My favorite books awards are the Man Booker (I can’t think of a single winner that has disappointed me, okay, maybe one), the National Book Award (somewhat the American equivalent), and the Indie Choice Book Award.* Why the Indie Choice Book Award? My hobby is to visit independent bookstores and ask the bookseller what book she currently loves. If I could visit all of the bookstores in the nation in one year (dream road trip!) and ask the same question, then pick the top answers for various genres, I’d come close to the nominees for the Indie Choice Awards. The nominees are chosen by a jury of independent booksellers, then voted on by booksellers across the country who are members of the ABA. These are the people I trust to guide my reading and the Indie Choice Awards distills their recommendations. These books are the best of the best, chosen by people who love books and working with readers. How can you go wrong? Here are this years choices:
BOOK OF THE YEAR – ADULT FICTION
Border Songs, by Jim Lynch – Haven’t read, yet.
Brooklyn, by Colm Toibin – Loved the quiet beauty of this book and how he used Pride and Prejudice as a model, brilliant.
The Children’s Book, by A.S. Byatt - I have heard a chorus of raves about this book, I’m going to read it this summer (yes, some of my reading is booked that far out).
Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese – This has been a very popular book group choice.
Generosity: An Enhancement, by Richard Powers – I haven’t heard of it, which thrills me, can’t wait to learn more about it.
Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel – Loved, loved, loved this book.
I’ve only read two of the books and I can’t decide between them! Wolf Hall is a safe choice because it has already won the Man Booker. The atmosphere of Brooklyn is intoxicating, so I’m going to predict it as the winner. Note, I can’t vote because I don’t own a bookstore, but that doesn’t stop me for having an opinion. Generally, very little stops me from having an opinion.
BOOK OF THE YEAR – ADULT NONFICTION
Animals Make Us Human, by Temple Grandin
Lit: A Memoir, by Mary Karr
The Lost City of Z, by David Grann
Stitches: A Memoir, by David Small
Strength in What Remains, by Tracy Kidder
When Everything Changed, by Gail Collins
My non-fiction reading hit the skids last year, so many of these books are familiar to me, but I haven’t read them. People have waited a long time for Lit and the New York Times named it one of the top ten books of 2009 (that’s another list I love). However, nothing stops me from reading Gail Collins column in the NYT, it’s guaranteed to make me laugh. I’m hoping Gail will win.
BOOK OF THE YEAR – ADULT DEBUT
The Earth Hums in B Flat, by Mari Strachan
The Help, by Kathryn Stockett
The Piano Teacher, by Y.K. Lee
The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet, by Reif Larson
Still Alice, by Lisa Genova
Tinkers, by Paul Harding
Who has any doubt the The Help will win? I first heard about it from Haley at Between the Covers in Bend, OR. I read it during a long drive (Keith was driving) that flew past as I was immersed in Stockett’s version of the South before the Civil Rights movement.
BOOK OF THE YEAR — YOUNG ADULT
Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins
Going Bovine, by Libba Bray
If I Stay, by Gayle Forman
Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld, Keith Thompson (illus.)
Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater
Wintergirls, by Laurie Halse Anderson
This is the list my daughter waits for because she knows I’ll buy her every book she hasn’t read just to hear her opinion about them. We both learned of The Hunger Games when it was nominated for the Indie Choice Award last year. Read the rest of this entry »
Claire
Kim
