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Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas
Beach Read by Emily Henry
Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
The End of October by Lawrence Wright
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
If It Bleeds by Stephen King
Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby
 by
The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 200s: An Oral History. by Andy Greene
Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall
Rage by Bob Woodward
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
A Promised Land by Barack Obama

In a year when books were one of the few safe and accessible leisure pleasures for people, and the ultimate distraction from our tumultuous climate, a lot of truly great works hit the market.

Goodreads on December 8 will announce the picks from readers for their 12th annual Goodreads Choice Awards. Until then, to whet your appetite, BookTrib editors Jim Alkon and Chelsea Ciccone present their own picks for this year’s standouts (incidentally, they agree on only two!):

FICTION

 width=Chelsea: Like most years, the Best Fiction category is stacked with gripping and moving narratives that could each take home the prize. But, if you’ll forgive the pun, Yaa Gyasi’s novel transcends the rest. A starkly different but worthy follow-up to Homegoing, her acclaimed national bestseller, Transcendent Kingdom is brilliant, powerful and demonstrates the author’s incredible range. And with writers like Roxanne Gay screaming that she’s “quite angry this is so good,” and Ann Patchett declaring that this one “is a novel for all times,” there’s really no contest, is there? (Our Review)

 width=Jim: For anyone mesmerized by Emily St. John Mandel’s disturbing Station Eleven, it would have been difficult to expect her to top it in her next outing. Whether it does or not, The Glass Hotel certainly measures up as one of fiction’s literary achievements in 2020, with its subject matter — a Ponzi scheme and the 2008 economic collapse — along with its eerily coincidental timing creating some tragic parallels to the real world’s current economic crisis. (Our Review)

MYSTERY AND THRILLER

 width=Chelsea: One chilling genre just isn’t enough for Simone St. James, but her thrilling blend of mystery and ghost story in The Sun Down Motel works. Author Hank Phillippi Ryan suggests you read this one with the lights on, and I have to agree. Delivering two timelines and twice the protagonists, this novel is unsettling, gorgeously written and two times as fun as the rest.

 width=Jim: I was told that Stuart Turton needed a spreadsheet to keep track of the whereabouts and overlaps of his characters in The 7-1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. With authors like that, you can’t wait for their next book. With Turton, that’s The Devil and the Dark Water, revolving around a murder on the high seas, a detective duo, and a demon who may or may not exist.

HISTORICAL FICTION

 width=Chelsea: Since its release in early June, Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Half has garnered immense praise. Listed as one of The New York Times Top Ten Books of the Year and named Time Magazine’s #1 Book of the Year, Bennett’s latest has been compared to the works of James Baldwin, Jaqueline Woodson, Zora Neale Hurston and Toni Morrison — with good reason. Its emotional and nuanced exploration of identity and perception would be striking in any decade, but its arrival on our shelves in 2020 is truly haunting. (Our Review)

 width=Jim: Plaudits for Alka Joshi’s debut novel The Henna Artist, set in post-colonial India, exposes a society hobbled by a rigid caste system, misogyny, superstition and age-old traditions. The smell of sandalwood, cooking fires, and tropical flowers waft through it all, but the injustice and poverty are all but inescapable. (Our Review)

FANTASY

 width=Chelsea: In a year that has brought more disappointment than most, TJ Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea is an absolute gift. The Washington Post calls it “a witty, wholesome fantasy that’s likely to cause heart-swelling,” and I cannot think of a more apt description. Klune’s story is hilarious, kind and comforting. The most enchanting thing about this book is not the magic contained in its pages but the joy it sparks in its reader.

 width=Jim: Hard to go against Sarah J. Maas’s highly anticipated, complex and layered Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood, in which the author masterfully works folklore and mythology into her writing. Maas breathes fresh air into her fantasy novel by creating a contemporary society with dashes of magic. (Our Review)

ROMANCE

 width=Chelsea: An excellent enemies-to-lovers romance, Emily Henry’s Beach Read hits all the right notes and then some. It’s funny and sexy and tender, offering an insightful critique of our perceptions surrounding the romance and women’s fiction genres. Henry has gifted readers a narrative that lets us feel good about a feel-good read. (Our Review)

Jim: Emily Henry took the literary romance world by storm with Beach Read, a book that is just that — and more. It redefines the story of love as one we write ourselves one word at a time, day by day, rather than as some uncontrollable tale spun for each of us by the universe.

