This post is part of my year end "Attack of the Best Lists" coverage. To see every post in my "Attack of the Best Lists 2023" coverage [and more backlist best of the year options] you can click here.
In terms of usefulness for you, the public library worker, the very best "best" lists are the ones that think about the average reader and identify titles that are well constructed, engaging, and accessible. They have literary merit, yes, but are not obtuse. They provide new information on a topic or a different perspective, but they are also extremely readable. And they have a WIDE view of what makes something "best."
Today that is my focus, on three mainstream lists whose mission is to have choices for the most readers. They also provide us with titles with can display and suggest with ease.
We begin with the best example-- Time Magazine. Each year they give us their "100 Must Read Books." Here is the link to the 2023 list.
Notice they don't call them "the best," they are "must reads." I love this language. It speaks perfectly to library users. These are books the editors think you should read, so a variety of reasons. They are not trying to tell you to only read the most critically acclaimed books. They have chosen super bestsellers and titles that speak to our moment in history as well.
This is a list you can display proudly, and quite honestly, having looked through it myself, easily. Easily because you have these books already. Easily because there are mays to promote it via their website, which has a visual representation of each cover that people can scroll through quickly or click on a specific title for an annotation with details. And there is a video about their process on each specific title page, under the annotation.
You can also offer access through your subscription to the magazine itself-- print or digital. In fact, this list provides you with the opportunity to market your magazine access points in general. Many libraries are seeing their magazine usage go way down and while some of it is a larger industry issue, I have also found that when you remind people about the easy Libby access to magazines, they start reading them again.
All of these different ways to deliver the Time 100 Must Read Books for any year provides an example of what it means to be truly inclusive. Having a variety of ways for users to take in the information honors all the different ways people prefer to access information. And of course, the titles themselves are diverse.
Of course, it is not only this list that is a great choice for readers, but also, the backlist of lists. Time has been making this "100 Must Read Books" list since 2019. Here are the backlist links for you to use with your patrons immediately:
Next up is Amazon and their Best Books of 2023. Okay, okay, let's not get in an uproar here. Yes, there are reasons to not want to promote Amazon, but you need to understand why these lists are a good resource and how to use them with patrons.
In the case of Amazon, they want to sell books, first and foremost. Their best list is an extension of that. But they also want to show that they can recommend books that are both worthy of being held up in the "best" conversation while also appealing to a wide audience. I think they have done that well with their Top 10 list which you can see here.
But as I also mentioned with Barnes & Noble last week, they need to attract buyer of all kinds of books to give as holiday presents, so with this Amazon list while we have an overall Top 10 here, there are also Best Books by category all year long. And it is there where you have the goldmine of suggestions for all readers.
Go to the Amazon Book Review page. It has the 2023 Best lists by category but also, monthly picks and other "best" material. And, as you scroll down, you go further into the backlist. This is a "best" site you can use all year long to find sure best reads for all of your readers. And because their ultimate goal is to make a sale, you can trust that the titles appeal to many types of readers.
The final list for today is the first round of the GoodReads Choice Awards. This is your first chance to see what titles are the most popular with readers. In this round they are still taking write in candidates, but the overall choices here are illustrative of the books that were the most popular with GoodReads users.
Translation: this is a Reader Focused best list. We haven't had that yet. It is important to make sure we look at professional reviewers, those trying to sell books, AND real life readers. If we lose sight of them in this process, we lose sight of our mission in the process-- to match books with the best reader for that book.
Again, like Amazon, we need to take this all with a grain of salt because "people" don't always make the best choices, but as a resource it is perfect. We can dig into books that readers flicked to in the greatest numbers. That data dump onto an easy navigate page, in and of itself, is extremely useful to us.
Here is the link to the Goodreads Choice Award page. Scroll down and notice that they have super easy access to the award going back to 2011. Use the last 2-5 years in particular to find suggestions that you know were deemed "Best" (or were in the running for that title) over the past few years. They still make a great read AND you probably have all of them on the shelf to take home immediately.
A reader can't get their hands on one of the best Fantasy titles of 2023. That's okay. You can place a hold and then show them the list of 2022's Fantasy options. It's one extra click for you and they will love the options and service. Trust me. I have done it myself.
Back Monday with some more best lists, but with a different focus.
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