I enjoy the heck out of year end lists and the Goodreads Choice Awards are no exception. Let me just start this whole post by publicly proclaiming that I’m terrible at predicting the winners, but I have fun trying! 😂🤷🏼♀️
My original vote was definitely for Demon Copperhead but it didn’t make it through to the final round, so I’m now picking Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. My original review of this book wasn’t over the top, but it is a book that I still think about a lot! The characters have totally stuck with me and I really love how Zevin portrayed that lifelong friend connection that manages to ride out the various ups and downs that life can throw at you.
Of the 10 final choices, I’ve read 4 (Tomorrow x 3, Notes On an Execution, Wish You Were Here, and Our Missing Hearts), have 3 on my TBR (Other Birds, Remarkably Bright Creatures, and The Winners) and DNFd 1 (To Paradise).
Black Cake gets my vote in the Best Historical Fiction category, though I think Carrie Soto Is Back will actually win it. What’s most confusing to me about this category is that I wouldn’t necessarily classify either of these books as historical fiction. I would have to reread both of them with an intention of picking out the historical parts of the books. I feel like every single year I’m baffled by some of the books placed in this category, so this isn’t really surprising! 😂 Having said that, I loved Black Cake (it was on my 2022 Halfway Top 10 List)! It had all the best elements of a story that I gravitate towards: secrets, resentments, forgiveness, and healing.
I also enjoyed Carrie Soto Is Back, but not nearly as much as I’ve liked some of TJR’s previous books. It was a compelling story, but I did not enjoy Carrie Soto’s character at all, and I didn’t think TJR nailed the competitive angle of elite sports or athletes like she needed to given it was the main topic of the book. 🤷🏼♀️
Of the 10 final choices, I’ve read 6 (Black Cake, Carrie Soto Is Back, Lessons in Chemistry, Take My Hand, The Marriage Portrait, and Violeta), and have 1 on my TBR (The Diamond Eye) that I had picked up at some point and set aside to try at another time.
Again, not a genre I read a lot in, but I feel very strongly about my choice: Book Lovers! Emily Henry has won me over in this category and I will read ALL of her books. They are the perfect escape and always cleanse my palatte when I need it the most. I loved the build up between Nora and Charlie and the cozy small town setting. So much of it felt so idealic and I was here for it!
Unfortunately for my choice, I think the Colleen Hoover fans will come out in full force and Reminders of Him will win this category. While I liked this one enough, it’s also a book I will likely forget the details of fairly quickly. In all honesty, I just couldn’t buy into the premise so it was difficult to overcome the unbelievablity of the situation.
Of the 10 final choices, I’ve read 3 (Book Lovers, Reminders of Him, and It Starts With Us), and I do not have any on my TBR!
Of all the categories, this one may be my favorite! I loved The Measure so much! I have seen some reviews that raises some fair criticisms, but I don’t care! This is book club discussion gold and I literally cannot stop thinking about it. Almost every day I’ll catch myself thinking about one of the topics the book raised and I contemplate it by myself from all the different angles. This will definitely be one of my top books of 2022.
Of the 10 final choices, I’ve read 3 (The Measure, How High We Go in the Dark, and Upgrade), and I have 2 on my TBR (Sea of Tranquility and The Daughter of Doctor Moreau).
I really enjoy nonfiction, but I was really underwhelmed by the choices in this category. I personally enjoyed These Precious Days but I know it didn’t get as many rave reviews as most Patchett books seem to get. I listened to this one on audio and I think that enhanced my experience. Listening to Patchett’s calming voice allowed these stories to sink into my bones and I’m not sure I’ll ever get over the last half of the book where Patchett chronicles taking care of her friend as she went through cancer treatment. It was so incredibly genuine and soft and compassionate…it left me without words when I finished.
Listen, I didn’t know a whole lot about the other choices on this list, so this is my wild card pick. 🤷🏼♀️
Of the 10 final choices, I’ve only read 1 (These Precious Days), and I have 3 on my TBR (Bittersweet, Atlas of the Heart, and Unmasked: My Life Solving America’s Cold Cases).
I was originally hoping Bomb Shelter would make the finals because that would have been my choice, but it didn’t. Of the choices, that did make it, I chose Solito. It’s an incredible book and I really enjoyed it, I just wish it had a little tighter editing. There were parts that dragged a bit, but as a whole, this was an incredible story of a young boy (9 years old!) that travelled over 3000 miles ALONE across Mexico to get to his parents already in the United States. A trip that was supposed to take two weeks took nine, and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time in anticipation of how this story ended.
I predicted that Viola Davis’ book, Finding Me, would actually win because I have heard so many rave reviews and because it was endorsed by Oprah.
Of the 10 final choices, I’ve read 3 (Solito, What My Bones Know, and I’m Glad My Mom Died), have 1 on my TBR (Finding Me), and I DNFd 1 (Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing).
I’m not super confident in either of these choices winning, but of the 10 on the list, Black Cake is definitely my personal favorite (see above for more). I also really enjoyed Lessons in Chemistry, as did many of the people I follow. It had a great message and Elizabeth Zott is one of those characters you won’t soon forget. She’s larger than life with some quick wit, a strong personality, and tough backbone! She’s a true feminist hero and I was so happy to watch her successes and cheered for her the whole way!
Of the 10 final choices, I’ve read 3 (Lessons in Chemistry, The Maid, and Black Cake), and I have 2 on my TBR (Remarkably Bright Creatures and All Good People Here).
Best Mystery & Thriller/Fantasy/Horror/Humor/History & Biography/Graphic Novels & Comics/Poetry/Young Adult Fiction/Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction/Middle Grade & Children’s/
No vote…not my genres!
Happiest When Reading 