SCIENCE FICTION

 width=Chelsea: “A psychological rollercoaster covering forty billion light-years,” says author Django Wexler — what could be more exciting? Tamsyn Muir’s Harrow the Ninth is atmospheric, brilliant and mad in the best way possible.

 width=Jim: The New York Post said it best about Lawrence Wright’s The End of October: “An eerily prescient novel about a devastating virus that begins in Asia before going global … A page-turner that has the earmarks of an instant bestseller.” I agree — and it’s my pick in the Sci-Fi genre.

HORROR

 width=Chelsea: With this terrifying twist on classic gothic horror, Silvia Moreno-Garcia has been compared to masters of the genre like H.P. Lovecraft, the Brontё sisters, Daphne du Maurier and Mary Shelley. But to produce a work like Mexican Gothic on the heels of her mythical and jazz-fueled fairy tale, Gods of Jade and Shadow, “proves once again that she’s a genre-jumping wizard,” says bestselling author Charlie Jane Anders. It’s clever, imaginative and utterly frightening.

 width=Jim: Dare we go against the master? Not this year. My choice is Stephen King’s If It Bleeds. King is known for great novellas — think Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption — and this extraordinary collection of four novellas pulls you into frightening places.

HUMOR

 width=Chelsea: Jia Tolentino hit the nail on the head when she said Samantha Irby’s Wow, No Thank You is “stay-up-all-night, miss-your-subway-stop, spit-out-your-beverage funny.” Bringing levity and humor to everything from marriage to food, Irby’s latest collection of essays delivers a modern and relatable comedic voice.

 width=Jim: As a diehard fan of iconic shows Seinfeld and The Office, perhaps I unfairly narrowed the choice to these two. I’ll go with Andy Greene’s behind-the-scenes look into The Office’s favorite characters and moments in The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 200s: An Oral History.

NONFICTION

 width=Chelsea: Named a Most Anticipated Book of the Year by publications such as Cosmopolitan, PopSugar and Bazaar, and a Best Book of 2020 by Bustle and BBC, Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall is easily the winner, especially after a year that has challenged everyone to check their privilege and do better. Kendall’s indictment of the mainstream feminist movement calls for us to acknowledge its failings and offers guidance for how we can make change.

 width=Jim: Many people will look at the cover of Rage (Donald Trump) or read the hype and categorically stay away. Others will see the name of author Bob Woodward and do the exact opposite. I’m in the latter group — my choice for best nonfiction.

MEMOIR AND AUTOBIOGRAPHY

 width=Chelsea: It’s one thing to say a book is life-changing, but to call it liberating — now that’s a powerful statement. Glennon Doyle’s Untamed is honest, intimate, inspiring, and a testament to self-love. Dubbed the “patron saint of female empowerment,” Doyle delivers a memoir that surpasses the rest. (Our Review)

 width=Jim: I couldn’t wait for Barack Obama’s A Promised Land. His voice, his story and his message carry the day for me in this category, hands down.

HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY

 width=Chelsea: There are some pretty big names nominated in this category — Brad Meltzer, James Patterson, Jon Meacham — and I could definitely make a case for any of their books, but if I’m being honest, Erik Larson’s The Splendid and the Vile just has that je na sais quoi. Larson continues to write gripping page-turner after gripping page-turner, and his latest is no exception. The fact that this book is one of the oldest nominees and it’s still on everyone’s mind says a lot.

 width=Jim: The nod goes to Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Isabel Wilkerson’s powerful new work, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, which examines how caste, or a hereditary class system, underlies the oppression of Black people and other people of color in America. (Our Review)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

 width=Chelsea: NPR reporter Lulu Miller writes about how to persevere in a world where chaos will always prevail. Casting taxonomist David Starr Jordan as her leading man, Why Fish Don’t Exist manages to be both quirky and profound. Praised by science-writing stars such as Mary Roach, Susan Orlean and Sy Montgomery, you know this book is a triumph.

 width=Jim: Bill Bryson says of How to Argue With a Racist, “Nobody deals with challenging subjects more interestingly and compellingly than Adam Rutherford, and this may be his best book yet. This is a seriously important work.” Agree on all counts!

