None. 😅 Like you say I look at these things as either a popularity contest and/or fixed marketing stunts. Neither of which are of great interest to me.
Ninth House (Fantasy 5 stars), Imaginary Friend (Horror 5 stars), and Recursion (SciFi 4 stars) oh and A Curse So Dark and Lonely (YA Fantasy 4 stars) lol
I've had it for 4 and half year, it survived 6 moves, I don't even know how any hours of filming and this is how it ends?!?! Like dude I didn't want to spend 150$ right now, why do you have to be this extra?! XD
I don’t know how to say this in english but I feel like they should do some math stuff with the votes + how many times those books were read and what their ratings are (and not just give the awards based on the votes)
Weighted average is I think the appropriate term for that, and yes that would make it more nuanced. But Emily is right, this is a popularity contest, so it is rigged from the get go.
I'm really confused by how books are nominated on the VERY DAY they've been released (re: call down the hawk, starless sea). It's barely been out 24 hours but it was nominated first round XD so weird.
I actually voted for one single book, in one single category, because I wasn't able to judge over the others. And now goodreads is bugging me to vote for the rest but nooo, I don't have the right to do so!! Stop it, Goodreads!
Especially when they put books on the list before they even come out! You're guaranteeing those votes are coming from either the select few that recieved arcs, or people who are just voting for their favorite author/series and no reflection on the actual book
Goodreads choice awards are a popularity contest, unfortunately. There should be some way of controlling the votes. For example, look at Best Horror this year - "The Institute" received 75K votes but it actually has about 50K ratings; "The Testaments" - 98K votes/87K ratings... it's just flawed
I have read 123 books this year, and I have a whopping 2 books on my shelves that are nominated. Overall. In all possible categories. I find this hilarious.
The thing that I don't really like about the Goodreads awards is they hold them in early November before all the books of the year have been released. So that means all the books that come out in December don't get accounted for.
They add the books from november and december to the next year's right? Like how nov. and dec. 2018 are counted in this year's awards. It's still wonky though, I think they should do the awards in january
A simple thing they could do is...a complete overhaul XD Change it to start in January next year. Show the 20 most read books in each category, and this would be algorithmic so the list would change as people read more. The voting should happen in in say...march onward? and they could allow some discussion about books that didn't make it to the top 20 but enough people have rated high.
Goodreads bases the genre on where people lable it. Most people labeled it romance because it's colleen hoover probably. So not goodreads is at fault but readers who are stuck in a genre. Really loved verity though. Didn't think it was scary. But then again I am not easily spooked. Only with clowns. 😂🤡
Hi Emily. I am just diving back into reading consistently, after quite a few years. It amazes me how much you read! How do you fit in the time to read so much each day? Have you given up other types of activities to do so? I would love to hear how you fit lots of reading into your day. Thanks! 😄
Most awards are a popularity contest. But more importantly, a publicity contest. Just like you said, it seems as if it's authors that have a lot of fans or hype that win. I am with you and what bugs me most is the voting for books you haven't read. Too bad it's not correlated with the bookshelves to see if the book has actually been read by the person voting.
I definitely agree that it is more of a popularity contest, if I haven’t read a book then I don’t vote for it. I also find that I can’t vote for many as I don’t read super popular books 📚
I totally agree with so much of what you have said here. There's many things wrong with the choice awards and also calling it a 'best-of' list is the first one. The very fact that anyone can vote for any book even if they've not read it is clearly not a vote for how good it is and unless you've read every book in each category how do you know which one is the best? They should simply be honest and call it the most popular of list and leave it at that. The awards need a complete overhaul... but then as much as I love it as a daily tool in my reading life, there is a ton of stuff that needs overhauling in general on Goodreads... most of which Amazon is simply not interested in despite users having been requesting various things for years. I will always pay attention to the voting as a matter of interest, but it has little impact on me of the myriad of problems with them. TFS :)
1. Been lurking on your channel a while now, absolutely love your videos! 2. The only category where i felt qualified to vote was romance (lol) & voted for red white and royal blue! Melted my whole heart
In the sci-fi category, A Memory Called Empire is soooooo good. I highly recommend. It's a debut so it's a little clunky in places, but it's still really good.
I wish they could set up the votes to be weighted based on how many in the category you've read. For example if you've read one book in the fiction category, and you vote for that book, then your vote counts as one vote. If you've read fifteen of the twenty books and you cast a vote, your vote could be worth fifteen... Obviously some people could still lie about what books they've read and it might make it worse since the liars would then have 20 points, but I think it could help because then people who read more on the list get more weight than people who have only read one or two. My personal rule is that I have to have read 3 books in a category to vote for it, if I manage to get some from the library and read them before final voting I will probably vote in the fantasy category but that's the only one that I would vote for (and I don't know which one it'll be)
My rules for myself are that I only vote for books I’ve read and only if I gave them 5 stars and truly believe I would’ve also voted for them if I had read all the books in the category. So basically I rarely vote 👀
Of course it’s a popularity contest, they pick the books added to the most shelves (though you can write in others), which are going to be the big hyped books
Even though I know it wont make a difference I vote for books that I've read that fit the prompt even if they're not popular or well known...I wish they would release a list of every single nominee in each category it would help people discover more books
Yeah I think the only people who should be able to vote are ones who’ve read at least 50-75% of the entries. I’ve only read like 2 on the entire list, so I voted for them, but it just feels weird since maybe another one would be better but I don’t know bc I haven’t read them.
