Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Goodreads Choice Awards 2015 Final Round

We have reached the final stretch of the 2015 Goodreads Choice Awards. Voting for the final round has opened up and will close on Monday, November 23rd. So be sure to make your voices heard and vote for your favorite books of the year.

Looks like both Girl at War by Sara Nović and Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee have made it into the top 10 for Best Fiction. I will still be sticking with my vote for Girl at War, although I am honestly not all that confident it will be able to beat out books like After You by Jojo Moyes and Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff.

Paula Hawkins' The Girl on the Train is also hanging on in the Best Mystery & Thriller category, and will have to face off against Stephen King's Finders Keepers.

I am glad that despite not being as good as its predecessor, A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson had made it to the finals for the Best Historical Fiction category. However, I am surprised that Judy Blume's In the Unlikely Event has squeezed into the top 10 as well, but I suppose it should not be. Blume has been writing for a long time and has a strong following as a result.

I am certainly not surprised that The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro did not make it into the final round for Best Fantasy.  For me this book was just not up to the standard that Ishiguro is known for, and while he may also have a strong following like Blume, it clearly was not enough to push him into the final round.

One book that has managed to make it into the final round despite its lower rating is Aramada by Ernest Cline. It is a story that has a great premise and is pretty interesting, right up until the end when things just fall apart and all momentum and energy comes to a grinding halt. But clearly, it has enough fans willing to at least vote it into the finals.

And for my first bit of sad news, it looks like The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl by Issa Rae was not able to get the votes needed to make into the top 10 for Best Humor. It was a write-in vote after all, and was not included in the original first round of 15. Even so, it is one I was rooting for, so it is sad to see it go.

Rising Strong by Brené Brown is still holding on in the Best Nonfiction category, and I will not be at all surprised if it ends up taking away the top prize. It has some stiff competition off course, and from the likes of Aziz Ansari and Humans of New York. The nonfiction category looks like it has some particularly strong finalists and it may end up being a close race to the end.

Both My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga and Girl at War have managed to make it into the final round for Best Debut Goodreads Author. I am fans of both of these books, so choosing was initially difficult. But I plan to stick with Warga's book and hopefully vote it towards a win.

Unfortunately, Warga's novel did not make it to the finals for Best Young Adult Fiction, and neither did All the Rage by Courtney Summers. The only horse I still have in this race is Saint Anything by Goodreads Choice Awards veteran Sarah Dessen. 

Which only leaves the category for Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction, where Rainbow Rowell, another Goodreads Choice Awards veteran, is still being represented with her novel Carry On. Rowell has won an award every year that she has been nominated, and I am hoping she is able to take the number one spot once again.

So this it people. Your last chance to let it be known which books you think were the best of the best for 2015. Stay tuned to Goodreads for the final results on Tuesday, November 24th.   

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