FOOD AND COOKBOOKS

 width=Chelsea: Yet another category with some stiff competition — Gordon Ramsey, Ina Garten, Joanna Gaines — each with unbelievably great recipes to share, but I have no doubt that Outlander Kitchen by Theresa Carle-Sanders will take home the win. If the other nominees think they’ve got years of experience under their belts, they’ve got nothing on this cookbook’s time-traveling advantage.

 width=Jim: We loved Eat a Peach: A Memoir by David Chang, in which the author lays bare his mistakes and wonders about his extraordinary luck as he recounts the improbable series of events that led him to the top of his profession.

GRAPHIC NOVELS AND COMICS

 width=Chelsea: Ngozi Ukazu’s Check, Please! Book 2: Sticks & Scones combines the action of ice hockey with the love of found family to create a humorous story of acceptance. This second book delivers the same laughter, tension and heartwarming moments but with an even bigger winning goal.

 width=Jim: One of the first things I do when I am in somebody’s house for the first time is turn my back to my hosts and scrutinize their bookshelves. New York Times illustrator Grant Snider captures the sentiment perfectly in I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf, a look at the culture and fanaticism of book lovers.

POETRY

 width=Chelsea: After the success of her bestselling poetry series “Women Are Some Kind of Magic,” including The Princess Saves Herself in This One (2016 Goodreads Choice Award Winner), Amanda Lovelace continues to empower readers with her Break Your Glass Slippers. A fresh take on the Cinderella story, Lovelace’s collection of emotional and inspiring poems places self-love at the forefront of the fairy tale. Poetry lover or not, it’s a must-read.

 width=Jim: A beautiful collection that tells the story of people whose lives were lost or forever altered by the twin tragedies of Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima, I’m picking On the Horizon by two-time Newbery winner Lois Lowry.

DEBUT NOVEL

 width=Chelsea: How often do you hear about a debut novel months before its release? Unless the author is a celebrity, the answer is almost never, but I spent months awaiting Aiden Thomas’s Cemetery Boys and I’m thrilled to report that it exceeded the hype. Romantic, heartwarming and affirming, this book is a work of art — and a worthy successor to 2019’s debut winner, Red, White & Royal Blue.

 width=Jim: It’s been called “a brilliant, magical kaleidoscope bursting with color. Through her vivid, compelling portrait of one woman’s struggle for fulfillment in a society pivoting between the traditional and the modern, debut novelist Alka Joshi opens a door into a world that is at once lush, fascinating, stark and cruel.” I’ll return to my pick in the historical fiction category and select Joshi’s The Henna Artist again.

YOUNG ADULT FICTION

 width=Chelsea: Kacen Callender’s Felix Ever After is everything a great YA novel should be and then some. It grapples with identity, self-discovery and first love with the addition of some teenage shenanigans that make for a truly winning read.

 width=Jim: Holly Jackson has delivered the perfect nail-biter with A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. Let’s give it to her in this story about an investigation chock full of twists and turns and the consummate surprise ending.

YOUNG FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION

 width=Chelsea: Look, I know this nominee is sitting beside Suzanne Collins, Stephanie Meyer, Holly Black and Brandon Sanderson, who would all be adequate choices, but I meant what I said when I called Aiden Thomas’s novel a work of art. Cemetery Boys isn’t just an excellent debut, it’s an excellent book. Full stop. It’s going to nab Best Debut and Best YA Fantasy & Science Fiction.

 width=Jim: The legions of die-hard Twilight fans had to be enthralled with Stephenie Meyer’s Midnight Sun, which took over 13 years to write. This retelling of Twilight through Edward’s eyes is terrific. I’m sure it picked up a ton of new readers along the way.

