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The Book Review’s daily critics — Dwight Garner, Alexandra Jacobs and Jennifer Szalai — reflect on the books that stuck with them in 2023.

Molly recommends a 19th-century “Dumb and Dumber” and a collection of essays about the weirder corners of the business world.

They include an espionage caper, the tale of a murderous librarian and a high-stakes adventure that takes place inside the various stomachs of a whale.

The authors of “Comedy Book” and “Outrageous” argue that culture-war worries about what’s a laughing matter have been overplayed.

The author of “The Jemima Code” has distilled 200 years of African American drinking know-how into her new “Juke Joints, Jazz Clubs and Juice.”

The staff of The New York Times Book Review choose the year’s standout fiction and nonfiction.

Leah Greenblatt recommends “Meg,” by Theodora Keogh, and “The Glass Cell,” by Patricia Highsmith.

A glamorous family memoir; a fictional dinner party.

At 73, a titan of the romance world talks about how she redefined a genre that was all too easy to dismiss.

Yes, there is a Stephen King influence. But the video game’s metanarrative was inspired by unorthodox novels, films and plays such as “House of Leaves” and “Fight Club.”