Off the Shelf: Books of the Year? The Big Lists are Out
By Sharon Saye on December 01, 2021 from Off the Shelf
For all those who cannot wait for the Best Books of the Year lists, the wait is over. Numerous lists started appearing from booksellers, and magazines in October, but now the big names are weighing in such as The Washington Post and The New York Times.
It might seem strange to most people to publish lists of the Best Books of the Year in October with loads of important books not yet published. The reason for this is that book reviewers and media outlets all receive Advance Readers Copies known as ARCs either in print or digitally so that they will have their reviews ready when the book is released. So, right now these people are starting to receive books coming out in early spring.
The Best Books lists usually have a lot of similarity. Some like to break their lists by genre so if you like mysteries or romance or science fiction, you can go straight to those parts of the lists. The Washington Post has a “50 Notable Works of Fiction” while The New York Times has “100 Notable Books of 2021.” No matter how they do it, readers will find stacks of books to put on their TBR lists.
“Hell of a Book” by Jason Mott, just won the National Book Award for Fiction and graces The Washington Post’s list as does” Infinite Country” by Patricia Engel, “The Magician” by Colm Toibin, “The Sentence” by Louise Erdrich, “The Lincoln Highway” by Amor Towles and “Hour of the Witch” by Chris Bohjalian.
The New York Times also recommends “Beautiful World, Where are You” by Sally Rooney, “Bewilderment” by Richard Powers, “Cloud Cuckoo Land” by Anthony Doerr, “Crossroads” by Jonathan Franzen, “Harlem Shuffle” by Colson Whitehead and “Razorblade Tears” by S.A. Cosby.
Other novels that can be found on various fiction lists include: “Matrix” by Lauren Groff, “Great Circle” by Maggie Shipstead, “Silverview” by John le Carre, “The Madness of Crowds” by Louise Penny, “Velvet was the Night” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, “People We Meet on Vacation” by Emily Henry, “All the Feels” by Olivia Dade, “She Who Became the Sun” by Shelley Parker-Chan and “The Witch’s Heart” by Genevieve Gornichec.
The December issue of BookPage, a free handout, is now available, and it has its own lists of Best Books. You can pick it up at both circulation desks and mark up the four-page spread with books that tickle your fancy.
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