MIDDLE GRADE AND CHILDREN’S

 width=Chelsea: Leave it to a middle-grade novel to remind us that no matter how worrisome the world can be “love is one of the things we should never forget to celebrate.” If that isn’t the most encouraging sentiment you’ve read this year, then maybe you should read more middle-grade. Rebecca Stead’s The List of Things That Will Not Change is a great place to start. (Our Review)

Jim: In The List of Things That Will Not Change Rebecca Stead does a wonderful job of describing a world of messy and worrisome things that Bea must confront — family, friends, marriage, divorce and those pesky things called emotions. And she does it in a way that young readers can understand. That’s my choice here.

PICTURE BOOKS

 width=Chelsea: Vanessa Brantley-Newton’s Just Like Me is thoughtful, uplifting and inclusive. This poetry collection has a poem for every girl. It’s beautifully vibrant illustrations and positive words encourage young readers to find themselves and their friends on the page.

 width=Jim: I was completely taken by Rita Lorraine Hubbard’s The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read, which tells the true story of how a 116-year-old woman learned to read. Hopefully, kids won’t put off this discipline for 106 years, but I have to imagine they will love the story, with illustrations by Caldecott Honor Winner Oge Mora.


RELATED POSTS

BookTrib Editors Predict 2019 Goodreads Choice Winners

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

Chelsea: Like most years, the Best Fiction category is stacked with gripping and moving narratives that could each take home the prize. But, if you’ll forgive the pun, Yaa Gyasi’s novel transcends the rest. A starkly different but worthy follow-up to Homegoing, her acclaimed national bestseller, Transcendent Kingdom is brilliant, powerful and demonstrates the author’s incredible range. And with writers like Roxanne Gay screaming that she’s “quite angry this is so good,” and Ann Patchett declaring that this one “is a novel for all times,” there’s really no contest, is there? (Our Review)


The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

Jim: For anyone mesmerized by Emily St. John Mandel’s disturbing Station Eleven, it would have been difficult to expect her to top it in her next outing. Whether it does or not, The Glass Hotel certainly measures up as one of fiction’s literary achievements in 2020, with its subject matter — a Ponzi scheme and the 2008 economic collapse — along with its eerily coincidental timing creating some tragic parallels to the real world’s current economic crisis. (Our Review)


The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

Chelsea: One chilling genre just isn’t enough for Simone St. James, but her thrilling blend of mystery and ghost story in The Sun Down Motel works. Author Hank Phillippi Ryan suggests you read this one with the lights on, and I have to agree. Delivering two timelines and twice the protagonists, this novel is unsettling, gorgeously written and two times as fun as the rest.


The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton

The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton

Jim: I was told that Stuart Turton needed a spreadsheet to keep track of the whereabouts and overlaps of his characters in The 7-1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. With authors like that, you can’t wait for their next book. With Turton, that’s The Devil and the Dark Water, revolving around a murder on the high seas, a detective duo, and a demon who may or may not exist.


The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

Chelsea: Since its release in early June, Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Half has garnered immense praise. Listed as one of The New York Times Top Ten Books of the Year and named Time Magazine’s #1 Book of the Year, Bennett’s latest has been compared to the works of James Baldwin, Jaqueline Woodson, Zora Neale Hurston and Toni Morrison — with good reason. Its emotional and nuanced exploration of identity and perception would be striking in any decade, but its arrival on our shelves in 2020 is truly haunting. (Our Review)


The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi

Jim: Plaudits for Alka Joshi’s debut novel The Henna Artist, set in post-colonial India, exposes a society hobbled by a rigid caste system, misogyny, superstition and age-old traditions. The smell of sandalwood, cooking fires, and tropical flowers waft through it all, but the injustice and poverty are all but inescapable. (Our Review)


The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

Chelsea: In a year that has brought more disappointment than most, TJ Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea is an absolute gift. The Washington Post calls it “a witty, wholesome fantasy that’s likely to cause heart-swelling,” and I cannot think of a more apt description. Klune’s story is hilarious, kind and comforting. The most enchanting thing about this book is not the magic contained in its pages but the joy it sparks in its reader.


Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

Jim: Hard to go against Sarah J. Maas’s highly anticipated, complex and layered Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood, in which the author masterfully works folklore and mythology into her writing. Maas breathes fresh air into her fantasy novel by creating a contemporary society with dashes of magic. (Our Review)


Beach Read by Emily Henry

Beach Read by Emily Henry

Chelsea: An excellent enemies-to-lovers romance, Emily Henry’s Beach Read hits all the right notes and then some. It’s funny and sexy and tender, offering an insightful critique of our perceptions surrounding the romance and women’s fiction genres. Henry has gifted readers a narrative that lets us feel good about a feel-good read. (Our Review)

Jim: Emily Henry took the literary romance world by storm with Beach Read, a book that is just that — and more. It redefines the story of love as one we write ourselves one word at a time, day by day, rather than as some uncontrollable tale spun for each of us by the universe.


Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Chelsea: “A psychological rollercoaster covering forty billion light-years,” says author Django Wexler — what could be more exciting? Tamsyn Muir’s Harrow the Ninth is atmospheric, brilliant and mad in the best way possible.


The End of October by Lawrence Wright

The End of October by Lawrence Wright

Jim: The New York Post said it best about Lawrence Wright’s The End of October: “An eerily prescient novel about a devastating virus that begins in Asia before going global … A page-turner that has the earmarks of an instant bestseller.” I agree — and it’s my pick in the Sci-Fi genre.


Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Chelsea: With this terrifying twist on classic gothic horror, Silvia Moreno-Garcia has been compared to masters of the genre like H.P. Lovecraft, the Brontё sisters, Daphne du Maurier and Mary Shelley. But to produce a work like Mexican Gothic on the heels of her mythical and jazz-fueled fairy tale, Gods of Jade and Shadow, “proves once again that she’s a genre-jumping wizard,” says bestselling author Charlie Jane Anders. It’s clever, imaginative and utterly frightening.


If It Bleeds by Stephen King

If It Bleeds by Stephen King

Jim: Dare we go against the master? Not this year. My choice is Stephen King’s If It Bleeds. King is known for great novellas — think Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption — and this extraordinary collection of four novellas pulls you into frightening places.


Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby

Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby

Chelsea: Jia Tolentino hit the nail on the head when she said Samantha Irby’s Wow, No Thank You is “stay-up-all-night, miss-your-subway-stop, spit-out-your-beverage funny.” Bringing levity and humor to everything from marriage to food, Irby’s latest collection of essays delivers a modern and relatable comedic voice.


 by

Chelsea: Jia Tolentino hit the nail on the head when she said Samantha Irby’s Wow, No Thank You is “stay-up-all-night, miss-your-subway-stop, spit-out-your-beverage funny.” Bringing levity and humor to everything from marriage to food, Irby’s latest collection of essays delivers a modern and relatable comedic voice.


The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 200s: An Oral History. by Andy Greene

The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 200s: An Oral History. by Andy Greene

Jim: As a diehard fan of iconic shows Seinfeld and The Office, perhaps I unfairly narrowed the choice to these two. I’ll go with Andy Greene’s behind-the-scenes look into The Office’s favorite characters and moments in The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 200s: An Oral History.


Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall

Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall

Chelsea: Named a Most Anticipated Book of the Year by publications such as Cosmopolitan, PopSugar and Bazaar, and a Best Book of 2020 by Bustle and BBC, Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall is easily the winner, especially after a year that has challenged everyone to check their privilege and do better. Kendall’s indictment of the mainstream feminist movement calls for us to acknowledge its failings and offers guidance for how we can make change.


Rage by Bob Woodward

Rage by Bob Woodward

Jim: Many people will look at the cover of Rage (Donald Trump) or read the hype and categorically stay away. Others will see the name of author Bob Woodward and do the exact opposite. I’m in the latter group — my choice for best nonfiction.


Untamed by Glennon Doyle

Untamed by Glennon Doyle

Chelsea: It’s one thing to say a book is life-changing, but to call it liberating — now that’s a powerful statement. Glennon Doyle’s Untamed is honest, intimate, inspiring, and a testament to self-love. Dubbed the “patron saint of female empowerment,” Doyle delivers a memoir that surpasses the rest. (Our Review)


A Promised Land by Barack Obama

A Promised Land by Barack Obama

Jim: I couldn’t wait for Barack Obama’s A Promised Land. His voice, his story and his message carry the day for me in this category, hands down.


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