Reacting to the Goodreads Choice Awards Winners of 2023

Hey Booktube, here's my reaction to the Goodreads Choice Awards of 2023. I thought it would be fun to chit chat casually about it! How do you feel about them? Do you take your recommendations from these lists?
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[@nangaleema]

Listening to the reviews is great, but listening to the reviews while watching your cat creep up the Christmas tree behind you is fantastic. 🎄 🐈‍⬛

[@carolinec3951]

I’m cynical about Amazon/ Goodreads weighing up these books and keeping their finger off the scale. Just my opinion.

[@AndYouWillBeWithMe]

right???

[@ItsVidaK]

Lol at the books having more votes than ratings. It happens every year!

[@ItsVidaK]

Eg TJ klune with 57k votes but 46k ratings etc

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

And every year I'm surprised XD If it was a couple hundreds then it'd be fine but 10-20k+ more?? I wish we had to mark a book as "read" before being able to vote for it :/

[@bluegreen5377]

@@ItsVidaK Still not as bad as King. 30k votes more than ratings. I really thought we were past King winning on his name only, because he lost 2 or 3 years. Just with quick glance at least 40% of scifi category had more votes than ratings.

[@francescathomas3502]

I will admit to voting for titles or authors I have heard of and NOT read, but I cannot afford to buy brand new releases every year!! There are just too many!!!

[@Kialas]

Divine Rivals was beautiful and gripping. It is about war correspondents and the first book of I don't know how many. Recommend.

[@LaughingStockfarm1]

Glad to hear you’re moving from Goodreads to the Hugo & Nebula. The Hugo is still a popularity contest, but it’s at least among people who have a love of the genre and community. I may not personally enjoy some of the nominees, but I’ve never read a bad book amongst the choices.

[@hannahhaasen7284]

Apparently, they compound the votes over both rounds. So if you vote for the book in both rounds 1 and 2 of voting, it is considered 2 votes in the final count. That's why you likely see more votes then reads on certain books.

[@francescathomas3502]

Thanks for that explanation!! I did mostly vote for the same book in both rounds. But anything that failed the first round, I had to vote for a different book in the 2nd round.

[@00shelly77]

my cat got so upset at clawdia climbing the tree lol she jumped in front of the screen and kept staring at her like “is that allowed?” 😂

[@aleksandradavidovic2456]

I really liked Ink Blood Sister Scribe and I wouldn't describe it as magical realism. The magical system in it has rules and history, it's complex and really interesting and the magic is practiced by using magical books!

[@jlee8948]

For Yours Truly, you don't have to read the first book in the series. But the first book is really good and I think you'd actually enjoy the first book more than Yours Truly.

[@TooMuchTimeTurtle]

I've read both and I agree, I think there's a couple of pet peeves that she has that will ruin Yours Truly for her. Part of Your World is my favorite romance so if I recommended romance that would be the one.

[@carolinejane1702]

Totally agree!

[@jenniferbngo]

Agree!

[@MichelleCR223]

Agreed

[@trynx127]

Agreed! Part of Your World is one of my all time favourite romance books. The characters are also more mature, like in Book Lovers (it's older woman, younger man). Both sides get a POV as well. But to me, Part of Your World mostly had like a wholesome feel to it.

[@nikhilkaimal1993]

I definitely think using the Hugo/Nebula for your reading challenge will work out better than Goodreads Choice. They aren't perfect but are definitely orders of magnitude better than Goodreads Choice awards.

[@deendrew36]

Henry Winkler was the Fonz! On Happy Days? Maybe before your time…mid 70’s.

[@booklover6963]

I love Clawdia in the tree. The Art Thief was good and it's not very long.

[@mary-louisepoulin8690]

The Art Thief was amazing, I couldn’t put it down

[@raquelra5878]

Hi, Emily. If you really want to read more romances, you should try “The Seven Year Slip” by Ashley Poston. She has a writing style sort of similar to Emily Henry’s, I mean, her books are not so focused on the romance and this one has sort of a sci-fi aspect that, maybe, you’d like. I really enjoyed it. I’m not a fan of Abby Jimenez, though. And, if you don’t like the miscommunication trope, I think you should avoid her books, just saying…

[@charlotte7842]

Would highly recommend Divine Rivals! Yes, Goodreads puts it in the YA category but I think you could also categorize it differently (the characters are young but it doesn't have the typical YA voice) - if that helps to convince you ;) It is a story about to young journalists that start working as war correspondents in a war between gods. The subject matter is not easy but it feels wholesome/ cozy*ish. Need I say more?

