Best Books 2021: Goodreads Choice Awards

This post is part of my year end "Attack of the Best Lists" coverage. To see every post in my "Best Books 2021" series you can use the best lists tag. 

Click here to enter the Best Books Portal 

Each year Goodreads does their version of a "Best Books" list in a variety of categories. The editors create the categories and provide a long list of titles for users to vote on, in multiple rounds. [In the past they have allowed write-ins during the first round, but not this year.]

You can click here to see the Best Books 2021 homepage.

Currently, we are in the first round. Here is the voting schedule:

VOTING SCHEDULE

Opening Round	Nov. 16 - 28
Final Round	Nov. 30 - Dec. 5
Winners Announced	Dec. 9

I am posting that schedule just so you know it, but for your purposes this opening round is THE BEST round because it has the largest number of titles in the running for "best," meaning that you have the most options for displays and suggestions.

While their categories aren't exhaustive [especially in YA and MG] there are more categories than your average best books list, and many of the titles are a bit more midlist, meaning they might be on your shelves right now.

Readers love this Best Books page because they get to make the list. Their votes pick the winners. Not critics telling them what is best, but readers getting to let their opinions win. For better or worse, in your opinion, this creates conversation and excitement around books, and that is exactly our goal in providing RA Service-- creating conversations. 

As a suggestion and display tool, this Best Books portal is a great resource. 

I also love that the portal has easy access to every year of Best Books homepages right in the left gutter. You cannot miss it. This is key because the last 2-5 years of best book nominees are your go-to suggestion tool at this time of year. Why? Because these are sure bet, proven titles that your patrons would not find without you. They are still "best;" they don't lose that distinction when the calendar flips to a new year. Also, they are probably on your shelf right now. 

Real talk time. This resource is not perfect. I know that. No resource is perfect if we are being honest. But as one of the only reader driven best lists [not expert or critic driven], the Goodreads Best Books 2021 is unique and useful in real time. 

It is also participatory. Readers get to vote. Don't count that part out. They are excited about having a say. Feed off of this excitement and use the portal in your year end wrap ups.  

And whether you have an account or not, you can access all of it, including reader reviews, and use it all to help patrons. 

So you can be salty about everything that this Best List leaves out, or you can embrace what we have and use it to create conversations around books at your library.