Best Books 2019: Kirkus Fiction Categories as Conversation Starters

Kirkus released their Best Fiction of 2019 lists here. They will reveal other lists-- nonfiction and other age levels-- weekly through the end of the year.

But I wanted to call out the fiction lists now because they have a really great RA application in the non traditional categories Kirkus includes.

Let me back up a second though. They have the regular categories by genre, some for which they are the gold standard [Romance] and others where they miss the mark [no horror]. But it is the inclusion of non genre categories, ones that mimic what readers may actually ask for, and as a result, transcend genre, where the Kirkus best list is most useful.

Categories like Most Memorable Fictional Families of 2019, Best 2019 Fiction to Get Your Book Club Talking, and Best 2019 Fiction Writers to Discover, are natural language options you can easily use to talk about best book options with patrons.

Sure you can offer the best by genre, but many readers [myself included] are not only looking for one genre from their "best options." Categories that are less genre dependent and more conversation starters will help you find more targeted books for your patrons but also, allow a more natural interaction with the reader in front of you.

These are also categories that can be turned into excellent book displays. "Memorable Fictional Families" alone is a holiday time display sure to get plenty of attention and one that would not be hard for you to fill out with backlist titles.

And just the conversations that the "Fiction Writers to Discover" category could begin alone is worth the price of admission here. Asking patrons and staff members what writers they "discovered" this year is an open ended question that allows the space for any type of answer and really allows a conversation about the book, author, and experiences as a reader to happen in a natural way. Answers can be turned into suggested reading lists, displays, social media posts, and more.

So take a look at the 2019 Kirkus Best Fiction Lists and start thinking about how you create conversations around the year's best at your library. You are not required to stick to genres. Yes genre labels are helpful but they are only one way to classify books. Readers [of which you are also one, don't forget that] don't only think about books through a genre lens.

You can also access the best of 2018 lists here for all categories and can use those backlist options this year too, but anything older, is not easily accessible.