Best of the Best Book Lists

Photo by Ioana Motoc from PexelsPhoto by Ioana Motoc: https://www.pexels.com/photo/sill-life-with-gingerbread-red-berries-and-old-books-lying-on-a-windowsill-19149211/

Hello my fellow bookworms!

How did the time go by so fast? We just had falling leavings and changing colors, and suddenly, SNOW. Ah! I am not ready for it, yet. At least, there are quite a few new cozy reads out to keep you company during the cold season?

Today I have some award winning and best of the year book lists for you!

• The National Book Awards
• According to the National Book Foundation's website:

"The National Book Awards were established in 1950 to celebrate the best writing in America. Since 1989, they have been overseen by the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to celebrate the best literature published in the United States, expand its audience, and ensure that books have a prominent place in our culture. Although other categories have been recognized in the past, the Awards currently honors the best Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature published each year."

• The winners for this year are:
• Fiction: Blackouts by Justin Torres
• Nonfiction: The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History by Ned Blackhawk
• Poetry: from unincorporated territory [åmot] by Craig Santos Perez
• Translated Literature: The Words That Remain by Stenio Gardel, Bruna Dantas Lobato
  
• Young People's Literature: A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat
  
• If you check out the award website, you can also see the finalists and various Longlists!
  

• The 2023 Booker Prize

According to The Booker Prizes website:


The Booker Prize is the leading literary award in the English speaking world, and has brought recognition, reward and readership to outstanding fiction for over five decades

Each year, the prize is awarded to what is, in the opinion of the judges, the best sustained work of fiction written in English and published in the UK and Ireland. It is a prize that transforms the winner’s career.

• The winner of the 2023 Booker Prize this year is: Prophet Songby Paul Lynch
• Check out the Booker Prize website to see the both the Shortlist and Longlist of book nominations!
   
• New York Times' 100 Notable Books of 2023
  

• Time's Best Books 2023 
  

• Book Riot's Best Books of 2023
• Check out their selections in science fiction, romance, nonfiction, mystery/thriller, horror, fiction, fantasy, comics, and children's books!

• Goodreads Choice Awards - you can still vote in these for about 2 more days! Check Goodreads in about a week or so to see the final results.
  

I am currently working on a project in my neighborhood that details the top 25 books the community has read. I was surprised by the amount of manga that made the list! I was not surprised that Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus was the #1 book, though! What was your favorite book this year? I still have some time left, so I will leave my choice until next time. ;)

Happy Reading!

Happy All The Holidays!

Hello my fellow bookworms,

Happy Holidays to you and yours! We've entered that end-of-the-year holiday period, and can I say, I am already tired of the Christmas music that started the day after Halloween? It started so early this year! I suppose they are making up for last year, but I wish there was a break now and again.

Photo from BiljaST from Pixabay

That said, there are quite a few fun holiday-inspired links I have for you to view!

• If you are out and about buying books from an independent bookstore, you can receive a free audiobook from Libro.fm if you spend $15! This deal is until tomorrow (November 30th), but a free audiobook can be a fun book to listen to this winter season!
  

• Barnes & Noble has released signed editions of new books out for their Black Friday special this year. Check it out here and see if you want (or need) any for your own collection!
  

• Goodreads has opened voting for their Choice Awards 2021. If you missed the opening round, which ended yesterday, never fear, for the final round starts tomorrow. Vote now or forever hold your peace - until next year, that is.
  

• New York Times has released their list of 100 Notable Books of 2021. How many have you read? Amazon also has their list of the Best Books of the Year up. I will admit, while I have seen quite a few of these books listed, recommended, and on my to-read list, I have not read a single one (yet). I miss reading and have been very busy lately, but hope to catch up on reading during the upcoming holiday season! :)
  

• There are quite a few lists that recommend gifts for bookworms, but one new trend I have noticed in the recommendations is books with sprayed edges. These are so pretty! I have not seen them in stores, but they are up on Etsy for purchase. Take a look at this beautiful rendition of Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim (which I highly recommend!) There are even signed sprayed editions available on Etsy, such as this one of Defy the Night by Bridgid Kemmerer. Check them out before they're sold out!
  

• NOVL has some fun book quizzes for you to try out. Find out which badass YA heroine you are or find book recommendations based on how you like your potatoes. There are more quizzes here, if you are interested!

• Learn about a woman named Alicia Tapia, who rides a bicycle around her city, passing out books through her mobile bike library, Bibliobicicleta, in this story from the SF Gate. It is very inspiring! I may look into trying this for my city, as well!
  

• If the holiday season has made you feel like you are wasting wrapping paper, etc., take a look at Recyclebank's recommendations for audiobooks on sustainability. Recyclebank is a fun website that teaches you about recycling and even provides insight to recycling in your local area. (This is not sponsored - this is a recommendation from me, a person who likes to recycle when she can, just sharing a favorite website!)
  

• Out of Print is having a Cyber Monday sale (as is the rest of the world), but who else has nifty book-related items to buy? Etsy is another great place to shop for book-themed items!
  

• Netflix and Starbucks has teamed up for a new show that talks about book-to-screen adaptations. Hosted by Uzo Aduba, "But Have You Read the Book" is a show that brings stars and authors to the show, where they join the host at a Starbucks, and sit down for a cup of coffee and have a conversation about books and their adaptations. I have not watched it yet, but it debuted on Netflix on November 16th. If any of you have watched it, please let me know how it is!

Photo by Elf-Moondance from Pixabay

I have a new book to read and review. I have not gotten to it yet, but hopefully I can soon! This next year will be interesting, as I will be reading more textbooks than books for fun. I am excited for the holidays and days off, so I can rest and hopefully catch up on my reading! What are you guys excited for? Let me know in the comments.

Until next time - stay safe and happy reading!