Ep. 153: 2023 Debuts Special with Susie (@NovelVisits)
Sarah's Bookshelves Live
Sarah Dickinson
4.7 • 785 Ratings
🗓️ 18 October 2023
⏱️ 56 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In Episode 153, Susie Boutry (@NovelVisits) and I are back for our 3rd annual Debuts Special! Today, we're sharing our favorite debuts from 2023 (so far), new and backlist! Plus, we discuss our reading stats for debuts this year, and we talk about some standout sophomore novels that made the cut.
This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).
CLICK HERE for the full episode Show Notes on the blog.
Highlights
- How this year's crop of debuts compares to those from previous years.
- A full breakdown of our 2023 debut-related stats.
- Debuts we love, divided into three categories:
- Favorite Debuts of 2023 (so far)
- Favorite Backlist Debuts
- Standout Sophomore Novels
Favorite Debuts of 2023 (so far) [7:06]
Sarah
- Talking at Night by Claire Daverley | Amazon | Bookshop.org [8:01]
- The Art of Scandal by Regina Black | Amazon | Bookshop.org [13:43]
- Good for a Girl by Lauren Fleshman | Amazon | Bookshop.org [20:02]
- Shark Heart by Emily Habeck | Amazon | Bookshop.org [26:41]
Susie
- Go As a River by Shelley Read | Amazon | Bookshop.org [10:47]
- Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin | Amazon
| Bookshop.org [16:49]
- In Memoriam by Alice Winn | Amazon | Bookshop.org
[22:43]
- The Road to Dalton by Shannon Bowring | Amazon | Bookshop.org
Other Books Mentioned
- The Many Lives of Mama Love by Lara Love Hardin [7:27]
- The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue [8:47]
- Normal People by Sally Rooney [8:48]
- The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller [8:50]
- One Day by David Nicholls [8:51]
- Tell Me Lies by Carola Lovering [9:20]
- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens [13:07]
- The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger [24:23]
- The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff [24:25]
- A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara [25:33]
- No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister [32:06]
- The Net Beneath Us by Carol Dunbar [33:07]
- A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson [33:10]
Favorite Backlist Debuts [33:22]
Sarah
- The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton | Amazon
| Bookshop.org [33:37]
- Blood Sugar by Sascha Rothchild | Amazon | Bookshop.org [39:47]
Susie
- Severance by Ling Ma | Amazon
- Our Endless Numbered Days
by Claire Fuller | Amazon
Other Books Mentioned
- Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson [34:23]
- Tom Lake by Ann Patchett [37:21]
- Pete and Alice in Maine by Caitlin Shetterly [37:23]
- Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel [37:33]
- The Dog Stars by Peter Heller [37:40]
- Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller [42:56]
Standout Sophomore Novels [44:46]
Sarah
- I Could Live Here Forever by Hanna Halperin | Amazon | Bookshop.org [45:23]
- The Connollys of County Down by Tracey Lange | Amazon | Bookshop.org[49:51]
Susie
- The Shadow of Perseus by Claire Heywood | Amazon | Bookshop.org [47:33]
- The Whispers by Ashley Audrain | Amazon | Bookshop.org [51:59]
Other Books Mentioned
- Happiness Falls by Angie Kim [45:10]
- Something Wild by Hanna Halperin [47:25]
- Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes [49:21]
- We Are the Brennans by Tracey Lange [50:00]
- The Push by Ashley Audrain [52:35]
Additional Books Mentioned
- Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus [2:15]
- The Measure by Nikki Erlick [2:17]
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Sarah's Bookshelves Live. I'm Sarah of Sarah's bookshelves. Each week, I talk with a bookish guest |
| 0:17.2 | about two old books they love, two new books they love, one book they do not love, |
| 0:22.1 | and one new release they're excited about. We're going to get real and sometimes a bit snarky |
| 0:27.2 | about all things books. If you like the show, I'd love it if you follow the show in your |
| 0:31.8 | podcast player, spread the word to your reader friends, post about it on your social media, |
| 0:37.4 | or support the show on |
| 0:39.0 | Patreon at patreon.com slash Sarah's bookshelves. Supporting the show on Patreon gets you access to |
| 0:46.5 | bonus podcast episodes and lots of other goodies. There's also a link in the show notes and in my |
| 0:52.0 | Instagram bio. Let's get rolling. Welcome to our |
| 0:55.4 | 2023 debuts special. And what we mean by debuts is an author's first book or first novel. |
| 1:03.5 | As usual for our annual debuts episodes, Susie from Novel Visits is joining me today. Welcome |
| 1:08.9 | back, Susie. Hi, Sarah. This is one of my very favorite |
| 1:12.4 | episodes to do. And it was your idea. It was. That's because I've always loved debuts. Yes, and it's |
| 1:18.9 | been a really successful episode for us. So thank you for that. You're welcome. All right, so here's how |
| 1:24.1 | today's going to work. We're going to start out by sharing some of our debut stats for the year so far. |
| 1:29.8 | And then we are going to get into the debuts that we loved, as well as a little bit of sophomore novel. |
| 1:36.2 | Because for me, at least, sophomore novels have been great in 2023. |
| 1:41.3 | So we're going to share our favorite debuts of 2020 first. Then we're going to share |
| 1:45.8 | a couple favorite backlist debuts. And then we're going to share our favorite sophomore novels of |
| 1:51.6 | 2023. So starting off with stats, I noticed a theme this year for me as it relates to debuts. And it |
| 1:59.6 | was not a great theme. I would prefer this to |
| 2:02.3 | not be the case in 2024. But the biggest thing that stands out for me is that we were really |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Sarah Dickinson, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Sarah Dickinson and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.