I also find the voting on books you haven't read problematic. Goodreads should do something about that. Great hearing your thoughts Em! ❤️ I voted for The Testaments (gave it four stars) which is the only book I've read among the nominees this year so far lol. Currently reading The Starless Sea though!
I probably wont vote on anything. Maybe Priory of the Orange Tree. The only 2019 books I've read/will be reading this year are Priory of the Orange Tree, Starsight and MAYBE (big maybe, only if I really crave more Grishaverse this year after reading SoC and CK this month) King of Scars. Although i'm interested in many on these lists, there are so many backlisted books that interest me far more
I’ve never heard a single person be disappointed with The Silent Patient and so many people have read it, so I don’t think it’s bad or strange at all if it won 😄 you’ve made me really intrigued to read Miracle Creek though! I love literary fiction
I just have to say this you look absolutely adorable just sitting like that with a floral hair tie and bangs and messy books on the background and fresh face you just look amazing here 💗💗💗💗💗
i rarely read the newest books bc i always already have books i want to read unless it’s a reaaaally anticipated release! That’s why i only read two book out of all of them (on the come up and the testaments) 😊 also i discoverd you last year through your end of year videos so can’t wait for their comeback!!
The Hot Zone focuses on Ebola in the 1970s and 1980s as it was discovered by the scientific community and the outbreak among research monkeys in the States. Crisis in the Red Zone looks at the 2013-14 outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, and particularly focuses on the health care workers at one government hospital in Sierra Leone. It's much more of a personal narrative than Hot Zone and was absolutely brilliant and emotional (it's the one I voted for in its category!). You definitely don't need to have read one to read the other.
I read Stay Sexy Don’t Get Murdered without listening to the podcast and enjoyed it just fine. Out of context it’s just a dual memoir. And I’ve since started listening to the podcast.
I only vote when I read the books. I did'nt vote many times. I read mostly in french so I'm always behind with the prize. I managed to read only two this year.. Oh well. It's fun to see which book will win and to put it on my to-read list.
You're the first person I've seen that didn't like the silent patient's writing. Everyone else who didn't like it, complimented the writing (that I've seen) I voted for Red, White and Royal Blue (immediately skyrocketed to the top of my all time favorites) and The Silent Patient
out of all the initial nominees i read maybe four or five books and i only voted for two: THE LOST MAN by jane harper and PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE by samantha shannon 🤷🏻♀️ .. i do think you should only be able to vote for books you have actually read, also books that haven't come out up until the nomination round shouldn't even be considered AND the fact that you can WRITE IN other choices (which i have done altough to no avail) should be more promoted. in all of the booktube videos i've seen nobody ever mentioned that option, plus on the voting pages the form is at the very bottom - if i'm not mistaken that's how rachel maddow's BLOWOUT made it to the semifinals in the nonfiction category.
I can’t even remember the other categories but I know that I voted for Capturing the Devil (sjtr series #4) I picked up the first one on a whim because I love true crime and it was about a girl fighting for her right to practice medicine (well...death medicine like autopsys) with her uncle in the 1800’s and I loved that premise and then I ended up loving the series. It’s so weird how you connect with some series so strongly even though they may not be the best books/best written. That series is one for me!
I voted for: Here and Now and Then for best SciFi We Hunt the Flame for best YA Fantasy and best debut The Vanishing Stair for best YA fiction The Burning White for best Fantasy, I’m partway through and have no doubts The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware for best mystery (haven’t read it yet but I love her writing and again have no doubts)
I think you'll like Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs. Caitlin Doughty is an expert on death, and this is her book exploring questions kids ask her! Also highly recommend her memoir Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
I think the thing that would be the easiest to implement and also solve a lot of the goodreads choice awards problems is to allow people one downvote per category. This would help to somewhat level the playing field popularity wise and if you read a nominated book and it was awful, you have some voting recourse on top of voting for another, better book.
My issue with the goodreads choice awards is that they don't actually given you enough time to even try to read some of the contenders before you have to vote...they just expect you to either have read them already or vote for your favourite author. Which just rankles me. I think it would be better to at least given an announcement and then a longer period of time to read the nominations and then start the rounds of voting.
I definitely recommend will my cat eat my eyeballs? Its a quick read and very interesting- each chapter is a question from a child about death. I read it off and on over the span of 4 days since the chapters aren’t related you can pick it up whenever you have only a few minutes to read
I only voted in a few genres this year. But I noticed the write-ins for round 2 were way better choices. But I was annoyed seeing Superova in there before anyone even had the chance to read it!
Yup, I felt I can really vote for thriller, fantasy and scifi as well- I voted Miracle Creek, The Memory Called Empire (scifi) and A Little Hatred (fantasy). I read a bunch of comics, but I read only Monstress and I can't decide about debut. I have zilch for other categories.
