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Amazon reveals best books of the year so far: Suzanne Collins, S. A. Cosby make the list
Amazon reveals best books of the year so far: Suzanne Collins, S. A. Cosby make the list
Amazon Books Editors have once again emerged from the literary battlefield, crowning "Wild Dark Shore" by Charlotte McConaghy the "Best Book of the Year So Far."
Around the halfway point every year, the Amazon Books editorial team of eight gathers in Seattle to read, argue and craft a Top 20 list, advocating for their favorite titles published from January to June. They're looking for books that resonate, the ones 'you want to hand to everybody that you know,' says Al Woodworth, senior editor at Amazon Books.
"Wild Dark Shore" was a clear example of the community-building power of books, Woodworth says – it was an "easy" winner for the team because they just couldn't stop talking about it.
Amazon reveals Best Books of the Year (So Far)
Unlike Amazon's bestseller list, this one is curated based on editorial judgment, not sales data. A team of former publishing reps, booksellers, writers, journalists and agents read hundreds of books to prepare. Their most beloved make it to the overall Top 20 list, and they create additional genre-specific lists with favorites in nonfiction, romance, history, sci-fi and more.
1. 'Wild Dark Shore' by Charlotte McConaghy
What it's about: A family on a remote island fiercely protecting the land's seed bank encounters a mysterious woman who washes ashore.
Why Amazon Books Editors loved it: 'Wild Dark Shore' has characters you feel 'emotionally, intellectually' invested in. "Her ability to build tension feels unparalleled," Woodworth says. 'This story made us all think a little bit differently about the planet that we live in and what we would do for our families."
2. 'King of Ashes' by S. A. Cosby
What it's about: In the vein of 'The Godfather,' an eldest son returns home after his father's car accident to keep his family together and save his younger brother, indebted to dangerous criminals.
Why Amazon Books Editors loved it: Cosby 'packs such a punch' in what Woodworth calls his 'most commercial, fast-paced book yet.' The story is "completely immersive," she adds. "It is so juicy, you can feel it kind of be a movie.'
3. 'No More Tears' by Gardiner Harris
What it's about: An investigative journalist uncovers unethical sales practices, cover-ups and dangers behind the image of the trusted, child-friendly Johnson & Johnson.
Why Amazon Books Editors loved it: 'No More Tears' is reminiscent of Patrick Radden Keefe's Sackler family exposé 'Empire of Pain,' Woodworth says. 'It's shocking, it's page-turning. You will have a visceral reaction to this company.'
4. 'The Emperor of Gladness' by Ocean Vuong
What it's about: A 19-year-old finds unexpected community in small-town New England suburbia after an old woman saves him from attempting suicide.
Why Amazon Books Editors loved it: Amazon Editors knew they were going to be in for a treat with Vuong's latest and, true to form, it swept them off their feet. 'It's a super emotional book, but I think there's also a lot of levity in it and this idea of the redemptive powers of humanity and the good things we could do for one another, and that people do do for one another,' Woodworth says.
5. 'Sunrise on the Reaping' by Suzanne Collins
What it's about: 'The Hunger Games' returns with curmudgeonly mentor Haymitch Abernathy's perspective, set 25 years before the events of the series' first book.
Why Amazon Books Editors loved it: Both a nostalgic and fresh read, the team devoured the prequel. '(Collins is) so good at weaving these tales, and I think too, that you can read this book without having read the Hunger Games, and feel like it's super satisfying,' Woodworth says.
6. 'The Girls Who Grew Big' by Leila Mottley
What it's about: Three teenage mothers at the crossroads of girlhood and motherhood face complicated criticism from family and neighbors in the Florida panhandle.
Why Amazon Books Editors loved it: Mottley's novel 'subverts your expectations about motherhood,' both funny and beautiful as well as empowering, Woodworth says. 'She has so much grace and wisdom and humor in her writing that defies most 23-year-olds' capacities, in my mind,' Woodworth says. 'To read this next one and realize (her debut 'Nightcrawling') was not a one-hit wonder – she is here to stay. She will, I think, probably change the course of literature, win really big awards.'
7. 'Memorial Days' by Geraldine Brooks
What it's about: The author of 'Horse' catalogs the immediate shockwaves and later rebuilding after her partner of three decades, Pulitzer-winning Tony Horwitz, dies unexpectedly.
Why Amazon Books Editors loved it: 'Memorial Days' is on par with literature's most famous grief books like 'The Year of Magical Thinking,' but is also a love story filled with light, Woodworth says. 'There are sentences in there that will make your heart stop. They are absolutely beautiful. And I think that this is a book that, if you are grieving, it gives you permission to.'
8. 'Dead Money' by Jakob Kerr
What it's about: A 'problem solver' for Silicon Valley venture capitalists has to put on her detective hat when the company's chief investor is murdered.
Why Amazon Books Editors loved it: 'Slick' and 'juicy,' this is the perfect book for the beach. 'What Jakob Kerr has done is thrust this really smart, really driven, really strategic woman at the center of this mystery, and it's another book that you can read in two days,' Woodworth says.
9. 'Atmosphere' by Taylor Jenkins Reid
What it's about: A physics and astronomy professor finds passion, success and love when she becomes one of the first women scientists accepted to NASA's space shuttle program.
Why Amazon Books Editors loved it: Woodworth found 'Atmosphere' to be a 'rocket ship of a love story,' a popcorn read but with a deep, complex kernel. 'The depth of this makes for such satisfying reading,' Woodworth says. 'That's the case with so many of these books – yes, they're (fiction), but actually it's looking at society and what we value. Where do we put our money, and where do we put our time? Where do we put our effort?'
10. 'Matriarch' by Tina Knowles
What it's about: The mother of Beyoncé and Solange Knowles writes an ode to Black motherhood in her memoir of family, grief and creative risks.
Why Amazon Books Editors loved it: 'Tina Knowles is a force of nature. I think so many people will come to this book thinking that they're going to get all these juicy stories about Beyoncé and yes, you get some of those. But what makes this memoir soar is Tina Knowles and her resiliency, her sense of family,' Woodworth says.
Amazon's Top 20 Best Books of the Year So Far
"Wild Dark Shore" by Charlotte McConaghy "King of Ashes" by S. A. Cosby "No More Tears" by Gardiner Harris "The Emperor of Gladness" by Ocean Vuong "Sunrise on the Reaping" by Suzanne Collins "The Girls Who Grew Big" by Leila Mottley "Memorial Days" by Geraldine Brooks "Dead Money" by Jakob Kerr "Atmosphere" by Taylor Jenkins Reid "Matriarch" by Tina Knowles "Lloyd McNeil's Last Ride" by Will Leitch "Waste Wars" by Alexander Clapp "When We Ride" by Rex Ogle 'Mark Twain" by Ron Chernow "Heartwood" by Amity Gaige "Careless People" by Sarah Wynn-Williams "The Names" by Florence Knapp "The Poppy Fields" by Nikki Erlick "Seeking Shelter" by Jeff Hobbs "One Golden Summer" by Carley Fortune
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Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY's Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram, subscribe to our weekly Books newsletter or tell her what you're reading at cmulroy@
