Libby, a free app by which patrons can try books from their native public libraries, has joined the guide award recreation. This 12 months, on March twelfth at 7 pm EST to be precise, the Libby Book Awards — additionally referred to as the “Libbys” — will likely be introduced.
The award-winners will likely be out of 17 classes and chosen by librarians and library staff throughout the nation. The classes embrace however aren’t restricted to: Best Adult Fiction, Best Adult Nonfiction, Best Young Adult Fiction, Best Audiobook, Best Debut Author, and Best Diverse Author.
This final class provides us a little bit pause. On the one hand, we’re all the time excited to see extra various authors, however the class feels a little bit awkward. For one, how is range quantified? Does it simply imply books by nonwhite authors? By queer authors? Does having a class labelled “Best Diverse Author” as a substitute of simply incorporating various authors into all different classes not reinforce the concept of The Other? We have many questions. We additionally notice that the class was in all probability made with good intentions, it simply wants extra of a tactful execution.
With that stated, we’re all the time excited to see books being celebrated and authors rewarded, and the finalists chosen for this inaugural Libby Book Awards are fairly strong.
Here are a couple of of them.
Best Adult Fiction Finalists
Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward
The Fraud by Zadie Smith
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
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