[@francescathomas3502]

Its on my TBR because of the Journalism angle - I love Books about Books and Journalism and Writing!!!

[@riankoch9126]

I think you might like Assistant to the Villain. Not the prologue but chapter one opens with a funny line about guillotined heads. It’s a pretty cozy fantasy with romance. It’s also got a frog that wields signs.

[@MLLatUtube]

I loved Assistant to the Villain and Starter Villain. I read The Art Thief for Nonfiction November and enjoyed it too.

[@IFarore]

I started Blood Over Bright Haven because you raved about it, and I am loving it so far!!! Would also highly recommend Emily Wilde’s fairy book. It was cozy and had some great banter. Clawdia is an icon🎄

[@veronicafardelin6071]

I need to read the Encyclopaedia of Faeries. I liked that the Bookshops and bonedust book opened ut for a third book. Have you read The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman? I just discovered them this year and I love them. Elfs, dragons, magic it´s all there with a twist.

[@joanaribeiro2646]

I'm not usually into YA but DIVINE RIVALS was my favorite read of the year!! The writing is beautiful, I recommend!

[@jasminev2701]

Emily, I read a romance book that I loved this year, The Perks of Loving a Wallflower by Erica Ridley and I’d recommend it if you want to try something different than contemporary romance! I didn’t think it fell into the toxic/ annoying relationship tropes that a lot of romances do. Sapphic historical romance with a little adventure and found family trope.

[@francescathomas3502]

Um I think Perks of a wallflower can only be read those who are in their 20s and 30s and still remember thir school days. i tried to read it and the whinings of a teenager really pissed me off. I am almost 60 years old. I am long past 16 years old!! I had to DNF that wallflower book!!

[@NonAnonD]

Chain Gang is a great concept but the execution seems to be hit or miss for people. Definitely worth checking out

[@gabz49242]

I think I gave it a 4-ish because the concepts are really important, and he tackles some very tough topics in American prison culture, but the storytelling was a little rough at some points.

[@noniesrose]

My non fiction recommendations: Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde!!! It's a collection of essays about intersectional feminism (she was a lesbian Black woman). And also since you speak French: Féminismes & Pop culture by Jennifer Padjemi which is little essays about feminism and its role and ties with pop culture especially in the past decade which I thought was interesting and refreshing. Also for romance, I'm also not that much into this genre but one book that I enjoyed is Finding Gene Kelly by Torie Jean. This one is special for me because the main character has endometriosis

[@Fisheyesandmagpies]

The cats in the background are cracking me up. 😂

[@y.r92]

Assistant to the villain is so cozy, everyone said legends and lattes but this one is so cozy . It has so many scenes when they are just working in this fantasy world and is so cute

[@emilyreads5207]

Emily- Divine Rivals is beautifully written. A fantasy with WWI vibes

[@ManEatingTeddyBear]

Man, the Goodreads Choice Awards this year were noooot good. I mean, they usually aren't, but if I hadn't heard of a book, I outright disliked the book voted to win lol. Assistant to the Villain was.... not great, tbh. It needed A LOT harsher editing and probably just should've stayed on TikTok. I'd say, skip it.

[@socaltoobie8984]

The Art Thief was excellent!! I lost track of how many times my jaw dropped while reading it. Highly recommend!!

[@annbechtel7113]

I enjoyed Ink Blood Sister Scribe, hope you try it, it is a first in a series though fyi

[@picklejuice2]

the beauty girlie headband made me remember your beauty channel! i think it’d be fun for you to do grwm segments in your vlogs✨ you could chat about the books or listen to audiobooks and we could see some of the stuff you’re loving/using lately 🥰

[@aliciashepard6429]

I felt the same way about Ninth House, and then Hell Bent ended up being a 5-star read for me. It’s a very atmospheric read. Much better than Ninth House, in my opinion.

[@jennawar13]

I voted for Emily Wilde, but I did enjoy Hell Bent! I feel like I skipped a ton of categories, but that will make it easier for me to get through the winners I did have on my TBR

[@Tinyhands_mcgee]

Oh clawdia!! Too funny.

[@ericapoe]

Henry Winkler is well known for playing “the Fonze” from Happy Days sitcom from the 70s 😆.

[@firewhiskeyreader8257]

If you don't like miscommunication, skip Yours Truly, but absolutely read Part of Your World, which is the first one in the series.

[@LeoGirl80]

Britney’s memoir is SO GOOD! It’s narrated by Michelle Williams and it’s definitely one of the best memoirs I’ve read recently.

