I want to start by saying that I know the Goodreads Choice Awards are a popularity contest, which doesn’t reward the best book in a genre and which has nominees that lack diversity. But when I saw the winners, I realized that, while I had only read 2 of them, I was actually curious about some of the others. So I wanted to see if the most popular books were actually any good and, in the categories where I had read other nominees if there were books that deserved the win more.
What I read and what I didn’t:
- I read the winners of some of my fav genres: romance, mystery/thriller, and sci-fi.
- I read the runner-up of one of my fav genres (horror) because the winner had transphobic content
- I read the winners of genres that I don’t read often but that sounded appealing: fiction, memoir, humor, and poetry.
- The only genre that I read often but wasn’t included was fantasy because the winner is a sequel in a series that I have no interest in reading and the runner-up was Babel, which I do plan to read at some point but not anytime soon.
Without further ado, here are my thoughts on the winners:
Fiction
Winner: Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Other nominees I’ve read: none
My thoughts: I loved this book, and I’m so glad it won. The characters in this were deeply flawed and sometimes made me want to scream at them to communicate and be honest with each other, but their struggles, insecurities, and mistakes felt so realistic that it was easy to root for them. I was so invested in each of them and their relationship. I think above everything else, it’s their complicated, unbreakable bond that made me love this book. Also, the writing was incredible and the conversations about making games and the video game industry were interesting.
Mystery/ Thriller
Winner: The Maid by Nita Prose
Other nominees I’ve read: The Bullet that Missed, Killers of a Certain Age, Daisy Daker
My thoughts: I’m not mad this won, but I enjoyed all the other nominees that I’ve read more, so I would have preferred if any of the other 3 won. I found The Maid to be entertaining, well-written, humorous, and a fast read. But all of the characters were kind of one-dimensional and Molly felt at times like a caricature of an autistic person. Also, she was so clueless and naive and she kept digging a bigger hole for herself and it got to a point where it became frustrating because it wasn’t realistic and it was almost like the author was making her act out of character just to further the plot.
Romance
Winner: Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Other nominees I’ve read: Love on the Brain, Delilah Green Doesn’t Care, Hook Line and Sinker, The Wedding Crasher
My thoughts: I liked this book, but I would have liked to see Delilah Green Doens’t Care win this category. Still, I really liked the romance storyline in Book Lovers, it had a relatable heroine and a swoony hero, I loved their chemistry and banter, I loved seeing them bond over their love for books and the writing was really good. But, I didn’t love the way the storyline between the heroine and her sister was developed, they were supposed to be on a trip to reconnect, but they ended up avoiding important conversations and it wasn’t until the very end that everything blew up and it was resolved in a rush.
Science fiction
Winner: Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Other nominees I’ve read: the daughter of doctor Moreou, Dead Silence
My thoughts: While I enjoyed Dead Silence more, I think of it more as a horror book, so I’m actually very happy that Sea of Tranquility won this category. The writing in it is beautiful and accessible, and I think it was why this book captivated me from the beginning. This short book is engaging the entire time, packs a lot of thematic content including a bit of philosophy, and weaves different storylines together very successfully.
Horror
Runner up: The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas
Other nominees I’ve read: What Moves the Dead, Our Wives Under the Sea
My thoughts: I hate that the book that won was a transphobic book and I refuse to read it. I would have been happy if any of the three books I’ve read in this category won. In terms of the runner-up, The Hacienda, it was an atmospheric haunted house story with the unique twist of being set in Mexico and including some of the culture and history of the country. It had characters that it was easy to root for and that had very realistic responses to what was happening around them, there wasn’t a ton of character depth but the characters worked for the type of story the book was telling. The plot was well executed and the reveals made sense.
Memoir
Winner: I’m Glad my Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
Other nominees I’ve read: none
My thoughts: I don’t read that many memoirs but this book is so popular that I got curious and decided to read it, unfortunately, I didn’t love it as much as most people did. This was a quick and accessible read. It was a very descriptive book and I was expecting a bit more reflection and insight into the effects of all the situations that McCurdy was narrating. The writing felt a bit detached but it still manages to convey how disturbing the things McCurdy went through with her mother and being a child star were, and also her resentment and sadness about so many of her experiences.
Humor
Winner: The Office BFFs by Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey
Other nominees I’ve read: none
My thoughts: I never thought I was going to read a book in this category, but I watched The Office for the first time during lockdown and loved it, which plays a big part in why I enjoyed this book. I loved hearing all the behind-the-scenes stories and since I don’t listen to the podcast this is based on, all the stories were new to me. I think the love they have for the show comes through in this book and makes it an enjoyable reading experience for fans.
Poetry
Winner: Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman
Other nominees I’ve read: none
My thoughts: Call Us What We Carry was a beautiful poetry collection that heavily deals with the pandemic. I really appreciated that the writing was lyrical and complex but it was easy to understand what Gorman was trying to convey with each of her poems. As someone who doesn’t read that much poetry, I discovered that I like shorter collections because this did feel a little overlong at times.
CONCLUSION
I definitely don’t think all the winners I read are the best books in their genres, but I already knew that. So I can at least say that I don’t regret reading any of these books, they were not terrible, and from the genres I read often, I actually enjoyed the winners. Also, I read a couple books I really loved that I may not have read otherwise: Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow (which is one of my favorite books of the year so far), and The Office BFFs (which was such a fun read). Overall, I would say this was a success.
What do you think about the 2022 Goodreads Awards winners?