Once again, we are able to include children’s literature in our annual process of tabulating the consensus Best of the Best Books of the year. Drawing on a slightly smaller group of 18 selective sources in all, this year the data yielded more middle grade picks than in the past (including a nonfiction book, Gary […]
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The Top 10 Best of the Best Books of 2021 So Far
As we continue to tabulate the consensus very best books of 2021, the roster has remained one of the most interesting and competitive we have seen in years of aggregating. Distinctions are fine, with all of the top titles receiving similar totals of “picks” from across the lists we monitor. At the very top, works […]
The Next of the Best of the Best Books of 2021
Here is the updated look at our aggregation-in-process of the year’s very best books. With over 40 “votes” counted from a variety of highly selective lists, awards and more, the general consensus is taking shape, though both the fiction and nonfiction lists reflect a variety of books finding favor. Unlike in many recent years, there […]
The First of The Best of the Best Books of 2021
It’s time for the first tabulation of our annual aggregation of selective lists from all over — newspapers, reviewers, booksellers, librarians, book clubs, major awards and more — to provide a clear consensus on the year’s very best books. Last year Isabel Wilkerson’s CASTE led as “book of the year” from start to finish, and […]
Paul McCartney’s Lyrics Is B&N Book of the Year
Booksellers named Paul McCartney’s The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present Barnes & Noble’s Book of the Year for 2021. “The Lyrics is an extraordinary book, ceo James Daunt said. “It is stunningly beautiful and a masterpiece of book design. Paul McCartney has fashioned, through the explorations of his songs with the poet Paul Muldoon, a […]
Amazon’s Best Books of the Year
Amazon announced their Best Books of 2021, naming 20 top titles along with a full package of “bests” and a top 100 list. Five titles remain on the list from their Best So Far selection halfway through the year: Great Circle, by Maggie Shipstead; Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro; The Plot, by Jean […]