[@tungstensmum1491]

I’ve heard The Wager is really well written and reads more like a fiction book, so maybe worth checking out if you’re craving a “dad book” at any time, LOL

[@Tokayd13]

I enjoyed Ninth House and I thought Hell Bent was terrible. I have no interest in reading the third book when it comes out. Also, I have a new kitten (8 months) and I'm so sure he'll be climbing my tree when I get it. I only hope I'm as calm about it as you are!

[@toweringtbr]

I just finished Part of your world by Abby Jimenez and it was really good. Yours truly is a companion novel with a side character so you can probably read it as a standalone but I really enjoyed the first and recommend you try it. Starter Villain was such a fun romp! Definitely add to your cat lady vlog😂. Chain gang all stars was amazing and will be making my top favorites list. (Super grim though)

[@greymyers4087]

I think you’d like September House from the horror list. It’s going to make my end of the year best of list.

[@juliar2416]

Chain-Gang All-Stars is AMAZING! I highly recommend it, such a raw and powerful book.

[@Chaotic_Pixie]

I know HF isn't your thing normally, but I'd *LOVE* for you to try Lisa See. Snow Flower & the Secret Fan. You can't go wrong. It's one of my all-time favorite books. You can honestly trust her Good Reads ratings. They aren't artificially inflated. I find her fans to be very, brutally, honest. Clawdia in the tree wins the internet today!

[@Emilybooks888]

I'm sure her writing skills are great, but Lisa See's yellowface-ing makes me refuse to support her in anyway. And yes, I know she's 1/8th Asian, and she's MILKING that 1/8th dry.

[@lipstickandbourbon2027]

I would read Part of Your World first, it's also very good. Enjoyed the male love interest a lot! Her earlier books, not so much.

[@serenity8910]

Divine Rivals is so worth the hype. I do not read YA but I heard such great things about it. I decided to give it a chance and I have no regrets. Easy 5 stars!

[@emilyreads5207]

I read YA,but imngetting more and more picky. And it was amazing

[@francescathomas3502]

Yes I suppose Happy Days in english or french was before your time. This is what makes me feel so old. I grew up watching Happy Days and now there are youtubers in their 20s and 30s who have NO idea who these "old" actors are!! Noone does Reruns any more!!! I guess noone wants to pay out residuals any more either. I will be 60 next year. My body may be old but my mind is NOT!!! And yes I WILL be Buying Henry Winklers Memoir!!!

[@lauramichelle6976]

The One is actually kind of a series. And the marriage Act or the minders tells you the ending of at least the One and the Passengers. They’re not advertised as a series but they take place in the same universe and it’s recommended to read them in: the one-the passengers- the minders - the marriage act to avoid spoilers

[@Hillary429]

And in my opinion The One is the best and it was all downhill from there unfortunately.. but yes spoilers abound in the later published books

[@lauramichelle6976]

@@Hillary429 absolutely the One was the best. I’ve enjoyed the black-mirror esque ideas in all of them but he peaked at the One for sure

[@inarticulable]

Haven't read Chain Gang All-stars, but it was on Jack Edwards' worst books of 2023 video😅 Personally I don't think Weyward is worth persisting with.

[@chaseburch1351]

You don't have to read Part of Your World before you read Yours Truly, although Part of your World is great. Each book seems to feature a character from the last. At least starting with The Happy Ever After Playlist. I've really enjoyed all three. I highly recommend picking these up.

[@Nico-lk5hb]

so excited for your 2024 challenges and new reading journey !!

[@jills9758]

I hadn't read a ton of books across the lists so I only voted in a few categories--for Fourth Wing, Divine Rivals, and Emily Wilde. Of those three Emily Wilde is definitely the best imo. I feel like FW and DR were of a similar reading quality/experience for me. DR had slightly better writing but some issues with pacing, world, characters, etc.--gave it 3 stars. I would have voted for A Curse for True Love if it had been executed a little better.

[@AliciaDandara]

Chain-Gang All Stars is amazing, my favorite read this year so far.

[@digthewarmth]

I haven't watched your vids in so long. It's so good to see you! I'm so excited to get back into books in the new year.

[@jorichner6678]

My favorite non-fiction currently braiding sweet grass audiobook is superior and the feather thief

[@DesAnanieva]

I was surprised by Hell Bent and from the absence of Sarah J maas. Where she goes now in fantasy or in Romantasy. I think this category was invited for her 😅

[@hollylynnreads]

From the sci fi list I recommend checking out The Light Pirate. It follows a young woman living in florida in the not too distant future as the impact of climate change begins to impact society. Really enjoyed that one. And from romance - I love Abby Jiminez! It's ok to read Yours Truly if you haven't read The Bodyguard, but they are both great so I would say read them both :)

[@annaswanangel91011]

I'm not surprised but I am livid that Stephen King won. There was so, so many excellent books in that category

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

The worst was the year Elevation won lol

[@v.dargain1678]

That's good news . I was planning to buy that book in 2024 .

