Goodreads Choice Awards 2019

It's here! One of the three reasons November is my second favorite month of the year has arrived. Readers everywhere have a chance to vote for their favorite books in the opening round of the 2019 Goodreads Choice Awards. The competition is always fierce, and possibly more exciting, there is ample opportunity to discover more books and authors. 

Naturally, I am always itching to see which DSNs made the cut. Each category only has 15 choices, which means there will certainly be a few favorites that are overlooked. So let's do this!

We jump right into the heat of it with the Best Fiction category, and wow, is this immeditaely difficult. So many DSNs to choose from: On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong, Normal People by Sally Rooney, Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane (future DSN post), Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams, and of course, The Testaments by Margaret Atwood. I have a strong feeling Atwood is going to take this one, and I am one who believes she should. The Testaments will certainly get my vote.

The next category is also a big one with four DSNs making an appearance in Best Historical Fiction. And choosing between The Huntress by Kate Quinn, Lost Roses by Martha Hall Kelly, The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead, and Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid is not easy. Honestly, if any of these won it would be well-deserved. I will give my vote to Daisy Jones & The Six, but I am sure The Nickel Boys will make a strong showing.

Only one DSN made it into the Best Science Fiction category, and it is Recursion by Blake Crouch (future DSN post). Time travel becomes a reality, though a dangerous one, and a powerful villain emerges that must be stopped, or it may result in the end of the world. What interested me in Crouch's novel was his approach to a common science fiction theme, something I am sure resonated with other readers as well.

For the category of Best Nonfiction, there is Stay Sexy & Don't Get Murdered by Karen Kilgariff & Georgia Hardstark, and American Predator (future DSN post) by Maureen Callahan, which both deal with true crime in some amount. Kilgariff and Hardstark are the hosts of the popular true crime podcast, My Favorite Murder, though their book is more memoir. American Predator follows the capture and investigation of a serial killer that many have never heard of, though his crimes are just as horrific as those that have become household names. Of the two, I will choose Stay Sexy & Don't Get Murdered, if only because of the humorous aspect. 

Maid by Stephanie Lane and Sounds Like Titanic by Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman have both been nominated for Best Memoir & Autobiography. Both are honest and informative, though Hindman's story is the kind that is almost too weird to believe. When I initially picked it up, I thought it was fiction, because the premise was that crazy. That alone makes me want to vote for it.

I can usually manage to pick one graphic novel at some point during the year that ends up being nominated for the Best Graphic Novels & Comics category. This year there are two to choose from, and they are both strong contenders. Both The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and Renée Nault, and Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks are great graphic novels. With that being said, I am choosing Pumpkinheads because it is just that delightful. 

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong, and Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams, both from the Best Fiction category, are up for consideration for Best Debut Novel. While Vuong's novel is more heartfelt, Queenie is both funny and endearing as it follows a young British Jamaican woman who is, quite honestly, a hot mess. But the humor is there, and it gets my vote.    

And then there is Best Young Adult Fiction, always and forever my favorite category. And to choose from, I have Internment by Samira Ahmed, The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen, The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys (future DSN post), With the Fire in High by Elizabeth Acevedo, On the Come Up by Angie Thomas, and Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus. That's right, six YA books to choose from, and I can only pick one. Out of all of the YA books I have read this year, Thomas' On the Come Up still stands out among them all. I am sure it was difficult to adequately follow up the runaway train that was The Hate U Give, but I think Thomas did it. 

Today, The Toll, Neal Shusterman's third installment in The Arc of the Scythe series, comes out. If I had a chance to read it before the voting for these awards began, then there would be two books for me to choose from in the Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction category. But since I have not picked up my copy yet, I will go ahead and vote for Finale by Stephanie Garber, which is the final entry in her Caraval series, and my personal favorite of all three books. 

That makes 23 DSNs that Goodreads saw fit to consider the best of the best. The opening round of voting closes Sunday, November 10, with the semifinal round opening the following Tuesday, November 12. If the rounds operate the same as they have in years past, then there will be five more books added to each category for the next round of voting, so there will be even more competition, and more difficult decisions to be made. 

So it is time to get voting, and I cannot wait to see which titles endure to the end.