Book Award Categories We Wish Existed

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Anne Mai Yee Jansen is a literature and ethnic research professor and a lifelong story addict. She exists on a gradual food plan of books and sizzling chocolate, with a heaping facet of journey at any time when potential. Originally hailing from the solar and sandstone of southern California, she presently resides along with her accomplice, offspring, and feline companion within the sleepy mountains of western North Carolina.

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There are so many e book awards on the market, however how do you resolve which of them is perhaps an excellent match on your studying tastes?

Most avid readers may have heard of the massive literary awards just like the Pulitzer Prize, the Booker Prize, and the Nobel Prize in Literature. All of those have broad classes corresponding to fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.

Then there are the regional e book awards. I’m speaking National Book Award, American Book Award, Commonwealth Writers’ Prize — you title a rustic or perhaps a state and it’s certain to have its personal literary prize.

We’ve lastly developed to the purpose that there are additionally e book awards that acknowledge excellent works of style fiction. And, after all, we have now vital awards recognizing the work of marginalized and underrepresented writers.

Yet I can’t even start to depend what number of occasions I’ve checked the profitable titles or skimmed the short- and long-listed titles for a given e book award or class solely to find that none of them swimsuit my fancy. Even the style awards can’t all the time hit the mark, and I’m a voracious shopper of all method of style fiction.

The downside appears to have its root within the broad focus of your run-of-the-mill e book awards. Put one other means, isn’t the thought of a “best work of fiction” or “best mystery novel” simply tremendously imprecise? With an estimated 2.2 million books being printed worldwide every year, the chances of liking an award-winning e book based mostly solely on its style, area of origin, or creator are so slim.

So…what would make for a e book award class that is perhaps extra profitable at main readers to books they’ll love? I began serious about all of the issues that make a e book pleasant to learn. I thought-about characters, reader moods, and even the social points of studying to attempt to provide you with an inventory of classes (and potential winners from the previous few years) for e book award classes I want existed.

I hope you get pleasure from it — possibly it’ll encourage some new e book awards. After all, with all of the proficient writers publishing immediately, spreading the love can solely result in happier readers!

Best Emotionally Empowered Novel

Jenny L. Howe’s The Make-Up Test for its swoonworthy robust feminine lead and exceptionally supportive love curiosity.

Cover of The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

Character You Wish Could Be Your Bestie

Lila Macapagal from Mia P. Manansala’s Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery sequence, as a result of who doesn’t desire a greatest good friend who’s knowledgeable baker and novice sleuth??

Character You’re Super Glad Isn’t Real

Jay Christos from Cherie Dimaline’s VenCo — that dude is past creepy, and his supernatural skills solely make that freakier.

Prettiest Cover to Remove and Put On Your Guilty Pleasure Read to Hide it from Prying Eyes

Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s The Daughter of Doctor Moreau for its vibrantly lush mud jacket. (Bonus: it’s a incredible learn along with having a ravishing cowl!)

Best Book With a Cat on the Cover

Michiko Aoyama’s What You Are Looking for is within the Library for its intriguing premise (magical librarian whose suggestions resolve characters’ life issues). Fair warning: cats don’t really function prominently within the e book.

cover of Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby

Best Book to Read to Your Cat

Samantha Irby’s Quietly Hostile as a result of I really feel sure cats would get pleasure from Irby’s good, biting humor (regardless that she’s writing about human affairs).

Best Book No Movie Adaptation Could Ever Hope to Do Justice To

Andrea L. Rogers’ Man Made Monsters as a result of it’s means too complicated, far too well-written, and so amazingly wealthy that there’s simply no means a couple of hours of display time may do even a 3rd of what Rogers does on this e book.

Best Rage Read

Violet Kupersmith’s Build Your House Around My Body for its highly effective feminine characters, subversion of heteropatriarchy, critique of colonialism, and general superior horror components. So good!

Best Grief Read

TJ Klune’s Under the Whispering Door for its delicate but humorous remedy of mortality. I imply, it’s principally a cup of tea on your hurting coronary heart.

Best Book to Fall Asleep With

Dave Eggers’ The Eyes and the Impossible for its easier points (it’s a center grade e book, in spite of everything), considerate messages, and pleasant illustrations.

cover of House of Cotton by Monica Brashears; illustration of a mint green birdhouse with a bright red human heart inside and monarch butterfly perched on top of the house

Best Book to Read within the Middle of the Night

Monica Brashears’ House of Cotton as a result of it’s unsettling in a perfect-for-reading-in-the-quiet-dark (versus a keep-you-up-in-fear) means.

Book You Think Would Be Fun to Experience as a Character

Fredrik Backman’s Anxious People as a result of it’s completely bonkers however every part works out okay in the long run.

Best Book to Read to Impress Your Friends/Date/Parents/Postal Worker

Allison Adelle Hedge Coke’s Look At This Blue as a result of it’s impressively good, terrifyingly related, and vastly impactful.

Best Amazing Book That Will Also Make People Leave You Alone

Rachel E. Gross’ Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage as a result of even at the present time, strangers will cross the road to keep away from listening to somebody say the phrase “vagina.”

Don't Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones book cover

Best Book to Read in a Dark, Dark Place

Stephen Graham Jones’ Don’t Fear the Reaper (e book 2 within the Indian Lake Trilogy) as a result of as a slasher that takes place throughout a blizzard, there’s actually no higher e book to be skilled in darkness.

Best Book to Read in a Very Well-Lit Place

Erin E. Adams’ Jackal as a result of this one is so disturbing that you simply’ll wish to go away the lights on. All of the lights.

Best Book to Read in Your Garden

Camille T. Dungy’s Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden for the way in which it’ll get you to consider gardens in relation to gender and race. Also, it’s nearly unimaginable to learn this one with out with the ability to take a look at flowers.

Best Book to Give to Your Friends

Louise Erdrich’s The Sentence for its nice solid of characters, poignant reflections on racism, and messages about humanity and the way we deal with each other.

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