[@NotSoAverageJo]

Emily Wilde: I LOVED everything except the romance🤐 But I’m still looking forward to the next book!

[@minano-nim6795]

I'd actually be really curious to hear your review of Chain-Gang All-Stars if you end up reading it. I heard a lot of mixed reviews, but I feel this channel matches my reading taste the best of what I've found. I gave Chain-Gang All-Stars a try earlier this month but I gave up, it was a bit too intense and confusing for me. But then again, I probably didn't help my case a lot either.

[@cabrinirud.5354]

I highly recommend the Britney memoir actually! Especially as an easy listen memoir (not to negate her experiences of course -- the last 20% is hard and will definitely make you angry)

[@raerae22781]

The Lisa Jewell book is great. I read it as an audiobook and it made the experience better, I think, since it's about a podcast. Very good. Try it. Also, the Riley Sager one is actually good.

[@Hillary429]

You don’t NEED to read Part of Your World first but it is definitely the better of the two

[@zelbelreader]

I also DNF Weyward around the 2/3 point. I was really surprised people liked that one so much. I'm glad to hear you like A Day of Fallen Night! I feel like it got a lot of hate, but I liked Priory. I also loved Chain Gang All Stars - Would recommend 100%.

[@nevaehkoch9133]

I know you like witchy books so if you havent checked out Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood I super recommend it! It's centered around three sisters set in an alternate New England in 1896. Witch hunt, trying to fight the patriarchy and difficult family relationships. It is a trilogy but all the books are under 400 pages.

[@Freakgirl1985]

I was never a Britney fan but gave her memoir a chance and LOVED it. When u watch her Insta videos you think she is just a dumb one but her memoir hits hard. The stuff she has been through, crazy. In her case I would have long given up on living. Especially what her dad has put her through...! Give it a go, I think u might like it. The audio is luckily spoken by Michelle Williams. Britney's voice is horrible 😅

[@ober_affengeil]

Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh might be a romance for you. I think of it as People We Meet On Vacation during christmas but without the annoying MCs lol. Great banter, amazing chemistry. I've been pushing it on everyone who's going to listen. :D it's getting traction now, but came out last year.

[@deendrew36]

I just finished Holly. I loved it! It was a little preachy on the political front and the covid front, at the beginning at least. But the “story” part was great. And you don’t necessarily have to have read the Bill Hodges trilogy first. It helps a little to know who people are, but doesn’t really matter to the story.

[@LesReadsMore]

Divine rivals does not really feel YA minus the fact that it is closed door/no spice. It is beautifully written and could be worth a try!

[@AlyssLysie]

Starter villian is AMAZING!!!!

[@darcy62]

I accidentally read yours truly before part of your world so you can definitely read backwards, but you’ll be spoiled on a couple things from the first book. It was still enjoyable doing it this way. Both books were really great, I loved the small town vibes of part of your world!

[@TN-xr7nu]

I would definitely recommend picking up Chain Gang All Stars. I really enjoyed that one. I haven’t read Divine Rivals but I have seen a lot of people who don’t tend to read YA say they have enjoyed that one, for what it’s worth!

[@GemofBooks]

Chain Gang All Stars is awesome! It’s like Hunger Games for adults 🤩

[@mdtrtwlt]

I'm a little lost. How is Weyward "historical" fiction? BUT you should push through with Weyward, I really liked the book (It is dark but that's such a weird gripe because there's A Little Life that's just gratuitous trauma but people love it anyway and never expected trigger warnings so I'm confused about all the fuss around Weyward in this regard)

[@allisonryder4781]

Me too! Historical fiction is fiction set in any other time but the present.

[@thesoulfulbunny6067]

I highly recommend The Marriage Act. It was five stars for me! I think it had really interesting social commentary and a twist I didn’t expect 😊

[@sofiaf2928]

Divine Rivals doesn’t really read like YA. It’s really great, I recommend it

[@cdal1621]

Emily -I don’t read fantasy novels but Blood over Bright Haven sounds so good , accessible for a non reading fantasy person you think ?!

[@melissajackson4173]

I will probably read John Scalzi. I hated Kaiju Preservation Society. The humor wasn’t my style. I read it or tried to because you were doing it. I’ll give this one a try because it’s a cat in a suit!

