Onca again, to no one’s surprise, the Goodreads Choice Awards is basically a “who have you heard of” for readers. You likely heard me complain back when the voting started because SEVERAL categories had books in them that had NOT been released yet. The Obama memoir made it to the 3rd round before it had even been published. Same for the Margaret Atwood book. But…I digress.
Overall, this year, I wasn’t surprised. It tracks with what I’ve seen in the book club/goodreads sphere. I’ve read a few of them—heard of most of them (except the From Blood and Ash…who is Jennifer Armentrout? I see her name a lot but I don’t ever see the book in popular circles). Christina Lauren was robbed, thank you, next. So was Emily Henry.
As a librarian, and Facebook book reader, I was super unsurprised by 95% of these winners. I was surprised by how close some of them were–which is cool, but alas, no other surprises for me, except MAYBE The Midnight Library eeking out a win over Anxious People by 5 votes.
If I had to recommend some of these books, I’d start with The Vanishing Half and Mexican Gothic. Both were 5 star reads for me. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is LONG but good if you like space stuff. The Obama memoir is good, of course, but not as revealing or life-changing as you might hope. I liked Clap When You Land, but not nearly as much as I liked The Poet X or With the Fire on High.
On my TBR list, I own The Guest List and House of Blood and Bone and hope to read the soon! I also NEED to get my hands on a copy of Such a Fun Age, don’t I?
Are there any winners you were surprised by?
Fiction: The Midnight Library
Mystery and Thriller: The Guest List
Historical Fiction: The Vanishing Half
Fantasy: House of Blood and Bone (Crescent City)
Romance: From Blood and Ash
Science Fiction: To Sleep in a Sea of Stars
Horror: Mexican Gothic
Humor: Strange Planet
Nonfiction: Stamped
Memoir & Autobiography: A Promised Land
History & Biography: Caste
Science & Technology: A Life on Our Planet
Food & Cookbooks: Modern Comfort Food
Graphic Novels & Comics: Heartstopper Vol 3
Poetry: Dearly
Debut Novel: Such a Fun Age
YA Fiction: Clap When You Land
YA Fantasy: Queen of Nothing
Middle Grade & Childrens: The Trials of Apollo
Picture Book: Antiracist Baby
