Thursday, November 29, 2018

It's Official - Library Journal Top Ten Literary Fiction Books of the Year

What happens when you put three book reviewers in a room and ask them to agree on their favorite novels of the year? Well, in a first for "Library Journal" that's just what happened and the results are now available for me to share. We each read thirty titles, wrote down our talking points, and met on the phone for a marathon book talk. Tastes are so different. What appeals to one may not be palatable to another. Still, we can agree that what we're looking for in a wonderful read is originality, glorious language, and a story that touches the soul. I hope you'll find that our ten finalists meet this criteria. Just click on the Literary Fiction tab. Oh, and while you're at it, take a look at the thrillers, crimes, sci-fi, and non-fiction titles as well.

https://www.libraryjournal.com/?page=best-books-2018&fbclid=IwAR0G3pwbe6HD8ZP1IFGL67LTMfbn_sisLgpqjWMf--wsXvuhn-nyX_g7c6I



2 comments:

Linda said...

Such an interesting selection of titles and far more diverse than other “best of” lists I’ve seen. Although I’ve only read “Overstory,” which I’m sure you campaigned for, I plan to correct that soon. Four titles on hold, more to follow!

Sallyb said...

You're exactly right. Barbara said from the beginning - while apologizing for the short notice - that she hoped we would have a diverse and imaginative list. I campaigned for Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday but didn't win that one. Have you read it? Elaine Newton discussed it last month and I swear she and I were the only ones out of the 500-some folks in the room who loved it. I also had Ali Smith's Winter on my list and that didn't get picked either. We agreed that she had plenty of kudos and probably didn't need ours.