There is so much to be thankful for this time of year. The weather is lovely. The trees are captivating. It's not winter--yet...
And of course, it's best books list season! The excitement
for me starts with the announcement of the National Book Award Long List.
This really adds titles to my TBR pile, but that just helps add to the excitement. And then for the NBA, I get to watch to see who makes the cut to short list and then try to figure out which book will be the big winner. I was pretty excited about the comic that snagged the Young People's Literature Award: A First Time For Everything by Dan Santat. It was one of my favorites from the list (though I wouldn't have been sad to see Simon Sort of Says get more love).
Then the recommendations sort of flood in. I have always been partial to the Goodreads Choice Awards (first round voting just started this week). But this year included some heartbreak. For the first time since 2012 there is no Middle Grades list. I am still so disappointed. I have always read heavily from this list and included all of the nominated titles in my collection development. They still have Young Adult Fiction and Young Adult Fantasy, but it's just not the same. So, this was a little more disappointing then exciting for me. I'd say, anti-climactic.
After being so saddened by Goodreads it was great to see middle grades still getting some love on Publisher's Weekly Publisher's Weekly also has a young adult and a children's list so there's lots sort through. I was happy to see a mix of familiar and unfamiliar titles. I already loaded up my virtual cart for my next library order and added a number of titles to my TBR list.
If you're feeling motivated and love lists (like I do), then you might be interested to take a peek at a couple of Top 100 lists. I these three lists to create a list of My 100 Books to Read from Top 100s. I will be honest, my list is actually 108, but I'm really excited to get started (and I think that's the point).
Happy reading everyone! Do what brings you joy.
Ms. Anderson