I read half of the Priory and the Orange Tree and DNF it. Couldn't do it, just wasn't for me. I read The Dragon Republic, hoping the writing would get better from The Poppy War, but no dice A few favorites of the year- The Witches are Coming & Red, White, & Royal Blue
From the non-fiction I would recommend "The Moment of Lift" by Melinda Gates. It's a very heavy read, but also powerful. I own a physical copy and I ended up annotating the hell out of it, even if I don't usually annotate books at all.
I wish we could all sign a petition to introduce half stars on Goodreads! Hmm I haven't read Miracle Creek. Silent Patient veered off in a direction I most certainly wasn't expecting!!! I've never enjoyed a Ruth Ware book but I haven't the one here which we can vote for so I must get on it! Just got Lock Every Door and Growing Things on Audible. So excited to start them! Do you have a full review of Recursion?? I LOVED Dark Matter and am really excited to read Recursion.
my only real rule is that I have to have read it to vote for it, but its still meh because since I did not read everything on the list I can't tell if its really the best... I really planned on reading more new releases this year but still I haven't read hadly any of the books up to vote for, probably because most of the ones I was interested in were released september/october/november... I have not read any of the fantasy category... and I really want to vote for the toll in the ya fantasy/sf category, but I still haven't finished it and I can not vote for something I have not finished, also I really liked wayward son too, so I voted for that in the first round.
I haven’t read a lot of new releases this year so I couldn’t vote in most of the categories. Also, I’ve only read like 26 books this year because most of them I read were horrible or 3 star novels. So, pretty disenchanted with reading right now.
I'm so disappointed in myself. Only read 1 book in the Fantasy category. I'm in the middle of Darkdawn and have yet to get around to the Ancestor's trilogy :( I'm not voting for Priory of the Orange Tree cause it's was meh. I actually voted in the Romance category cause the one book I did read was a 5 stars for me lol (Red, White and Royal Blue). Read 2 in Debut Novel and that one was a close one for me cause I loved Red, White and Royal Blue and really liked Serpent & Dove, which you should read cause witches! I read 3 from YA Fantasy and picked Aurora Rising. Feels like I got a lot of catching up to do ha.
I like this type of video. While i read more this year than any other it seems I didn't read much published this year. I voted for Finale (YA fantasy) and The whisper man (myster/thriller) but didn't feel okay enough voting anywhere else because I didn't really enjoy most of the books enough to think they deserve a prize. On the plus side I will be making additions to my TBR based on the results
The Need was such a strange little book! but I think you might enjoy it. I’d love to know what you think anyway! Personally I ended up really liking it, not a new favorite or anything like that but it was different enough that I was glad I took the time.
I voted for The Lost Man for Mystery/Thriller, which was a five star read for me. All of Jane Harper’s books have been five stars for me, actually - I just really gel with her writing style. I think I’m most excited to see what wins in YA SFF since there’s no shitty Sarah J Maas book there to make voting completely pointless. I just wish Starsight was an option, because I know it will eventually be my favorite of the year, but it doesn’t come out until later this month so I guess for GoodReads it doesn’t count.
Speaking of sci-fi, I loved Recursion also! Have you heard of Anyone by Charles Soule? It’s about switching your consciousness into other bodies and how the work gets out of hand with it?? Holy crap it sounds good. Please let me know if you’ve read it, it comes out in December in the US.
I’ve been more stressed out about that voting than I should! The category than I would vote for is mystery/thriller because it’s basically all I read but I’m so behind! I’m still reading last year’s thrillers. I’ve only read 2 from 2019 and didn’t like either. I also feel like the Silent Patient is going to win and I’m so p*ssed coz I hated that book. I even considered voting for a book I didn’t read.. I know, I know. I won’t do it. I’ll read more at the speed of light until I find one worthy of voting for.
The only way to be fair is to read ALL the books on each category, otherwise its just a popularity show. For example, choose one category that you mostly enjoy and read all those books. Then vote. Even if its that one category. Done. :D
Hi Emily! Not sure if you will like The Need, I read it thinking it was horror, and it kinda was, but also read like a domestic thriller which I know you dont usually like. So if you can get it from the library maybe give it a go, but I wouldn't buy it tbh
The only book I read out of the ones you talked about was Daisy Jones & the Six and while I enjoyed it it was definitely flawed. I've heard a lot of people talk about it and no one ever talks about the weird stuff I thought was wrong with it, including a line of dialogue during the climax that was meant to be serious but was so funny that I laughed out loud. Perhaps when societal perceptions begin to shift in a decade or two people will realize this book was good, but not great.
I'm like you, if I haven't read more than a couple from that category I don't vote... so I think I only voted for 3 categories, if that. Also I think it's stupid that books like The Toll that got released after the voting began are expected to have the same chances than books that have been available and raged about for months. And of course if won't be in next years voting cuz it was released in November 2019. Same with books released in December, then just don't get any Goodreads love!
i think i remember you saying you liked ronan when you read the raven boys? if so i’d say to give call down the hawk a try! i wouldn’t say you need to to have finished trc to understand it (except knowing that adam and ronan get together but surely everyone knows that by now) and it’s centred on ronan and a new character so you might like it better!
