Hi all,
We just released our top 20 books of the year today, including our BookBrowse Award Winners! Our selection process is different because we select these based on the aggregate rating of our voters, not on how many people voted. You can read more about that process here.
Are you surprised by which books made it in or didn’t? How many of the top 20 have you read? Let us know what you think!
I’ve read five of them:
I think they all deserve a place in the top 20!
I have another six of them on my Kindle. I’m really excited that The Frozen River and Becoming Madam Secretary are slated for upcoming discussions because then I know I’ll be able to make time to read them.
I have only read two, which I really enjoyed, and a third was a DNF.
Becoming Madam Secretary
There Are Rivers in the Sky
The Women (DNF)
Have four others on my digital shelves to read or listen to in the near future.
@Gabi_J I’m curious as to what you didn’t like about The Women. I’ve had mixed feelings about Hannah’s writing based on the other books of hers I’ve read, but the subject of this one sounded interesting so I went ahead and bought it. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
I felt like the story was too cliche and the writing too simplistic for such an important time period. Thie Women was my first Hannah book so maybe her style just isn’t my cup of tea.
Thanks for the response! Yeah, I seem to remember that’s what I’ve thought of her books in the past.
I’ve read six of them, and loved (in some cases really loved)
Frozen River
Mighty Red
Tell Me Everything
God of the Woods
Clear
Did not love:
The Women
I’ve read 8 of the top 20 and have plans to read at least 2 more. Most of the ones I’ve read I thoroughly enjoyed so maybe I should check out a few of the others.
I know others use the Top 20 as a reading list, @Anthony_Conty is one of the more vocal 
I’ve read Daughters of Shandong, The Demon of Unrest, The God of the Woods, and Prophet Song - all five star reads for me!
Daughters of Shandong was particularly good and well deserving of best Debut in my opinion - it’s not only well written but well researched as well.
@nick Good to know re Daughters of Shandong. That one wasn’t on my radar so I’ll have to add it to my (ever growing) TBR.
BookBrowse is hosting a book club discussion for it this year so you’ll likely end up reading it 
Daughters of Shandong is one I haven’t read. I’ll have to check it out.
Wasn’t Prophet Song great?
Yes Prophet Song definitely sticks with you long after you’ve read it, and I always love books that can make you feel a certain way (even if it’s not a particularly pleasant feeling).
I am one of the more vocal. I read the first four categories on the BookBrowse list (their top 20, the Pulitzers, the Bookers, and the Newbery). I just bought “Clear” and it arrives today. I have read zero but will hit them all by the end of the year! My reading calendar is set!
Totally agree with you!
Upon further review, I have already read Prophet Song and The Women. I have high hopes for Clear!
I’ve read four of the Top 20:
The Frozen River
The God of the Woods
James
The Women
The Women didn’t live up to the hype for me, but thoroughly enjoyed the other three.
I have only read THE LOVE ELIXER OF AUGUSTA STERN.
Not sure how I feel about the ones chosen, but I actually haven’t heard of most of them. The ones I have heard of are The Women and Frozen River.
My top books are mostly historical fiction.
Thanks for the list and post, Nick.
I’ve read 3 of them so far: Tell Me Everything, Becoming Madam Secretary, and James, all of which I liked a lot to loved! Have Frozen River on my shelf waiting and am thinking about The Women. Gave Wide Wide Sea as a gift and might read it also along with Big Red.
I really enjoyed The Women. Being a nurse, I totally learned so much of what those women went through and the courage and bravery it took to just stay at your post and do the job. I know how hard nursing is as I worked the ER for 30 years. I was in a community hospital and we saw everything. Now, how much harder is it to do your job in such a dangerous spot? The kind of work they did can suck your soul right out of you. I am so happy that this book was written and some of the women saw the monument in their honor. The book is not written in the style that Kristin usually uses, and that may have been somewhat off putting to others, but I am so thankful she shed light on such an important topic.