More Lists of the Best Nonfiction Books of the Year—Plus Some Advice for Goodreads

To much of the bookish world’s surprise, Barnes & Noble announced that Mona’s Eyes by Thomas Schlesser, translated by Hildegarde Serle, was their book of the year. But Samin Nosarat’s new cookbook Good Things won their “Best Gift Books of the Year” award, and I couldn’t agree more. It’s a standout book of the year, hands down. Of course, I’ve already bought a copy of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat as a gift for my favorite barista, but she very well might need this one too.

The editors over at Amazon read like nobody’s business. They devour anything and everything with pages before selecting their “best of” books of the year. This year, they’ve given us their top 20 books to peruse, naming Buckeye by Patrick Ryan their top pick of the year. For us nonfiction fans, never fear! They have several titles for our enjoyment, too.

While taking a look at the titles, I can’t help but notice that while their fiction picks feature authors from a wide range of backgrounds, their nonfiction picks aren’t very diverse. While these might be great true stories, they all kinda hit one note. Surely, with all of that reading, they could have given us a better range of nonfiction picks.

Every year, like clockwork, the moment the Goodreads Choice Awards opens for voting, the discourse begins. There are MANY legitimate issues with the award process that people have brought up, but I would like to enter my grievance into the mix: what do you mean there are only three nonfiction categories?! I love a good “dad” book, but for what ridiculous reason have they always combined biography and history into the same category? You literally make the rules, Goodreads.

If fiction can have a plethora of categories—including romance, fantasy, AND romantasy—surely history and biography can each have their own. Off and on, they used to also include humor, cookbook, science & technology, business, and travel & outdoors book categories, which have all disappeared over the years.

Sure, I’m waving my personal opinion flag a bit here, but nonfiction can be just as riveting and all-engrossing as any fiction genre. With more categories, more nonfiction books would be featured and potentially find new readers. So why not highlight a broader range of nonfiction genres?

You can find me over on my Substack Winchester Ave, over on Instagram @kdwinchester, or on my podcast Read Appalachia. As always, feel free to drop me a line at [emailprotected]. For even MORE bookish content, you can find my articles over on Book Riot.