Spotlight
End-of-Year Awards and Best-of Lists for Books
12.11.18
It's the most wonderful time of the year!
Every year I look ahead to November and December with excitement and joy.
No, it’s not the holidays. And it’s not the wonderland of snow.
It’s the release of the New York Times List of 100 Notable Books.
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I use the New York Times Notable Books list and the Booker Award long list each year to plan what will read in the coming year.
It seems I always find gems that I wouldn’t have otherwise.
Last year the British novel Elmet came out of nowhere to get shortlisted for the Man Booker prize and it was a favorite in 2018
This year’s Man Booker prize winner is Milkman by Anna Burns and no one I know had heard of it before it got listed.
I know others swear by the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction or the National Book Award.
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If literary fiction isn’t your thing there are lists and/or awards for romance, mystery, and science fiction.
Many of these awards are set up the same way, with a winner, a shortlist (finalist) and sometimes a longlist (nominees). Two of the best are:
New York Times 10 Best Books of 2018
Washington Post Best Books of 2018
Are there genres you read that you’d like to find award winners or best-of-year lists?
Here is a comprehensive list of literary awards.
Let us know what lists and awards you follow in the comments.
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