murders to a real life social media tale, these novels are sure to entertain!
We hope you you find some great reading recommendations in our 2023 staff picks and top checkouts. We look forward to more reading and recommendations in 2024!