I know some people may disagree with me but I definitely vote because I don’t want another book to win. there’s one book that’s in at least one, if not 2 categories and it was probably my least favourite book of this year, if not one of my least faves of all time, but it’s super popular and I HATE that! it’s shitty of me but I’d hate to see it win 😬😩
I don't usually care about the Goodreads awards but I WILL be going out of my way to vote for Gideon the Ninth, even though I feel like I'm the only one who read it in my entire state lol
I see your point and now I feel bad lol I vote for books I've read but I definitely haven't read all the books in the categories, so it's totally unfair. Some of them just came out too, so it'd be pretty hard for most people to vote accurately for those new late fall releases. I do like it though because I go through the winners/nominees and see what I haven't read that I want to next year like the 2018 challenge we did this year.
Oh I definitely didn't mean for anyone to feel bad XD I totally use that list too for recommendations (hence the challenge every year now!) It would be impossible to have read all 20 in each category!
@@BookswithEmilyFox Haha don't worry I don't feel too bad 😉but its good food for thought! goodreads is bad at having a system for ratings, so it makes sense there's no guidelines for voting 😅
I voted for middlegame, serpent and dove, The Institute, which I agree it's not horror, and Children of Ruin. I wasn't a fan of the silent patient either and I haven't read any of the other thrillers that were there
I wrote in the light brigade during the first round in sf and it got added in so of course voting for that one, it's awesome you should def try it! Also in fantasy I'm voting for kingdom of copper this serie is one of my favorites of all time and again you should try it ;)
With your hair, headband, and innocent no makeup look you remind me of Punky Brewster! (Not sure who even knows who that is. I’m barely old enough to know who that is lol)
I never get to vote on these because in my country I have to wait for translations and they take time and some never get translated so all nominated books that are on my shelves are always stuff that I haven't read yet.
I literally only voted in ONE category 😂 I voted for Over The Top in the memoir category because I loved the book and I LOVE Jonathan Van Ness. The only other book I read was Exhalation, but I don't really wanna vote for it
Im trying to read as many as I can in the horror and thriller category! for thrillers Lock Every Door has been my favorite and for horror maybe the Invited
If there could be rules, maybe people should only be able to vote for a book if they've star rated it and / or left a review, so Goodreads knows you've read them.
The only thing I voted for is What the Wind Knows - Amy Harmon ... historical fiction love story so I am sure it won't be your thing :p but was my favorite book this year!
How many books can you put on your library waiting list?? :o I can only put two on my overdrive which is very frustrating because the physical library doesn't buy new English releases...
Oh wow that sucks! I use the app Libby and I have 2 library cards (one to my local free one and one from a close by city that I pay a fee for) so in total I get 30!
Do you have recommendations for Science fiction thrillers? (Or a recommendation video perhaps?) I’ve already read Recursion (and will read Dark Matter).
I'm currently reading The Testaments and I'm actually really enjoying it! But everyone else seems to be indifferent to it, so apparently I'm the unpopular opinion 😅
Which books are YOU voting for?? :D
The Flatshare by Beth O'leary!
None. 😅
Like you say I look at these things as either a popularity contest and/or fixed marketing stunts. Neither of which are of great interest to me.
With The Fire On High, King of Scars, Guts, Ninth House, and Thrawn: Treason!!!
I voted for The Turn of the Key because it's the only one I've read... 😂
Ninth House (Fantasy 5 stars), Imaginary Friend (Horror 5 stars), and Recursion (SciFi 4 stars) oh and A Curse So Dark and Lonely (YA Fantasy 4 stars) lol
“My ring light decided to be extra dramatic and throw itself on the floor and it died” 😂 😆
I've had it for 4 and half year, it survived 6 moves, I don't even know how any hours of filming and this is how it ends?!?!
Like dude I didn't want to spend 150$ right now, why do you have to be this extra?! XD
I wish I could just do that lmao
I don’t know how to say this in english but I feel like they should do some math stuff with the votes + how many times those books were read and what their ratings are (and not just give the awards based on the votes)
They should at least forced you to have the book put as "READ" if you're voting for it lol
Weighted average is I think the appropriate term for that, and yes that would make it more nuanced. But Emily is right, this is a popularity contest, so it is rigged from the get go.
I'm really confused by how books are nominated on the VERY DAY they've been released (re: call down the hawk, starless sea). It's barely been out 24 hours but it was nominated first round XD so weird.
I actually voted for one single book, in one single category, because I wasn't able to judge over the others. And now goodreads is bugging me to vote for the rest but nooo, I don't have the right to do so!! Stop it, Goodreads!
Same!
Same
They should do the Goodreads choice awards in January not in November. I don't know why they do this so early. 🙄
Christmas.... money... yeah :P
Especially when they put books on the list before they even come out! You're guaranteeing those votes are coming from either the select few that recieved arcs, or people who are just voting for their favorite author/series and no reflection on the actual book
Yeah I don't like it either. There are two month till the end or the year that we will still get great books
Goodreads choice awards are a popularity contest, unfortunately. There should be some way of controlling the votes. For example, look at Best Horror this year - "The Institute" received 75K votes but it actually has about 50K ratings; "The Testaments" - 98K votes/87K ratings... it's just flawed
I have read 123 books this year, and I have a whopping 2 books on my shelves that are nominated. Overall. In all possible categories. I find this hilarious.