[@bookandmakeuplover4263]

I managed to power through Weyward and I'd say it was fine (it has 3 story lines and all of them have rape and/or violence against women), but I really liked Ink Blood Sister Scribe so if it sounds at all appealing you should try it.

[@mymindfullife7554]

I'm reading The soul of an Octopus 🐙 and really enjoying it! Thought you might like to check this nonfiction book out. 😊

[@serafinamesfin]

Emily Wilde is one of my favorite books of the year! 💕

[@uhsaywhatnow]

Not a book recommendation, but is that headband comfortable? They’re all over social media but I’ve hesitated on getting one because it just looks heavy. Not a judgement. I’m just curious about whether it’s comfortable to wear for a long period of time.

[@FlowerPower69123]

Starter villain and cat appeared in the background ❤

[@stellaisteeth]

In the Lives of Puppets is a cozy sci-fi/fantasy with an ace protagonist and found family in a post-apocalyptic world. You'd probably like it

[@sam.my.m]

I really struggled to finish How to Sell a Haunted House, it was just really weird and SO outrageous i found it really hard to enjoy it, plus the dialogue/relationship between the two siblings annoyed me so much. However, I much preferred and enjoyed the author's other book, The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires if you wanted to try a different book by him (this would be my pick).

[@princesselo2009]

I haven’t read Sword of Kaigen yet but you have definitely convinced me to get Blood over bright Haven…in hardcover, for 24€… who am I? lol anyway really excited! This will be my own Xmas present ;)

[@clairemorley8240]

I voted for Pineapple Street in the fiction category and recommend it highly - it's easily one of my favourite books of the year and so much more enjoyable than Yellowface (in my opinion).

[@kittyshiv]

I think youd enjoy how to sell a haunted house, was great

[@glittergloss73]

You don’t have to read Part of your World first. There are a couple of characters from POYW that appear in Yours Truly but they don’t really impact the story at all. In fact I read Yours Truly first. (And loved it). I voted for Seven Year Slip though! Can’t believe it came so low.

[@neelanjananegi7821]

I really loved Adelaide

[@eliotopian]

abby jiminez.... I read book 1, and it was just so good! one of my top romances ive ever read, easily! it reminded me of when I read beach read, but without the brief annoyance at their stupid behavior 2/3 thru. so abby is my top tier romance author right now, over Emily Henry

[@myronemmaturner]

It felt really underwhelming this year i feel, most of the categories winners didn't surprise me

[@aletachristopherson7847]

I enjoyed The Art Thief, but art thefts fascinate me. Quick read.

[@mirela2608]

I am reading now Weyward. 50 page's in and l love it from first sentence.😂 At a same time l could not read that cosy fantasy thing everyone likes with troll and coffee if it would be only thing to save my life. Bored to death. I am just so amazed like really???? ppl like that. Why?😂 Well, well 😂 . Cats and tree are something to see for sure 👌😄❤️

[@joyceredman2136]

I don't like the Goodreads choices-I could only vote for a couple of categories. I have made my 2024 reading list guide by genres, mostly big books, to clear some of my TBR, twelve total to leave open other choices along the way. Might get Encyclopedia of Fairies because someone else said it was good. Art Thief appeals to me too.

[@spexi513]

I liked Chain Gang Allstars and the dystopian aspect- I feel like it’s realism- blatant rather than discrete truths - aside from a bit of the technology . I liked the depth of the bsckstories of the side characters & didn’t feel that w the main ones though .

[@leticiatoraci9855]

I read and voted for System Collapse. Starter Villain was very good too.

[@fatimej4286]

More recommendations for romance.. Kennedy Ryan!! Before I let go. It’s deeply romantic with mature main characters

[@badfaith4u]

Embrace the crazy cat lady label like Taylor Swift. I am one too. Looking forward to the crazy cat lady vlog. 🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛

[@zachreads]

Nooooo! A Day of Fallen Night was the only one I cared about. I dnfd Ninth House at 2% and have no regrets.

[@cat.book.nook.]

I wonder what people mean by problematic content in Weyward. I overall really disliked it and had issues with it but I thought maybe it was just me.

[@marek3505]

I liked Britney's memoir but I liked Paris's memoir more. I knew Britney was going to win though. It was between hers and Spare. Under humor, the book Strong Female Character was really good, but I think it should have been under memoir, not humor. It was funny nor did it seem like it was meant to be. I also really enjoyed System Collapse and read it in one day when it came out so i voted for it.

[@Lifeinabookvillage]

I will start The Housemaid and if i like it, then The Housemaid's Secret. The cover gets my interest 😊