Hudson Unveils Its “Best Books of 2023”
Hudson by Avolta Names Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros “Book of the Year” and Announces Its Inaugural “Audiobook of the Year” Recipient
East Rutherford, New Jersey (Dec. 4, 2023) – Hudson, part of Avolta AG (SIX: AVOL) and a travel experience leader with more than 1,000 stores in airports, commuter hubs, landmarks, and tourist destinations across North America, has released its “Best Books of 2023” list. This year’s top reads were selected from nominations submitted by Hudson team members — from booksellers and buyers to Hudson executives and other avid readers across the company.
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros emerged as a clear favorite this year, earning it the top spot as Hudson’s “Book of the Year.” A gripping tale of love, sacrifice, and the unbreakable bonds that form in the crucible of adversity, Fourth Wing resonated deeply with those who read it. Book Buyer Paige Fitzgerald called it “engaging and entertaining” and commended Yarros’ writing, while Book Marketing Manager Russell Roth said Fourth Wing “masterfully wields the power of dragons, infusing the narrative with a relentless, fiery intensity that ignites the imagination and leaves an indelible mark on every page.”
For the first time, Hudson has also selected a title as “Audiobook of the Year” — naming Tom Lake, written by Ann Patchett and narrated by Meryl Streep, its inaugural winner. To celebrate this expansion into a new medium, Hudson has partnered with Libro.fm to offer Tom Lake as a free audiobook to customers who purchase one of the “Best Books of 2023” titles in store or online at HudsonBooksellers.com.
“Our ‘Best Books’ program is my favorite every year. It’s the culmination of a year’s worth of conversations around books we love that happen every day in our stores, and between our booksellers, publishers, and friends,” said Sara Hinckley, Avolta’s Vice President, Category Management, Books and Media, North America. “While everyone will have their own personal favorite, our ‘Best Books’ list is a compilation of the varying passions and perspectives of the Avolta team across North America, representing the best of what books offer us: entertainment, escape, enlightenment, and empathy.”
Top Ten Fiction:
- Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
- Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
- Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
- Happy Place by Emily Henry
- Loot by Tania James
- The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
- Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
- The Postcard by Anne Berest
- Lone Women by Victor LaValle
- Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward
Top Ten Non-Fiction:
- The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder by David Grann
- Poverty, By America by Matthew Desmond
- Quietly Hostile: Essays by Samantha Irby
- Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden by Camille T Dungy
- Airplane Mode: An Irreverent History of Travel by Shahnaz Habib
- How to Say Babylon: A Memoir by Safiya Sinclair
- Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon by Michael Lewis
- The Best Strangers in the World: Stories from a Life Spent Listening by Ari Shapiro
- Quantum Criminals: Ramblers, Wild Gamblers, and Other Sole Survivors from the Songs of Steely Dan by Alex Pappademas, Joan LeMay
- Rocky Mountain High: A Tale of Boom and Bust in the New Wild West by Finn Murphy
A selection of the “Best Books of 2023” will be available in Hudson stores across North America beginning Dec. 5, 2023. The complete list, including additional bookseller favorites from the year along with reviews, can be found at https://www.hudsonbooksellers.com/best-books-2023 or as an audiobook collection at https://libro.fm/playlists/5885.