Reading the new releases from my library is the only reason I had this many... and I didn't have that many XD
You obviously don't read enough 😂
The thing that I don't really like about the Goodreads awards is they hold them in early November before all the books of the year have been released. So that means all the books that come out in December don't get accounted for.
That's why Skyward didn't win last year :P
Same with Starsight this year (even though I haven't read it ...)
They add the books from november and december to the next year's right? Like how nov. and dec. 2018 are counted in this year's awards. It's still wonky though, I think they should do the awards in january
A simple thing they could do is...a complete overhaul XD Change it to start in January next year. Show the 20 most read books in each category, and this would be algorithmic so the list would change as people read more. The voting should happen in in say...march onward? and they could allow some discussion about books that didn't make it to the top 20 but enough people have rated high.
Goodreads should hire you tbh
@@rhysaia XD
Your bangs are so cute ! 💗
Not like my opinion means much on this but I definitely think so too !
Yea I dont get those categories either. I was shocked to see Verity in the romance category...like..what??? Its a scary ass mystery thriller.
I was surprised to see it there too.
Goodreads bases the genre on where people lable it. Most people labeled it romance because it's colleen hoover probably. So not goodreads is at fault but readers who are stuck in a genre.
Really loved verity though. Didn't think it was scary. But then again I am not easily spooked. Only with clowns. 😂🤡
Hi Emily. I am just diving back into reading consistently, after quite a few years. It amazes me how much you read! How do you fit in the time to read so much each day? Have you given up other types of activities to do so? I would love to hear how you fit lots of reading into your day. Thanks! 😄
I have a video on this that should go up before the end of the month! :)
I really want goodreads to separate YA fantasy and YA scifi
It's funny, I'm watching this video all excited but I've just read TWO books out of ALL of the categories 😂
Most awards are a popularity contest. But more importantly, a publicity contest. Just like you said, it seems as if it's authors that have a lot of fans or hype that win. I am with you and what bugs me most is the voting for books you haven't read. Too bad it's not correlated with the bookshelves to see if the book has actually been read by the person voting.
I definitely agree that it is more of a popularity contest, if I haven’t read a book then I don’t vote for it. I also find that I can’t vote for many as I don’t read super popular books 📚
Wanna see what I'm currently reading? Follow me on Goodreads :) bit.ly/2a9Qoki
Emily's read so much sci-fi that she can now defy space and time to bring us videos as a 12 year-old version of herself.
I totally agree with so much of what you have said here. There's many things wrong with the choice awards and also calling it a 'best-of' list is the first one. The very fact that anyone can vote for any book even if they've not read it is clearly not a vote for how good it is and unless you've read every book in each category how do you know which one is the best? They should simply be honest and call it the most popular of list and leave it at that.
The awards need a complete overhaul... but then as much as I love it as a daily tool in my reading life, there is a ton of stuff that needs overhauling in general on Goodreads... most of which Amazon is simply not interested in despite users having been requesting various things for years. I will always pay attention to the voting as a matter of interest, but it has little impact on me of the myriad of problems with them. TFS :)
Yes, you should definitely listen to My Favorite Murder before reading Stay Sexy and Don't Get Murdered! Those ladies are hilarious.
1. Been lurking on your channel a while now, absolutely love your videos!
2. The only category where i felt qualified to vote was romance (lol) & voted for red white and royal blue! Melted my whole heart
I absolutely loved that book and voted for it, even though it was the only book I read in that category lol
In the sci-fi category, A Memory Called Empire is soooooo good. I highly recommend. It's a debut so it's a little clunky in places, but it's still really good.
I wish they could set up the votes to be weighted based on how many in the category you've read. For example if you've read one book in the fiction category, and you vote for that book, then your vote counts as one vote. If you've read fifteen of the twenty books and you cast a vote, your vote could be worth fifteen... Obviously some people could still lie about what books they've read and it might make it worse since the liars would then have 20 points, but I think it could help because then people who read more on the list get more weight than people who have only read one or two.
My personal rule is that I have to have read 3 books in a category to vote for it, if I manage to get some from the library and read them before final voting I will probably vote in the fantasy category but that's the only one that I would vote for (and I don't know which one it'll be)
My rules for myself are that I only vote for books I’ve read and only if I gave them 5 stars and truly believe I would’ve also voted for them if I had read all the books in the category. So basically I rarely vote 👀
I'd be very interested to hear what you would think of Imaingary Friend. It's not perfect, but I found the story SO gripping.
Of course it’s a popularity contest, they pick the books added to the most shelves (though you can write in others), which are going to be the big hyped books
Even though I know it wont make a difference I vote for books that I've read that fit the prompt even if they're not popular or well known...I wish they would release a list of every single nominee in each category it would help people discover more books
Maybe not ALL nominees since I'm sure that's A LOT but I do agree that it would help a lot of people to discover new books
Yeah I think the only people who should be able to vote are ones who’ve read at least 50-75% of the entries. I’ve only read like 2 on the entire list, so I voted for them, but it just feels weird since maybe another one would be better but I don’t know bc I haven’t read them.
