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Weekly Words about Books December 9, 2012
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GOODREADS MEMBERS CHOOSE
THEIR FAVORITE BOOKS IN 2012
| | Are you part of the phenomenon that is Goodreads? If so, I'm not surprised - it's the largest site for readers and book recommendations in the world, with more than 12 million members (and counting). More than a million and half of them voted for these Goodreads Choice Awards, which were announced on December 4. Members voted for books (and one favorite author) in 20 categories, and the list of winners is below. I've made some comments as well - you'll find those in red.
For this year's awards, Goodreads also partnered with Northern California independent bookstores to promote winning titles. Thirty stores have created displays and will collect members' raffle tickets for entry in a Goodreads sweepstakes.
Best Fiction
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
She's hardly a first-time author, but Rowling fans were clearly supportive of her initial foray into grown-up fiction.
Best Nonfiction
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
First book by Cain had anything but quiet sales; due in paperback in January.
Best Goodreads Author
Veronica Roth
The popular (obviously) YA author also won the Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction award - more below
Best Mystery
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
No mystery here - this was huge bestseller in bookstores, hitting #1 for several weeks
Best Historical Fiction
The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
In the closest race of any category, Stedman barely beat out Hilary Mantel's Bring Up the Bodies. Due in paperback in March.
Best Memoir
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
An easy path to the top, given the sales and the word-of-mouth Strayed garnered - women and men, young and old, hikers and armchair travelers. Due in paperback in March
Best History & Biography
Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch by Sally Bedell Smith
Her Royal Highness fought off challenges left and right, beating Rachel Maddow (Drift) and Bill O'Reilly (Killing Kennedy) - not bad for a soon-to-be great-grandmother; in paperback now.
Best Fantasy
The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King
The prolific King returned to his epic Dark Tower fantasy series with this new installment; now in paperback.
Best Paranormal Fantasy
Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
The sequel to the author's 2011 A Discovery of Witches and second book of her All Souls Trilogy
Best Romance
Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James
Freed should have been handcuffed by competing with the first two books in the Fifty Shades series, but neither Gray or Darker made the top 10 in voting, so whipping the competition proved easy.
Best Science Fiction
The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett
Co-written with sci-fi writer Stephen Baxter, this is the first novel in a collaboration between the two.
Best Horror
The Twelve by Justin Cronin
Another close race, as Cronin beat out Dean Koontz (Odd Apocalypse) by less than 1,000 votes with his follow-up to The Passage.
Best Young Adult Fiction
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Green's moving and humor-laced story of a cancer-stricken teen girl who falls in love crushed the competition, winning by almost 30,000 votes.
Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
This is Book Two in the popular (see above) Roth's dystopian Divergent series; Book One - aptly titled Divergent - won this category last year.
Best Humor
Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson
Internet sensation Lawson, aka The Bloggess ("Like Mother Teresa, Only Better") scored big with her true Texas tales.
Best Poetry
A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver
The Pulitzer Prize-winning poet's loving ode to the beauty and wonder of her hometown, Provincetown, MA, made her a natural choice.
Best Food & Cookbook
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl by Ree Drummond
More power to the blog - Drummond's thepioneerwoman.com site showcases her country life and offers comfort food recipes for elastic waistbands.
Best Graphic Novel & Comic
The Walking Dead, Vol 16: A Larger World by Robert Kirkman, illustrated by Charlie Adlard
This is a series that reprints issues of The Walking Dead, a story chronicling the travels of a group of people trying to survive in a world stricken by a zombie apocalypse.
Best Children's Book
The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan
The third book in The Heroes of Olympus series, featuring characters from Riordan's phenomenally successful Percy Jackson books.
Best Picture Book
Olivia and the Fairy Princesses by Ian Falconer
Children's literature's most imaginative pig was part of the second-closest race, as Olivia's identity crisis proved slightly more appealing than The Ducking Gets A Cookie!? by Mo Willems.
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BAY AREA CHILDREN'S AUTHOR SCORES WITH NEW PICTURE BOOK
| | San Francisco author Deborah Underwood is making some noise with her new The Christmas Quiet Book, a holiday companion to The Quiet Book and The Loud Book! that  celebrates quiet sounds of the holiday season. The lovely picture book features artwork by Renata Liwska, who also illustrated the other two volumes.
This is really a sweet book and a great bedtime read, but you don't have to take my word for it. It's a Huffington Post Holiday Book Recommendation, was featured in the San Francisco Chronicle's "Holiday Gift guide: Christmas books for kids", and is on several Best Of...lists. Plus it even has it's own trailer on YouTube, which you can watch here.
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A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME
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My name is Hut Landon. I'm a former bookstore owner who now runs the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association (NCIBA) in San Francisco.
My goal with this newsletter is to keep readers up to date about new books hitting the shelves, share what booksellers are recommending in their stores, and pass on occasional news about the book world.
I'm not into long, wordy reviews or literary criticism; I'd like HUT'S PLACE to be a quick, fun read for book buyers. I'd appreciate you letting friends know about the column if you think they'd be interested - make sure to tell them it's free of charge.
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FUN VIDEO SHOWS HOW A BOOKSTORE GETS READY FOR AUTHORS
| Have you ever been in a bookstore and wondered how they can host author events? I mean, there are all these big bookcases everywhere - where do you set up the chairs and where the heck does the author stand?
Well, Newtonville Books, a cool independent bookstore in Newton, MA, has made a short video showing how they do it. It's delightful; take a look:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1vyhtHg7_0&feature=youtu.be
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