From the ones I've read and are on the list (5 or 6) there's only two that deserves to be in a "best of the year" list: Sussana Clarke's "Piranesi" and, maybe, V.E. Schwab's "The invisible life of...
From the ones I've read and are on the list (5 or 6) there's only two that deserves to be in a "best of the year" list: Sussana Clarke's "Piranesi" and, maybe, V.E. Schwab's "The invisible life of Addie LaRue". To me this looks more like "NPR: the comprehensive list of what our staff read this year".
I know this is an older thread but now that the year is almost done I'd like to give it a bit of a bump. I would take best books of 2020 with a grain of salt and more use it as a way to discover...
I know this is an older thread but now that the year is almost done I'd like to give it a bit of a bump. I would take best books of 2020 with a grain of salt and more use it as a way to discover new books. I think using this is a tool of discovery for reading is much more helpful and what I've always done. As an added bonus, they include each year they've done this up to 2013.
To use it, you kind of have to know yourself or know your interests align with at least some of the book reviewers of NPR. I personally know that there are several reviewers with similar taste, so I know there are books I'll like. I've already read a few books off the list. But each year they come out with this, my book wishlist grows by a significant amount,and it gets me interested in genres I might not have searched out on my own!
This is exactly how I use it! I sort of evaluate my own preferences against the available options, adding books to my list that either pique my interest or that seem like they'd be a valuable...
This is exactly how I use it! I sort of evaluate my own preferences against the available options, adding books to my list that either pique my interest or that seem like they'd be a valuable "reach" for me. I also love their categorization. I also appreciate that it surfaces a lot more than the standard yearly Best Of lists (which, even though there are many, all tend to have considerable overlap anyway), and I like that they do it in a non-hierarchical way. The books aren't in competition for spots on a numbered list, and they're not being asked to be compared to one another. Instead, they're all just together, under one roof, ready for interested readers to find them. I find looking through NPR's lists to be akin to browsing the shelves at a bookstore or library.
From the ones I've read and are on the list (5 or 6) there's only two that deserves to be in a "best of the year" list: Sussana Clarke's "Piranesi" and, maybe, V.E. Schwab's "The invisible life of Addie LaRue". To me this looks more like "NPR: the comprehensive list of what our staff read this year".
Haven’t read anything. This year just flew away. Hopefully next year is better.
I know this is an older thread but now that the year is almost done I'd like to give it a bit of a bump. I would take best books of 2020 with a grain of salt and more use it as a way to discover new books. I think using this is a tool of discovery for reading is much more helpful and what I've always done. As an added bonus, they include each year they've done this up to 2013.
To use it, you kind of have to know yourself or know your interests align with at least some of the book reviewers of NPR. I personally know that there are several reviewers with similar taste, so I know there are books I'll like. I've already read a few books off the list. But each year they come out with this, my book wishlist grows by a significant amount,and it gets me interested in genres I might not have searched out on my own!
This is exactly how I use it! I sort of evaluate my own preferences against the available options, adding books to my list that either pique my interest or that seem like they'd be a valuable "reach" for me. I also love their categorization. I also appreciate that it surfaces a lot more than the standard yearly Best Of lists (which, even though there are many, all tend to have considerable overlap anyway), and I like that they do it in a non-hierarchical way. The books aren't in competition for spots on a numbered list, and they're not being asked to be compared to one another. Instead, they're all just together, under one roof, ready for interested readers to find them. I find looking through NPR's lists to be akin to browsing the shelves at a bookstore or library.