I also find the voting on books you haven't read problematic. Goodreads should do something about that. Great hearing your thoughts Em! ❤️ I voted for The Testaments (gave it four stars) which is the only book I've read among the nominees this year so far lol. Currently reading The Starless Sea though!
I probably wont vote on anything. Maybe Priory of the Orange Tree. The only 2019 books I've read/will be reading this year are Priory of the Orange Tree, Starsight and MAYBE (big maybe, only if I really crave more Grishaverse this year after reading SoC and CK this month) King of Scars. Although i'm interested in many on these lists, there are so many backlisted books that interest me far more
I’ve never heard a single person be disappointed with The Silent Patient and so many people have read it, so I don’t think it’s bad or strange at all if it won 😄 you’ve made me really intrigued to read Miracle Creek though! I love literary fiction
I just have to say this you look absolutely adorable just sitting like that with a floral hair tie and bangs and messy books on the background and fresh face you just look amazing here 💗💗💗💗💗
Yeah I dont really understand how daisy jones is historical fiction...is it just because it takes place in the 80s/90s?
It's definitely a popularity contest. Most people who vote I doubt have read a lot of the book options & just vote for books they are familiar with.
i rarely read the newest books bc i always already have books i want to read unless it’s a reaaaally anticipated release! That’s why i only read two book out of all of them (on the come up and the testaments) 😊 also i discoverd you last year through your end of year videos so can’t wait for their comeback!!
The Hot Zone focuses on Ebola in the 1970s and 1980s as it was discovered by the scientific community and the outbreak among research monkeys in the States. Crisis in the Red Zone looks at the 2013-14 outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, and particularly focuses on the health care workers at one government hospital in Sierra Leone. It's much more of a personal narrative than Hot Zone and was absolutely brilliant and emotional (it's the one I voted for in its category!). You definitely don't need to have read one to read the other.
Your headband looks like Priory of the Orange Tree 👏🏼👏🏼 Love it. I hardly voted because I've read so little of the nominees.
I read Stay Sexy Don’t Get Murdered without listening to the podcast and enjoyed it just fine. Out of context it’s just a dual memoir. And I’ve since started listening to the podcast.
I only vote when I read the books. I did'nt vote many times. I read mostly in french so I'm always behind with the prize. I managed to read only two this year.. Oh well. It's fun to see which book will win and to put it on my to-read list.
You're the first person I've seen that didn't like the silent patient's writing. Everyone else who didn't like it, complimented the writing (that I've seen)
I voted for Red, White and Royal Blue (immediately skyrocketed to the top of my all time favorites) and The Silent Patient
I loved The Silent Patient!! Found the writing engaging and didn't see the twist. I also wasn't looking for it either, just enjoyed it.
For the horror category, I would recommend you read The Luminous Dead! It’s a sci-fi horror and I’m interested to see if you’ll like it! :)
out of all the initial nominees i read maybe four or five books and i only voted for two: THE LOST MAN by jane harper and PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE by samantha shannon 🤷🏻♀️
.. i do think you should only be able to vote for books you have actually read, also books that haven't come out up until the nomination round shouldn't even be considered AND the fact that you can WRITE IN other choices (which i have done altough to no avail) should be more promoted. in all of the booktube videos i've seen nobody ever mentioned that option, plus on the voting pages the form is at the very bottom - if i'm not mistaken that's how rachel maddow's BLOWOUT made it to the semifinals in the nonfiction category.
Middle game definitely got my vote for fantasy. It was the category where I read more than two books 😂 but I do think it deserves it
I can’t even remember the other categories but I know that I voted for Capturing the Devil (sjtr series #4) I picked up the first one on a whim because I love true crime and it was about a girl fighting for her right to practice medicine (well...death medicine like autopsys) with her uncle in the 1800’s and I loved that premise and then I ended up loving the series. It’s so weird how you connect with some series so strongly even though they may not be the best books/best written. That series is one for me!
I usually don't vote because I have read only one book or none at all in each category. I'm currently reading The Toll and really like it.
I voted for:
Here and Now and Then for best SciFi
We Hunt the Flame for best YA Fantasy and best debut
The Vanishing Stair for best YA fiction
The Burning White for best Fantasy, I’m partway through and have no doubts
The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware for best mystery (haven’t read it yet but I love her writing and again have no doubts)
You really need to read On the Come Up and Internment. I know they're not your usual jam, but they're great and super important!
I think you'll like Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs. Caitlin Doughty is an expert on death, and this is her book exploring questions kids ask her! Also highly recommend her memoir Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
I think the thing that would be the easiest to implement and also solve a lot of the goodreads choice awards problems is to allow people one downvote per category. This would help to somewhat level the playing field popularity wise and if you read a nominated book and it was awful, you have some voting recourse on top of voting for another, better book.
My issue with the goodreads choice awards is that they don't actually given you enough time to even try to read some of the contenders before you have to vote...they just expect you to either have read them already or vote for your favourite author. Which just rankles me. I think it would be better to at least given an announcement and then a longer period of time to read the nominations and then start the rounds of voting.
Agreed!! That's why I had decided to start doing my own and give myself a year to read as many as I can XD
U look adorable!! Hope u get some help with the unpacking overall bc replacing the books on the bookshelf is gunna be tedious😂
I've been building ikea furniture alone which is the most frustrating thing ever XD
Lol good thing my next move out is probs not gunna be b4 two years lol. Good luck!!
