Just in time for holiday gift giving, Goodreads has released its list of the best books of 2018. What makes this list any better than others just like it? This one is actually voted on by the readers themselves. Rather than relying on high-brow review outlets or marketing campaigns bankrolled by larger publishers, Goodreads’ own users curated these top choices.
The top winners in each category contained both some newcomers like Tomi Adeyemi and some industry veterans like Stephen King and Rick Riordan, who incidentally have now tied for the most books to be honored on this list. By a count on the award winners by Oprah Magazine, this year’s list incidentally includes more female winners than male if anyone’s counting.
A handful of celebrity authors made the list this year for different titles, including Chrissy Tiegen with a follow-up to her previous cookbook, comedian Tiffany Hadish in the humor category, and actress Grace Byers’ children’s picture book. A biography of another beloved celebrity, Fred Rogers, won as well.
This year, Goodreads incorporated a new honor category called Best of the Best AWard, and it went to what is arguably–of course–the best book on the list even without the widespread public acclaim. The Hate U Give, now a major motion picture, is the first title to receive this honor. While this book wasn’t published in 2018 like the rest of the titles that were featured, this category was open to voters to decide from 170 different past winners.
For the complete list of winners, visit the Goodreads Best Books 2018 page.
Mercy Pilkington is a Senior Editor for Good e-Reader. She is also the CEO and founder of a hybrid publishing and consulting company.
