As the year comes to a close, many "Best of 2022" lists are popping up. These can help with your holiday gift-giving, opens a new window, or make great additions to your To Be Read pile.
The 10 Best Books, opens a new window according to the Washington Post is a great place to start. Cozy up with the 5 Best Holiday Romances, opens a new window chosen by Book Page, or check out the Best Horror, opens a new window selected by Vulture for spooky winter chills. Period drama fans will appreciate the 10 Best Historical Fiction, opens a new window Books according to Book Riot. The New York Times* recommends these Science Fiction and Fantasy, opens a new window titles and these Crime Novels, opens a new window.
Home chefs and the lucky people they feed will enjoy the 27 Best Cookbooks, opens a new window by Bon Appetit. Here's a mix of Fiction and Nonfiction, opens a new window from Shelf-Awareness. Never underestimate the power of a great Memoir, opens a new window, courtesy of Kirkus! Some of the best Comics and Graphic Novels, opens a new window for adults are featured on IGN. If you’ve found yourself on BookTok, you might recognize some of these popular features: Top 25 TikTok Book Recommendations, opens a new window by Book Riot
If that’s not enough to overwhelm you, try this list of lists created by Borrow. Read. Repeat, opens a new window. This will take you to endorsements by New York Public Library, opens a new window, Kirkus, opens a new window, NPR, opens a new window, Time, opens a new window, Publisher’s Weekly, opens a new window, and many more.
Finally, if your TBR pile is ready to topple, here are some movies on Film Critic Top Ten Lists, opens a new window from Metacritic to cleanse your palate.
*Get free access to the NY Times with your library card.
Awards
This is another way to figure out which books published in a given year are most deserving of your attention. Our catalog tracks yearly winners of over sixty different awards given to books, movies & tv, and music. Browse award winning titles in the catalog.
Audie Awards, opens a new window - Honoring the "best titles in audio publishing," the Audies are a fantastic way to find excellent audiobook narrators.
Edgar Awards, opens a new window - We know we have lots of mystery and true crime lovers among our patrons! Run by the Mystery Writers of America, these awards "[honor] the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television"
Eisner Awards, opens a new window - Considered the “Oscars of the comic book industry”, these are awarded at Comic-Con International: San Diego. They are named for famed creator Will Eisner and “are given out in more than two-dozen categories covering the best publications and creators of the previous year.”
Goodreads Choice Awards, opens a new window - Billing themselves as "the only major book awards decided by readers," these awards do require one to be a Goodreads member. But given how large that Goodreads membership base is, we can call it close enough - see what other regular readers just like you decided was best in each of seventeen categories!
Ignyte Awards, opens a new window - A newer but incredibly powerful institution, the Ignyte Awards "celebrate the vibrancy and diversity of the current and future landscapes of science fiction, fantasy, and horror by recognizing incredible feats in storytelling and outstanding efforts toward inclusivity of the genre."
LAMBDA Literary Awards, opens a new window - The "Lammys" were created in 1989 to garner national visibility for LGBTQ books, and they celebrate LGBTQ storytelling in a wide variety of categories including mysteries, nonfiction, and romance.
National Book Awards, opens a new window - Awarded to books in categories of Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People's Literature, the National Book Awards are run by the National Book Foundation, "whose mission is to celebrate the best literature in America, expand its audience, and ensure that books have a prominent place in American culture.”
Marin's Favorites of 2022
Find out what Marin was reading this year in our Most Popular Titles in Marin 2022 post.
Written by Natalie Weber and Ana Stanescu
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