I definitely recommend will my cat eat my eyeballs? Its a quick read and very interesting- each chapter is a question from a child about death. I read it off and on over the span of 4 days since the chapters aren’t related you can pick it up whenever you have only a few minutes to read
I only voted in a few genres this year. But I noticed the write-ins for round 2 were way better choices. But I was annoyed seeing Superova in there before anyone even had the chance to read it!
Yup, I felt I can really vote for thriller, fantasy and scifi as well- I voted Miracle Creek, The Memory Called Empire (scifi) and A Little Hatred (fantasy). I read a bunch of comics, but I read only Monstress and I can't decide about debut. I have zilch for other categories.
I read half of the Priory and the Orange Tree and DNF it. Couldn't do it, just wasn't for me.
I read The Dragon Republic, hoping the writing would get better from The Poppy War, but no dice
A few favorites of the year- The Witches are Coming & Red, White, & Royal Blue
From the non-fiction I would recommend "The Moment of Lift" by Melinda Gates. It's a very heavy read, but also powerful. I own a physical copy and I ended up annotating the hell out of it, even if I don't usually annotate books at all.
I wish we could all sign a petition to introduce half stars on Goodreads! Hmm I haven't read Miracle Creek. Silent Patient veered off in a direction I most certainly wasn't expecting!!! I've never enjoyed a Ruth Ware book but I haven't the one here which we can vote for so I must get on it! Just got Lock Every Door and Growing Things on Audible. So excited to start them! Do you have a full review of Recursion?? I LOVED Dark Matter and am really excited to read Recursion.
my only real rule is that I have to have read it to vote for it, but its still meh because since I did not read everything on the list I can't tell if its really the best...
I really planned on reading more new releases this year but still I haven't read hadly any of the books up to vote for, probably because most of the ones I was interested in were released september/october/november... I have not read any of the fantasy category...
and I really want to vote for the toll in the ya fantasy/sf category, but I still haven't finished it and I can not vote for something I have not finished, also I really liked wayward son too, so I voted for that in the first round.
I haven’t read a lot of new releases this year so I couldn’t vote in most of the categories. Also, I’ve only read like 26 books this year because most of them I read were horrible or 3 star novels. So, pretty disenchanted with reading right now.
I can’t believe that I read several of the books on the list this year! Usually I can’t vote at all because I haven’t read any of the books...
I'm so disappointed in myself. Only read 1 book in the Fantasy category. I'm in the middle of Darkdawn and have yet to get around to the Ancestor's trilogy :( I'm not voting for Priory of the Orange Tree cause it's was meh.
I actually voted in the Romance category cause the one book I did read was a 5 stars for me lol (Red, White and Royal Blue).
Read 2 in Debut Novel and that one was a close one for me cause I loved Red, White and Royal Blue and really liked Serpent & Dove, which you should read cause witches!
I read 3 from YA Fantasy and picked Aurora Rising.
Feels like I got a lot of catching up to do ha.
You give me really strong Hermione vibes with your new bangs😆💜 I love it~
I like this type of video. While i read more this year than any other it seems I didn't read much published this year. I voted for Finale (YA fantasy) and The whisper man (myster/thriller) but didn't feel okay enough voting anywhere else because I didn't really enjoy most of the books enough to think they deserve a prize. On the plus side I will be making additions to my TBR based on the results
The Need was such a strange little book! but I think you might enjoy it. I’d love to know what you think anyway! Personally I ended up really liking it, not a new favorite or anything like that but it was different enough that I was glad I took the time.
I voted for The Lost Man for Mystery/Thriller, which was a five star read for me. All of Jane Harper’s books have been five stars for me, actually - I just really gel with her writing style. I think I’m most excited to see what wins in YA SFF since there’s no shitty Sarah J Maas book there to make voting completely pointless. I just wish Starsight was an option, because I know it will eventually be my favorite of the year, but it doesn’t come out until later this month so I guess for GoodReads it doesn’t count.
Sorcery of Thorns have talking books. Hello!! U need to read it 😂
Speaking of sci-fi, I loved Recursion also! Have you heard of Anyone by Charles Soule? It’s about switching your consciousness into other bodies and how the work gets out of hand with it?? Holy crap it sounds good. Please let me know if you’ve read it, it comes out in December in the US.
I’ve been more stressed out about that voting than I should! The category than I would vote for is mystery/thriller because it’s basically all I read but I’m so behind! I’m still reading last year’s thrillers. I’ve only read 2 from 2019 and didn’t like either. I also feel like the Silent Patient is going to win and I’m so p*ssed coz I hated that book. I even considered voting for a book I didn’t read.. I know, I know. I won’t do it. I’ll read more at the speed of light until I find one worthy of voting for.
The only way to be fair is to read ALL the books on each category, otherwise its just a popularity show. For example, choose one category that you mostly enjoy and read all those books. Then vote. Even if its that one category. Done. :D
I have to disagree with you about Silent Patient. I loved that book and was hooked on it and could not put it down ! I never saw the twist coming !
