The 10 Best Books of 2023 (So Far)

By Andrew Buckner

*Please note that the inclusion of the books on this list is based on the criteria of an original publication date in 2023.

10. The Cabinet of Dr. Leng

by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child

9. The House at the End of the World

by Dean Koontz

8. Feast

by Ina Carino

7. Mothered

by Zoje Stage

6. The Donut Legion: A Novel

by Joe R. Lansdale

5. How to Sell a Haunted House

by Grady Hendrix

4. Still Life at Eighty: The Next Interesting Thing

by Abigail Thomas

3. The Creative Act: A Way of Being

by Rick Rubin

2. Poverty, by America

by Matthew Desmond

1. The Curse of the Marquis de Sade: A Notorious Scoundrel, A Mythical Manuscript, and the Biggest Scandal of Literary History

by Joel Warner

Runner-up:

Don’t Fear the Reaper

by Stephen Graham Jones

The 55 Best Feature Films of 2023 (So Far)

By Andrew Buckner

*Please note that the inclusion of the films on this list is based on the criteria of an official 2023 release date. This excludes premieres at film festivals.

55. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Director: James Gunn

54. Project Wolf Hunting

Director: Hongsun Kim

53. Polite Society

Director: Nida Manzoor

52. Phenomena

Director: Carlos Theron

51. Candy Land

Director: John Swab

50. Missing

Directors: Nicholas D. Johnson, Will Merrick

49. M3GAN

Director: Gerard Johnstone

48. Knock at the Cabin

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

47. Scream VI

Directors: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett

46. Boston Strangler

Director: Matt Ruskin

45. Cocaine Bear

Director: Elizabeth Banks

44. Unwelcome

Director: Jon Wright

43. His Only Son

Director: David Helling

42. A Good Person

Director: Zach Braff

41. The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Directors: Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, Pierre Leduc

40. John Wick: Chapter 4

Director: Chad Stahelski

39. Jesus Revolution

Directors: Jon Erwin, Brent McCorkle

38. Unicorn Wars

Director: Alberto Vazquez

37. Of an Age

Director: Goran Stolevski

36. Paint

Director: Brit McAdams

35. Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant

Director: Guy Ritchie

34. Huesera: The Bone Woman

Director: Michelle Garza Cervera

33. Riceboy Sleeps

Director: Anthony Shim

32. Air

Director: Ben Affleck

31. Chevalier

Director: Stephen Williams

30. Sakra

Directors: Ka-Wai Kam, Donnie Yen

29. Inside

Director: Vaslis Katsoupis

28. Living

Director: Oliver Hermanus

27. A Man Called Otto

Director: Marc Forster

26. Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game

Directors: Austin Bragg, Meredith Bragg

25. Infinity Pool

Director: Brandon Cronenberg

24. Shin Ultraman

Director: Shinji Higuchi 

23. Horror in the High Desert 2: Minerva

Director: Dutch Marich

22. Back to the Drive-In

Director: April Wright

21. How to Blow Up a Pipeline

Director: Daniel Goldhaber

20. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.

Director: Kelly Fremon Craig

19. The Raker House

Director: John Covert

18. The Quiet Girl

Director: Colm Bairead

17. Suzume

Director: Makoto Shinkai

16. Evil Dead Rise 

Director: Lee Cronin

15. EO

Director: Jerzy Skolimowski

14. Malum

Director: Anthony DiBlasi

13. The Outwaters 

Director: Robbie Banfitch

12. A Thousand and One

Director: A.V. Rockwell

11. Sisu

Director: Jalmari Helander

10. Living with Chucky

Director: Kyra Elise Gardner

9. Gods of Mexico

Director: Helmut Dosantos

8. Filmmakers for the Prosecution

Director: Jean-Christophe Klotz

7. Enys Men

Director: Mark Jenkin

6. A House Made of Splinters

Director: Simon Lereng Wilmont

5. Beau is Afraid

Director: Ari Aster

4. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

Director: Laura Poitras

3. Skinamarink

Director: Kyle Edward Ball

2. Holy Spider

Director: Ali Abbasi

1. Toga

Director: Shaun Rose

Runners-Up:

All that Breathes

Director: Shaunak Sen

Blood & Gold

Director: Peter Thorwarth

Tetris

Director: Jon S. Baird

We Have a Ghost

Director: Christopher Landon

The Wrath of Becky

Directors: Matt Angel, Suzanne Coote

The 10 Best Rap Albums of 2023 (So Far)

By Andrew Buckner

*The inclusion of the albums on this list is based on the criteria of an original release date of 2023.

10. To What End

by Oddisee

9. College Park

by Logic

8. So Many Realities Exist Simultaneously

by Atmosphere

7. In the Beginning (Vol. 3)

by Madlib, Declaime 

6. To See a Sunset

by Kotah the Friend, Statik Selektah 

5. The Mind of a Saint

by Skyzoo

4. Maps

by Billy Woods, Kenny Segal 

3. Goon Mode

by Snowgoons, Lingo, Ayok

2. Liberation 2

by Talib Kweli, Madlib

1. Glorious Game

by Black Thought, El Michels Affair

Runner-up:

18159 Stout

by Bizarre

The 10 Best Short Films of 2023 (So Far)

By Andrew Buckner

*Please note that the inclusion of the short films on this list is based on the criteria of an official release date of 2023 in the United States. This excludes premiere showings in film festivals.

10. “Mantid”

Director: Krista Michaels

9. “Rise”

Director: Nisha Ganatra

8. “Ivalu”

Directors: Anders Walter, Pipaluk K. Jorgensen

7. “Weathering” 

Director: Megalyn Echikunwoke

6. “Disregard”

Director: Mike Messier

5. “Captcha”

Director: Andy Compton 

4. “Sisyphus Unbound”

Director: Ryan Fleming

3. “The Devil on Derby Street”

Director: Luke St. Germaine

2. “Mrs. Halloway”

Director: Connor Morley

1. “The Ground Beyond”

Director: Jeremy Arruda

Runner-up:

“Rewriting Mallory”

Director: Emerson Adams