It's our favorite annual episode on the show, when we get to look back at the best of our year in reading with someone else who has read cool stuff. This time it's with Ben Diamond, a very keen listener and patron from London, who for three years running has sent us an annual best of his year recording, always full of interesting books, shows, music, and films. We had an awesome conversation with Ben that we hope you'll enjoy.    Stay tuned for the Patreon bonus episode in two weeks that covers all other things we liked this year in pop-culture.   As always, this episode comes with a playlist of our favorite songs of 2023: Apple Music - https://music.apple.com/ca/playlist/best-of-2023/pl.u-yZyVDNACYq2akv Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6Uq1526MP5mLBVI4zM0e5j?si=59d0bc52f08e41aa   Quick reference Top Fives Ben:  1. The Instructions by Adam Levin 2. Something Happened by Joseph Heller  3. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan 4. Porn: An Oral History by Polly Barton 5. Anything that Moves by Jamie Stewart   Dave:  1. THE MANIAC by Benjamín Labatut 2. The Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen 3. The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty 4. Magnetic Fields by Ron Loewinsohn 5. The Passenger & Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy   Matt: 1. Dayswork by Chris Bachelder and Jennifer Habel 2. Chaotic Good by Lee Klein 3. Diana: My Graphic Obsession by Sivan Piatigorsky-Roth 4. The Deluge by Stephen Markley 5. America Fantastica by Tim O'Brien     Contact Ben Diamond: ben.diamond@gmail.com   Contact Dave & Matt:  Email - concavityshow@gmail.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/ Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/