Hi Emily! Not sure if you will like The Need, I read it thinking it was horror, and it kinda was, but also read like a domestic thriller which I know you dont usually like. So if you can get it from the library maybe give it a go, but I wouldn't buy it tbh
The only book I read out of the ones you talked about was Daisy Jones & the Six and while I enjoyed it it was definitely flawed. I've heard a lot of people talk about it and no one ever talks about the weird stuff I thought was wrong with it, including a line of dialogue during the climax that was meant to be serious but was so funny that I laughed out loud. Perhaps when societal perceptions begin to shift in a decade or two people will realize this book was good, but not great.
I'm like you, if I haven't read more than a couple from that category I don't vote... so I think I only voted for 3 categories, if that.
Also I think it's stupid that books like The Toll that got released after the voting began are expected to have the same chances than books that have been available and raged about for months. And of course if won't be in next years voting cuz it was released in November 2019. Same with books released in December, then just don't get any Goodreads love!
i think i remember you saying you liked ronan when you read the raven boys? if so i’d say to give call down the hawk a try! i wouldn’t say you need to to have finished trc to understand it (except knowing that adam and ronan get together but surely everyone knows that by now) and it’s centred on ronan and a new character so you might like it better!
I know some people may disagree with me but I definitely vote because I don’t want another book to win. there’s one book that’s in at least one, if not 2 categories and it was probably my least favourite book of this year, if not one of my least faves of all time, but it’s super popular and I HATE that! it’s shitty of me but I’d hate to see it win 😬😩
I don't usually care about the Goodreads awards but I WILL be going out of my way to vote for Gideon the Ninth, even though I feel like I'm the only one who read it in my entire state lol
I voted for A Woman is No Man in 2 categories because it was such a good book. A must read.
I see your point and now I feel bad lol I vote for books I've read but I definitely haven't read all the books in the categories, so it's totally unfair. Some of them just came out too, so it'd be pretty hard for most people to vote accurately for those new late fall releases. I do like it though because I go through the winners/nominees and see what I haven't read that I want to next year like the 2018 challenge we did this year.
Oh I definitely didn't mean for anyone to feel bad XD
I totally use that list too for recommendations (hence the challenge every year now!) It would be impossible to have read all 20 in each category!
@@BookswithEmilyFox Haha don't worry I don't feel too bad 😉but its good food for thought! goodreads is bad at having a system for ratings, so it makes sense there's no guidelines for voting 😅
I voted for middlegame, serpent and dove, The Institute, which I agree it's not horror, and Children of Ruin. I wasn't a fan of the silent patient either and I haven't read any of the other thrillers that were there
I wrote in the light brigade during the first round in sf and it got added in so of course voting for that one, it's awesome you should def try it!
Also in fantasy I'm voting for kingdom of copper this serie is one of my favorites of all time and again you should try it ;)
I didn't read that many books that are in the awards this year but I did only vote for the books I've actually read and have enjoyed ☺
Will the Cat Eat My Eyeballs is about kids asking questions "what happens if I die". I have it from the library and will read it this month.
The Need so isn't horror, I would argue it should have been Sci Fi
With your hair, headband, and innocent no makeup look you remind me of Punky Brewster! (Not sure who even knows who that is. I’m barely old enough to know who that is lol)
I never get to vote on these because in my country I have to wait for translations and they take time and some never get translated so all nominated books that are on my shelves are always stuff that I haven't read yet.
I literally only voted in ONE category 😂 I voted for Over The Top in the memoir category because I loved the book and I LOVE Jonathan Van Ness. The only other book I read was Exhalation, but I don't really wanna vote for it
Im trying to read as many as I can in the horror and thriller category! for thrillers Lock Every Door has been my favorite and for horror maybe the Invited
If there could be rules, maybe people should only be able to vote for a book if they've star rated it and / or left a review, so Goodreads knows you've read them.
You should definitely read a Memory Called Empire. And Gideon the Ninth.
The only thing I voted for is What the Wind Knows - Amy Harmon ... historical fiction love story so I am sure it won't be your thing :p but was my favorite book this year!
Read Year One by Nora Roberts. It’s post-apocalyptic and there’s magic in it!!! 💕
Regarding "The Invited," I didn't think it was a bad book, but I wouldn't recommend anyone be in a rush to get to it either
How many books can you put on your library waiting list?? :o I can only put two on my overdrive which is very frustrating because the physical library doesn't buy new English releases...
Oh wow that sucks! I use the app Libby and I have 2 library cards (one to my local free one and one from a close by city that I pay a fee for) so in total I get 30!
@@BookswithEmilyFox woah that's crazy! O.oI feel like I have to look more into the libraries here now :D
Do you have recommendations for Science fiction thrillers? (Or a recommendation video perhaps?)
I’ve already read Recursion (and will read Dark Matter).
I really liked The Invited, so pop it back on your list. :) What is your current bathroom book? lol
I haven't read most of the nominated books :( I voted only for "The Priory of the Orange Tree" by Samantha Shannon.
Goodreads Gods, I beseech you, give us half stars!!!
I'm currently reading The Testaments and I'm actually really enjoying it! But everyone else seems to be indifferent to it, so apparently I'm the unpopular opinion 😅
You should do a quick follow up vid to see how well you guessed the winners