In 2023, Book of the Month released 114 new books – 68 main selections and 46 add-ons. This is an increase in the number of add-ons (and total books) from 2022.
August brought the return of nonfiction selections – the first since April 2022. Personally, I was really happy to see the return of nonfiction books to my little blue box.
In addition, this past year, Book of the Month debuted a bigger box, increasing the number of books per box from 3 to 5.
For comparison, in 2022, BOTM selected 68 main and 34 add-on books for a total of 102 books. The gender distribution was roughly the same. There were fewer BIPOC authors in 2023 compared to 2022. While the percentage of debut authors was about the same, the amount of repeat authors increased from 25.6% in 2022 to 41.2% in 2023.
It seems like recently there has been a lot of discussion around the amount of books BOTM is choosing from certain genres. So, I was most interested in how the distribution of books in different genres may have changed. In comparison to 2022, there was decrease in the percentage of thrillers and mysteries and an increase in the percentage of contemporary fiction selected in 2023. The only other significant change was an increase in the number of romance books in 2023. For 2022, BOTM also selected more magical realism and fewer sci-fi/dystopian books.
January
January books totaled 7, with 5 main selections & 2 add-ons. There were also 2 debuts and 1 repeat author.
Main Selections
Add-ons
February
February books consisted of 5 main selections & 2 add-ons. There were also 3 debut novels and 1 repeat author.
Main Selections
Add-ons
March
March brought 7 main selections & 3 add-ons. Of these, there were 4 debuts, 1 early release, and 4 repeat authors.
Main Selections
Add-ons
April
In April, there were 7 main selections & 2 add-ons, which included 2 debuts and 3 repeat authors.
Main Selections
Add-ons
May
The May drop included 6 main selections & 4 add-ons, with 4 being debuts and 5 by repeat authors.
Main Selections
Add-ons
June
In June, the add-ons (6) outnumbered the main selections (5). There were also 4 debuts and 5 books by repeat authors.
Main Selections
Add-ons
July
July selections were 5 main selections & 1 add-on. Two books were early releases while all of the books were by repeat authors.
Main Selections
Add-ons
August
The August books totaled 10, with 6 main selections & 4 add-ons. They included the return of nonfiction with the memoir The Many Lives of Mama Love! There was also 1 debut, 1 early release, and 6 books by repeat authors.
Main Selections
Add-ons
September
September selections consisted of 5 main selections & 3 add-ons, of which there were 2 debuts, 1 early release, and 3 repeat authors.
Main Selections
Add-ons
October
October brought 6 main selections & 5 add-ons. There were no debuts, 1 early release, and 4 books by repeat authors.
Main Selections
Add-ons
November
In November, there was an equal number (6) of main selections and add-ons. 6 main selections & 6 add-ons. They consisted of 1 debut and 5 books by repeat authors.
Main Selections
Add-ons
December
The year ended with 5 main selections & 8 add-ons in December. These included 1 debut, 2 early releases, and 4 repeat authors.
Main Selections
Add-ons
